institute of world cultures programs

Institute of World Culture
Program for 2023

Theme for the Year
Interdependence, Diversity, and Imagination

Forum
The Symbolism of the Persian Carpet

Saturday, January 21, 2023
2:00 – 4:00 pm
In-person and Live Webcast (both begin at 2:00 pm)
Concord House, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA
Speaker: Michael Kourosh, Santa Barbara Design Center

Local design dignitary Michael Kourosh will give a presentation on the craftsmanship, beauty, and symbolism of Persian carpets. The symbolism of Persian carpets is handed down from generation to generation, extending back to before the Common Era. That symbolism often uses the imagery of nature to depict universal themes. But the symbolism is rich and varied, and may represent a variety of other motifs. The presentation will included photos as well as carpet samples.

This talk will be live webcast and in person and will be recorded and made available on our IWC YouTube channel:
Link:https://www.youtube.com/user/iwcinsantabarbara/live
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Forum
Knowledge and Knowing in Neo-Confucianism

Saturday, February 4, 2023
2:00 – 4:00 pm
Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA
In- person and Live Webcast
Speaker: Ya Zuo, Department of History, UC Santa Barbara

IKnowledge has a fundamental role in Neo-Confucian philosophy, and “knowing” is a mandatory procedure via which one reaches the ultimate goal of Neo-Confucianism, the perfection of moral cultivation. A Neo-Confucian exercises her moral agency via knowing with the aspiration of attaining the Way (dao), the state of constant and spontaneous sagacity. In this talk, Ya Zuo will introduce the Neo-Confucian theory of knowledge and explain how it relates to personal fulfillment and flourishing.

Ya Zuo is an associate professor of History at University of California, Santa Barbara. She received her Ph.D. in history from Princeton University. She is a cultural and intellectual historian of middle-period and early modern China. Her first book, Shen Gua’s Empiricism (Harvard University Press, 2018) is a study of historical theory of knowledge, and she has also authored several articles which engage a wide and diverse spectrum of topics, such as the history of emotions, sensory history, medical history, musicology, and book history. Click here for Ya Zuo's CV

Forum
International Politics, Transnationalism, Global Economics,
Environmental Crisis: Ethical Choices

Saturday, February 18, 2023
2:00 – 4:00 pm
Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA
In person and Live webcast (both begin at 2:00 pm)*
Presenters: Carolyn Dorrance and Maurice Bisheff

"My country is the world and my religion is to do good." – Tom Paine

In this forum, significant global developments of political, economic, and environmental realities will be explored from the perspective of interdependence. Multiple modes of interdependence are shaping, indeed transforming, the lives of citizens and the goals and values of institutions around the world. In doing so, the very shape and aims of interdependence are changing rapidly. Health crises, chaotic migrations, and communication technologies also challenge our responses to interdependence on the macro and micro levels. Ethical as well as sustainable choices must be made to improve the quality of interdependence. While new opportunities are pursued in political, economic, and environmental activities, traditional political forms and limited cultural values are restricting the practical use of these new opportunities. While nations states guard their national interests and psychologies, transnational actors such as corporations, NGOs and volunteer activists create new realities with new problems as well as benefits. Is there an emerging world culture to help us reduce violent conflicts and enervating inequalities? How do we avoid environmental devastation? Attendees will be encouraged to ask questions and propose remedies so that an environment nourishing to human potential and social harmony as well as progress can and does emerge.

*This forum will be both live webcast and in person, and will also be recorded and made available on our IWC YouTube channel for future viewing: https://www.youtube.com/user/iwcinsantabarbara/live

Forum
The Character and Teaching of the Ukrainian Philosopher Gryhoriy Skovoroda

Saturday, March 4, 2023
10:00 am Pacific Standard Time (8:00 pm Ukraine Time)*
Zoom presentation only*

Presenter: Professor Juliia Shabonova, Department of Philosophy & Pedagogy, Dnipro Technical University and Head of the Ukraine Institute of World Culture, Dnipro, Ukraine

"Everything will be difficult if there is no dream." – Gryhoriy Skovoroda

Speaking to us via Zoom from Dnipro, Ukraine, Professor Juliia Shabanova will give a presentation about the 18th Century Ukrainian philosopher, Gryhoriy Skovoroda. Sometimes characterized as the Ukrainian Socrates, Skovoroda’s teaching and philosophy focused on the ancient injunction “Know thyself.” Professor Shabanova will give a biographical sketch of the myths and reality of his life, and then focus on his philosophical views on balance, unequal equality, and the importance of the heart and congeniality in work.

Liudmula Kovtun will be the interpreter for Professor Shabanova.

Members of the Institute This forum will be a Zoom link. Non-members may request a link by emailing: donna@worldculture.org
The presentation will also be recorded and made available on our IWC YouTube channel for future viewing:
https://www.youtube.com/user/iwcinsantabarbara/live

EARTH DAY Forum
Healing Grounds: The Deep Roots of Regenerative Farming

Saturday, April 8, 2023
2:00 – 4:00 PM (PDT)
Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA (see below for more infomation)
Presenter: Liz Carlisle, Environmental Studies, University of California Santa Barbara

Modes of participation: In person and live webcast (more information below)

"Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you may take care of them. Introduce yourself. Be accountable as the one who comes asking for life. Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer. Never take the first. Never take the last. Take only what you need. Take only that which is given. Never take more than half. Leave some for others. Harvest in a way that minimizes harm. Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have take. Share. Give thanks for what you have been given. Give a gift, in reciprocity for what you have taken. Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will lst forever.."~ Robin Wall Kimmerer, "Braiding Sweetgrass"

In celebration of Earth Day this year, Assistant Professor Liz Carlisle will talk about the deep roots of regenerative farming. Through stories of Black, Latino, Latina, Native American and Asian small farmers in the United States, we will learn how traditional methods of growing food used by their ancestors, that focus on cooperation and reciprocity in nature, are being rediscovered and applied today in a variety of contexts to create healthy, balanced ecosystems. She will also point out some of the costly ramifications to the globe of ignoring the wisdom inherent in these traditions.
Her latest book is entitled Healing Grounds.

Live Webcast begins @ 2:00 p.m. at:: https://www.youtube.com/c/IWCinSantaBarbara/live
The presentation will also be recorded and available at the same link for future viewing.

This forum will be both in-person and live webcast, and will also be recorded and made available on our IWC YouTube channel for future viewing: https://www.youtube.com/user/iwcinsantabarbara/live
Click here for a printer-friendly flyer

EARTH DAY TALK
What About Water?

Monday, April 24, 2023
3:00 – 4:00 PM (PDT)
Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA
In Person Event, masks are optional
Presenter: Brenton Kelly, Quail Springs
Presented by the UNA-USA, Santa Barbara & Tri-Counties

In celebration of Earth Day, the IWC is co-hosting with the UNA-USA, Santa Barbara & Tri-Counties*, to present Brenton Kelly in Concord Hall on Monday, April 24th at 3:00 pm. Brenton serves as the Watershed Stewardship and Advocacy Director for the Quail Springs Permaculture community. Brenton will talk about watershed and water issues in the Cuyama Valley, one of the driest areas in the State, and its implications for global water issues.

Born in Lusaka, Northern Rhodesia, he witnessed a variery of civil and revolutionary conflicts across Africa as a child. Brenton attended UCSB and earned a BA in Environmental Studies and Studio Art. He managed the Isla Vista Recreation and Park Disctrict and practiced the art of land stewardship. He bought Island Seed and Feed with an old friend, Matt Buckmaster, and served the community with his knowledge. In 2008, Brenton and his wife, Jan Smith, moved to Quail Springs to help advance food production systems and program offerings by farming and teaching. *United Nations Association–United State of America, Santa Barbara and Tri-Counties.

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FORUM
Design as Discovery: Jony Ive and Frank Gehry

Saturday, May 20, 2023
2:00 – 4:00 pm (PDT)
Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA
In Person and Live Webcast
Presenter: Russ Lewin

The design that is reflected in a beautiful product has the ability to enhance the experience of individuals and even inspire us in a way that helps us incorporate a higher standard of design in our own work, and in the way we live our lives. Two individuals that are particularly effective in rendering their designs on a grand scale include Jony Ive and Frank Gehry.

Jony Ive was the Chief Design Officer for Apple computer for 22 years. He helped design the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac OS, Apple Headquarters and a myriad of other items. His creative design process is unique, and it can teach other individuals how to discover their own creativity through design. Jony once said, "Good is the enemy of great."

Frank Gehry is a modern architect famous for designing the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, and many other recognizable buildings around the world. His work incorporates audacious configuration and innovative design. He relies heavily upon curvature in his work. Gehry once said, "Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness."

We will explore the work of these two wildly creative individuals. In addition, we will explore the inner processes through which their creations eventually come to birth as described by them.

Image credits: top: Daniel L. Lu,), CC BY-SA 4.0; ;bottom: dfbarrero is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
https://creativecommons.org via Wikimedia Commons

Live Webcast begins @ 2:00 pm: https://www.youtube.com/c/IWCinSantaBarbara/live
The presentation will also be recorded and available at the same link for future viewing.

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FILM
Lincoln

Saturday, June 10, 2023
7:00 – 9:30 pm (PDT)
Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA
In Person Event Only

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
– Abraham Lincoln

From DreamWorks, Steven Spielberg directs three-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis in his not-to-be-missed Academy Award-winning Best Actor performance in Lincoln (2012). The film has an all-star ensemble cast including Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, among others.

This inspiring and revealing drama focuses on the 16th President’s tumultuous final four months in office as this visionary leader pursues a course of action to end the Civil War, unite the country and abolish slavery. Lincoln sheds light on a man of moral courage and fierce determination.
There will be time for discussion at the end.

The film will be followed on July 1st by the IWC Founding Day Program, "Abraham Lincoln on the Promise of America.

image credit: Creative Commons

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FOUNDING DAY PRESENTATIONN / ENACTMENT
Abraham Lincoln on the Promise of America

Saturday, July 1, 2023
7:00 – 9:00 pm (PDT)
Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA
Presenter: Cliff Tillotson
In Person and Live Webcast

The IWC Founding Day program will offer an enactment of Abraham Lincoln speaking on his hopeful and abiding vision for America as an enduring democratic Republic of Conscience. Moral values in leadershiip and citizenship should support principles of government such as "of the people, by the people and for the people . . . conceived in liberty and dedicsted to the proposition that all [human beings] are created equal".

The event will be in person and live webcast: https://www.youtube.com/user/IWCinSantaBarbara
On the IWC Channel Homepage, you may select "Videos" to find Zoom presentations, and "Live" to find live-streamed (webcast) events.

Image credit: Creative Commons

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FILM SERIES
IWC 2023 JULY FILM SERIES: SATURDAYS IN JULY
7:00 – 9:00 pm (PDT)
Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, California
In-person only event

	JULY 8: JOURNEY INTO BUDDHISM: PRAJNA EARTH (2006) Producer, Director, Writer: John Bush Narrator: Sharon Stone Prajna Earth is the second part of a PBS trilogy “Journey into Buddhism”. This lyrical documentary is a journey into the living traditions and lost civilizations of Bali, Cambodia and Java and explores the universal ideals of wisdom, compassion, and inner peace at the very heart of these ancient Buddhist cultures.
	JULY 15: LIVING (2002) Director: Oliver Hermanus Starring: Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood Adapted from the 1952 Akira Kurosawa film Ikiru, which in turn was partly inspired by Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich, this British drama is set in 1953 London. The plot centers on a bureaucrat who has just been informed of his terminal disease. How is he to give meaning to the last days of his life? He is somewhat estranged from his son and daughter-in-law, and has no other meaningful relationships. After working through the suicide option and the “entertainment” option, he must struggle against his bureaucratic self to release his real self.
	JULY 22: GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK (2005) Director: George Clooney. Starring: David Stathairn, Patricia Clarkson, George Clooney, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey Jr, Frank Langella. This historical drama portrays the conflict between veteran journalist Edward R. Murrow and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy and the Senator’s anti-communist committee investigations. This period in U.S. history exemplifies how suspicion, fear and suppression are easy to cultivate almost any time. The more universal theme is about the responsibility of the media, especially when a voice of dissent against government policy is needed.

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FILM
Spirited Away (2001)

Saturday, August 19, 2023
7:00 – 9:00 pm (PDT)
Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA
In Person only

Considered as one of the greatest films of all time, Spirited Away, won the Academy Award for the Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, the film tells the story of a 10 year old girl who is transported into the world of Kami; that is to say she entered the spirit world which ensouls and animates all that we call objective Nature. The young girl must find a way to rescue her parents who have been transformed into pigs by a witch, and then find a way back to the human world.

The film gives us a glimpse of the Japanese Shinto-Buddhist world of folklore while simultaneously addressing the values of traditional cultures and the values of consumerism, materialism and greed. The audience is also given an enriching portrayal of the soul of environmentalism. Much more is left to the imagination. It is a film to be enjoyed many times over.

Image credit: Creative Commons

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FORUM
Post-Democracy:
Towards A More Self-Governing Society

Saturday, September 16, 2023
2:00 – 4:00 pm (PDT)
Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA
In Person and Live Webcast
Presenter: Maurice Bisheff

This forum will explore richer, more expansive possibilities for citizen self-governance beyond experiments in representative, propertied democracies. Drawing upon Mahatma Gandhi and others, the forum will focus on discussing: What is meant by self-governance on behalf of individuals and groups? And, what conditions can be created to instantiate a more self-governing society for today and for the emerging civilization of the future?

The event will be in person and live webcast: https://www.youtube.com/user/IWCinSantaBarbara
On the IWC Channel Homepage, you may select "Videos" to find Zoom presentations, and "Live" to find live-streamed (webcast) events.

Image credit: PantheraLeo1359531, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

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FILM
KASTURBA GANDHI: Accidental Activist

Saturday, October 7, 2023
7:00 – 9:00 pm (PDT)
Unity Church, 227 E. Arrellaga Street, Santa Barbara, CA
In Person event only
Special Guest: Cynthia Lukas, Director & Producer of the Film

Saturday, October 7, 2023
7:00 – 9:00 pm (PDT)
Unity Church, 227 E. Arrellaga Street, Santa Barbara, CA
In Person event only
Special Guest: Cynthia Lukas, Director & Producer of the Film

KASTURBA GANDHI was the wife to an icon of the 20th century. But Mahatma Gandhi credited her with teaching him about nonviolence. Who was she? How did she “accidentally” become one of the first women activists in modern history? What is her connection to women activists today? History missed this Story. In this film, several insightful interviews and remarkable photos bring alive the life and activism of Kasturba Gandhi.

The creator and producer of this award-winning film, Cynthia Lukas, will be present at this showing to answer questions about lessons of Ms. Gandhi’s life, as well as the challenges of making a film during the Covid pandemic. Awards to date include: “Best Historical Subject” at the Global Nonviolent Film Festival, ”Best Biographical Film” at the Toronto International Women Film Festival, “Best Story” at the prestigious Santa Fe Film Festival and several awards from the Tagore International Film Festival in India. American Public Television is distributing it for broadcast on PBS.

Admission to the film is free, but donations to support the costs of producing this film and the Part 2 sequel, now in production, are gratefully appreciated. Contact Cynthia Lukas at: gandhisgift@gmail.com or 505-501-2600. See the website, www.kasturbagandhi.org, further information or to purchase a DVD.

The creator and producer of this award-winning film, Cynthia Lukas, will be present at this showing to answer questions about lessons of Ms. Gandhi’s life, as well as the challenges of making a film during the Covid pandemic. Awards to date include: “Best Historical Subject” at the Global Nonviolent Film Festival, ”Best Biographical Film” at the Toronto International Women Film Festival, “Best Story” at the prestigious Santa Fe Film Festival and several awards from the Tagore International Film Festival in India. American Public Television is distributing it for broadcast on PBS.

Click here for printer-friently PRESS RELEASE
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FORUM
Mysticism, Imagination and Social Responsibility:
The Life and Writings of George William Russell

Saturday, October 21, 2023
2:00 – 4:00 pm (PDT)
Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, CA
In person and live webcast
Presenter: Kirk Gradin

"I regained memory of the greatest of all wonders in my boyhood, when I lay on the hill of Kilmasheogue and Earth revealed itself to me as a living being, and rock and clay were made transparent so that I saw lovelier and lordlier beings than I had known before, and was made partner in memory of mighty things, happenings in ages long sunken behind time. Though the walls about the psyche have thickened with age and there are many heavinesses piled about it, I still know that the golden age is all about us and that we can, if we will, dispel that opacity and have vision once more of the ancient Beauty.
– From “The Golden Age”, a magical essay by George William Russell (see link to essay below)

George William Russell (10 April 1867 – 17 July 1935) was a mystic, poet and artist, occasional literary critic and magazine editor. He was also in the Irish Agricultural Organizational Society (IAOS), and served as Assistant Secretary and in-house editor of this nearly 20 years. The IAOS was an agricultural society established to promote and support the application of cooperative farming principles and practices as offering a solution to social, political, and economic problems prevalent in rural Ireland. This forum will provide an overview of his life and writings.

Click here for a printer-friendly essay by George William Russell, "The Golden Age"
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FORUM
The Ancient Maya and their Forest: A Co-Creative Landscape

Saturday, November 4, 2023
2:00 – 4:00 pm (PDT)
Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, CA
Presenter: Anabel Ford, Department of Anthropology, UC Santa Barbara

Popular views of the Classic Maya present a tableau of an environment destroyed for the avarice of the culture itself. Too many demands on the populace, unchecked population growth, and overuse of the landscape. This is a convenient view; it reflects our own disastrous relationship with our environment in general and our treatment of the tropics in specific. Our Western view of the tropics as challenging and difficult, even inclement, colors our interpretations. How could the Maya civilization arise in this setting? The collapse seems inevitable.

We know that the agrarian Maya emerged in the southern Maya lowlands and thrived as a growing civilization for millennia. By the Classic Period (AD 250-900), they were recording important events in carved stone, on decorated pottery vessels, and inside bark books. The Maya documented regal facets of life, -- challenges to power, state alliances and visits, as well as celebratory proceedings -- recorded from the earliest times through the Spanish conquest.

Recent research in the Maya forest of El Pilar provides new insight into the development of the Maya and how they lived within their forest. Surveys of the landscape, working with the traditional farmers, and collaborating with governments to conserve the culture and nature of El Pilar reveal a new integrative approach to the understanding of the sustainability of the Maya.

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FORUM
Drew Tretick: A Classical Musician's Odyssey

Saturday, November 18, 2023
2:00 – 4:00 pm (PST)
Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, CA
In-person event. Online option to be determined
Presenter: Drew Tretick

More information to follow. Please check back soon.