Thursday Evening Speaker Series
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Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898-1971
Thursday, May 2, 2024 | 6:00-7:00pm
Please note: This presentation was orginally schedued for April 18th and was switched to accomidate the curator's schedule.
Elliot Wilhelm - Exhibit Curator
This presentation honors the legacy of African American filmmakers and actors from the dawn of cinema, through the golden age, and into the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement. Inspired by and named after an independent 1923 all-Black-cast movie, Regeneration seeks to revive lost or forgotten films, filmmakers, and performers for a contemporary audience. Regeneration highlights the agency many Black artists asserted in their respective crafts despite challenges of systemic racism, revealing their tenacity, immense talent, and unwavering commitment to creative expression. In May, Next will offer a trip to the DIA to see this exciting exhibit.
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Actually, America is Getting Better!
Thursday, May 9, 2024 | 6:00-7:00pm
Societies do not decline when they are amid disruption or change, but when they lose energy. America has an abundance of energy! Join us to discuss the new research that shows America is getting better, not worse.
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And Then the Great War Came: The Origins of WWI
Thursday, May 16, 2024 | 6:00-7:00pm
Bruce Zellers – Professor – Oakland University
By 1900, many Europeans had come to believe that a major war among the great powers was inevitable. It probably was. The powers were in the grip of an unstable mix of ambition and fear. However, they expected a short conflict; tragically, they were wrong.
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The History of Hamas in Gaza
Thursday, May 23, 2024 | 6:00-7:00pm
Rabbi Mark Miller, Senior Rabbi, Temple Beth El
The stories and images from Israel and Gaza since October 7 are horrific. In order to understand this current war, we will explore not only the founding of Hamas In the 1980s, but the root causes that created this conflict long before the State of Israel was born in 1948.
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Medicinal & Aromatic Plants
Thursday, June 6, 2024 | 6:00-7:00pm
Examining cultural use and isolation of essential components.
Marilee Benore, Professor of Biology & Biochemistry and Chair of Behavioral and Biological Sciences Program – University of Michigan
Aromatic and medicinal plants are critical components of medications, food and perfumes. The medicinal properties of plants have been utilized for millennia, and half of our current drugs were originally derived from plant extracts. Increasing use of alternative medications and natural products have driven interest and research on natural products. This presentation will include information on our program, in which students learn to isolate and characterize oils and other compounds and describe our visits to some medicinal gardens in Europe. All your senses will be used during this presentation!
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A Polar Bear, A Hypnotist and a Ghost River: A Slightly Unconventional Look at the History or Woodward Avenue
Thursday, June 13, 2024 | 6:00-7:00pm
Carol Bacak-Egbo – Historian, Archaeologist, Educator – Oakland County Historical Commission
Woodward Avenue is jam-packed with history! Even a short section of it can lead a historian to discover amazing stories about fascinating people. A perfect example of this is Woodward Avenue between 11 Mile and 13 Mile
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Artificial Intelligence Understood
Thursday, June 20, 2024 | 6:00-7:00pm
Gus Mondalek, International Affairs Expert
Join us for an enlightening presentation on Artificial Intelligence. Gus will explain how Artificial intelligence is a constellation of many different technologies working together to enable machines to sense, comprehend, act and learn with human-like levels of intelligence. He will explain that everyone’s definition of AI is different because Artificial Intelligence isn’t just one thing.
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Concerns About Artificial Intelligence
Thursday, June 27, 2024 | 6:00-7:00pm
Fritz McDonald – Associate Professor of Philosophy – Oakland University
Artificial Intelligence has existed since the 1950s yet there is a great deal of recent interest in AI due to the release of products like OpenAI’s, ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. What is new about AI? What has not changed? Why, at all, should we be concerned about the use of AI. We will discuss this and also some potential risks of Artificial Intelligence.