Archive for the ‘Announcements’ Category
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
Giles Wayland-Smith on “Liberation Theology: The Oneida Community’s Perfectionist Vision in Practice”
March 17, 2010, 7:00 pm
Betts Branch Library
Giles Wayland-Smith will outline the religious beliefs that provided the foundation of the Oneida Community, one of the 19th century’s most radical and successful communal experiments. The twin tenets of Perfectionism and Bible Communism argued that it was possible to do away with selfishness, the cardinal human sin, and build a perfect society in the here and now. It ultimately failed to do that. However, during its thirty-three year existence (from 1848 to 1881) it was an exceptionally successful business venture and many of its practices (in areas as varied as work and education, child-rearing and women’s rights, governance and relationship to nature) were unusually advanced for the times. Indeed, many of its practices can provide useful lessons for society today.
Giles Wayland-Smith graduated Cum Laude from Amherst College in 1957 and received his PhD in Political Science from the Maxwell School, Syracuse University in 1968. He is professor emeritus of Political Science, Allegheny College, with a specialty in comparative politics. While his major focus was on Latin America, his broader interest was the process of social change and the roles that ideology and specific political movements (such as Marxism and Christian Democracy) have played in that process. Since retiring after thirty-two years in 1999, he taught for six years as an adjunct faculty member at Hamilton College. Dr. Wayland-Smith is also a direct descendant of the Oneida Community. He has served on the Board of Trustees of the Oneida Community Mansion House museum since 1992, and various other positions there. He is the author of conference papers, lectures, and articles on the Oneida Community, upstate New York history, and the presentation of historical narratives at museums and historic sites. He lives with his wife, Kate, in the Mansion House in Oneida, New York.
Betts Branch Library
Meeting Room
4862 S. Salina St.
Syracuse, NY 13205
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Thursday, February 4th, 2010
The Darwin Finches: Mystery Creationism Theater, or Skepticism and Free-thought in the Age of YouTube
February 17, 2010, 7:00 pm
Betts Branch Library
The Darwin Finches is a YouTube-based animation project aimed at skewering creationism and similar anti-science claims made on the Internet. Syracuse artist Ethan Kocak started the project, and Jon Ryan and Pat Buecheler voice the Finches. Under the handles Wallace, Lyell and Huxley, they take creationist screeds off of YouTube and re-upload them with humorous commentary. They are a part of a larger emerging culture of rationalist humor on the Internet.
Ethan Kocak is a Syracuse area artist, animator and illustrator. He graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Media Arts and Animation. He has done storyboarding for film, a children’s book, a seemingly endless string of freelance projects and started sketching ideas for a Youtube project in late 2007 that would eventually become “The Darwin Finches.” He currently voices Wallace the Finch, writes some of the dialogue and animates each episode by hand on a Mac.
Pat Buecheler (the blond guy) plays Huxley the Finch. He writes many of the jokes, does most of the voice acting and often edits audio and video for each episode. He has a degree in Television and Video Production from SUNY Fredonia.
Jon Ryan (the tall guy) writes the bulk of many episodes, runs the Darwin Finches’ blog, maintains its social networking sites, and voices Lyell the Finch. He is a long time skeptic and lover of astronomy.
Betts Branch Library
Meeting Room
4862 S. Salina St.
Syracuse, NY 13205
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Sunday, January 17th, 2010
Teaching Biology
January 20, 2010, 7:00 pm
Betts Branch Library
Marvin Druger, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Syracuse University, will talk about his experiences teaching freshman biology.
Dr. Druger is a Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence. He has taught introduction to Biology for more than 50 years. He served as president of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE), and twice president of the Society for College Science Teachers (SCST). He is the recipient of the Robert Carleton Award from NSTA and the Honorary Emeritus Member Award from ASTE – the highest awards bestowed by these international science education organizations. Currently, Dr. Druger is secretary of the Education Section (Q) of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) – the largest multidisciplinary science organization in the world. He also published a book of poems for children of all ages (i.e., Strange Creatures and Other Poems).
Betts Branch Library
Meeting Room
4862 S. Salina St.
Syracuse, NY 13205
Image by Vince42 on flickr.
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Thursday, November 26th, 2009
Annual Solstice Party
December 19, 2009, 6:00 pm
The home of Bryce and Judy Hand
Our annual Solstice Party (is this our eighth?!!!) will be held at the home of Bryce and Judy Hand, conveniently located in The
Valley, not far from Betts Branch Library.
The Hands will provide turkey and stuffing, a vegetarian dish, and hot spiced cider. The rest is up to you. Email the Hands with your dinner contribution. They will post the menu on the listserve as it develops. If it’s not convenient to bring something, just bring yourself – there’s always plenty of food!
- Bryce and Judy Hand
- 132 Lynn Circle
- Syracuse, NY 13205
Photo of frozen berries by kuddlyteddybear2004 on flickr.
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Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
The “Heretic” Lucretia Mott
November 18, 2009, 7:00 pm
Dewitt Library at Shoppingtown Mall
Free Pizza! RSVP to reserve your slices!
Professor Carol Faulkner will talk about Quaker minister, abolitionist, and feminist Lucretia Mott, well-known in the nineteenth century for her “heretical views.”
Carol Faulkner received her Ph.D. from Binhamton University in 1998. She is associate professor and chair of the history department at Syracuse University. Professor Faulkner’s specialties are 19th century American history and slavery.
Dewitt Library
Shoppingtown Mall
Dewitt, NY 13214
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Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
Professor James Watts, Syracuse University, “Polemics about Scriptures in Western Culture”
October 21, 2009, 7:00 pm
Betts Branch Library
Meeting Room
4862 S. Salina St.
Syracuse, NY 13205
Criticisms of Western scriptures as being inaccurate and lacking historical basis are not unique to modern times. They have been a regular feature of inter-religious polemic since antiquity. What is unusual about the last two centuries is that believing scholars have engaged constructively with such criticisms. This talk will trace the history of controversies over scriptures in order to ask what made such constructive engagement possible in the 19th and 20th centuries and whether the changing world political situation will continue to be hospitable to it in the 21st century.
James W. Watts is Professor of Religion and Chair of the Department of Religion at Syracuse University, where he has taught since 1999. Jim is a biblical scholar whose research focuses on the interplay of ritual and rhetoric in the Torah and the rest of the Hebrew Bible. He also directs the Iconic Books Project, leading an interdisciplinary team of scholars in investigating the social functions of material texts. Jim teaches a large introductory survey course on the Bible, upper-division courses about religion in ancient Israel and the ancient Near East, and graduate seminars on scripture, ritual and rhetoric. He is the author of Ritual and Rhetoric in Leviticus: From Sacrifice to Scripture (2007) and Reading Law: The Rhetorical Shaping of the Pentateuch (1999).
Photo by jamelah on flickr.
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Sunday, August 16th, 2009
Jeff Wagg of the James Randi Educational Foundation on Skepticism and Conjuring
September 16, 2009, 7:00 pm
Betts Branch Library
Meeting Room
4862 S. Salina St.
Syracuse, NY 13205
Skepticism is the intersection of science and a peculiar brand of psychology known as ‘Conjuring.’ Only by understanding how we are fooled can we truly understand how to conduct experiments on individuals who claim to have supernatural powers. Learn how some simple tricks can fool the smartest people, how a a couple of teenagers fooled rooms full of scientists, and why smart people are the easiest to fool.
Jeff Wagg is a (mostly) life-long skeptic and currently serves as Communications and Outreach Manager of the James Randi Educational Foundation. With a broad experience in both science and the humanities, Jeff brings an unusual and refreshing perspective to the endeavors of skepticism, epistemology, and the human experience. He has studied conjuring with the likes of Jamy Ian Swiss and James Randi, and though he is not a magician himself, he sees the need for more magic in the world. Jeff currently resides in Richmond, VT, when he’s not on one of his frequent road trips.
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Friday, July 10th, 2009
We’ll See You In September!
Save the Date for Jeff Wagg of the James Randi Educational Foundation
September 16, 2009, 7:00 pm
Betts Branch Library
Meeting Room
4862 S. Salina St.
Syracuse, NY 13205
Have a great summer, and we’ll see you back at the Betts Branch in September. We’ll kick off our 8th year with a visit from Jeff Wagg, Communication and Outreach Manager, at the James Randi Education Foundation.
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Monday, June 1st, 2009
Freethinkers vs. The Skeptics!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009, 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Correction!
Rescheduled for Tuesday, June 23, 2009, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Fairmount Glen
210 Onondaga Rd.
Syracuse, NY 13219
$6 per person
Map
It’s the first (annual?) FUNY vs. CNY Skeptics mini-golf tournament. Step on up and show off your mini-golf stuff! Bring friends!
Organized by freethinking skeptic Brian Madigan. Photo by DeaPeaJay on flickr.
Tags: mini-golf
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