When we chose topics for 2009, we left April and September open so we could add one on the fly.
Suggest a topic, or vote on someone else's suggestion by APRIL 10.
Suggest a topic, or vote on someone else's suggestion by APRIL 10.
A discussion group for people who like to think twice before jumping to conclusions. Each month we dive deep into a subject with a presenter and a preassigned set of reading/audio/visual materials. Open and honest inquiry on all topics is encouraged and welcomed. The only investment is your time. We most often meet the third Thursday of each month from 7:30 - 9:30 pm at Mark & Elizabeth England's home at 1194 South 500 East in Salt Lake City.
I'm still in favor of getting Laura to take us on a field trip to an art museum/gallery.
ReplyDeleteI second the field trip. Alternatively, I'd be interested in the new forms of art discussion.
ReplyDeleteinteresting...just read an article about how teen abstinence pledges are ineffective. noted that teens that took virginity pledges were just as likely to have had sex as their similarly conservative nonpledging counterparts. also, they were less likely to use condoms or forms of birth control. hmmmm, so much out there about sexual responsibility!
ReplyDeletefield trip would be fabulous. out of the topics here i'd choose (not in any particular order):
ReplyDelete-The Odyssey Years: How Gen X is Experiencing Adulthood
-State of Technology in Health Care
-Is Political Correctness Emasculating Men?
-Exploring the Cultural Shifts in America following the 1950s
I'm interested in the following:
ReplyDeleteLack of Privacy in Online Social Tools (Blogs, Facebook, etc.) and the Effect on Personal Relationships.
Is Political Correctness Emasculating Men?
Although I would love to take the group on a museum trip I'm not sure it would serve the purpose of our Dialogue Group. And most museums are closed in the evening. And Salt Lake really only has one art museum. If the group wants to go on a bonus field trip one day, I'd be happy to be your guide.
These are the topics that were suggested last year, but not assigned (in no particular order).
ReplyDeleteThe Utah State Budget: Where Do Our Tax Dollars Go?
The Odyssey Years: How Gen X is Experiencing Adulthood
Comedy and Politics: How Spoofs Shape Public Opinion
Unintended Consequences of the Iraq War
Lack of Privacy in Online Social Tools (Blogs, Facebook, etc.) and the Effect on Personal Relationships
State of Technology in Health Care
How Do We Communicate with Our Loved Ones?
Is Political Correctness Emasculating Men?
Can Poetry Save Corporate America?
How to Enjoy Art
Exploring the Cultural Shifts in America following the 1950s
New Forms of Art: Beyond Music & Painting
Here's one from John Hoffmire, who won't be here for April, but we should keep this on the list of possibilities for November
ReplyDeleteDiscussion of the Obama domestic anti-poverty program and how he is expanding upon a tradition of using the tax form to create a negative tax rate for low-income people in the U.S.
I know we've already had a sex and economy talk this year, but I read this post on the WSJ and thought it would make for good conversation --
ReplyDeleteHow the economy will affect gender roles at home:
http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2009/03/26/how-will-the-recession-affect-gender-roles-at-work-and-at-home.
I can't host, I'll most likely be in Boston. Good luck choosing!
I like the idea of an art field trip, with which we could combine how to appreciate and new forms of art? Would that be too much? gf
ReplyDeleteThis is Matt Connelly. I vote for:
ReplyDelete1) How are social media tools like blogs and Facebook affecting us in regard to privacy and other issues (I'm less concerned about privacy as I am what affect it has on our real-life relationships)
2) How to Enjoy Art. This would be fascinating as I deeply appreciate some art forms (novels, film, music) but am not so good at the visual arts, primarily because I don't know how to evaluate it too well.
In that order probably...but either would be interesting.
This is Kristen. I like all the above ideas!
ReplyDeleteI'm very interested in discussing consumption v. community and the true cost of what we buy. See Scott Russell Sanders' ideas on the Common Wealth--How corporations have infringed on "the commons"--things that belong to all of us: air, water, land, etc. (http://www.newdream.org/newsletter/common_wealth.phpz)
Related to this is "The Story of Stuff" on You Tube.
Emily says:
ReplyDelete1. Violent video games and television (and also Pornography): Does violent media increase violent impluses or does it release violent tendancies and decrease violent impulses?
2. Is political correctnes emasculating men? Women used to be excluded from schools and colleges but now that women are included, fewer men graduate from college. Are men starting to be excluded from academics? Anything about gender roles is interesting to me.
Is gender nurture or nature (or both)?
What about transgender issues? (Read "As Nature Made Him: The Boy who was Raised as a Girl" by John Colapinto)
3.If we go to the art museum maybe we could discuss what makes art beautiful. What are the cultural differences in aesthetics?
This is another Emily -the Bates one. I like the Art field trip idea-- maybe we could do it on a Saturday since most museums are closed during the day and discuss aesthetics and "success" in the art world.
ReplyDeleteI also like the idea of discussing gender roles.
The book "As Nature Made Him: the Boy who was Raised as a Girl" is interesting-and heart breaking. It is a true story about what happened when a therapist named John Money tested his theory that gender is the product of socialization. It's a tragic story, but interesting.