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COMPACT SEMINARS
Compact Seminars

ROUND-TABLE DISCUSSIONS

Open to the general public, these seminars are a forum for discussing both timely questions of culture and long-standing problems relating to living well. They are a search for meaning with the assumption that a community of learners offers a different approach than solitary reading, however fruitful. 

Taught by university educators, seminars follow a range of issues related to family and culture. The open-table format provides for both direction from the seminar leader and participation from the larger group. 

Seminars are usually held in the evening at Stumberg Hall, home of the Austin Institute, and snacks and refreshments are provided. 

CURRENT SEMINARS

Previous topics and educators include:

  • Going Local
    Dr. Bethany Hebbard

  • Technology and Human Persons
    Dr. Ryan Womack

  • Cheap Sex Reading Group
    Dr. DeAnn Stuart and Dr. Ryan Womack

  • Seminar: "Tocqueville on the Democratic Soul" with Dr. Dana Stauffer
    Seminar: "Tocqueville on the Democratic Soul" with Dr. Dana Stauffer
    Apr 30, 2019, 7:00 PM – May 07, 2019, 8:30 PM
    What makes the American soul? The French philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville was both a proponent of liberty and a critic of democratic excess and extreme individualism. Join us for a 4-week seminar with Dr. Dana Stauffer as we consider the deeper philosophical roots of the democratic soul.
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  • Seminar: "Lost in the Cosmos: On Sadness, Laughter, and the Self" with Dr. Ryan Womack
    Seminar: "Lost in the Cosmos: On Sadness, Laughter, and the Self" with Dr. Ryan Womack
    Apr 09, 2019, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
    Why, in the midst of plenty, are we so often sad? How, in the midst of sadness, can we laugh? Please join Dr. Womack for this 4-week seminar exploring the complexities of the self, guided by Walker Percy's satirical self-help book, Lost in the Cosmos (1985).
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  • Seminar: "Friendship in the Classical and Christian World: A Seminar on Aristotle and Aquinas" with Dr. Erik Dempsey
    Seminar: "Friendship in the Classical and Christian World: A Seminar on Aristotle and Aquinas" with Dr. Erik Dempsey
    Feb 19, 2019, 7:00 PM – Feb 26, 2019, 8:30 PM
    The Classical and Christian traditions hold friendship as a measure of both happiness and virtue. But what makes a friendship? Join us for this four-part series with Dr. Erik Dempsey, UT-Austin professor of Core Texts and Ideas, in searching out the long and lasting art of friendship.
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  • Cracking the Dating Code: A Compact Seminar for Emerging and Young Adults
    Cracking the Dating Code: A Compact Seminar for Emerging and Young Adults
    Oct 23, 2018, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
    Why does it seem so hard to find someone good? How do you signal that you'd like to take the relationship to the next level? How do you build a relationship that will last? This four-week seminar will dip into the field of relationship education to provide answers to the questions we're all asking.
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  • Compact Seminar: "Work and Play: The Problem and Promise of Leisure" with Sneha Tharayil and Kirsten Hall
    Compact Seminar: "Work and Play: The Problem and Promise of Leisure" with Sneha Tharayil and Kirsten Hall
    Oct 02, 2018, 7:00 PM – Oct 16, 2018, 8:30 PM
    What is the role of leisure in a workaday world? How did people before us think about work and leisure? Humans are hardwired for play, for leisure, but we don't always know or choose the best forms. Join the AI Graduate Fellows for this important seminar, and RSVP today.
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  • Compact Seminar: "Craft and Culture: Practicing Virtue in an Automated World" with Dr. Bethany Hebbard
    Compact Seminar: "Craft and Culture: Practicing Virtue in an Automated World" with Dr. Bethany Hebbard
    Sep 04, 2018, 7:00 PM – Sep 25, 2018, 8:30 PM
    How might we rediscover “craft” as the significant exercise of power, skill, creativity, and virtue? In turn, how might the practice of this deeper craft help regenerate healthy cultures? Join Dr. Bethany Hebbard as she explores these questions Tuesdays September 4, 11, 18, and 25.
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  • Compact Seminar: Heidegger's Being and Time
    Compact Seminar: Heidegger's Being and Time
    Apr 03, 2018, 7:00 PM – Apr 10, 2018, 8:30 PM
    Drs. Dan Bonevac and Robert Koons will lead this 4-week seminar exploring Martin Heidegger's Being and Time.
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  • Compact Seminar: Benedict and Other Options
    Compact Seminar: Benedict and Other Options
    Stumberg Hall, 3206 Fairfax Walk
    Feb 21, 2018, 7:00 PM – Mar 07, 2018, 8:30 PM
    What is culture? Rod Dreher's recent book The Benedict Option has led to some fresh and difficult conversations about how to live in the modern world. This 3-week seminar will discuss sections of Dreher's book and offer alternative questions about and visions of culture.
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  • Compact Seminar: Truth and Lies (Jan. 30-Feb. 20)
    Compact Seminar: Truth and Lies (Jan. 30-Feb. 20)
    Feb 06, 2018, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
    Few wounds cut deeper than a lie. And yet, between fake news and the curious widespread phrase “my truth,” the boundary lines between truth and lies continue to blur. Led by Drs. Kevin and DeAnn Stuart, the goal of this 4-week seminar is to bring these lines back into sharp focus.
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  • Compact Seminar: "Technology and Human Persons" with Ryan Womack
    Compact Seminar: "Technology and Human Persons" with Ryan Womack
    Nov 01, 2017, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
    This 4-week seminar will explore a philosophy and theology about technology, relationships, and human persons. We'll examine selections from Edward Bernays' "Propaganda," Daniel Boorstin's "The Image," Neil Postman's "Amusing Ourselves to Death," and selected readings in contemporary questions.
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  • Compact Seminar: "Going Local" with Dr. Bethany Hebbard
    Compact Seminar: "Going Local" with Dr. Bethany Hebbard
    Oct 10, 2017, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
    On Tuesdays October 10, 17, and 24, Dr. Bethany Hebbard will lead a three-part seminar on the phenomenon of "Going Local." In "Going Local," we will explore how to cultivate a love for place that bears fruit in the justice, health, and beauty of our homes and communities.
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  • "Cheap Sex" Reading Group
    "Cheap Sex" Reading Group
    3206 Fairfax Walk
    Sep 12, 2017, 7:00 PM – Sep 26, 2017, 8:30 PM
    Join us for a Tuesday reading group exploring UT Professor Mark Regnerus's new book, Cheap Sex: The Transformation of Men Marriage, and Monogamy, just published with Oxford University Press.
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PAST SEMINARS

For more information, contact Dr. DeAnn Stuart, temporary director of academic programming, at dbs@austin-institute.org

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