Tag: culture

Why Women?

Why Women?

Mary V. Hughes

Oct 19, 2014

 

Mary V. Hughes
Mary V. Hughes

American women comprise no more than 25% of the decision-makers across sectors in the US (e.g., corporate boards and executives, the US Congress, law firm partners).

The U.S. ranks well below many industrialized nations when it come to the status of women and policies that support them.

Why does that matter and what is the U.S. losing by failing to support the advancement of women? What would the country gain if women were full partners in all aspects of work and civic life?

Mary V. Hughes is a political strategist, author, and the architect of the Close the Gap CA campaign, www.closethegapca.org.

 

Humanist Community Forum (2014-10-19): Why Women? (Mary V. Hughes) from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

 

A Contemporary Renaissance in India

A Contemporary Renaissance in India

Lopa Mukherjee

Oct 12, 2014

 

Lopa Mukherjee
Lopa Mukherjee

The first Renaissance in India came from the urge to win freedom from colonial rule.

After independence the euphoria of freedom quickly disappeared. The onerous task of rebuilding a nation loomed ahead.

Very soon it was found that there were still more enemies to conquer. Not external enemies this time, but internal ones.

The post-independence generation of Indian artists and intellectuals rose to meet the challenge.

Lopa Mukherjee is a writer and documentary film-maker, www.lopamukherjee.com.

Join us as we hear Lopa give this multimedia presentation of these renaissance people.

 

Laura Mappin

Taboos for Totalitarianism

Laura Mappin

October 27, 2013

Laura Mappin   The less we can discuss a topic honestly, the more we leave ourselves open to manipulation and control by others, including governments.

For example, if we cannot stomach the idea of just imagining that someone we know and trust could have molested our child, we might not believe her when she tries to tell us this is so. If we as a society force others to lead closeted lives that would otherwise hurt no one, we are responsible for emotionally torturing others, which can lead the closeted to behave or lash out in insidious ways. As a society or nation, if we cannot admit all of the truths about war, we can end up making choices that are sorely not in our interest.

In this presentation, Laura Mappin will discuss her taboo taxonomy and how she sees taboo subjects relating to each other. She will also discuss how she believes our increased ease with discussing these subjects and permitting some of them helps create healthier societies.

The argument to be presented is a work in progress. Your questions and thoughts are welcome.

Laura Mappin has been puzzled most of her life about what motivates people’s behavior and how those actions overlay with fairness. She has BS degrees in Computer Science and Math from the University of Pittsburgh, which probably impacted her ways of perceiving and graphing this squishy data. This presentation is the culmination of personal conundrums and ideas that have been percolating in her mind for decades.

 

Humanist Community Forum (2013-10-27): Taboos for Totalitarianism (Laura Mappin) from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

 

For more information on this talk or to contact Laura, go to:
http://ourtaboomuseum.com/hcsv2