Carving the Divine
Director Q&A
April 28th & 29th
12:30pm (Add to Calendar)
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.
Carving the Divine is available to view at home thanks to co-sponsorship from MSU Denver's English Department and the Auraria Library.
Unlike most Dphi events, this event is for MSU Denver students, faculty, and staff only. If you would like to join, please email dphi@msudenver.edu
Event passed- Beyond the Ring: The Power of Representation in Sport
Office of Diversity and Inclusion Panel Lecture
Thursday, February 13
11am – 12:30pm (Add to Calendar)
St. Cajetan's
This is an MSU Denver Office of Diversity and Inclusion event. It is open to the MSU Denver community.
Fracking the System
Screening - Tuesday, March 4th, 12:30pm - Plaza M205 (Add to Calendar)
Discussion - Thursday, March 6th, 12:30pm - JSSB 400 (Add to Calendar)
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 is available through Auraria Library using your university login.
Discussion will be Hybrid (both virtual and in-person) - Visit live.dphi.org!
This event is co-sponsored by MSU Denver's Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.
The Suffragette’s Murder
Performance and talkback with cast and director
Wednesday, March 5th
7:00pm (Add to Calendar)
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
Ukraine Conflict in Context: Follow-up
Follow-up Panel Discussion
Tuesday, April 1st
3:30pm (Add to Calendar)
Jordan Student Success Building, Room 400
Join two scholars from the Hungarian Institute of International Relations for an update on recent developments in Eastern Europe.
Sándor Seremet, PhD, an expert on Ukrainian and post-Soviet politics and economics (bio)
Ferenc Németh, PhD, a scholar specializing in the Western Balkans, EU integration and security studies (bio)
MSU Denver Professors Andrea Maestrejuan (History) and Sheila M Rucki (Political Science) will join us for the discussion.
This conversation is a follow-up to our previous panel, which you can find here.
This event will be livestreamed -- visit live.dphi.org to join and share your questions!
This event is co-sponsored by MSU Denver History and Political Science departments. Thanks to Dr. Andrea Maestrejuan for envisioning and moderating this event.
First they Killed my Father - Loung Ung
1Book Author Keynote
Wednesday, April 2nd
11am (Add to Calendar)
St. Cajetan's
This event will be livestreamed at live.dphi.org
From a childhood survivor of the Cambodian genocide under the regime of Pol Pot, this is a riveting narrative of war crimes and desperate actions, the unnerving strength of a small girl and her family, and their triumph of spirit.
One of seven children of a high-ranking government official, Loung Ung lived a privileged life in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh until the age of five. Then, in April 1975, Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge army stormed into the city, forcing Ung’s family to flee and, eventually, to disperse. Loung was trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans, her siblings were sent to labor camps, and those who survived the horrors would not be reunited until the Khmer Rouge was destroyed.
Harrowing yet hopeful, Loung’s powerful story is an unforgettable account of a family shaken and shattered, yet miraculously sustained by courage and love in the face of unspeakable brutality.
Loung Ung is a bestselling author, activist, and screenwriter. Loung began her activism work in 1993 as a Community Educator for a domestic shelter in Maine, and has since been involved in various campaigns, including those against violence towards women, the use of child soldiers, and landmine eradication worldwide. She has made over 40 trips back to Cambodia, dedicating herself to helping her native land recover from the traumas of war. Loung has given keynote addresses at numerous forums in the US and internationally, including at Stanford University, Dartmouth College, Philips Academy, and Women in the World Summit, among others. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets and documentaries, including The New York Times, CNN, and Fresh Air with Terry Gross.
Schedule
- 10:15am: 30-minute private book signing for high school students & student organizations
- 11:00 – Keynote Lecture
- 12:30pm: 45-minute public book signing
- 1:30pm: 1.5hr reception/luncheon (RSVP required for reception)
This event is organized and sponsored by MSU Denver's 1Book/1Project/2Transform
Stories from the Colorado River Basin
Interdisciplinary panel discussion
Thursday April 10th
2:00pm (Add to Calendar)
MSU Denver CAVEA
This event will be livestreamed-- you can join and ask your questions online at LIVE.DPHI.ORG!
The Colorado River is the 5th longest river in the US at 1,450 miles long and provides water to over 40 million people. According to the Nature Conservancy, the river could shrink by up to 31% in 2050. Stories from the Colorado River Basin: Indigenous perspectives on water and land protection features speakers Louise Benally, grandmother, mother and clan mother from Big Mountain in Northern Arizona, Reuben Crus, a Piipaash/Quechan/Mexican writer raised at the confluence of the Gila and Salt Rivers in the desert, Leona Morgan, a Diné organizer and educator on nuclear issues in the Four Corners since 2007, and Woman Stands Shining, a Diné mother, grandmother, artist, advocate for the sacred water.
LOUISE BENNALLY is a grandmother, mother and clan mother from the Black Mesa community of Big Mountain in Northern Arizona… [Read Bio]
REUBEN CRUZ is a Piipaash/ Quechan/Mexican poet, educator and writer who was raised along the Gila and Salt Rivers in the Colorado River Basin of central Arizona..… [Read Bio]
LEONA MORGAN is a Diné organizer and educator on nuclear issues since 2007 in the Four Corners and Colorado River Basin region… [Read Bio]
WOMAN STANDS SHINING, Pat McCabe, is a mother and grandmother, artist, activist, international speaker, advocate for the sacredness of water all over the world, and conduit for voices of earth and spirit from Diné Nation… [Read Bio]
12:30-1:45 Community Welcome Lunch for panel attendees. RSVP for lunch
2:00-3:15 Moderated Panel with distinguished speakers. RSVP to reserve your space.
3:45-4:45 Round table discussion and networking with speakers and guests.
RSVP is required to reserve a space.
This event will be livestreamed-- you can join and ask your questions online at LIVE.DPHI.ORG!
More info, as well as teaching and learning materials, available at https://sites.msudenver.edu/thewatersconnectus/
Thanks to Suree Towfighnia for her central role in organizing this event. Co-sponsored by MSU Denver History and the Dean's Innovation Grant.
Night of Ideas
Wine, hors d'oeuvres, and interdisciplinary discussion
Thursday April 10th
6:30-8:30pm
Tivoli 440 (Add to Calendar)
Night of Ideas occurs simultaneously each year in over 20 cities across the globe. 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 year’s event will explore the theme of 'common ground'—both in its literal and metaphorical senses. We will prompt participants to consider how we can commit to and protect what we have in common.
Topics include:
- Ubuntu: African humanistic philosophy as a conflict resolution mechanism with Dr. Douglas Mpondi
- Human-centered software design: Rethinking toxic algorithmic behavior with Dr. Darija Medic
- The global impact of local waste: Art in recycling and re-use with Dr. Teresa Castaneda
- Table manners: Radical hospitality and cancel culture with Dr. Becky Vartabedian
- Commonality in the Unknown: Visual representation and imagination in Art with Cha Sellam
This dynamic evening will bring together scholars, artists, and community leaders to address pressing global and cultural issues. As we navigate an increasingly digital world, how can we foster genuine human connection? In a politically polarized society, where do we find space for meaningful dialogue? And as extreme weather threatens our planet, how can we protect the land we all share?
Join us for a night of exploration, reflection, and conversation!
Co-sponsored by L'Alliance Française de Denver and Villa Albertine through the French Consulate. L'Alliance Française de Denver is a non-profit organization that provides opportunities for people to gather around language, culture, and the arts. Click here to learn more!
Laurent Mulot - Middle of Nowhere
Multimedia Artist Discussion
Thursday, April 17th
9:30-10:45am
MSU Denver CAVEA (or join virtually - live.dphi.org)
What links a ghost town in Australia and the Lawal trees of Patagonia with CERN and a deep-sea particle research station in the Mediterranean?
French artist Laurent Mulot visited the ghost town of Cook, in South Australia to found the first "Middle of Nowhere Contemporary Art Center" with the cooperation of Cook's only two inhabitants. He sought to highlight concepts of centrality, emptiness, and absence while reflecting on Western contemporary art during a time when globalization was at its peak. From this remote location, he established an international network of "Ghost Contemporary Art Centers" across six continents, situated in unique and often desolate locations inaccessible to the public.
Middle of Nowhere is the culmination of nearly 25 years of artistic practice, incorporating photography, video, sound, sculpture, and performance. Mulot’s works typically present as installations and often involve collaborations with prominent scientific experiments and representatives of indigenous cultures.
His pursuit of the invisible has led to pivotal partnerships, including work with scientists in Antarctica and researchers at CERN (the Large Hadron Collider spanning Switzerland and France).
Intrigued by the metaphysical aspects of astrophysics, Mulot continues to travel around the globe, engaging with the mythologies of indigenous peoples and exploring universal questions about origins, humanity’s place in the cosmos, and our connection to living beings.
Mulot’s work can be explored through MOFN's dedicated website. For a beautifully rendered story of Mulot's work, click here before the event!
Virtual Q&A, free and open to the public. Join us at live.dphi.org
Thanks to MSU Denver's Jean-Francois Duclos for envisioning and moderating this event.
Anuja
Film Screening
April 21
4:30 p.m. (Reception); 6:00 p.m. (Screening & Discussion)
King Center Recital Hall
ANUJA tells the story of a gifted nine-year-old girl who, alongside her sister Palak, faces a life-changing opportunity that tests their bond and mirrors the struggles of girls worldwide.
Join Dean John Masserini, DMA, of MSU Denver's College of Letters, Arts and Sciences to celebrate Adam J. Graves, Ph.D., professor of Philosophy, for his critically acclaimed film, "Anuja," which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Live Action Short Film.
The evening will include a screening of "Anuja," followed by an intimate conversation with Dean Masserini, Dr. Graves and Vincent Piturro, Ph.D., professor of Film and Media Studies, exploring the film's subject of child labor and discussing its meteoric rise to an Oscar nomination.
ANUJA was researched and filmed with the help of the Salaam Baalak Trust, a nonprofit organization that offers education and opportunity to thousands of street and working children. The film's lead role is played by Sajda Pathan, a resident of a Salaam Baalak center that provides a home for girls formerly living on the streets of Delhi.
Learn more at https://www.anujathefilm.com/
If you would like to join this event, please email dphi@msudenver.edu
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 hundreds of events on a wide range of subjects, for a diverse range of audiences and at
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 hundreds of 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)