Science, Religion, and Lunch Seminars (SRLS) | Northern Plains Ethics Institute

Science and Religion Seminars

The Northern Plains Ethics Institute has successfully completed the Fall 2021 presentations for the long running, town-gown Science, Religion, and Lunch Seminars (SRLS). See the Previous Presenters and Topics section below for the listing and links to the recorded presentations.

If you would like to showcase your talents, research, or thoughtful contemplation in natural or social science, religion, or the combination of the two to a new audience in the future, then we would love to hear from you. SRLS fosters thoughtful, accessible dialogues on religion or science, with a special focus on the intersection between the two. Presenters take the seminar’s first 40 minutes to develop their ideas for the diverse town and gown audience, and then answer questions for 20 minutes, or until we get kicked out of the room.

If you are interested in giving a seminar, then please contact Dennis Cooley at dennis.cooley@ndsu.edu. Please send a title and a short abstract. If you know of someone you think would be a good presenter, then please pass that contact information on to us.

The Seminars are held between 12:00 p.m. and 1 p.m. For the time being, presentations will only be via Zoom. Each presentation may take up to 40 minutes of the hour, with the remaining 20 minutes devoted to questions and comments from the audience.

Upcoming Topic(s)

Due to the current situation, we have decided to suspend the regular SRLS presentations for the Spring Semester. We will, however, consider setting up presentations via Zoom as we are presented with appropriate topics. If you are interested in giving a seminar, then please contact Dennis Cooley at NDSU.NPEI@ndsu.edu

Schedule: TBA

Check back for updates and upcoming presentations. We will post them as they come available. We will also send out reminders to our listserv. Reminders for each presentation are sent out a week in advance. If you would like to be on the SRLS/NPEI email listserv, please send your request here

Previous Presenters and Topics:

To give you some idea of how deep and wide the SRLS’s range is, I’ve included our speakers and topics from previous outstanding offerings. Click the links to see the presentations or check out the NPEIs YouTube Channel for more:

Anne Denton, Fake News and Stories of Mythical Encounters

Tony Flood, Greed as an Individual Vice

Tyler Waltz, Like, Subscribe, Share: The effectiveness of science communication on social media

Kenton Rodgers, Science: What It is, What It Isn't, & What It Is Good For

Syed Sajid Ahmad, A Few Notes from Afghan History Through Its Ages

Swami Tattwamayananda, Minister-in-charge of the Vendanta Society of Northern California, Essence of Yoga

Ganapathy Mahalingham, Surrogate Evolution - What We Waste with Material Culture

Teri A. Finneman, "I Always Watched Eyewitness News Just to See Your Beautiful Smile": The Ethical Implications of Sexism & TV News

Ann Denton - "Paradoxes between Science and Morality"

Ahmed Afzaal - "Introduction to Prosocial"

Scott Forschler - "Determinism and Free Will"

Mark Hagerott - "The Pandemic is Accelerating Digital Transformation"