More Spring Events Coming Soon!
Fracking the System
Screening - Tuesday, March 4th, 12:30pm - Plaza M205
Discussion - Thursday, March 6th, 12:30pm - JSSB 400
Virtual options available!
Fracking the System is a political thriller documentary from the front lines of climate justice activism in Colorado, exposing the harms of fracking, the lengths to which the government is complicit with industrial pollution, and the nefarious tactics the oil and gas industry uses to undermine democratic elections.
Director Brian Hedden will join us for the discussion.
Film will be available through Auraria Library using your student ID (link coming soon!)
Discussion will be Hybrid (both virtual and in-person) - Click here to join the virtual discussion!
This event is co-sponsored by MSU Denver's Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.
The Suffragette’s Murder
Wednesday, March 5th
7:00pm
Denver Center for Performing Arts, Kilstrom Theatre
On the morning of July 5, 1857, an eclectic group of tenants bustle about their Manhattan boarding house, arranging the final details of a clever scheme they hope to pull off in the name of the budding women’s suffrage movement. As they prepare to host an important secret gathering, they receive an unexpected visit from a constable. One of the tenants has been murdered.
The odd bunch must then band together in an elaborate ruse to throw the constable off their scent. His investigation, however, reveals much more than murder motives and rabble-rousing. It becomes an examination of early American suffrage movements, the struggle to define “a woman’s place,” and the political systems that have historically sought to snuff out feminist voices.
Join us for a discussion with cast and director after the show!
This event has limited availability. If you would like to join us for the performance and discussion, email dphi@msudenver.edu
Waters Connect Us
Thursday April 10th
2:00pm
MSU Denver CAVEA
We invite you to participate in an interdisciplinary event featuring conversations about protecting and restoring the Colorado River with Indigenous Communities, Scientists, Environmentalists, and Media Creators designed for students, faculty, courses, staff, and community members to learn from panelists and share in conversations around important topics.
TOPICS CENTER THE COLORADO RIVER, INCLUDING:
- Water restoration and protection efforts
- Documenting water stories and grassroots media in indigenous communities that live along the Colorado River
- The role that art, music, poetry, and films/media can play in this important work
- Current status of Colorado river law in the face of drought, overuse of allocated supplies, and modern water usage
Thanks to Suree Towfighnia for her central role in organizing this event. Co-sponsored by MSU Denver History and the Dean's Innovation Grant.
Carving the Divine
April 28th & 29th
12:30pm
Discussions with Director Yurjio Seki.
Carving the Divine is a documentary film that offers a rare look into a 1400-year-old Buddhist woodcarving tradition and the practitioners struggling to preserve its legacy in a rapidly changing Japan.
Unlike most Dphi events, this event is for MSU Denver students only. If you would like to join, please email dphi@msudenver.edu
Night of Ideas
April 10th, 2025
6:30-8:30pm
Tivoli 440
Night of Ideas occurs simultaneously each year in over 20 cities across the globe. Denver’s Night of Ideas will delve into topics around the central theme of 'common ground'. Listen to short presentations by scholars from across disciplines, and then choose whose table to join for dinner. Change tables through the night and learn with each group, or take a deep dive into a single topic for the whole evening.
"This theme echoes both the solidity of the Franco-American relationship and the shared nature of the challenges facing our two countries: democratic fragilities, the challenges of regulating major technological mutations and inequalities in life and destiny, the need to think about new economic models and our relationship with living things to deal with global warming. The theme suggests, however, that while the foundation is common, the richness of the Franco-American relationship is also nourished by the exploration of differences, including between contemporary “progressivisms”, in the understanding and desired evolution of models of living together, the apprehension of the role of public policies and the modalities of participation of civil society."
-Benoît Labat, Higher Education and French language Representative of the LA French Consulate
Co-sponsored by Alliance Française Denver.
Our Team
Founding Director
Assistant Director
Assistant Director
Adam J. Graves, PhD, is a philosopher, filmmaker, and founding Director of the Denver Project for Humanistic Inquiry at MSU Denver, where he is also Professor in the Department of Philosophy. As the Director of Dphi, Adam has organized and moderated over a hundred events on a wide range of subjects, for a diverse range of audiences and
Adam J. Graves, PhD, is a philosopher, filmmaker, and founding Director of the Denver Project for Humanistic Inquiry at MSU Denver, where he is also Professor in the Department of Philosophy. As the Director of Dphi, Adam has organized and moderated over a hundred events on a wide range of subjects, for a diverse range of audiences and at a variety venues, including the Denver Film Festival, Denver Center for Performing Arts, Sie Film Center, Alliance Française, and the Denver Art Museum.
Assistant Director
Assistant Director
Assistant Director
Gabriel Grinsteiner loves collaboration, technology, and the humanities. He holds a degree in Computational Linguistics and is completing a graduate degree in Business Analytics. He has been a core member of the Dphi team since the project's inception in 2016, where he leads business process development and supervises Dphi's employees. He
Gabriel Grinsteiner loves collaboration, technology, and the humanities. He holds a degree in Computational Linguistics and is completing a graduate degree in Business Analytics. He has been a core member of the Dphi team since the project's inception in 2016, where he leads business process development and supervises Dphi's employees. He serves as senator for MSU Denver's 900+ staff, and coordinator of the American Democracy Project on Auraria Campus.
Advisory Board
Assistant Director
Advisory Board
MSU Denver faculty help to facilitate connections between the university and likeminded cultural institutions throughout the city. Our core team of faculty advisors includes:
Jean François Duclos (Modern Languages)
David Farrell (Music)
Matthew Makley (History)
Craig Svonkin (English)
Megan Hughes (Honors)