Current Events   

View and discuss two engaging TED Talks (visit TED.com) in a salon-type setting where free-thinkers spark each other's minds and hearts through spirited presentations and conversation.
Be stimulated, and become better educated and acquainted. Salons such as this were popular occasions for sharing knowledge and building friendships from Renaissance times up until the 1940s. TED has again popularized this concept with TEDx - local, independently organized events - in vibrant learning communities all over the world.
Participants are sure to leave motivated and more meaningfully connected with the world around us.

The polar regions of the Arctic and Antarctica are undergoing rapid changes due to climate change, creating new opportunities and challenges for the global community. These regions are also becoming arenas of great power competition, as the United States, Russia, China, and other actors seek to advance their economic, scientific, and security interests in the polar regions.

This presentation will examine the geopolitical significance of the polar regions, the main drivers and dimensions of great power competition over the Arctic and Antarctica, and the potential for conflict over them.

Before George Floyd, the death of Emmett Till energized the Civil Rights movement. His mother's brave decision to have an open casket for the world to view how savagely he had been brutalized was a significant catalyst for the Civil Rights movement. 

The importance of computer chips (also known as semiconductors or integrated circuits) cannot be overstated. These tiny yet powerful components are at the heart of modern technology. Computer chips serve as the building blocks for electronic devices, from smartphones and laptops to servers and supercomputers. Power in the modern world – military, economic, geopolitical – is built on a foundation of computer chips.

Access to cutting-edge chip technology is crucial for military systems, including radar, communication, and encryption. Nations vie for control over chip manufacturing to ensure their security and defense capabilities. The United States has dominated advances in chips, but that edge is in danger of slipping. China is pouring billions into a project to catch up. The United States and China are engaged in a high-stakes race to dominate chip production. Making computer chips has become the new arms race.

The Founding Fathers' fatal flaw was allowing slavery; they couldn't condemn or condone it. Sadly, most had inadequate teaching of a subject foundational to America. Our domestic tranquility today is affected by the Founders indecision. Understanding the past is a prelude to the future.  "A nation cannot choose its past; it can only choose its future." Or as Faulkner said, " The past is never dead, it's now even past."

If there is one word which sums up the American experience it is the pursuit of equality. While Jefferson proclaimed “all men are created equal,” and it is "self-evident," it wasn't.

America has been a laboratory in the struggle for authentic equality in ways which Jefferson never imagined. This is America's gift to the world, to make equality a reality in law and practice, despite the struggle. Currently, that hope seems diminishing.

The 1790 Naturalization Act allowed any free white person to become a citizen of the new republic; all others need not apply. Since then, there was a protracted effort to keep America white. This session examines the many efforts to maintain a white America despite the diversity of its immigrants. How does one interpret "e pluribus unum?"

The rise of a militant white supremacy today is not new. It was present throughout our history. It remains contentious today, particularly regarding new immigrants.

View and discuss two engaging TED Talks (visit TED.com) in a salon-type setting where free-thinkers spark each other's minds and hearts through spirited presentations and conversation.
Be stimulated, and become better educated and acquainted. Salons such as this were popular occasions for sharing knowledge and building friendships from Renaissance times up until the 1940s. TED has again popularized this concept with TEDx - local, independently organized events - in vibrant learning communities all over the world.
Participants are sure to leave motivated and more meaningfully connected with the world around us.

Once a month we will have an in-depth discussion on a current issue. The purpose of this class is not to change minds but to gain knowledge from each other. We will strive to understand other people's thoughts and beliefs. Except for the first month, participants will select the topics to discuss.