Matt Cravatta provides a short account of his time at the Center for Inquiry (CFI) and discusses the history of the Secular Rescue program which addresses how blasphemy laws endanger freethought rights activists. Cravatta is the Coordinator of the Center for Inquiry’s Secular Rescue program and director of mail operations for Free Inquiry and Skeptical Inquirer magazines.
Jennifer Ruth tells us about legislative attempts to restrict discussion of so-called “divisive concepts” in higher education and what is currently being done to defend academic freedom. Ruth is professor of film studies at Portland State University. She is the author of a book titled It’s Not Free Speech: Race, Democracy, and the Future of Academic Freedom. She has written for Ms. Magazine, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The New Republic.
The U.N. General Assembly has named March 20 as “International Day of Happiness”. But what is happiness exactly? Fred Edwords explores the latest research that provides pathways to get there, showing that emotional self-management in the context of a purpose-driven life, punctuated with occasional moments of joy or delight, generates what we call happiness. Mr. Edwords was executive director of the American Humanist Association for 15 years, and has served as editor of the Humanistmagazine. Over the past 45 years, he has appeared on national television and has lectured around the world. Now retired, he serves as AHA’s historian.
Presentation by Don Schweitzer. Youth homelessness is an ever-growing problem, especially dangerous for a young person. What are the various ways that young people might find themselves homeless? Schweitzer discusses programs for working with youth, and suggestions for ways we need to think differently about this problem. Schweitzer is an Associate Professor of social work at Pacific University. He has worked extensively with adults and youth who are experiencing homelessness, both as a practitioner and a researcher.