The Institute of World Culture posts

INTRODUCTION TO THE INSTITUTE OF WORLD CULTURE:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVzyDYSSKPg

AMERICAN SYMBOLS As ONLINE FORUM Saturday, January 16, 2021 2:00 – 4:00 pm Presenters: Russ Lewin and Carolyn Dorrance  Click here for audio

The very idea of America evokes liberty, opportunity, hope and inspiration. American symbols are representations of the underlying principles of the Republic. However, many of the symbols are mysterious, and point to deeper dimensions of meaning. Our goal is to explore some of these symbols in an attempt to revitalize and regenerate our understanding of the core ideas of the American ideal. Symbols of interest include the Great Seal of the United States, the Statue of Liberty, the Gateway Arch, the Capitol Building, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the American Bison, and others. Washington D.C. itself is a symbol that was designed by Pierre Charles L'Enfrant who envisioned the city based on the ideal that every citizen was equally important. Hence, he established the Capitol building, representing the people, as the center point rather than the White House because America has no king.

THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE ARCHITECTURE OF REVOLUTION Click here for video

As one of the most learned and eloquent spokesmen to define the central themes of the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson was also an accomplished statesman and diplomat, philologist, probing scientist, iinventor, musician, and self-taught architect. At a time of tremendous upheavel and uncertainty, he helped to articulate an enduring vision of human rights, of political and religious freedom, of free speech, free elections and universal education, as inalienable components of collective welfare as the circle, square and triangle, the pure geometric forms of classical architecture. However, many of the ideals Jefferson envisioned were neither fully realized by him in his own life, nor by the institutions that formed and evolved around them. What lessons does Jefferson's life hold for us today? How might a reinvigoration of the central visionary ideals he articulated help us to understand, to heal and transform the turbulent and troubled present moment?

IWC PRESENTATIONS, VIDEO AND AUDIO FILES:

Pythagoras and the Arts of Antiquity and the Renaissance, November 17, 2018
Kirk B. Gradin presented a seminar on this topic at the Institute of Culture. His presentation is avalable in three parts (mp4):
Click here for Pythagoras and the Arts, part 1
Click here for Pythagoras and the Pantheon
Click here for Pythagoras and the Arts, part 2

The Great Seal of the United States, Robert Moore, October 23, 2013
Click here for Powerpoint presentation

The Common Good and "The Commons", May 19, 2018
Presenters: Maurice Bisheff and Don Wilson
Maurice Bisheff speaks first on the topic of the Common Good. Don Wilson follows with his comments on the idea of the "Commons". The audio Includes clips of Robert Reich speaking about his book "The Common Good" and Vandana Shiva speaking at the IWC on April 25, 2008 on the subject of "Recreating the Commons in a Globalized World".
Click here for audio of presentation

John Wesley Powell: Starlight in the Stone Temple of the West, July 1, 2017
Presenter: Russ Lewin
Click here for audio of presentation

Compassion and Transformation Forum, May 27, 2017
Presenters: Gerry Lewin and Jonathan Colbert
Click here for audio file of the presentation
Links to videos referred to in presentation:
1. Change Your Brain by Transforming Your Mind
Richard J. Davidson, Mind & Life Institute, Amherst College
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS15bfU91TQ
2. Matthieu Ricard in Conversation with Pico Iyer
LiveTalksLA, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UZrxFc1wkE
3. Compassion and Global Responsibility
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama at the Indian International Center New Delhi, India April 27, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxEpvFP5-Dc&feature=youtu.be

Radio interview with the presenter of the "The Sufi Inspiration in Rumi's Poetry", Fariba Enteshari by Joe Miller from The Classical Now, KCSB 91.9 FM, Santa Barbara. Link: http://www.thewritejoe.com/2016/05/audio-interview-with-fariba-enteshari-5-13-16/

Radio interview with the presenter of the "The Genius of Renaissance Music", John Mead by Joe Miller from The Classical Now, KCSB 91.9 FM, Santa Barbara. Link: http://www.thewritejoe.com/2016/05/audio-interview-with-john-mead-5-1-16/

On Satuday, February 13, 2016, the Institute of World Culture sponsored a live, one-man performance of the Life of Thomas Paine written and performed by the British actor, Ian Ruskin. Listen to the one-hour interview on the Classical Now, Joseph Miller's radio program: http://www.thewritejoe.com/2016/02/ian-ruskin-audio-interview-feb-2016/

IWC PRESENTATIONS ON VIDEO:

Original Live Performance: Walt Whitman, Radical Patriot
Performed live in 2005 at the Victoria Hall Theater in Santa Barbara, CA
Performers: Joseph Miller, Peter John Duda, Maria De La Vega Delgado, James Colbert
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xVWIyVJu1Y
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgr7DXeqZ4Y
KCBX interview hosted by Marisa Waddell: http://www.thewritejoe.com/2017/02/walt-whitman-radical-patriot/

Presentation: Macrobiotics for People and Planet: Ethical Eating, Energy and Culture
Presentation Date: February 14, 2015
Presenter: Professor Catherine Albanese
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi7-2c92TNo

Presentation: Innovative Experiments: Intentional Communities and the Guaranteed Annual Income
Presentation Date: September 6, 2014
Presenters: Professors James Tepfer and Maurice Bisheff
Part 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLPja8UU8iE&feature=youtu.be
Part 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVKSGEIX2E0&feature=youtu.be


Presentation: Myths to Live By
Presentation Date: May 17, 2014
Presenter: Professor Nandini Iyer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fJ812K5OCc

Presentation: Expanding Participation of Women in the Olympic Games
Presentation Date: February 8, 2014
Presenter: Gerry Kiffe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO_h7W2v5zo&feature=youtu.be&noredirect=1

Presentation: Self-Reform and Social Transformation: Mohandas Gandhi
Presentation Date: January 25, 2014
Presenter: Dr. James Tepfer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw6HawMCYKg

Presentation: Michael Crichton on Science and Public Policy
Presentation Date: August 25, 2012
Presenter: RaviTepfer and Dr. Maurice Bisheff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fykv7U2zv7Yg

Presentation: Peace, Justice and Stability
Presentation Date: April 28, 2008
Presenter: Dr. Vandana Shiva, Global and International Studies, UC Santa Barbara
Vandana Shiva is an Indian environmental activist and anti-globalization author.
She currently based in Delhi, has authored more than 20 books.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT8l_6RNyns

Presentation: The Cosmopolitan Challenge: Bridging Cultural Differences in a Globalized World
Presentation Date: November 9, 2013
Presenter: Professor Giles Gunn, Global and International Studies, UC Santa Barbara
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYTufJJTVMU

Presentation: Traditional Chinese Medicine
Presentation Date: February 23, 2008
Presenter: Gayatri Chopra Heesen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAak4291ED4

Presentation: Real Utopias
Presentation Date: April 6, 2013
Presenter: Dr. Maurice Bishell and Jenny Bisheff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSoCvl6o-48

Presentation: Nanotechnology: Large Societal Impacts of the Very Small
Presentation Date: March 16, 2013
Presenter: Dr. Roger Eardley-Pryor, Center for Nanotechnology in Society, UC Santa Barbara
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcZnF3lH0l0
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A5P1nmuQu0

Presentation: Irish Poetry and the Mythic Imagination
Presentation Date: March 9, 2013
Presenter: Dr. Colette Kavanagh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp8tk_p4RTE

Presentation: New Views of Our Solar System
Presentation Date: February 23, 2013
Presenter: Russ Lewin
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPazPfOFTdI
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cP3MYuaimU

Presentation: Climate Science: Methods, Processes and Current Research
Presentation Date: February 9, 2013
Presenter: Nari Miller
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o90tR1mgmKc

Seminar: Theory and Practice of Tibetan Medicine
Presentation Date: January 26, 2013
Presenter: Dr. Yangdron Kalzang
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ladkfdLwJTg

Concert: Fresh Expressions of Traditional Tibetan Songs and Stories
Presentation Date: January 19, 2013
Presenter: Loten Namling
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P344ssLDYo8

Seminar: Responding to Stress with Noetic Psychology
Presentation Date: January 12, 2013
Presenter: Eva Moberg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwnnr2AiYjo

Seminar: Exploring Freedom and Creativity in Jazz Music
Presentation Date: December 1, 2012
Presenters: Jon Nathan, Professor and Director of the UCSB Jazz Ensemble, and a select combo of UCSB Players
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RvxaesTZU0
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl23bOJcbEQ

Workshop: The Global Research of the Arab Spring
Presentation Date: April 21, 2012
Presenters: Professor Johan Galtung, Stephen Zunes, Ian Masters
IWC Sessions:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it8TgpRg-m8
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTybqmbZReA
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aza2whSYzkM
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmgnMJlpHB4
Public Sessions at the SB Public Library Faulkner Gallery:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbQr7XtAuZs
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2OzURcYBoI
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOZbLNRe1HE
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8jkiq8iarU
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xk9JkoRPXc
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53rZ8enxnBs

Performance: Unveiling the Kumulipo (sound only, no video)
Performance Date: May 17, 2008
Performers: Kumu Kehulani Kekua and her students
Unveiling the Kumulipo
The Kumulipo is the epic Hawaiian chant of creation/evolution, here chanted
in part, and explained by Kumu Kehulani Kekua and her students at the Institute of World Culture
May 17, 2008. Delving into the dark night of cosmological time, the Kumulipo reveals the metaphysical
sophistication of the ancient Hawaiian tradition. Be patient, it takes a few minutes to download.