institute of world cultures programs


Webcas	Institute of World Culture Program for 2024 Theme for the Year: CREATING A CULTURE OF CONSCIENCE Forum Creating a Culture of Conscience: Directives on Global Ethics A Forum in Three Parts on three different Saturdays; JANUARY 13th, JANUARY 27th AND MARCH 23rd, 2024 Presenters: Carolyn Dorrance, Maurice Bisheff, Allan Cooley, Danson Kiplagat, Marcia Warrecker, James Tepfer, Nancy Martin, and Hugh Kelly In-person at Concord Hall, Institute of World Culture, 1407 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, CA Live Webcast begins at 2:00 pm, https://www.youtube.com/user/iwcinsantabarbara/live Forum, Part 1: Solidarity and a Just Economic Order Saturday, January 13, 2024 Introduction to the Aims and Value of Global Ethics – Carolyn Dorrance Directive 2: Commitment to a Culture of Solidarity and a Just Economic Order – Maurice Bisheff and Allan Cooley The Institute of World Culture is renewing its commitment to promoting the welfare of humanity and of all that lives while preserving the rich but depleted resources in Nature. Throughout the world, mankind and all life forms are suffering from horrific events, natural and man-made. Thoughtful, transformative and ethical responses are necessary. The aims given in the IWCDeclaration of Interdependence will guide our search for alternatives to global turmoil. In its Forums and Study Circles, fearless inquiry and constructive dialogue will seek to awaken conscience in the investigation of the imaginative use of the spiritual, mental and material resources of the globe. Thereby, men and women of universal culture become capable of continuous growth in nonviolence of mind, generosity of heart and harmony of soul. The therapeutics of self-transformation in a culture of conscience can reveal the conditions, prospects and possibilities of the world civilization of the future and foster human fellowship among all races, nations and cultures. To provide an ethical and practical foundation for creating a Culture of Conscience, the study of a document, called "Towards a Global Ethic," may be helpful. This document was first presented at first Parliament of World's Religions in 1893. It was updated in 2015 and approved at the 2020 Conference of the Parliament. In it there is a remarkable, insightful analysis of our contemporary social circumstances and plans for active improvement of human interactions and living conditions. A fundamental demand that every human being must be treated humanely is made. Moral principles of a Global Ethics are discussed. After the analysis, there are five Directives chosen by Parliament leaders to be the focus for study this year. Today we will focus on introducing the topic and on the second Directive. We will take up the remaining four Directives in the two additional forums listed below. The core ideas in each of the rest of the Directives will be presented by volunteers, followed by discussion. In this way, we will be joining a global conversation that includes our comments on how a Culture of Consciences might be created. To provide an ethical and practical foundation for creating a Culture of Conscience, the study of the document, called "Towards a Global Ethic," may be helpful: https://parliamentofreligions.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Global-Ethic-PDF-2020-Update.pdf This document was first presented at the initial Parliament of World's Religions in 1893. It was updated in 2015 and approved at the 2020 Conference of the Parliament. In it there is a remarkable, insightful analysis of our contemporary social circumstances and plans for active improvement of human interactions and living conditions. A fundamental demand that every human being must be treated humanely is made. Moral principles of a Global Ethics are discussed. Forum, Part 2: Non-Violence, Tolerance and Respect for Life Saturday, January 27, 2024 Directive 1: Commitment to a Culture of Non-Violence and Respect for Life – Marcia Warrecker, Danson Kiplagat Directive 3: Commitment to a Culture of Tolerance and a Life of Truthfulness – James Tepfer Commitment to a Culture of Non Violence and Respect for Life has to do with the need to treat fellow beings with respect and dignity. This means working to solve conflicts with nonviolent methods and solutions. We need to create a culture of non-violence and live in harmony with other humans and nature. "Commitment to a Culture of Tolernce and a Life of Truthfulness" involves the obligation to be ethical and truthful in our duties, whether it be as a journalist, a researcher, a religious participant or other role. We must learn to discern the difference between opinion and truth, and be sincere in our interactions with others. We need to be tolerant of differences rather than perpetuate partialities that become distorted. Forum, Part 3: Care for the Earth and Equal Rights Saturday, March 23, 2024 Directive 4: Commitment to a Culture of Equal Rights and Partnership between Men and Women – Nancy Martin Directive 5: Commitment to a Culture of Sustainability and Care for the Earth – Hugh Kelly For women to have equal rights with men, Nancy Martin suggests that we need to make the Commitment from the Parliament of the World's Religions come true. It states that we commit ourselves to a culture of non-violence, respect, justice, and peace. This means that women need to be safe in their homes, work, and out in the community. If women are safe in the world, chances are that men will be safe, too. Men need to have the same amount of respect for women as they do for other men. Justice needs to be accessible to all people regardless of standing, religion, race, ethnicity, or class in the community. We need a culture of peace, with a Department of Peace instead of a Department of Defense. If we want women to have equality with men, we need to see women with power in their home, that state, the country, and the governments of the world. We need to learn to trust women and respect for their decisions. When we talk about sustainability, we're essentially talking abou the future of life on Earth. We're talking about healthy ecosystems. Now that humanity has made the whole planet its ecosystem, we need to develop conscious awareness that when we act, we are inevitably interacting with the complex systems of which we are an integral part, and on which we are totally dependent. Hugh Kelly will will focus on the ecosystem impacts of our food systems, on how the choice between destructive agriculture and regenerative agriculture impacts those ecosystems, and in turn, how the sustainability of all life is impacted by these choices. For a more detailed explanation of these two aims: https://parliamentofreligions.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Global-Ethic-PDF-2020-Update.pdf Webcast Link:https://www.youtube.com/user/iwcinsantabarbara/live Image: Wikipedia, Public Domain Click here for a printer-friendly flyer Forum Castles in the Sand: The Common Sense of Constructive Change Saturday, February 10, 2024 2:00 – 4:00 pm (PT) In-person in Concord Hall, Institute of World Culture, 1407 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, CA Live Webcast begins at 2:00 pm, https://www.youtube.com/user/iwcinsantabarbara/live Presenter: David Boals Trust is one of the most basic of human emotions and is fundamental to cooperating with others to achieve common goals. The prospect of change for any kind of group often causespeople to feel uncertain, fearful, and distrusting in anticipating possible outcomes, particularly if the outcomes seem to be out of their control. The purpose of this session is to provide some basic information and promote discussion about the basic principles for changing groups that are organized to work for a common purpose. In line with the IWC’s mission, we can move to having a productive discussion about how to employ similar principles for undertaking change in any social system, and at any scale. Webcast Link:https://www.youtube.com/user/iwcinsantabarbara/live Image: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0, Fcuk1203; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en Click here for a printer-friendly flyer Forum A.I. – Daedalus and Icarus Saturday, February 24, 2024 2:00 – 4:00 pm (PT) In-person in Concord Hall, Institute of World Culture, 1407 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, CA Live Webcast begins at 2:00 pm at: https://www.youtube.com/user/iwcinsantabarbara/live Presenters: Russ Lewin and Aidan Colbert The powerful potentials of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) might be compared to the ancient Greek myth of Daedalus and Icarus. In order to escape the labyrinth of Crete, Daedalus constructed wings made of threads and feathers molded into beeswax. Daedalus warns Icarus of the dangers of flying too low, or too high, and risking the wings being clogged by the sea’s dampness, or the sun’s heat melting the wax. We need to gain a deeper understanding of these new technological ‘wings’ that have the potential to lift humanity to new heights if used wisely. We will discuss how A.I. works. This will include the possible benefits and dangers. There will also be a live demonstration of how individuals can use this powerful tool today. Discussion will follow the presentations. Webcast: * You may attend this event in-person, or watch a simultaneous webcast by logging on to the Institute’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/iwcinsantabarbara/live Image: Wikipedia, Public domain Click here for a printer-friendly flyer Forum King Lear and the Heart of Politics Saturday, March 9, 2024 2:00 – 4:30 pm (PT) In-person only Concord House Seminar Room, Institute of World Culture, 1407 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, CA Presenter: Marlin Roehl Often one reads that Shakespeare did more than write for his time; rather, he sowed seeds germane to socio-political and individual visions, values, and characteristics of our time. We cannot overlook that a study of Shakespeare’s plays reveals that he was a student of the historical Axial Age; the name given by Karl Jaspers to the pivotal period of 900 to 200 BCE. Consequently, Shakespeare serves as pillar to an arch bridging ancient to modern times. Karen Armstrong tells us in her book, The Great Transformation: The Beginning of our Religious Traditions, that the Axial Age, “was a time when Confucianism and Daoism in China; Hinduism and Buddhism in India; monotheism in Israel; and philosophical rationalism in Greece came into being. During this intense period of creativity [which Armstrong extends to include the later inception of Christianity and Islam], spiritual and philosophical geniuses pioneered an entirely new kind of human experience.” Regarding dramatic arts, Armstrong notes that the once-private Dionysian rites were, in the Axial Age, performed en mesoi, in public. [Dramatic arts] “displayed the new self-consciousness of the Axial Age as the audience watched the mind of the protagonist turning in upon itself, meditating upon alternatives, and coming, tortuously, to a conclusion. And like philosophers, the tragedians questioned everything: the nature of the gods, the value of Greek civilization, and the meaning of life.” In the same spirit, Shakespeare boldly presented his poignant plays to Royalty, to nobles, and to commoners—all within a shared globe of time, place, and experience. His attention to parapolitical moral and ethical causality called for heroic truthfulness, pathos, and at times heart-rending, at other times humorous compassion. His artistic techniques and astute insight into character evoke individual and societal transformation by means of self-conscious exploration, philosophical dialectic, and empathy. Our January keynote speakers set the tone for this year’s IWC studies by referencing the “Initial Declaration of the Parliament of the World’s Religions” which states, “By a global ethic we do not mean a global ideology or a single unified religion beyond all existing religions, and certainly not the domination of one religion over all others. By a global ethic we mean a fundamental consensus on binding values, irrevocable standards, and personal attitudes.” Shakespeare’s King Lear is such a study. The Parliament warned: “Without such a fundamental consensus on an ethic, sooner or later every community will be threatened by chaos or dictatorship, and individuals will despair”—it seems such are our times. Our exploration of Shakespeare’s King Lear is intended to be a study of humanist, parapolitical reality with an effort to form a more perfect global union. As the World Religions Parliament suggests — “We consider humankind our family. We must strive to be kind and generous. We must not live for ourselves alone, but should also serve others, never forgetting the children, the aged, the poor, the suffering, the disabled, the refugees, and the lonely.” Discussion and light refreshments will follow the talk. Image: Wikipedia, Public domain Click here for a printer-friendly flyer Forum Care for the Earth and Equal Rights Forum, Part 3: Care for the Earth and Equal Rights Saturday, March 23, 2024 Directive 4: Commitment to a Culture of Equal Rights and Partnership between Men and Women – Nancy Martin Directive 5: Commitment to a Culture of Sustainability and Care for the Earth – Hugh Kelly To provide an ethical and practical foundation for creating a ‘Culture of Conscience’, the study of a document, called Towards a Global Ethic, may be helpful. This document was first presented at the initial Parliament of World's Religions in 1893. In it there is a remarkable, insightful analysis of our contemporary social circumstances and plans for active improvement of human interactions and living conditions. Moral principles of a Global Ethic are discussed. The document contains five Directives, three of which are the focus of two previous Forums at the Institute, both in January 2024. These two are available for viewing on the IWC YouTube Channel (see link below). The last two Directives will be the focus of today’s forum. For women to have equal rights with men, Nancy Martin suggests that we need to make the Commitment from The Parliment of the World's Religions come true. It states that we commit ourselves to a culture of non-violence, respect, justice and peace. This means that women need to be safe in their homes, work and out in the community. If women are safe in the world, chances are that men will also be safe. Men need to have the same amount of respect for women as they do for other men. Justice needs to be accessible to all people regardless of standing, religion, race, ethnicity or class in the community and the governments of the world. We need to learn to trust women and respect their decisions. When we talk about sustainability, we're essentially talking abou the future of life on Earth. We're talking about healthy ecosystems. Now that humanity has made the whole planet its ecosystem, we need to develop conscious awareness that when we act, we are inevitably interacting with the complex systems of which we are an integral part, and on which we are totally dependent. Hugh Kelly will will focus on the ecosystem impacts of our food systems, on how the choice between destructive agriculture and regenerative agriculture impacts those ecosystems, and in turn, how the sustainability of all life is impacted by these choices. For a more detailed explanation of these two aims: https://parliamentofreligions.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Global-Ethic-PDF-2020-Update.pdf Webcast Link: https://www.youtube.com/user/iwcinsantabarbara/live Image: Wikipedia, Public Domain Printer-friendly flyer Forum Ireland: Where Stones Speak Saturday, April 13, 2024 2:00 – 5:00 pm (PT) In-person only at Concord Hall, Institute of World Culture, 1407 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, CA Presenter: Colette Kavanagh, Ph.D. The Burren, in the west of Ireland, is a landscape like no other and is one of the most bio-diverse ecosystems on the planet. At first glance, these 140 square miles of flat limestone look barren and unforgiving; however, this stone is a mass grave of billions of ancient sea creatures that are more than 360 million years old. Between the cracks plants grow that survived the ice age, and beneath the surface are vast, unexplored caves. It also has the greatest concentration of megalithic tombs in Europe. NEW EVIDENCE: Ireland's Burren is changing the ecological, archeological and genetic history of northern Europe, and evidence now shows, among other things, that there was human habitation in Ireland and in The Burren some 30,000 years ago. Collete, a former documentary maker with RTE (Irish television) will show a beautifully photographed video which reveals the ecological, archeological and genetic discoveries being made in this vast landscape, and highlights its remarkable capacity for adaptation in nature and its enduring human spirit. Image: Poulnabrone Dolmen, K. Mitch Hodge, from Upsplash Click here for a printer-friendly flyer Forum From Fear Into Love: A Young Man's Odyssey Saturday, April 27, 2024 2:00 – 4:00 pm (PDT) Webcast and in-person only at Concord Hall, Institute of World Culture, 1407 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, CA Presenter: Ryan Quirk A wise man once said, “the quality of your questions determines the quality of your life.” We are entering a time in human history in which the big questions are the ones we need to be asking. It is no secret that we live in a problem focused society – a society where playing the blame game, and self-victimization have become the norm, where every time we turn on the news we see fear, and violence displayed. We live in a society where it is normal to be unhealthy, unhappy, and in a state of distress. Young people are feeling ever-more lost. We are in need of answers, and in order to find those answers, we need to ask better questions. In this talk we will be diving into those questions together in an attempt to shift our focus, to try and discover what real change in a positive direction really looks like. Questions such as: What is it that we really seek as human beings? What is the nature of fear and how do we overcome it? What is the nature of love and how do we embrace it? How do we create a better world, and what does a better world look like? And finally, what are the steps we can take to get there together? Ryan Quirk, a 19 year-old author and student will share his inner journey and invite us to undertake our own. You may attend this event in-person, or watch a simultaneous webcast. To view the Webcast, which starts at 2:00 pm, log on to the Institute of World Culture YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/iwcinsantabarbara/live Image: Robert Bernstein, with permission Click here for a printer-friendly flyer Forum The Scientific Foundations of Creative Musical Expression Saturday, May 4, 2024 2:00 – 4:00 pm (PDT) In-Person and Webcast (see below for YouTube Link) Concord Hall, Institute of World Culture, 1407 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, CA Presenter: Barry Bittman M.D. In ancient times, the physician and the musician were one and the same. Music as a healing elixir transcended science and art and extended into the ethereal realm. It also survived the test of time as society evolved around campfires where creative musical expression served as the catalyst for cultural advancement. From rudimentary percussion to dance and song, the opportunity to create music collectively clearly influenced the evolution of civilizations. Join neurologist Barry Bittman, MD for a dynamic, fast-paced presentation that explores the scientific bio-psycho-social foundations of creative musical expression based on his several peer-reviewed scientific studies published over the last three decades. During this fascinating presentation, Bittman provides five remarkable evidence-based pillars based on a compelling sequence of scientific findings and practical insights garnered from a unique series of psychosocial, biological and genomic research studies. Dr. Bittman is a neurologist, researcher, international speaker and author who serves as the Chief Population Health Officer for the Inland Empire Foundation for Medical Care. He is also the CEO of the Yamaha Music & Wellness Institute, a non-profit organization that is actively engaged in education and research. Webcast begins at 2 PM. Click the following link to view the program (a recording will also be available at this link for future viewing): https://www.youtube.com/c/IWCinSantaBarbara/live Image: Stockcake, in the Public Domain Click here for a printer-friendly flyer* Forum Transformative Education: The Art of Living and Learning Tuesday, May 14, 2024 (note the unusal day and time) 7:30 – 9:30 pm (PDT) Zoom Event Only* Presenter: Sonal Murali, Ph.D. What are the significant elements of children's transformative education? Children have their active subconscious mind, which, like a tree, has the power to gather its food from the surrounding atmosphere. Every day the child is searching to understand something, to grasp a piece of life. An educator's role is an interface for the child to explore the inner and the outer spaces and to see that the uniqueness of each child is celebrated, drawn out, and given wings to express freely in many ways. Dr. Sonal Murali will discuss how their Academy in India reflects the philosophy that "school is not a preparation for life. School is life itself." She and her staff will join us live via Zoom from India, focusing on how an educator can facilitate awakening "the spark within." ZOOM EVENT: Non-members of the Institute may request a Zoom link by emailing: donna@worldculture.org. Members will receive a link automatically. Image: Stockcake, in the Public Domain Click here for a printer-friendly flyer*