Category: Video+discussion

Four videos about Critical Race Theory

11 a.m., August 27, 2023

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Critical Race Theory, CRT, has become a big issue in the culture war we keep hearing about. This Sunday we will look at what is CRT, what is taught and what should be taught in schools.

We start with a 6-minute video, “Critical race theory: Experts break down what it actually means” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svj_6w0EUz4).

In a 3-minute piece “What is critical Race Theory” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gdxrkwpPKc), Berkeley sociology professor Prudence Carter is interviewed on PBS NewsHour.

A 2-minute piece, ‘Critical Race Theory in Public Schools” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBzt6vhseww), by News2JAX, presents conflicting views on new rules proposed by Florida’s Board of Education.

Finally, “Should Critical Race Theory Be Taught in Schools?” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwbK0qVjBsA) is a short, 17-minute segment from an introductory class on race and culture taught by Professor Sam Richards at Penn State University. “Dr. Richards reshaped a class on race relations, taking it from one of the least popular in the Liberal Arts College to one of the most popular courses campus-wide.” (Portrait by Ddiptee – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=108961142)

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A video of Olivia Lazard

11 a.m., August 20, 2023

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The world needs clean energy, but de-carbonization calls for a massive increase in the mining and extraction of minerals like lithium, graphite and cobalt. Olivia Lazard, a fellow at Carnegie Europe, sheds light on the scramble for these mineral resources – and how the countries that control their supply chains could find themselves at the center of a new global stage. Lazard thinks planetary security depends on our ability to de-escalate resource competition.

Lazard’s research at Carnegie Europe focuses on the geopolitics of climate, the transition ushered in, and the risks of conflict and fragility associated with climate change and environment collapse. She has twelve years of experience in the peacemaking sector at field and policy levels.

She has worked for various NCOs, the UN, the EU, and states in the Middle East, Latin America, Sub-Saharan and North Africa, and parts of Asia. Her focus was to understand how globalization and the international political economy shaped patterns of violence and vulnerability patterns as well as formed new types of conflict systems that our international governance architecture has difficulty tackling.

You can preview this 18-minute video at https://www.ted.com/talks/olivia_lazard_the_blind_spots_of_the_green_energy_transition

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Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
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You can find international phone numbers to call here.

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A video of Anil Seth

11 a.m., August 13, 2023

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Who are you, really? Neuroscientist Anil Seth lays out his fascinating new theory of consciousness and self, centered on the notion that we “predict” the world into existence. From sleep to memory and everything in between, Seth explores the reality we experience in our brains — versus the world as it objectively might be. (This talk and conversation, hosted by TED science curator David Biello, was part of a TED Membership event.

Seth is a professor at the University of Sussex, and co-director of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Program on Brain, Mind, and Consciousness. Follow him on Twitter at @anilkseth, on Instagram at @profanilseth and visit his website at anilseth.com.

You can preview this video at https://www.ted.com/talks/anil_seth_how_your_brain_invents_your_self

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Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

———-

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A video of Tim Hickson

11 a.m., August 6, 2023

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Our video for use in our discussion this week was made by Tim Hickson. He is otherwise known as Hello Future Me on YouTube, and has been making educational content to teach writing, world-building, and narrative for “a while now.” His aim is to create informative, down-to-earth, and accessible educational content for everyone. He is the author of On Writing and Worldbuilding.

This video is a tutorial for fantasy writers and world-builders on the factors that create revolutions. These factors exist in the real world and his analysis can help understand what’s happening today. Hickson’s style may seem deadpan and sarcastic, but his points are very illustrative. To make his points, he uses images from science fiction and fantasy genres to illustrate how they might look in real world scenarios.

You can preview this 15-minute video at https://youtu.be/ZeWOdF3deZI

———-

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

———-

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A video of Katherine Maher

11 a.m., July 30, 2023

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Wikipedia is the largest and most-read reference work in history, and has consistently been one of the 10 most popular websites. It’s an online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers who disagree on many of the topics on which they collaborate.

So, how do we unite minds and disparate views? Instead of seeking one key truth, we must shift to a minimum viable truth, getting it right enough, enough of the time to be useful enough to enough people.

The speaker, Katherine Maher, is the former CEO and executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization behind Wikipedia. In this talk, she delves into the transparent, adaptable, and community-building ways the online encyclopedia brings free and reliable information to the public — while also accounting for bias and difference of opinion.

This 15-minute TED talk was recorded May 2022. You can preview it at https://www.ted.com/talks/katherine_maher_what_wikipedia_teaches_us_about_balancing_truth_and_beliefs

———-

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

———-

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