Date: October 20, 2015

Time: 6:30 pm  to  8:00 pm

Tuesdays, October 20, 27 and November 3, 6:30-8 pm

Location: Thompson Conference Center, University of Texas, 2405 East Campus Drive, Austin

University of Texas professor Robert Jensen will teach a three-session course on “Religion and Politics: Critical Thinking and Constructive Talking.”  Rejecting the common advice to not talk about religion or politics, this course argues that religion and politics are the most important things to talk about—when we can engage both those we agree and disagree with, which means sharpening our critical thinking skills and improving our capacity for constructive dialogue.

How do people within religious traditions reconcile approaches that vary from conservative literalism to progressive interpretations?  How can religious and secular people identify shared values as well as argue about differences?  How do we square our commitment to democracy with the effects of concentrated wealth in politics?  How do we understand the news media’s role in the process?

University of Texas professor Robert Jensen will teach a three-session course on “Religion and Politics: Critical Thinking and Constructive Talking.”  Rejecting the common advice to not talk about religion or politics, this course argues that religion and politics are the most important things to talk about—when we can engage both those we agree and disagree with, which means sharpening our critical thinking skills and improving our capacity for constructive dialogue.

How do people within religious traditions reconcile approaches that vary from conservative literalism to progressive interpretations?  How can religious and secular people identify shared values as well as argue about differences?  How do we square our commitment to democracy with the effects of concentrated wealth in politics?  How do we understand the news media’s role in the process?

There is a fee for the course. – See more.

Education Beyond The Walls

Engaging Religious Difference: Understanding Dynamics of Inclusion and Exclusion

Date: Friday November 20, 2015 9:30 am through Saturday November 21 at 2:00 pm

Time: All Day

Location: McCord Community Center

Religious identity, like race, carries a host of assumptions about the way of the world. Christianity, like whiteness in America, dominates. How do Christians begin to see the way that central position impacts relations with people of other religions? How can they move to greater mutuality?

Led by Dr. Christine Hong and Dr. Tiffany Puett

For clergy, religious leaders and all those committed to interfaith engagement

$150 (Meals and lodging included.); $75 (Meals only.)

Qualifies for 1.3 units of clergy continuing education.

http://www.austinseminary.edu/page.cfm?p=3108

A Human Trafficking Awareness Event

Oak Hill UMC

7815 Hwy 290 West, Austin

December 5, 2015

9:00am – Noon

Featuring a screening of a brief documentary on human trafficking followed by a community conversation with a panel of experts:

Sgt. Bob Miljenovich, Austin PD

Kay Firth-Butterfield, Texas Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Task Force

Calli Norris, Redeemed Ministries

David Fairchild, Refugee Services of Texas

Learn what you can do to stop labor and sex trafficking in Austin and meet local organizations working to bring an end to modern day slavery.

For more information about this event, contact
Cathy Herzog (chhtx50@sbcglobal.net) and /or Corinne Weisgerber (corrinew@stedwards.edu)

Screening of “Terms and Conditions May Apply”
Date: Thursday, May 7, 2015
Time: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
This documentary exposes what corporations and governments learn about people through internet and cell phone usage, and what can be done about it, if anything.
The screening is part of the “Controversy & Conversation” series, a collaboration between the Austin Public Library and the Humanities Institute’s Difficult Dialogues Program at the University of Texas. More information online.

Location: Austin Public Library, Terrazas Branch, 1105 East Cesar Chavez St., Austin, 78702
– See more at: http://www.thirdcoastactivist.org/events/screening-of-terms-and-conditions-may-apply/#sthash.tmfP46Ze.dpuf

Texas Social Justice Series: Education
Date: May 7, 2015
Time: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
The third of a four-part series on the fight for social justice in Texas will focus on education. Panelists will discuss legal cases leading up to the Brown v. Board of Education decision and Texas’ role in shaping Supreme Court decisions of the era, along with analysis of the state of educational opportunity today. The panel will include University of Texas professors Eric Tang (African and African Diaspora Studies), Norma Cantu (Education and Law), and Leonard Moore (History).
This program is presented in partnership with the Social Justice Institute at the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas Civil Rights Project. More information online.
Location: Bob Bullock Museum, 1800 N. Congress Avenue, Austin, TX, 78701 (Congress and MLK)
– See more at: http://www.thirdcoastactivist.org/events/texas-social-justice-series-education/#sthash.bKsn13LO.dpuf

Jane’s Walk: East Austin History Tour

Date: Saturday, May 9, 2015
Time: 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Because of gentrification and increased transit access, East Central Austin, a vibrant area at the heart of Austin’s African American community, is in transition. This tour celebrating that history is part of Jane’s Walk USA, a series of free neighborhood walking tours aimed at bridging social and geographic gaps and creating a space for cities to discover themselves.

Tour guides will be Bertram Allen (W.H. Passon Historical Society), Tara Dudley (UT School of Architecture), Stephanie Jarvis (former director of the French Legation Museum), and Harrison Eppright (African American Cultural Heritage Center). The tour lasts about three hours. Organizers plan to stop for lunch at the end of the tour for those who want to eat together. More information online.

Location: meet at the French Legation Museum, 802 San Marcos St., Austin, 78702
– See more at: http://www.thirdcoastactivist.org/events/janes-walk-east-austin-history-tour/#sthash.95yNV6Fp.dpuf

Screening of “At the Death House Door”

Date: July 2, 2015
Time: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
This documentary investigates Texas’ 1989 execution of Carlos DeLuna, after prosecutors ignored evidence about another man who bragged to friends about committing the crimes of which DeLuna was convicted.
The screening is part of the “Controversy & Conversation” series, a collaboration between the Austin Public Library and the Humanities Institute’s Difficult Dialogues Program at the University of Texas. More information online.
Location: Austin Public Library, Terrazas Branch, 1105 East Cesar Chavez St., Austin, 78702
– See more at: http://www.thirdcoastactivist.org/events/screening-of-at-the-death-house-door/#sthash.Yk2Alhn0.dpuf