Programs

Lecture Series Description: Many believe American politics and government are broken. Public opinion is polarized. Congress is deadlocked, elections are rigged, and candidates are beholden to the highest bidder. As a result, trust in our political process is at record lows. This class looks at the causes of why American politics are broken and ideas regarding how to fix our political system.

Lecture Series Information: Tuesdays, 10:00-11:45 a.m., starting September 19, 2023, O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium, University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus.

Lecture Series Educator: David Schultz is Hamline University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Legal Studies and a Professor of Law at both the University of St. Thomas and the University of Minnesota. He is a four-time Fulbright scholar and author of more than 45 books and 200 plus articles, including his most recent Trumpism: American Politics in the Age of Politainment.

Fee for the series: $75.00 per person (this is a three-week series)

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Detailed Lecture Series Syllabus:

• September 19: Our Antiquated Constitution. The US Constitution was written for a horse and buggy era by a group of white male elites, yet we still are trying to govern with it in an increasingly diverse internet era. This class examines how and why the US Constitution is out of date, anti-democratic, and why it needs updating.
• September 26: American Politics in the Age of Inequality. America has become a nation of extreme inequality, media concentration, and information bubbles. How do these social conditions impact the functioning of American democracy and what needs to be done?
• October 3: A Second Constitutional Convention? Reforms that Work. American politics are broken, but can they be fixed? Several reforms and solutions are explored, including addressing the role of money in politics, changing election rules, reforming or abolishing the electoral college, and altering the way we make law and legislate.

Lecture Series Description: This three-part series, taught by a policing scholar, will address three controversial policing topics: police use of force, qualified immunity for police officers, and public oversight of police. The sessions will be both educational and interactive, creating space for audience participation and questions.

Lecture Series Information: Tuesdays, 10:00-11:45 a.m., starting October 10, 2023, O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium, University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus.

Lecture Series Educator: Rachel Moran is an associate professor and founder of the Criminal & Juvenile Defense Clinic at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. The 2020 graduating class selected her as the law school's Professor of the Year. Moran focuses her scholarship on issues pertaining to police accountability, policing reform, and public access to records of police misconduct. In 2019 she was named a Bellow Scholar, a biennial national recognition for clinical professors engaged in empirical research that has significant potential to improve the quality of justice. In 2021 she received the Dean's Award for Excellence in Scholarship. Her articles have appeared in the Boston College Law Review, UC Irvine Law Review, Washington Law Review, Cardozo Law Review, Villanova Law Review and Buffalo Law Review among others. She has also provided commentary for the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, PBS NewsHour, and many other national, international, and local media outlets.

Fee for the series: $75.00 per person (this is a three-week series)

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Detailed Lecture Series Syllabus:

• October 10: Police use of force: laws and policies
• October 17: Qualified immunity: what it is and how it applies to police officers
• October 24: Public oversight of police departments: models for community engagement

Lecture Series Description: We will explore three recent films - John Michael McDonagh's "Calvary" (2014), Paul Schrader's "First Reformed" (2017) and Terrance Malick's "A Hidden Life" (2019) - examining how character, plot, text, visuals and music offer a vision of what a holy life might be in the present era.

Lecture Series Information: Tuesdays, 1:00-2:45 p.m., starting September 19, 2023, O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium, University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus.

Lecture Series Educator: Ordained in 1980 as a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, Minnesota, Fr. (Jan) Michael Joncas holds degrees in English from the (then) College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in liturgical studies from the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, and the Pontificio Istituto Liturgico of the Ateneo S. Anselmo in Rome. He has recently retired as a faculty member in the Theology & Catholic Studies departments and as Artist in Residence and Research Fellow in Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Fee for the series: $150.00 per person (this is a six-week series)

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Detailed Lecture Series Syllabus:

• September 19: "Calvary" 1
• September 26: "Calvary" 2
• October 3: "First Reformed" 1
• October 10: "First Reformed" 2
• October 17: "A Hidden Life" 1
• October 24: "A Hidden Life" 2

Lecture Series Description: These sessions will take an intersectional approach to exploring issues such as the representation of women, campaign styles and strategies of women candidates, election of women to local, state, and national office, and differences that women make in public office. We will consider women as political actors in a variety of contexts, focusing on women as voters, political candidates, and political officeholders within the United States. We will examine not only the differences between women's and men's political experiences, but also the differences among different types of women, understanding that women are not monolithic bloc.

Lecture Series Information: Wednesdays, 10:00-11:45 a.m., starting September 20, 2023, O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium, University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus.

Lecture Series Educator: Angela High-Pippert is Professor and Chair of Political Science at the University of St. Thomas and serves as program director of Ready to Run Minnesota, a nonpartisan campaign training program designed to encourage women to run for political office. Ready to Run Minnesota is part of the Research in Action initiative within the College of Arts and Sciences at St. Thomas (cas.stthomas.edu/experience/ready-to-run/).

Professor High-Pippert teaches courses in American politics, women and politics, and public policy, many of which are included within interdisciplinary programs such as Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, American Culture and Difference, and Data Analytics. Her teaching was recognized with the Distinguished Educator Award by the Undergraduate Student Government in both 2005 and 2012. She was voted Professor of the Year by her faculty colleagues in 2022.

Her research focuses on women and politics, citizen participation in politics, and community energy initiatives, and her publication record includes not only academic journals but also applied research on community solar projects and clean energy initiatives in Minnesota.

Dr. High-Pippert serves as Director of the Peer Teaching Consulting Program within Faculty Development. Throughout her career at St. Thomas, she has served as Director of Women’s Studies, Co-Chair of the ACTC Women’s Studies Program, Advisory Board member of the Luann Dummer Center for Women, and as president of the Minnesota Political Science Association.

Fee for the series: $75.00 per person (this is a three-week series)

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Detailed Lecture Series Syllabus:

• September 20: Women as Voters
• September 27: Women as Political Candidates
• October 4: Women as Political Officeholders

Lecture Series Description: As Ralph Ellison, Albert Murray, Toni Morrison and others have affirmed, the major genres of African American music—especially blues and jazz—embody a hard-won set of values and strategies for affirming and celebrating self and community in the face of overwhelming pressures. This course will explore the ways in which the musical forms, performance traditions, and lyrical contents of blues—which Ralph Ellison once defined as “equipment for living”—can be understood as expressions of a life-giving and life-sustaining philosophy.

Lecture Series Information: Wednesdays, 10:00-11:45 a.m., starting October 11, 2023, O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium, University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus.

Lecture Series Educator: Dr. Andrew Scheiber, Professor Emeritus, recently retired from the University of St. Thomas after 33 years as a faculty member in the English Department, where he taught literature, writing, and literary theory. He has published on a wide range of topics in 19th and 20th Century American literature, including essays on writers ranging from Nathaniel Hawthorne to Toni Morrison. His writing and research have most recently focused on the crossover between African American literature and vernacular musical forms like jazz and blues.

Fee for the series: $75.00 per person (this is a three-week series)

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Detailed Lecture Series Syllabus:

• October 11: Blues form and function: 12-bar verses, "blue notes", improvisation and antiphonal participation
• October 18: Blues stories: getting down, keeping it real, moving forward
• October 25: Blues legacies and blues philosophy: meetings at the crossroad and the "horizon of liberation"

Lecture Series Description: This course focuses on the nature of nation-states in the Middle East. Why were these particular boundaries drawn in the aftermath of World War I? What are the debates that have animated the politics of these nations, derived from their geographic boundaries and demographics? This course will offer a deep dive on the regional and domestic dynamics of several nation-states to explain why some have proven durable while others have struggled to offer effective governance.

Lecture Series Information: Wednesdays, 1:00-2:45 p.m., starting September 20, 2023, O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium, University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus.

Lecture Series Educator: Shaherzad Ahmadi is an Associate Professor of History at the University of St. Thomas. She has published several articles on the topics of migration, medicine, and childhood in the flagship journals of her field. Her book, Bordering on War, is under contract with the University of Texas Press.

Fee for the series: $150.00 per person (this is a six-week series)

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Detailed Lecture Series Syllabus:

• September 20: The Non-Mandates: Iran, Turkey, and Egypt
• September 27: The Mandates: Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria
• October 4: The Nakba: The Palestinian Question
• October 11: Socialist Schemes
• October 18: Islamism
• October 25: War and Peace

Lecture Series Description: In this lecture series, we will explore psychological theories and research on healthy aging. We will discuss personal and social factors that support thriving in late adulthood, along with strategies for coping with various challenges and transitions. Finally, we will discuss how we can use research on aging to promote positive outcomes for ourselves and our communities.

Lecture Series Information: Thursdays, 10:00-11:45 a.m., starting September 21, 2023, O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium, University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus.

Lecture Series Educator: Dr. Anna Johnson is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of St. Thomas. She is a developmental psychologist who studies emotional health across the lifespan. She is particularly interested in social and emotional factors that support one’s ability to cope with everyday challenges. What thoughts and behaviors do individuals use to manage stress? How do these change with age? How do social relationships support healthy coping? The big-picture goal of her research is to identify factors that promote resilience in the face of stress.

Fee for the series: $75.00 per person (this is a three-week series)

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Detailed Lecture Series Syllabus:

• September 21: Living Well - What lifestyle factors support healthy aging?
• September 28: .Strength in Social Connection - How do social connections support wellness in late adulthood?
• October 5: Coping with Change - What coping strategies promote healthy adjustment to life's challenges?

Lecture Series Description: Substance Use Disorder (often called addiction) is one of our society’s most challenging social and health problems. Addiction is widespread, costly and difficult to treat. How does a seemingly unstoppable demand for consuming substances like alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, heroin or prescription pain medications arise in some people? Is this evidence of a moral failure or a deep-seated biological drive run amok? Dr. Thomas will address these and other issues surrounding addiction and novel therapeutic approaches stemming from biomedical research from his team at the University of Minnesota.

Lecture Series Information: Thursdays, 10:00-11:45 a.m., starting October 12, 2023, O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium, University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus.

Lecture Series Educator: Dr. Mark Thomas, Ph.D. is a Distinguished McKnight University Professor of neuroscience and Director of the University of Minnesota’s Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, a research team of over 200 faculty, staff and students funded by the state legislature to fuel cross-disciplinary collaborative research to discover new, transformative biology-based treatments for Substance Use Disorders.

Dr. Thomas received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from UCLA in 1998, and completed postdoctoral training in Psychiatry at Stanford and Psychology at the University of Michigan before joining the faculty at the University of Minnesota Medical School in 2003. His research examines how addictive drugs alter the brain and how these brain changes can lead to problematic drug use. His lab is now focusing on ways to disrupt addiction relapse.

Fee for the series: $75.00 per person (this is a three-week series)

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Detailed Lecture Series Syllabus:

• October 12: Neuroscience 101: A primer in the study of the brain and its role in addiction. Part I.
• October 19: No Session
• October 26: Neuroscience 101: A primer in the study of the brain and its role in addiction. Part II.
• November 2: Future Addiction Therapies: A look into the frontiers of addiction treatment based on the latest brain science data.

Lecture Series Description: The course will introduce students to the social history and religious intellectual traditions of Judaism from the close of the Hebrew Bible to the present. Historical topics include the close of the biblical canon, Second Temple Judaism, the rise of the rabbinic movement, Jews in medieval Christendom and in the Islamic world, confrontation with and adaption to modernity, and Jews and Judaism in the present. The main theological concepts addressed are God, Torah, Israel, Exile, Redemption, and Ethics.

Lecture Series Information:Thursdays, 1:00-2:45 p.m., starting September 21, 2023, O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium, University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus.

Lecture Series Educator: Dr. Ryan Dulkin is adjunct professor of Theology at the University of St. Thomas. Dr. Dulkin received rabbinic ordination and a doctorate in Midrash in Scriptural Interpretation from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Dr. Dulkin specializes in the classical literature of Rabbinic Judaism.

Fee for the series: $150.00 per person (this is a six-week series)

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Detailed Lecture Series Syllabus:

• September 21: Overview and the Biblical Legacy
• September 28: Early Transformations: Judaism in the Greco-Roman world
• October 5: From medieval to modern Judaism
• October 12: God, Torah, and Israel
• October 19: No session
• October 26: Exile and Redemption
• November 2: Jewish Ethics

Coffee with Class features a talk and assorted pastries, fresh fruit, and beverages in a tabled setting.

Event Description: A concert with legendary maestro Leonard Bernstein and Ms. Horvath’s father in the Displaced Persons camps of Bavaria in 1948 is the catalyst that reveals her parents’ true story of human resilience, the lingering scars healed through the spiritual sustenance and power of music. A sweeping history of three generations darkened by the shadow of the Holocaust, The Cello Still Sings is a fast-passed recounting of the decades of silence and deeply hidden secrets, the consequences of trauma, and the quest for truth. The program has relevance to attendees concerned with the experiences of refugees and minorities as we confront the rise of intolerance today. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and the author will also be signing books.

Event Information: Friday, September 15, 2023, 9:30-11:00 a.m., McNeely Hall Room 100, University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus (This event is available only as an in-person experience.)

Event Speaker: The associate principal cello of the Minnesota Orchestra for three decades, Janet Horvath is a lifelong classical musician, soloist, speaker, writer, and antiracism spokesperson. She has appeared as soloist with orchestra, in recital, and as a chamber musician throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Janet performs and speaks publicly from coast to coast about classical music, social justice issues, Holocaust education, and injury prevention for musicians.

Her first book Playing (Less) Hurt—an Injury Prevention Guide for Musicians won a gold medal from the 2009 Independent Publisher Awards. Recent publications include for the New York Times, The Atlantic, and national and international music journals. She has appeared on CBC, BBC, and NPR radio stations, and PBS television and is a popular guest speaker on podcasts. Her numerous music articles are featured on www.interlude.hk She earned a master’s degree in music performance from Indiana University and her MFA in creative writing, from Hamline University.

Fee for the event: $40.00 per person (registration deadline for this event is September 8)

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

This event features light noshes and beverages and a program in a tabled setting.

Event Description: Drawing from the salons in early modern France, the Salon at St. Thomas brings together scholars from disparate disciplines to explore a topic of mutual interest. This salon launches the Selim Center’s 50th anniversary celebration of service to lifelong learners. It brings together an historian, Dr. George Woytanowitz, and a theologian, Father Michael Joncas to explore why “making your brain happy” matters as a critical ingredient of robust aging and how lifelong learning contributes to the well-being not only of participants but of society. Both speakers are recipients of the center’s “Distinguished Educator” award.

Complimentary non-alcoholic beverages and light noshes and desserts will be available throughout the evening. Registrants will receive one complimentary glass of wine; cash bar available for additional glasses. Event schedule: 6:30-7:00 p.m.: Wine & light noshes reception; 7:00-8:30 p.m.: Program

Event Speakers:

• Ordained in 1980 as a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN, Fr. (Jan) Michael Joncas holds degrees in English from the (then) College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in liturgical studies from the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana and the Pontificio Istituto Liturgico of the Ateneo S. Anselmo in Rome. He has recently retired as a faculty member in the Theology and Catholic Studies departments and as Artist in Residence and Research Fellow in Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota.

• Dr. George Woytanowitz taught at the University of St. Thomas for more than 30 years prior to his retirement in 2019. Prior to coming to St. Thomas, he taught at Indiana State University and Boston College. His research interests include the history of education, the history of late 19th and early 20th century America, and the history of American foreign policy.

Event Information: Thursday, September 28, 2023, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Anderson Student Center, Woulfe Hall (3rd Floor), University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus (seating begins at 6:25 p.m. for this event with food and beverage service beginning at 6:30 p.m.). This event is available only as an in-person experience.

Fee for the event: $50.00 per person (registration deadline for this event is September 21, 2023)

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Lunch'n Explore events feature a talk and a lunch in a tabled setting.

Event Description: Retired Minnesota Public Radio broadcaster Gary Eichten started his radio career playing polka records and then went on to cover nearly every important news story of the past half century. Over the years, he interviewed thousands of Minnesota’s most important public policy makers and he will reflect on what he learned from talking with those newsmakers and discuss what the future may hold for fair,unbiased journalism.

Event Speaker: Long time Saint Paul resident Gary Eichten spent nearly 50 years in radio broadcasting, nearly all of it as a host, reporter, and manager at Minnesota Public Radio. He was one of MPR’s first employees and over the years he won several prestigious journalism and public affairs awards. He was named to the Pavek Museum’s Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2007. He retired from radio in 2012 but went on to moderate dozens of public affairs events, including two programs for the Selim Center.

Event Information: Friday, October 13, 2023, 11:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Anderson Student Center, Woulfe Hall (3rd Floor), University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus (seating begins at 11:25 a.m. for this event with meal service beginning at 11:35 a.m.). The live-online Zoom simulcast will begin at 12:15 p.m.

Meal Information: Pasta buffet; beverages include Coffee (reg. & decaf), tea, and water. If you have a dietary accommodation (e.g., vegetarian, gluten free), please include this when you register. If you forget to do so, please contact the Selim Center by no later than October 6 to request a dietary accommodation.

Fee for the event: $45.00 per person (registration deadline for this event is October 6)

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Lunch'n Explore events feature a talk and a lunch in a tabled setting.

Event Description: Artificial Intelligence has made significant strides in recent times and has become ubiquitous in the modern world, impacting our lives in different ways. Digital assistants like Alexa or Siri, as well as applications such as real-time language translation and self-driving cars, all use AI. By harnessing the power of deep learning networks, it is now possible to build real-world intelligent software applications that outperform human precision in certain tasks. Get a broad overview of the field of artificial intelligence while gaining perspective on its applicability and usage in the industry today, including the recent developments with Generative AI.

Event Speaker: Manjeet Rege, Ph.D., is a Professor and Chair of Graduate Programs in Software and Data Science and Director, Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence at the University of St. Thomas. Dr. Rege is an author, mentor, thought leader, and a frequent public speaker on big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies. He is also the co-host of the "All Things Data" podcast that brings together leading experts and futurists to discuss strategies to utilize, harness and deploy data science, data-driven strategies and enable digital transformation. In addition to research, Dr. Rege regularly consults with various organizations to provide expert guidance for building big data and AI practice and applying innovative data science approaches. He has published in various peer-reviewed reputed publications, he is on the editorial review board of Journal of Computer Information Systems and regularly serves on the program committees of various international conferences.

Event Information: Friday, November 10, 2023, 11:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Anderson Student Center, Woulfe Hall (3rd Floor), University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus (seating begins at 11:25 a.m. for this event with meal service beginning at 11:35 a.m.). The live-online Zoom simulcast will begin at 12:15 p.m.

Meal Information: Roasted chicken buffet; beverages include Coffee (reg. & decaf), tea, and water. If you have a dietary accommodation (e.g., vegetarian, gluten free), please include this when you register. If you forget to do so, please contact the Selim Center by no later than October 6 to request a dietary accommodation.

Fee for the event: $45.00 per person (registration deadline for this event is November 3)

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map