Program Description: The objective of this course is to study some of the ways in which the traditions of Hinduism have understood and responded to fundamental questions concerning the nature and meaning of existence. We will be exploring teachings about the basic human dilemma and the solutions offered. We will investigate the Hindu understanding of the divine and the divine relationship with human beings. We will learn about Hindu rituals and the worship traditions, and study selections from Hindu sacred texts including the Upanishads and the Bhagavadgita.

Program Speaker: Anantanand Rambachan is Professor Emeritus of Religion at Saint Olaf College, Minnesota, USA (1985-2021). He was also a Forum Humanum Visiting Professor at the Academy for the Study of World Religions at the University of Hamburg in Germany (2013-2017). His books include Accomplishing the Accomplished: The Vedas as a Source of Valid Knowledge in Ṡaṅkara; The Limits of Scripture: Vivekananda's Reinterpretation of the Authority of the Vedas, The Advaita Worldview: God, World and Humanity, A Hindu Theology of Liberation: Not-Two is Not-One; Essays in Hindu Theology and Pathways to Hindu-Christian Dialogue. In addition, Professor Rambachan has authored numerous book chapters and journal essays. His scholarly interests include the Advaita (Non-dual) Vedanta tradition, Hindu ethics, liberation theology, comparative theology, and interreligous dialogue. The British Broadcasting Corporation transmitted a series of 25 lectures on Hinduism by Prof. Rambachan around the world. Prof. Rambachan has been involved in interreligious relations and dialogue for over 40 years, as a Hindu contributor and analyst. He is a Co-President of Religions for Peace, the largest global interfaith network, and serves as President of the Board, Arigatou International NY, a global organization advocating for the rights of children and mobilizing the resources of religions to overcome violence against children. He also Chairs the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Multifaith Network. He is active in the dialogue programs of the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue at the Vatican, and currently participates in the Ethics in Action dialogues at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. In 2008, at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Professor Rambachan delivered the distinguished Lambeth Interfaith Lecture at the Lambeth Palace in London. Professor Rambachan led the first two White House Celebrations of the Hindu Festival of Diwali in 2003 and 2004.

Program Information: Tuesdays, beginning April 2, 2024, 10:00-11:45 a.m., O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium, University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus. If you are registering for the online live-simulcast via Zoom, you will be sent the join URL on March 29, 2024.

Fee for the series: $150.00 per person

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Detailed Syllabus:

• April 2: General features of Hinduism; Sacred texts and sources; organization; religion and culture; social structure.
• April 9: Hindu understandings of the nature of God and creation; the fundamental problem of ignorance (avidya) and its personal and social consequences.
• April 16: The Good Life in Hinduism; the four goals of virtue (dharma), wealth (artha), pleasure (kama) and liberation (moksha) and their interrelatedness.
• April 23: Hindu worship (puja) nature of the Hindu temple; the significance of icons and iconography; domestic worship; darshan (sacred seeing) and pilgrimage.
• April 30: Hinduism and religious diversity; Hindu interpretations of the meaning of religious diversity.
• May 7: Hinduism, Christ and Christianity; colonial encounters and Hindu responses; contemporary challenges.

Program Description: The rise of China has a profound impact on the political and economic landscape of the globe. What are the strengths and weaknesses of China's development model? How does China's domestic policy its relationship with the outside world? We will explore those topics through an in-depth discussion of such cases as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang, and their implications for China-U.S. relations

Program Speaker: Zhenqing Zhang came to the University of Minnesota for his Ph.D. in political science in 2001. After obtaining his Ph.D. and working as a post-doctoral fellow at Princeton University (2011-2012), he taught political science at Hamline University from 2012 to the present. He has conducted field research in nine Chinese provinces and interviewed over two hundred people at different walks of life. As the author of Intellectual Property Rights in China (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019), he is currently working on his second book, which is on Chinese movie industry. Having taught a program entitled “U.S., China, and U.S.-China Relations” in Spring, 2022, Dr. Zhang will teach a program at Selim Center in Spring, 2024, for the second time.

Program Information: Tuesdays, beginning April 2, 2024, 1:00-2:45 p.m., O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium, University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus. If you are registering for the online live-simulcast via Zoom, you will be sent the join URL on March 28, 2024.

Fee for the series: $150.00 per person

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Program Sessions:

• April 2: China's Rise since the Late 1970s: A Brief Overview
• April 9: The Issue of Hong Kong: Initial Encounter Between a Rising China and the Western World
• April 16: The Issue of Taiwan: A Powder Keg in U.S.-China Relations?
• April 23: The Issue of Tibet: Chinese Ethnic Minority and Beyond
• April 30: The Issue of Xinjiang: How Does It Imply for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
• May 7: The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and China's Vision for Global Economic Order

Program Description: This course will provide a broad overview of the history, national identity/ies, and politics of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. We will focus on how revolution and nation-building in these states during and after the Soviet era presented challenges to democratization in these states today and how these challenges to democratic governance connect to the current war in Ukraine.

Program Speaker: Dr. Renee Buhr joined UST in 2008 with specializations in International Relations and Comparative Politics. Her research interests include the study of nationalism and politics in Europe and the Former Soviet States and the effects of European integration. In addition to her teaching and research at St. Thomas, she has worked as a visiting researcher and professor at Sciences Po-Bordeaux, an institute for political studies in France. Dr. Buhr studied at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Chicago, as well as the Institut d'Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po-Aix) in Aix-en Provence, France. She worked in a number of organizations outside of academia, including the RAND Corporation, the Central Intelligence Agency and the World Bank (International Finance Corporation). She uses all of these experiences – academic and professional – to teach and advise students interested in Political Science and International Studies, and has served as the Director for the International Studies major since 2012.

Program Information: Wednesdays, beginning April 3, 2024, 10:00-11:45 a.m., O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium, University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus. If you are registering for the online live-simulcast via Zoom, you will be sent the join URL on April 1, 2024.

Fee for the series: $75.00 per person

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Program Sessions:

• April 3: Revolution and Nation-Building in the Soviet Era: Making the "New Soviet Man"
• April 10: Post-Soviet Russia and Belarus - Methods of autocratic consolidation
• April 17: Post-Soviet Ukraine - Ukraine's democratization efforts and Russia's backlash

Program Description: This series will explore the fundamentals of what makes a peaceful society and why conflict is so integral to social justice. It will introduce learners to what social movements are and why they matter, specifically exploring the social political framework of degrowth in the contemporary movement to protect and sustain life on Mother Earth.

Program Speaker: Amy Finnegan is Associate Professor in Justice and Peace Studies and American Culture and Difference at the University of St. Thomas where she teaches courses pertaining to conflict transformation, social movements, active nonviolence, qualitative methods, sociological perspectives on health, and social justice broadly. Her scholarly interests pertain to the white savior complex, critical race theory, degrowth, abolition, dialogue, and transformative pedagogies. She is on the leadership team of EqualHealth, a global grassroots health justice collective which strives to build critical consciousness and collective action globally in pursuit of health equity for all.

Program Information: Wednesdays, beginning April 24, 2024, 10:00-11:45 a.m., O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium, University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus. If you are registering for the online live-simulcast via Zoom, you will be sent the join URL on April 22, 2024.

Fee for the series: $75.00 per person

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Program Sessions:

• April 24: Holding Space for Conflict
  This session grounds learners in fundamentals of peace studies and invites learners to consider their own socialization around conflict and how navigating it constructively is possible and necessary.
• May 1: Introduction to Social Movements
  This session introduces the concept of social movements, how they emerge and why they matter – particularly in the contemporary political moment in which we live.
• May 8: Degrowth: Possibilities in the Era of Climate Crisis
  This session explores the social political framework of degrowth as a viable strategy for social movements to wage conflict, address injustice and sustain and nurture life on the planet in this contemporary era of climate crisis.

Program Description: While some aspects of the arts of Scandinavia—Munch and Modern Design, for example—are well known, there is much about the region's rich artistic accomplishment that remains unfamiliar to many outside the Nordic countries. This course explores Scandinavian arts from prehistoric stone tools and tombs to stunning contemporary architecture and design, showing a lively interchange of ideas and influences with areas near and far.

Program Speaker: Kristin Anderson is a Professor of Art at Augsburg University in Minneapolis. Her courses include art history and architectural history surveys as well as more specialized offerings such as American Art, Scandinavian Art, and Women and Art. She also teaches a popular course, The Designed Environment, about the architectural and urban history of the Twin Cities. The class meets at a different location for each session, bringing students face-to-face with the buildings and spaces they study. In 2005, Kristin received the Distinguished Contributions to Teaching and Learning Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Kristin's current writing and research is focused on sports architecture, and she is co-authoring a book on the history of sports facilities in the Twin Cities for the University of Minnesota Press. Other research interests include Scandinavian-American immigrant folk art and the altar paintings tradition of the Norwegian-Americans. A popular speaker in community and church settings, Kristin also gives tours and presentations at Target Field, focusing on architecture, sustainability issues, women in baseball, and art at the ballpark.

From 2013 until 2018, Kristin served as the president of the Minnesota Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians (MNSAH), and she was the local co-chair for the 2018 Society of Architectural Historians International Conference in St. Paul. She serves on the Minnesota State Review Board for National Register of Historic Places designations, and she was the chair of this board from 2015 until 2022.

A graduate of Oberlin College, Kristin has master's degrees in art history (University of Minnesota) and church history (Luther Seminary) as well as a PhD in American Art, Architecture, and Popular Culture from the University of Minnesota.

Program Information: Wednesdays, beginning April 3, 2024, 1:00-2:45 p.m., O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium, University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus. If you are registering for the online live-simulcast via Zoom, you will be sent the join URL on April 1, 2024.

Fee for the series: $150.00 per person

To register online with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Program Sessions:

Program Description: Join theater maker and professor Shanan Custer in some of her favorite lessons in theater, including topics such as theater history, musicals, comedy, new plays and more. Theater is about coming together, so each session will include discussion and other activities in addition to lectures. If you love attending theater or have always wanted to read or attend more plays, then this is the class for you!

Program Speaker: Shanan Custer has been teaching theater at the University of St. Thomas for over 25 years and loves connecting with new students. A theater maker based in the Twin Cities, Shanan is also an actor, director, writer, and improviser. This spring she will be directing "9 to 5: The Musical" at Lyric Arts as well as performing in her new original series "Songversations." You can also catch Shanan with the Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society in shows at Crooners and the Bryant Lake Bowl throughout the spring.

Program Information: Thursdays, beginning April 4, 2024, 10:00-11:45 a.m., O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium, University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus. If you are registering for the online live-simulcast via Zoom, you will be sent the join URL on April 2, 2024.

Fee for the series: $150.00 per person

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Program Sessions:

Program Description: Since the founding of the United States, various interest groups have argued that the federal government should either exert or limit its influence abroad. Depending on popular sentiments and global tensions, the US has shifted the political tenor, financial commitments, and cultural investments of its relationships in the Middle East. These policies have had consequences for internal American dynamics, as well. This course examines the relationship of the United States, as well as American non-state actors, with the states and populations of the Middle East.

Program Speaker: Shaherzad Ahmadi is an Associate Professor of History at the University of St. Thomas. She has published articles in the major journals of her field; her book, Bordering on War, will be published by the University of Texas Press in the winter of 2024.

Program Information: Thursdays, beginning April 4, 2024, 1:00-2:45 p.m., O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium, University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus. If you are registering for the online live-simulcast via Zoom, you will be sent the join URL on April 2, 2024.

Fee for the series: $150.00 per person

To register on-line with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Program Sessions:

Lunch'n Explore events feature a talk and a lunch in a tabled setting.

Event Description: What are the critical elements in brain health? What can be done when things go wrong? How do new treatments get developed? Dr. Bill Frey will describe his ground-breaking research developing innovative ways to treat and prevent Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, stroke, head injury and posttraumatic stress disorder, the challenges in translating that research into treatment, and the critical roles diet and exercise play in maintaining our brains' health and function.

Event Speaker: William H. Frey II, Ph.D. is Senior Research Director in the Center for Memory and Aging at the HealthPartners Neuroscience Center. Frey's non-invasive method for delivering insulin and other therapeutic agents to the brain to increase brain cell energy and improve memory to treat neurologic and psychaitric disorders while reducing unwanted side effects has captured the interest of pharmaceutical companies and neuroscientists. He has been interviewed on media outlets around the world, including the Today Show, Good Morning America, 20/20 and All Things Considered. His research has been the subject of articles in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Frey earned his B.A. in Chemistry at Washington University and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University.

Event Information: Friday, April 19, 2024, 11:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Anderson Student Center, Woulfe Hall (3rd Floor), University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus (seating begins at 11:25 a.m. for this event with meal service beginning at 11:35 a.m.). The online live-simulcast via Zoom will begin at 12:15 p.m. (if you register for the online version, you will receive the join URL on April 17).

Meal Information: Mandarin Orange Salad with grilled chicken & gourmet cookie; beverages include Coffee (reg. & decaf), tea, and water. If you have a dietary accommodation (e.g., vegetarian, gluten-free), please include this when you register. If you forget to do so, please contact the Selim Center by no later than April 9 to request a dietary accommodation.

Fee for the event: $45.00 per person (registration deadline for this event is April 9 for in-person & April 17 for the online simulcast)

To register online with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Lunch'n Explore events feature a talk and a lunch in a tabled setting.

Event Description: The 2024 elections in the US test an America at the crossroads. We are a nation divided across many dimensions, facing significant challenges and choices. This talk examines the importance of the national and state elections, looking at the factors that will decide the winners and what it will mean for the US in the next four years.

Event Speaker: David Schultz is Distinguished University Professor in the Departments of Political Science, Environmental Studies, and Legal Studies at Hamline University. He is also a professor of Law at the University of Minnesota and at the University of St. Thomas and at the Lithuanian Military Academy. A four-time Fulbright scholar who has taught extensively in Europe and Asia, and the winner of the Leslie A. Whittington National Award for excellence in public affairs teaching, David is the author of more than 45 books and 200+ articles on various aspects of American politics, election law, and the media and politics.

Event Information: Friday, May 3, 2024, 11:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Anderson Student Center, Woulfe Hall (3rd Floor), University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus (seating begins at 11:25 a.m. for this event with meal service beginning at 11:35 a.m.). The online live-simulcast via Zoom will begin at 12:15 p.m. (if you register for the online version, you will receive the join URL on May 1).

Meal Information: Box Lunches with assorted sandwiches, chips & gourmet cookie; beverages include Coffee (reg. & decaf), tea, and water. If you have a dietary accommodation (e.g., vegetarian, gluten-free), please include this when you register. If you forget to do so, please contact the Selim Center by no later than April 21 to request a dietary accommodation.

Fee for the event: $45.00 per person (registration deadline for this event is April 21 for in-person & May 2 for the online simulcast)

To register online with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Printable Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

 Join us for the St. Thomas launch of two new poetry collections by Dr. David Gardiner & Dr. Thomas Dillon Redshaw on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.

This free event will take place in the O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library Leather Room (main library, St. Paul Campus), and the poets will read from their works, answer questions, and sign books after the reading. Selim Center students will be familiar with these speakers, since both have taught about Ireland and its rich culture over the years for Selim Center classes.

About the authors:

Dr. David Gardiner is a poet, editor and professor who was born and raised in Chicago. From 2006 to 2010, he was the founder & editor of the international arts journal, An Sionnach, which published Van Morrison, Seamus Heaney, Eavan Boland, Paula Meehan and Eamonn Wall, among others. He attended the first Writers’ Workshop at University College Galway under the direction of Gerald Dawe and was taught there by Thomas Kilroy, John McGahern, Richard Murphy, and others. For over ten years, he directed the Creighton summer program at Trinity College Dublin. He has authored over sixty journal publications, edited over twenty five journals and volumes, and written five books, including the Salmon poetry collections Downstate (2009) and The Chivalry of Crime (2015). He is currently Director of the Center for Irish Studies and Editor of The New Hibernia Review at the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN).

THOMAS DILLON REDSHAW (b. 1944) is the author of Heimaey, The Floating World, Mortal, and fugitive broadsides and chapbooks. Raised on the North Shore of Massachusetts, he first encountered living Irish poetry in the impromptu readings of Desmond O’Grady in Cronin’s, behind Harvard. He studied poetry with X.J. Kennedy, John Montague, and M.L. Rosenthal. He studied Irish writing with Roger McHugh and David H. Greene. His poems have appeared in American little magazines and, mainly, in such Irish publications as Cyphers, Poetry Ireland Review, Southword, and the Irish Times. He edited Well Dreams: Essays on John Montague (2004) and served as editor of Éire-Ireland (1974-1996) and New Hibernia Review (1996-2006), both of whose pages featured contemporary Irish poetry. From 2000 through 2008 he edited the series of fine press printings of Irish poetry from Traffic Street Press in St. Paul, Minnesota.

This event is co-sponsored by the Selim Center for Lifelong Learning, the Luann Dummer Center for Women & the Center for Irish Studies. Registration is requested for the sake of set up planning, but not required. Please note this is an in-person, on-campus event.

Register at this link (this is a free event): Epayment Site

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Event Description: This workshop explores the intricate relationships between butterflies, bees, and your garden, and how they impact the health of our planet. Through engaging discussions and hands-on activities, participants will learn practical ways to create pollinator-friendly environments in their own gardens, contributing to the conservation of these vital species and the overall well-being of our ecosystem.

Event Speaker: Rebecca Zerlin is the lab manager for the Cariveau Native Bee Lab at the University of Minnesota. Rebecca grew up in New Orleans, LA and received her B.S. in Wildlife and Ecology at Unity College in Maine. After graduating, she worked as a naturalist and wildlife technician with different organizations including the Bureau of Land Management, the Cape May Bird Observatory, and the National Park Service. In these positions, she had the opportunity to work with a variety of species ranging from monarch butterflies to sea turtles and even cattle. She received her M.S. in M.S. in Range and Wildlife Management from the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M – Kingsville. Her research looked at the effects of different prescribed burning intervals on butterfly populations in south Texas.

Event Information: Wednesday, June 5 & June 12, 2024, 10:00-11:45 a.m., Owens Science Hall 3M Auditorium (OWS 150), University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus (This event is only available as an in-person, on-campus experience.)

Fee for the event: $50.00 per person

To register online with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Paper Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

Event Description: Falls are the leading cause of fatal injury and the most common cause of non-fatal trauma-related hospital admissions among older adults. As a result of anxieties over instability, older adults often seek to reduce falls by limiting their activities; this may lead to further negative consequences including physical decline, social isolation, feelings of helplessness, and depression. Given the increasing size of our aging population, the significant financial and emotional impact of falls, and the widespread desire of older adults to remain active in their home and community, effective fall prevention programs are essential for supporting safe and connected communities. The presenter will discuss the major variables that influence falls in older populations and discuss their most recent data on the effectiveness of using group-based short-term specialized multi-component training to address the major variables that influence falls. In addition, he will take participants through a series of exercises that they can use at home to build strength, balance, and awareness.

Event Speaker: Dr. Brett D. Bruininks is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science in the Morrison Family College of Health. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame (1996) and a Masters in (2005) and Doctoral Degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise Physiology (2009) from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Prior to coming to the University of St. Thomas, Dr. Bruininks spent two years at Minnesota State University-Mankato in the Department of Athletics and four years as an Assistant Professor and Director of the Program in Exercise Science and Laboratory for Human Performance at Concordia College (Moorhead, MN). Dr. Bruininks is the co-author of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT-2; Pearson Publishing) and the Bruininks Motor Ability Test (BMAT; Pearson Publishing) that assess motor and movement deficits in young and aging populations. In addition to his teaching at UST, he works closely with allied health professionals, particularly Occupational and Physical Therapists and Nurses, on issues related to motor development and planning in youth and older adults. His current research explores the influence of specialized multi-component exercise training on fall prevention in older adults.

Event Information: Wednesdays, June 5 & June 12, 2024, 1:00-2:45 p.m., Owens Science Hall 3M Auditorium (OWS 150), University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus (This event is only available as an in-person, on-campus experience.)

Fee for the event: $50.00 per person

To register online with a credit card on our secure page, click on this link: Epayment Site

To register by check or cash, or to redeem a voucher, please complete this registration form and mail back to the address on the form: Paper Registration Form

Link to campus map: Campus Map

This is a free event.

Event Description: Unlock the doors to a healthier, wiser future with us at the Wisdom and Wellness Fair. Delve into an afternoon packed with inspiring talks from local authors and experts who focus on the interconnections of wisdom and wellness, as well as healthy living resources for older adults. This enriching event is proudly sponsored by Allina Health Aetna, Herself Health, and the Selim Center for Lifelong Learning at the University of St. Thomas. Speakers and tabling participants will be announced in mid-May.

Event Information: Wednesday, June 12, 2024, 3:00-7:00 p.m., Owens Science Hall 3M Auditorium & Lobby, University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus (This event is only available as an in-person, on-campus experience.) Registration is not required for this event.

Link to campus map: Campus Map