“THE TRUTH ABOUT TRUTH” AT AUSTIN UNDERGROUND GRADUATE SCHOOL
Date: February 6, 2017
Time: 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm
“The Truth About Truth,” a four-session writing class at the new Austin Underground Graduate School, will investigate the meaning of truth in the age of “alternative facts.” Why write in a society that some call “post-literate”? In this class, instructor Eric Imhof will help students develop writing and editing skills to present logical arguments and critique the narratives that support the dominant systems that shape our culture.
The class will meet on Mondays, February 6, 13, 20 and 27, from 7:30-9 pm. There is a $50 fee. More information on the Facebook event page.
Location: Soma Vida, 2324 E. Cesar Chavez, Austin
“ARE CHARTER SCHOOLS GOOD FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION? A CRITICAL DIALOGUE”
Date: February 10, 2017
Time: 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
This University of Texas Opportunity Forum Lunch Series program will focus on the latest research on charter schools followed by a critical dialogue. Government funding and other support for charter schools is controversial. Opponents express concerns about accountability and reallocating resources from traditional public schools. What does research say about the effectiveness of charter schools? What are the pros and cons of charter schools?
The keynote address will be by Huriya Jabbar, professor of Educational Policy Studies. Moderator Kevin Cokley (Educational Psychology) will be joined by panelists Edmund Gordon (African and African Diaspora Studies and AISD Trustee), Larkin Tackett (IDEA Public Schools), Sarah Cotner (Magnolia Montessori For All), and Ken Zarifis (Education Austin).
The event is free, with lunch provided, but seating is limited and an RSVP is required.
Location: Francis Auditorium in Townes Hall, University of Texas School of Law, 727 E. Dean Keeton St., Austin
“DIVINE REBELS: EXPLORING THE MODERN PROPHETS” WITH ROY BOURGEOIS
Date: February 12, 2017
Time: 8:30 pm to 9:00 pm
Father Roy Bourgeois, founder of the School of the Americas Watch, will appear in several settings at University United Methodist Church. In addition to speaking at both the 8:30 and 11 am worship services and at the 7:45 pm service focused on college students, he will also be available for conversation during a pot-luck luncheon at 12:15 pm.
SOA Watch is a nonviolent grassroots movement that stands in solidarity with the people of Latin American and the Caribbean, continuing to work to expose the U.S.-based school, once called School of the Americas, and its role in training Latin American soldiers in repressive tactics and deploying them throughout the region.
Location: University United Methodist Church, 2409 Guadalupe, Austin, 78705
“MAKING THE SHARING ECONOMY WORK FOR EVERYONE” WITH JANELLE ORSI
Date: February 14, 2017
Time: 11:45 am to 1:00 pm
Janelle Orsi will discuss the rapidly changing state of the sharing economy as well as ways in which the sharing economy could be, and in some case is already, a transformative force for social and environmental justice. Orsi is executive director and cofounder of the Sustainable Economies Law Center in Oakland, which facilitates the growth of more sustainable and localized economies through education, research, and advocacy.
The event—sponsored by the William Wayne Justice Center and co-sponsored by the UT Opportunity Forum and Texas Law Civil Rights Clinic—is free and lunch is provided, but seating is limited and an RSVP is required.
Location: Eidman Courtroom, University of Texas School of Law, 727 E Dean Keeton St., Austin, 78705
CONVERSATION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Date: February 16, 2017
Time: 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
The Citizens Climate Lobby is sponsoring an open-ended discussion on climate change over beverages and food at ABGB. Gather outside at the Earth photo at a table down the hill, and bring a question or topic to put on the discussion list. The climate group is buying the first pitcher of beer and cheese pizza.
For more information, contact Jeff Baker , imallears@pvco.net or (512) 751-2154.
Location: Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co., 1305 West Oltorf, Austin, 78704
CITIES LEADING CLIMATE ACTION
Date: February 19, 2017
Time: 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Brandi Clark Burton will discuss the Mayors Summit 2016 in Mexico City, which advanced urban responses to climate change.
The event is part of the First Unitarian Universalist Church’s Public Affairs Forum series and the church’s Green Sanctuary Committee. More information online.
Location: First Unitarian Universalist Church, 4700 Grover Ave., Austin 78756
HISTORIAN DAVID ROEDIGER SPEAKING ON “RECONSIDERING RACE AND CLASS”
Date: February 21, 2017
Time: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Historian David Roediger will speak on “Reconsidering Race and Class,” drawing on his forthcoming book Race, Class, and Marxism to think about how we can productively write, think, and organize at the intersections of race and class in the United States, past and present.
Roediger currently teaches history and African American Studies at the University of Kansas. He also has taught labor and Southern history at Northwestern, University of Missouri, University of Minnesota, and University of Illinois, and he was an editor of the Frederick Douglass Papers at Yale University.
Roediger has written on U.S. movements for a shorter working day, the history of radicalism, and the racial identities of white workers and immigrants. His books include The Wages of Whiteness, How Race Survived U.S. History, and Towards the Abolition of Whiteness. He is the former chair of the editorial committee of the Charles H. Kerr Company, the world’s oldest radical publisher, and has been active in the surrealist movement, labor support, and anti-racist organizing.
The event is sponsored by the University of Texas’s Social Justice Institute, with cooperation from the Humanities Institute, Senior Fellows honors program of the College of Communication, and departments of Journalism and American Studies. For more information, contact Robert Jensen, rjensen@austin.utexas.edu.
Location: University of Texas, Belo Center for New Media (BMC 1.202), 300 W. Dean Keeton, Austin
GREEN MOVIE NIGHT: “SAND WARS”
Date: March 3, 2017
Time: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
The First Unitarian Universalist Church’s Green Sanctuary Committee will screen the documentary “Sand Wars,” which details how the worldwide construction boom fueled by emerging economies and increasing urbanization has led to intensive sand extraction on land and in the oceans, with damaging environmental impacts.
A discussion group will follow the film. For more information, contact green@austinuu.org or (512) 288-4080
Location: First Unitarian Universalist Church, 4700 Grover Ave., Austin 78756
Rio Texas Methodist Federation for Social Action 