Dialogue Series Fall 24
The Department of Philosophy is pleased to announce the schedule for the Fall 2024 Dialogue Series
Unless otherwise indicated, all events will take place in Comal 116.
A full copy of this semester's Dialogue Series calendar can be viewed here.
Week I
Reckoning with Our History
| Monday, Sept. 23 | 4:00 p.m. | American Exceptionalism: A Clash of Principles and Practices? | ΦΣΤ Tau Talks Open discussion |
| Tuesday, Sept. 24 | 12:30 p.m. | Cultivating a Culture of Peace: A Roundtable Discussion Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the U.N. International Peace Day | Moderator, Greg Moses (Philosophy) Elizabeth Bishop (Historian, North African/Modern Arab Studies), Dwonna Goldstone (History & African American Studies), Rick Morley (Social Work), Dialogicians & the Honors Nonviolence Class |
| Wednesday, Sept. 25 San Marcos Public Library 625 East Hopkins St. | 3:30 p.m. | Seeing Asian American History as American History | Alice J. Lee (Communication Design) |
| Thursday, Sept. 26 | 12:30 p.m. | Cultivating Peace and History: Why Telling the Whole Story is Important | Dialogicians and the Honors Nonviolence Class with Guest Interlocutor Benjamin Ochoa Gonzales (International Studies Graduate Student) |
| Friday, Sept. 27 | 2:00 p.m. | Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of the National Parks | Engaged Ecology Spotlight Jeff Gessas (Philosophy) |
| Friday, Sept. 27 | 11:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m. Zoom event--register here. | Are We There Yet? Effects of Long-term Spaceflight | 9th Annual Space Settlement Symposium Moderator: Chris Elley. Presenters: Francesco Pagnini (University of Cattalica del Sacro Cuore); Rihana Bokhari (Baylor College of Medicine); Frank White (Author of The Overview Effect) |
Week II
Criminal Justice
| Monday, Sept. 30 | 4:00 p.m. | Causing a Scene with the Obscene | ΦΣΤ Tau Talks Christopher Hall (Texas State Philosophy Alumnus) |
| Tuesday, Oct. 1 | 12:30 p.m. | Incarceration and the Color of Justice | Dialogicians |
| Wednesday, Oct. 2 San Marcos Public Library 625 East Hopkins St. | 3:30 p.m. | Roundtable Discussion: Looking at Criminal Justice in Hays County and Beyond | Moderators: Scott Bowman (Criminal Justice) and Dwonna Goldstone (History & African American Studies), Sam Benavides (Communications Director, Mano Amiga San Marcos), Paul Buntyn (Pastor Emeritus, Abundant Life Christian Church) |
| Thursday, Oct. 3 | 12:30 p.m. | Reducing Violence in Our Communities through Restorative Justice | Dialogicians |
| Friday, Oct. 4 | 12:30 p.m. | Ecological Justice | Engaged Ecology Spotlight Justin Williams (Philosophy) |
Week III
Political Decision-Making
| Monday, Oct. 7 | 4:00 p.m. | Are There Any Purely Political Obligations? | ΦΣΤ Tau Talks Kayden Miller (Philosophy Major) |
| Tuesday, Oct. 8 | 12:30 p.m. | Virtue Ethics and Political Decision-Making: Lessons from Aristotle on Decoding Systematically Distorted Communication | Dialogicians with Guest Interlocutor Enrique Castillo (Philosophy & Texas State Philosophy Alumnus) |
| Wednesday, Oct. 9 San Marcos Public Library 625 East Hopkins St. | 3:30 p.m. | Social Dominance Theory and Political Decision-Making | Evan Schmiedehaus (Philosophy) |
| Thursday, Oct. 10 | 12:30 p.m. | What Should We Do about Gun Violence? | Dialogicians (Spencer Kavanaugh & Ryan Kirksey) |
| Friday, Oct. 11 | 12:30 p.m. | Connected Conservation | Engaged Ecology Spotlight: David Baker (Executive Director, The Watershed Association) |
Week IV
Religion
| Monday, Oct. 14 Comal 102C Zoom option | 2:00 p.m. | Religion, Gender, and Reproductive Ethics | Sarah Frances Summers (PhD Candidate, Religious Studies, University of Texas at Austin) |
| Monday, Oct. 14 | 4:00 p.m. | What is Christian Nationalism? | ΦΣΤ Tau Talks Rebecca Raphael (Philosophy & Religious Studies) |
| Tuesday, Oct. 15 | 12:30 p.m. | True Believers, Politics, and Religion | Dialogicians with Guest Interlocutor Amelia Slover (Texas State Philosophy Alumna) |
| Wednesday, Oct. 16 San Marcos Public Library 625 East Hopkins St. | 3:30 p.m. | The Genealogy of Project 2025 | Rebecca Raphael (Philosophy & Religious Studies) |
| Thursday, Oct. 17 | 12:30 p.m. | Is the Golden Rule a Universal Moral Principle? | Dialogicians (Jordan DuBose & Danny Kamya) |
| Friday, Oct. 18 | 12:30 p.m. | Ecospirituality | Engaged Ecology Spotlight Vince Lopes (Professor Emeritus, Biology) |
Week V
Space and Place
| Monday, Oct. 21 | 11:00 a.m. 12:30 p.m. 5:00 p.m. | Thinking Globally, Acting Locally | Sarah Stanaland (Philosophy) Ethics and Society Class Teach-In |
| Monday, Oct. 21 | 4:00 p.m. | Moral Landscapes: How Space and Place Shape Collective Action | ΦΣΤ Tau Talks Sarah Stanaland (Philosophy) |
| Tuesday, Oct. 22 | 12:30 p.m. | Creating Capabilities and Mutual Aid: A Human Development Approach to Homelessness and Poverty | Dialogicians with Guest Interlocutor Ernesto Ramirez (Texas State Graduate Student) |
| Wednesday, Oct. 23 San Marcos Public Library 625 East Hopkins St. | 3:30 p.m. | Decolonizing the Environment | Jeff Gessas (Philosophy) |
| Thursday, Oct. 24- Sunday, October 27 | Details Forthcoming | Texas Master Naturalist Events | https://txmn.tamu.edu/2024-annual-meeting/ |
| Thursday, Oct. 24 | 12:30 p.m. | Literary Cartographies from the West to the East | Dialogicians with Guest Interlocutors Melody Li (University of Houston, Chinese Studies) & Robert Tally (Texas State, English) |
Week VI
Education
| Monday, Oct. 28 | 4:00 p.m. | Pedagogies of Transformation: German Idealism and Freire’s Critical Pedagogy | ΦΣΤ Tau Talks Dylan Dunn (Philosophy Graduate Student) |
| Tuesday, Oct. 29 | 9:30 a.m. | Education and AI: A Defense of Socratic Pedagogy | Matthew Squires (Philosophy Graduate Student) |
| Tuesday, Oct. 29 | 12:30 p.m. | Defending Public Education | Dialogicians |
| Wednesday, Oct. 30 San Marcos Public Library 625 East Hopkins St. | 3:30 p.m. | Roundtable Discussion: Why Public Education is Necessary for Democracy | Educational Leaders, Parents, Teachers, and Students |
| Thursday, Oct. 31 | 9:30 a.m. | Little Shoppe of Educational Horrors | Jo Ann Carson (Philosophy) and Philosophy of Education Class |
| Thursday, Oct. 31 | 12:30 p.m. | Academic Freedom Panel: Campus Speech | Moderator, Lucas Rusnak (Mathematics, Chair of Texas State Academic Freedom Committee), Elizabeth Bishop (Historian, AAUP Member-at-Large), Dwonna Goldstone (History & African American Studies, Nathan Pino (Sociology), Paul Villagran (Journalism & Mass Communication) |
| Friday, Nov. 1 | 12:30 p.m. | Roundtable Discussion: Protecting Our Planetary Home: Where Do We Go from Here? | Engaged Ecology Spotlight |
Week VII
Love and Friendship
| Monday, Nov. 4 Comal 102 Zoom option | 2:00 p.m. | Other Selves: Aristotle on Friendship | Ellen Stansell (Philosophy) and Philosophy of Sex and Love Class |
| Monday, Nov. 4 | 4:00 p.m. | bell hooks’ vision of love | ΦΣΤ Tau Talks (Rebekah Ross, Philosophy) |
| Tuesday, Nov. 5 | 12:30 p.m. | Surviving Election Anxiety | Todd Salmi (Pastor, United Campus Ministry) |
| Wednesday, Nov. 6 San Marcos Public Library 625 East Hopkins St. | 3:30 p.m. | What Autistic People Can Teach Us about Love | Ellen Stansell (Philosophy) |
| Thursday, Nov. 7 | 12:30 p.m. | Ghandi, Love, and Satyagraha | Dialogicians (Mason Strohmeyer & Benjamin Orrell) |
| Friday, Nov. 8 | 12:30 p.m. | Animal Pragmatism and Horizons of Meaning | Engaged Ecology Spotlight Ron Stockdreher (Philosophy) |
Week VIII
Stoicism
| Monday, Nov. 11 | 4:00 p.m. | Stoicism for the Rest of Us: How to Practice Applied Stoicism | ΦΣΤ Tau Talks Elektra Jordan (Philosophy Graduate Student) |
| Tuesday, Nov. 12 | 12:30 p.m. | Philosophy on the Frontlines | Aidan Ross (Texas State Philosophy Alumnus: Beyond Frontiers Foundation, Frontline Operations Commander, Ukraine) |
| Wednesday, Nov. 13 San Marcos Public Library 625 East Hopkins St. | 3:30 p.m. | Epicureans, Stoics, and Skeptics on Happiness | Jo Ann Carson (Philosophy) & Elektra Jordan (Philosophy Graduate Student) |
| Thursday, Nov. 14 | 12:30 p.m. | Stoicism: Objections and Replies | Dialogicians |
| Friday, Nov. 15 | 12:30 p.m. | What Does “Living in Harmony with Nature” Mean? | Engaged Ecology Spotlight |
Talk of the Times and Tau Talks are open forums on current events and philosophical issues led by members of Phi Sigma Tau, the philosophy honor society
The Acorn Symposium Dialogues are co-sponsored by the Department of Philosophy, the Philosophy Dialogue Series, and The Acorn: Philosophical Studies in Pacifism and Nonviolence.
The Philosophy Dialogue Series Program Endowment supports the Philosophy Dialogue Series and its outreach activities at the San Marcos Public Library.
Co-sponsors of the Philosophy Dialogue Series are the American Democracy Project, College of Liberal Arts, Common Experience, Gina Weatherhead Dialogue Fund, Alliance, Step Up For State, Sustainability Studies, The Alkek Library, Humanities Texas, National Endowment for the Humanities, ΦΣΤ (Phi Sigma Tau, the philosophy honor society), University Seminar, The New York Times, Honors College, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Vice President for Student Affairs.
If you require accommodations due to a disability in order to participate, please contact 512.245.2285 at least 72 hours in advance of the event.
Texas State University is a tobacco free campus.
