Think Again

Topic Host: Carri Hulet The topic for this month concerns societal rebuilding after war, and focuses specifically on the subject of forgiveness. The topic of forgiveness in the context of the aftermath of war is both deeply personal, and highly political, and will be interesting to discuss in light of the current geopolitical climate around the world. The United States, our allies, and various ethnic and tribal groups have been engaged in a tremendously controversial war in Iraq for several years. A great deal of hatred has developed in the hearts of those who have suffered or been otherwise affected by the crisis. Our purpose here is not to debate whether this anger and hatred is justifiable (though that would be an interesting discussion, too); rather, it is to acknowledge that the hatred exists and anticipate that in the coming years it will be dealt with one way or another. The assigned reading, "Between Vengeance and Forgiveness," by Martha Minow is a piece that offers s...

Wednesday, August 6, 2008 7-8:30 pm Topic Host: Mike Morrill I apologzie for the lateness of the articles everyone, I have been busy trying to finish my thesis. The first three pieces relate to women and their underrepresentation in the physical sciences. I'd like to hone in on what this phenomena means to us as individuals and as a nation (which includes it possibly not meaning anything at all). From another direction, I've included a couple articles on body image, its effects on how we perceive nonphysical traits. If a connection can be found between these loosely related topics, I think it would contain some great lessons. Sadly, I was unable to find a good piece relating to that junction. Carri articulates that question as follows: What's missing for me, however, is some argument about whether body image in an industry that is purely physical can have anything interesting to teach us about the gender expectations in an industry that is purely intellectual...(or vice ver...

Dialogue for June 25th 7-9 PM Directions below Greetings all- Sorry this is up a bit later than I had hoped, but I have a fair excuse. We did finally get to meet our new baby girl, Jane, who arrived on Sunday June 1st. So there has been little sleep in our world. Ann, Jane and big brother Colin are all doing well. So here are the materials for our discussion on THE RELEVANCE OF OPERA IN THE MODERN AGE. Don't get overwhelmed- I know it looks like a lot, but the articles are short and I hope the viewing/listening will be fun and at least a little compelling. I was originally planning on having a playlist right on the blog, but I decided that since opera is as much a visual medium as it is aural, that it would be better to use the joy of youtube. Here is what I propose we all do to be prepared: 1. Read the articles. Like I said, they are all 1-2 pagers. Shouldn't be a major time drain. 2. Watch the playlist on Youtube. It is comprised of 14 excerpts, about 1'15'' minut...

Topic Host: Shannon Stowell May 28, 2008 "A growing number of diplomats and policy analysts now express satisfaction that earlier predictions of a widely nuclearized world have been proved wrong, but it is largely just the timing that was off. Non-proliferation functionaries would earnestly disagree with such a gloomy assessment, as they must because of the business they are in. It is natural that they cite their successes, and necessary that they struggle on. But despite the occasional collapse of nuclear-weapons programs, and the inconveniencing of programs in place,... over the years few can have harbored illusions about the trend. Proliferation is a ratcheting affair that moves in fits and starts, and often slips backwards, but gradually and incrementally progresses. Diplomatic efforts to suppress it are weakened by national jealousies, UN-style dithering, higher geopolitical priorities, the sheer volume of international trade, and, at the most fundamental level, the inability...

Topic Host: Ryan Mendenhall Wednesday, April 30, 2008 I thought it quite backwards if we were going to discuss the original intent of the founding fathers and we didn't go back to hear what THEY had to say. So, the materials that I have grouped together are from them and not modern commentaries on what their intent was. US Constitution Declaration of Independence George Washington's Farewell Address John Adam's Thoughts on Government And, for you overachievers, the supplemental reading is: The Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 , about which Ryan says, "The Massachusetts Constitution is very insightful for the personal beliefs of the people of Massachusetts and John Adams himself.

Topic Host: Mollee Lamb Prep Materials: The Tethered Generation by Kathryn Tyler HR Magazine May 2007 http://www.shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/0507/0507cover.asp Managing Demographic Risk by Rainer Strack, Jens Baier, and Anders FahlanderHarvard Business Review Feb. 1, 2008 (electronic download available for $6.50 at http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/ ) optional: The Next 20 Years: How Customer and Workforce Attitudes Will Evolve by Neil Howe and William StraussHarvard Business Review July 1, 2007 (electronic download available for $6.50 at http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/ )

Topic Host: Leah Moses Gandhi Prep materials: http://mosesgandhi.wordpress.com/2007/12/18/maternicity/ http://segullah.org/summer2007/nursing/ http://mosesgandhi.wordpress.com/2007/12/22/on-children-kahlil-gibran/ http://mosesgandhi.wordpress.com/2007/09/13/a-challenge-whose-proportions-are-heroic/ http://mosesgandhi.wordpress.com/2007/04/17/riding-the-third-wave/ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7829860 http://montagecreative.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html http://mosesgandhi.wordpress.com/thesis/