Programs

The Making of Minneapolis with Dr. Michael Lansing

Tuesdays, March 31, April 7 & 14, 10:00-11:45 a.m.

This is a three-week lecture series event. This is available in-person and as an online live-broadcast event via Zoom (No recordings will be available.) In person program will take place on UST campus in the OEC auditorium. Please select in-person or online option when registering.

Program Description: Author and professor Michael Lansing of Augsburg University will guide us through the history of Minneapolis from its pre-founding through the 21st century. We will encounter a city that was both made by the surrounding northern Great Plains and that in turn transformed them, in economic life, culture, and politics.

Instructor Bio:

Michael Lansing is Professor of History at Augsburg University. He is the author of A Police State: Politics and Public Safety in Minneapolis, 1945-2020 (University of Chicago Press, forthcoming). His other publications include Insurgent Democracy: The Nonpartisan League in North American Politics (University of Chicago Press, 2015), the co-edited Wallace Stegner’s Unsettled Country: Ruin, Realism, and Possibility in the American West (University of Nebraska Press, 2024), and the co-authored The American West: A Concise History (Wiley-Blackwell, 2008), as well as articles in the Western Historical Quarterly, Environmental History, the Journal of Historical Geography, the Middle West Review, the Utah Historical Quarterly, Minnesota History, and Ethics, Place, and Environment.

An active public historian, his work includes co-founding the Historyapolis Project and co-founding Overpoliced and Underprotected in MSP. His reflections on history and current events have appeared in MinnPost, the Minnesota Reformer, The Conversation, Zócalo Public Square, Jacobin, The Progressive, and the Washington Post.

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, please visit our Epayment Site

To pay by mail, using check or cash, please use this printable registration form: Printable Registration Form

Latin America: From the Maya to Maduro with Dr. Chad McCutchen

Tuesdays, March 31, April 7 & 21*, 1:00-2:45 p.m.

*Note: no class on Tuesday April 14

This is a three-week lecture series event. This is available in-person and as an online live-broadcast event via Zoom (No recordings will be available.) In person program will take place on UST campus in the OEC auditorium. Please select in-person or online option when registering.

Program Description: This series examines the long and rich history of Latin America from its earliest foundations through today. From the great pre-Columbian civilizations through the Spanish colonial era up to the current day, we will explore how complex and diverse cultures evolved as well as come to understand the current social and political climate within its historical contexts.

Instructor Bio:

Chad McCutchen is an Associate Professor of History and Latin American Studies Coordinator at Minnesota State University, Mankato. He teaches a wide range of courses in Latin American history and culture on the pre-Columbian Americas, Spanish Conquest and Colonialism, and modern Latin America from independence through today. His current research examines the continuities and influences of Native Andean culture and Inca statecraft within the formation of Spanish colonialism.

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, please visit our Epayment Site

To pay by mail, using check or cash, please use this printable registration form: Printable Registration Form

How To Think About Language with Michael Getty

Wednesdays, April 1, 8 & 15, 10:00-11:45 a.m.

This is a three-week lecture series event. This is available in-person and as an online live-broadcast event via Zoom (No recordings will be available.) In person program will take place on UST campus in the OEC auditorium. Please select in-person or online option when registering.

Program Description: How does language work? How and when did language originate? How many languages are there, and how are they related to each other? How do languages change over time? How do poetry and song work? Should we be correcting each other’s grammar? If so, how? If not, why not?

Instructor Bio: Michael Getty is a St. Thomas staff member who started his working life teaching linguistics. He previously taught “The Surprising History of the English Language” for the Selim Center.

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, please visit our Epayment Site

To pay by mail, using check or cash, please use this printable registration form: Printable Registration Form

The Science of Winter Sports: From Olympic Competition to Everyday Contexts with Dr. Brett Bruininks

Wednesdays, April 1*, 8 & 15, 1:00-2:45 p.m.

*Note: Instructor will be teaching online for the April 1 session. In-person attendees can still attend in person in the OEC auditorium, or chose to join online.

This is a three-week lecture series event. This is available in-person and as an online live-broadcast event via Zoom (No recordings will be available.) In person program will take place on UST campus in the OEC auditorium. Please select in-person or online option when registering.

Program Description: Want to move like an Olympian? The three-part lecture series will explore the biomechanical and mental demands of several Olympic events and how we can use those demands to improve our lives as we age. Each lecture, students will examine what movements are necessary to be successful in various Olympic sports and what athletes do to optimize their performance. Bonus: the series will give you easy exercises to do at home (inspired by our Olympic athletes) to improve your daily life.

Instructor Bio:

Dr. Brett D. Bruininks is the Associate Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame (1996) and a Masters (2005) and Doctoral Degree in Kinesiology (2009) from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Prior to coming to the University of St. Thomas, Dr. Bruininks spent two years at Minnesota State University-Mankato in the Department of Athletics and four years as an Assistant Professor and Director of the Program in Exercise Science and Laboratory for Human Performance at Concordia College (Moorhead, MN).

Dr. Bruininks is the co-author of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT-2 and BOT-3; Pearson Publishing) and the Bruininks Motor Ability Test (BMAT; Pearson Publishing) that assess motor deficits in young and aging populations. He works closely with allied health professionals, particularly Occupational and Physical Therapists, Physical Therapists, and Medical Professionals on issues related to motor development and planning in youth and adults. He has presented nationally and internationally on using standardized tests to assess motor function in children and adults with special needs. His current research explores the influence of specialized multi-component resistance training on fall prevention in older adults. In addition, he has also done work in musculoskeletal adaptations to high intensity sports participation and the potential physical effects of sport specialization on youth development.

Dr. Bruininks played Division I ice hockey at the University of Notre Dame and played 2 years in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Philadelphia Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers) and in the International Hockey League (IHL) with the Indianapolis Ice (Chicago Blackhawks). Before coming to St. Thomas in 2015, Dr. Bruininks also coached at both the Division I and III levels, serving as an assistant with the Minnesota State University-Mankato Mavericks (WCHA) Women's Hockey Team and head coach with Concordia College Cobbers (MIAC). He was named the MIAC Coach of the Year in 2011-2012. In his spare time, Dr. Bruininks enjoys training for competitive triathlons, and completed his first Ironman® Triathlon in 2017.

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, please visit our Epayment Site

To pay by mail, using check or cash, please use this printable registration form: Printable Registration Form

The American Revolutionary War with Dr. David Williard

Thursdays, April 2, 9 & 16, 10:00-11:45 a.m.

This is a three-week lecture series event. This is available in-person and as an online live-broadcast event via Zoom (No recordings will be available.) In person program will take place on UST campus in the OEC auditorium. Please select in-person or online option when registering.

Program Description:  Part of our America at 250 series. This series will focus on the political and military course and consequences of the War for American Independence. Beginning in 1763 with the aftermath of the first global war for empire and concluding with the political challenges of nationhood after the Treaty of Paris brought the conflict to its end, we will examine both how American colonists made war and, in turn, how the war for independence made them into the United States. 

Instructor Bio:

David Williard, associate professor of history at St. Thomas, joins the Selim Center as its Faculty Director, after a decade of teaching courses for lifelong learning students. David's passion for intergenerational learning has led him to work with the Selim Center community in courses on American legal history, World War II (taught jointly with Prof. Zsolt Nagy), Reconstruction and its legacies, and the "long" history of emancipation in the United States. With Prof. Todd Lawrence (English) and Shanea Turner-Smith (UST '12), he has served as faculty co-director of the We March for Justice intergenerational study trip on the Black Freedom Struggle and American democracy. For David, teaching and traveling with Selim Center lifelong learners means working with the most curious and motivated members of the St. Thomas community - both in teaching his areas of scholarly interest and in learning from their perspectives and experiences.

David originally hails from Virginia, where he grew up in Richmond and completed his AB at the College of William and Mary. Prior to arriving at the University of St. Thomas, he completed his PhD at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. When not teaching and researching American 19th century history, David enjoys biking Central Minnesota's regional trails, spending time in the kitchen with an overly ambitious recipe, or taking in a performance at the Minnesota Orchestra.

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, please visit our Epayment Site

To pay by mail, using check or cash, please use this printable registration form: Printable Registration Form

The Politics of Music with Dr. Sarah Schmalenberger

Thursdays, April 2, 9 & 16, 1:00-2:45 p.m.

This is a three-week lecture series event. This is available in-person and as an online live-broadcast event via Zoom (No recordings will be available.) In person program will take place on UST campus in the OEC auditorium. Please select in-person or online option when registering.

Program Description: Rise Up! Which Side Are You On? Get Up, Stand Up! What’s Going On? Songs can energize people to gather in protest against all kinds of social ills. But what exactly about protest songs make them effective, memorable, even applicable to situations beyond their original purpose? These sessions explore the What, Why, and How of music created in service to protest, whether to raise awareness or demand specific change in a society. Lots of tunes and discussion and perhaps even some group singing await participants!

Instructor Bio: Sarah Schmalenberger is a Professor of Music at the University of St. Thomas. She teaches courses in music history that range from the western European concert traditions to musics of the United States, and music created from trash. She also teaches applied horn at the university, and freelances in orchestras, chamber music, and pop bands – most recently playing horn and singing with the New Entangled Particles.

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, please visit our Epayment Site

To pay by mail, using check or cash, please use this printable registration form: Printable Registration Form

AI: Artificiality and Intelligence with Dr. Peter Distelzweig [Part of the Selim Center's "Good Society" series]

Tuesdays, April 14, 28 & May 5*, 1:00-2:45 p.m.

*Note: There is no class on Tuesday, April 21

This is a three-week lecture series event. This is available in-person and as an online live-broadcast event via Zoom (No recordings will be available.) In person program will take place on UST campus in the OEC auditorium. Please select in-person or online option when registering.

Program Description: Join Dr. Peter Distelzweig (PhD History and Philosophy of Science) for an informative and thought-provoking introduction to the history, nature, and culture-shaping power of Aartificial Intelligence. This three-part series is designed to help you think intelligently about Artificial Intelligence and its technological applications. We trace historical developments that led to the current AI explosion, examine important implications of how these new AI technologies are created, and reflect on their potential to contribute to or undermine human flourishing.

Instructor Bio: Dr. Peter Distelzweig is associate professor of philosophy at the University of St. Thomas where he teaches “The History and Foundations of Artificial Intelligence” for the Masters in AI Leadership. He also teaches courses in logic, philosophy of science, and history and philosophy of medicine. He earned a BA in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, an MS in physics from Eastern Michigan University, and PhD in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Pittsburgh. He joined the faculty St. Thomas faculty in 2014.

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, please visit our Epayment Site

To pay by mail, using check or cash, please use this printable registration form: Printable Registration Form

Asmat Art and the Purpose of Curation with Gretchen Burau, Director of the American Museum of Asmat Art

Tuesday April 21, 10:00-11:45 a.m.

This is a single-session lecture event. This is available in-person and as an online live-broadcast event via Zoom (No recordings will be available.) In person program will take place on UST campus in the OEC auditorium. Please select in-person or online option when registering.

Program Description: How did one of North America’s most significant collections of Indigenous art find a home in St. Paul? Join us for an immersive lecture and museum tour that introduces the Asmat region in southwestern New Guinea. Beyond viewing remarkable wood carvings and weavings, you will uncover the fascinating history of the American Crosier Fathers and Brothers who lived among the Asmat and helped shape this collection. We will also explore the museum’s cutting-edge work in digital repatriation, a global collaboration restoring access to cultural heritage for Asmat people today.

Instructor Bio: Gretchen is the Director of the American Museum of Asmat Art at the University of St. Thomas where she also serves as Co-chair of the Digital Humanities Initiative and teaches Pacific Art (ARTH 270) as an adjunct professor in the Art History Department. Her research focuses on Asmat art and the collection activities of Tobias Schneebaum, an American artist and anthropologist that worked in the Asmat region during the 1970s and 1980s.

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, please visit our Epayment Site

To pay by mail, using check or cash, please use this printable registration form: Printable Registration Form

Immigration and US Law with Virgil Wiebe

Wednesdays, April 22, 29 & May 6, 10:00-11:45 a.m.

This is a three-week lecture series event. This is available in-person and as an online live-broadcast event via Zoom (No recordings will be available.) In person program will take place on UST campus in the OEC auditorium. Please select in-person or online option when registering.

Program Description: Operation Metro Surge has brought the world’s attention to Minnesota. This series will address the basics of how the immigration system works (and sometimes doesn’t), who was breaking the law during Metro Surge, and a discussion of just what “sanctuary” means.

Instructor Bio: Professor Virgil Wiebe has been at the University of St. Thomas since 2002 and has been engaged in immigration issues since the late 1980s. He was one of the architects of the Interprofessional Center at UST, a clinical program that trains budding lawyers, therapists and case managers. For decades he and the students he trained served asylum seekers and other immigrants seeking refuge. In recent years, he has shifted focus to naturalization. Operation Metro Surge has required the immigration clinic to pivot again to protect refugees and other targeted groups from lawless attacks.

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, please visit our Epayment Site

To pay by mail, using check or cash, please use this printable registration form: Printable Registration Form

Cathedrals of Learning: Math and Society with Dr. Alex Barrios [Part of the Selim Center's "Tools for Discovery" series]

Wednesdays, April 22, 29 & May 6, 1:00-2:45 p.m.

This is a three-week lecture series event. This is available in-person and as an online live-broadcast event via Zoom (No recordings will be available.) In person program will take place on UST campus in the OEC auditorium. Please select in-person or online option when registering.

Program Description: If the word "mathematics" brings to mind the memorization of rote formulas and tables that have always existed and never changed, this series will change your perspective! Instructor Alex Barrios will teach us that math is an idea that evolves and develops--conceived by one generation, extended by the next, and sometimes completed centuries later. In this lecture series, we will trace the moments that reoriented mathematical thought, from the foundational revolution of the early twentieth century to questions occupying researchers today, and we use concrete examples to show how ideas mature over time.

Instructor Bio: Coming soon!

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, please visit our Epayment Site

To pay by mail, using check or cash, please use this printable registration form: Printable Registration Form

Echoes of the Revolution: Hemispheric, Indigenous, and Commemorative with Dr. Kari Zimmerman, Dr. Jennifer McCutchen, and Dr. David Williard

Thursdays, April 23, 30 & May 7, 1:00-2:45 p.m.

This is a three-week lecture series event. This is available in-person and as an online live-broadcast event via Zoom (No recordings will be available.) In person program will take place on UST campus in the OEC auditorium. Please select in-person or online option when registering.

Program Description: Part of our America at 250 series. This series looks at the Revolution of 1775-83 from beyond its temporal and spatial borders. Three historians from the University of St. Thomas will offer insights on how the revolution that produced the United States extended throughout the western hemisphere. The American Revolution created the geopolitical and ideological basis for Haitian and Latin American national independence, radically altered life for Indigenous peoples in eastern North America, and developed into a source of competing commemorative traditions that both shaped and reflect American society’s deepest questions from the early nineteenth century to the present 250^the Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Instructor Bio: Coming soon!

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, please visit our Epayment Site

To pay by mail, using check or cash, please use this printable registration form: Printable Registration Form

The Ecosystem Around Us with Maria Dahmus & Rachel Schauer

Thursday April 30, 10:00-11:45 a.m.

This is single-session lecture event. Due to the outdoor tour portion of this program, this is an in-person only event.

Program Description: As the temperatures warm and the days lengthen in late April, Maria Dahmus, Director of the Office of Sustainability Initiatives (OSI) at St. Thomas, Rachel Schauer, OSI Program Manager, and their Student Sustainability Leaders will guide us through an exploration of the campus ecosystem and the nearby Mississippi River, reflecting on the ecological, community, and personal significance of the area and the watershed. During a guided walk across campus to the Mississippi River, attendees will observe firsthand the interconnected systems that shape our environment, including the rich diversity of native trees and birds and their dynamic relationship with the river. This session will be a hybrid, beginning in OEC Auditorium and then dividing into smaller groups to move through campus and adjacent areas at a gentle pace.

Instructor Bio:

Maria Dahmus is the co‑founder and director of the Sustainable Communities Partnership and the Office of Sustainability Initiatives at the University of St. Thomas. She develops interdisciplinary initiatives that explore interconnections of human and ecological well‑being through collaborative, inquiry‑based learning on campus and in the community. She earned her Ph.D. in Environment and Resources at the University of Wisconsin and has taught a variety of courses in environmental studies. She studies social dimensions of sustainability, including coalition‑building among “unlikely partners” and the social drivers of nutrient fluxes in urban ecosystems. Through campus–community partnerships, she helps cultivate a culture of sustainability and bring community‑identified sustainability goals to life through experiential projects with students, local partners, and artists.

Rachel Schauer is the program manager in the Office of Sustainability Initiatives at the University of St. Thomas. In her role, Rachel supports the University's sustainability commitments, from collaborating with units across campus to achieve sustainability goals to gathering data for sustainability assessments. Rachel also leads the Student Sustainability Leadership Program and enjoys working with students to prepare them to be sustainability leaders now and after graduation. She has a Bachelor of Arts from St. Catherine University in Environmental Studies (completed through the ACTC program at the University of St. Thomas).

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, please visit our Epayment Site

To pay by mail, using check or cash, please use this printable registration form: Printable Registration Form

The American Revolution and the Fate of the World with Dr. Richard Bell

Tuesday April 28, 10:00-11:45 a.m.

This is single-session lecture event. Registration for this event includes light breakfast refreshments and an opportunity for book signing. This event will take place in the Iverson Center for Faith.

Program Description: This program is the special keynote presentation from our America at 250 series. Professor Bell from the University of Maryland will be speaking on the topic of his new book, The American Revolution and the Fate of the World, recently published with Penguin Press. Copies of the book will be available at this special session for purchase and signing by the author. Light refreshments of pastries and coffee are included with your registration fee.

Instructor Bio: Coming soon!

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, please visit our Epayment Site

To pay by mail, using check or cash, please use this printable registration form: Printable Registration Form