Lectures and Events
Engage with the community through one of SFU Continuing Studies’ public lectures, events, or forums. Most are free, and admission is open to anyone. Some events require reservations.
Community Building
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Thu, 24 Jan 2019 6:00 PM
The Future of Mobility Speaker Series: Tim Papandreou
Creative Writing
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Thu, 07 Feb 2019 8:00 PM
The Writer's Studio Reading Series in Vancouver -
Sun, 10 Feb 2019 10:00 AM
TWS Community Workshops: Writer Interrupted — Reboot Your Writing Life -
Sun, 24 Feb 2019 10:00 AM
TWS Community Workshops: Restarting the Stalled Story -
Sun, 10 Mar 2019 10:00 AM
TWS Community Workshops: Truth or Fiction? From Research to Novel
Liberal Arts
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Sat, 23 Feb 2019 1:30 PM
Free Forum | Around the World in 90 Minutes -
Tue, 05 Mar 2019 2:30 PM
Writing an Essay for the Liberal Arts Certificate (55+) — March Workshop -
Sat, 23 Mar 2019 1:30 PM
Free Forum | Easter in Art
Philosophers' Café
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Wed, 23 Jan 2019 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | What does it mean to be human? How is this expressed in our lives? -
Wed, 23 Jan 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Legalized marijuana: a universal panacea with its roots in hell, or harmless recreational pastime? -
Sun, 27 Jan 2019 3:00 PM
Pop Up Cafe | Understanding the stresses on parent-child relationships in immigrant families: What are the challenges to inter-generational communication and clarity? -
Mon, 28 Jan 2019 12:00 PM
Pop Up Café | Understanding sex, consent and aging in relationships
How do sexual relationships change over time? And how do older generations engage with youth in conversation about sex and aging and what that means within the current climate of conversations on sexual violence, consent, relationships and boundaries? -
Mon, 28 Jan 2019 6:30 PM
Pop Up Cafe | The art of listening: why do we experience conflict, fear and miscommunication in relationships? -
Mon, 28 Jan 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Technologies of the Self: A Seminar with Michel Foucault asks, what are the processes and the technologies, by which we gain knowledge to determine the way we want to be in the world? -
Tue, 29 Jan 2019 6:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | “We’re all just walking each other home,” wrote the pop philosopher Ram Dass. What does this mean to you? -
Wed, 30 Jan 2019 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | Are family relationships obligatory? Is it okay to turn your back on blood? -
Thu, 31 Jan 2019 6:00 PM
Pop-up Café | What would a utopia be like? How would it function and continue to exist? -
Mon, 04 Feb 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Hospitality customs: quaint cultural artifact, or the sign of a healthy society? -
Wed, 06 Feb 2019 6:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | How have Canadian immigration policies and our attitudes toward them changed over time, and what does the future look like? -
Wed, 06 Feb 2019 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | Jordan Peterson argues that radical leftists have taken over universities and HR departments? Have they?
What would be the consequences? -
Thu, 07 Feb 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Has feminism influenced a more realistic view of marriage, or do fairy tale weddings still shape our expectations? -
Fri, 08 Feb 2019 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | What is multitasking? Do you multitask? Serial task? When? Why? To what effect? -
Fri, 08 Feb 2019 12:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | What role—if any—does Romanticism have in the 21st century? -
Fri, 08 Feb 2019 3:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Dissensus: must we agree to get along? -
Sat, 09 Feb 2019 3:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | You see a naked person walking on the street at 12:35 a.m. on a wet Sunday. How do you react to and process the bizarre and unexpected? -
Sun, 10 Feb 2019 3:00 PM
Pop Up Cafe | What is the root cause of violence? -
Tue, 12 Feb 2019 5:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | What is our human potential and how can we access it? -
Tue, 12 Feb 2019 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | Death and dying: how do we approach end of life in healthy ways? -
Tue, 12 Feb 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Should Canada adopt the ideas in the LEAP manifesto: A Call for a Canada Based on Caring for the Earth and One Another. -
Wed, 13 Feb 2019 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | Death and dying: how do we approach end of life in healthy ways? -
Wed, 13 Feb 2019 7:00 PM
Pop Up Café | Is deplatforming a means of preventing free speech?
Is it an effective strategy to eliminating hate, or does it raise the profile of the banned? -
Thu, 14 Feb 2019 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | Socialism versus capitalism: is one better than the other, or do they simply offer different strengths? -
Thu, 14 Feb 2019 7:00 PM
Russian Café | Закон и справедливость: как они связаны? Можно ли назвать их синонимами?
Law and equity: how are they connected? Could they be synonyms? -
Thu, 14 Feb 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | What (dis)advantages do political parties offer in a municipal election? -
Tue, 19 Feb 2019 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | Love your enemies: what does this mean? Can it be done? -
Wed, 20 Feb 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Nation states: what are they for? Do we still need them? -
Thu, 21 Feb 2019 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | When is a democracy not a democracy? What are the pillars that define a democratic state? -
Thu, 21 Feb 2019 5:30 PM
Inclusive City Café | February is Black History Month. What did Martin Luther King Jr. teach us about civil disobedience? -
Thu, 21 Feb 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | What is the appeal of public intellectuals, such as Jordan Peterson, who have been referred to as members of the Intellectual Dark Web?
Are they as dangerous as their critics claim them to be? -
Thu, 21 Feb 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | What do we need to teach our children?
Are there key skills that our children and grandchildren need to flourish in the world and can we imagine new ways of helping them develop? -
Thu, 21 Feb 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | The greater the power, the greater the responsibility: do more powerful nations have a greater responsibility to act ethically in the world? -
Mon, 25 Feb 2019 6:30 PM
Pop Up Café | Knowing life beyond desire: what is the true relationship between love and desire? -
Mon, 25 Feb 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | In a gender binary world, we construct, support and perpetuate ideals of masculinity and femininity. What are these ideals today and how do we conform to or challenge them? -
Tue, 26 Feb 2019 6:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | “I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element,” wrote Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. What does this mean to you? -
Wed, 27 Feb 2019 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | What are the dangers and advantages of medically assisted dying? -
Wed, 27 Feb 2019 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | What do you know about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC)?
Is the process of addressing the issues of colonization with Canada’s Indigenous peoples working? What are the benefits and drawbacks of the TRC? -
Thu, 28 Feb 2019 2:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | To pray or not to pray? Secular countries regularly top the list for happiest places, yet religious and spiritual individuals report being happier than others. Do we need a spiritual practice? -
Mon, 04 Mar 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Do we look for certain characteristics in our leaders?
Do we seek different characteristics from leaders in different aspects of our lives? How do you lead? -
Wed, 06 Mar 2019 6:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Is critical thinking a thing of the past? What are the consequences of not thinking critically? -
Wed, 06 Mar 2019 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | Do you have faith in anything? Do agnostics have all the answers? -
Thu, 07 Mar 2019 1:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | How does creating art serve as a cathartic or therapeutic act? -
Thu, 07 Mar 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Sensation, memory, perception, skill, spontaneity and intelligence: how does an artist explore their authentic consciousness? -
Fri, 08 Mar 2019 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | “Don’t give advice, unless someone insists,” says Parker Palmer. “Instead, be fully present, listen deeply, and ask questions that give the other a chance to express more of his or her own truth.” How do you interpret this quote? -
Fri, 08 Mar 2019 12:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | Are universities bastions of artistic innovation and creativity, or crumbling pillars of stagnation and mediocrity? -
Fri, 08 Mar 2019 3:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Ideology: must we know what we think? Must we understand our belief? -
Sat, 09 Mar 2019 3:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Climate change? Yawn. It hasn’t affected our lives yet, so why should we care? -
Sun, 10 Mar 2019 3:00 PM
Pop Up Cafe | Understanding identity: Why do South Asian cultures struggle with the racism of the caste system? -
Tue, 12 Mar 2019 5:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Fake news, appearance versus reality, balance of probabilities or beyond reasonable doubt?
Why do we care about the truth when it is often challenging to establish? -
Tue, 12 Mar 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Canadian values: what are they today? -
Wed, 13 Mar 2019 6:30 PM
Pop Up Café | What does artificial intelligence mean to you? Does it scare you? -
Wed, 13 Mar 2019 7:00 PM
Pop Up Cafe | Cannabis is legal. What’s next? -
Thu, 14 Mar 2019 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | Does spring bring a surge of optimism? Should one "beware the Ide(a)s of March"? -
Thu, 14 Mar 2019 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | Are public art installations and sculptures welcome cultural additions, or frivolous eyesores? -
Thu, 14 Mar 2019 7:00 PM
Philosopher's Café | The television series “The Good Place” examines what it is to be a good person. Is morality a big part of your everyday life?
Which place will you go to when you die? -
Tue, 19 Mar 2019 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | When is risk an unavoidable part of our lives? When do we choose it? -
Wed, 20 Mar 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | What's so scary about artificial intelligence? Why are people worried? -
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | How does the use of your time reflect your values and your priorities?
Do you need to justify how you spend your time? -
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 5:30 PM
Inclusive City Café | How does the shock of being called a racist impact our behaviour? How do we get from colour-blind to colour-brave? -
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 7:00 PM
Russian Café | Криптовалюты и блок-чейн технологии: будущее финансовых систем или мыльный пузырь?
Cryptocurrencies and blockchain: our future or hype? Guest speaker: Irina Mashedo -
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | What impact is the #MeToo movement having on male-female relationships? -
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Can we avoid a climate catastrophe?
Can a small group of conscious and concerned people change the world for the better? -
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Slacktivism: is signing an internet petition good enough? Have we lost our way with activism? -
Mon, 25 Mar 2019 6:30 PM
Pop Up Café | Questioning the consumerism of meditation: has mindfulness become a buzzword? -
Mon, 25 Mar 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Living in an image-saturated landscape, gaps emerge between our own sense of self and media representations of an ideal self.
How do such representations influence our sense of identity and affect our lives? -
Tue, 26 Mar 2019 6:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | “The answers aren’t important really,” says the hero in Zilpha Keatley Snyder’s novel, The Changeling. “What’s important is—knowing all the questions.” -
Wed, 27 Mar 2019 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | What are Canadian values? How are they realized or not realized? -
Wed, 27 Mar 2019 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | Who are allies of the TRC and how can they help aid the process of understanding Indigenous issues?
What does building an improved understanding look like to you? -
Thu, 28 Mar 2019 2:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | We are more connected than ever before, so why are we so lonely?
Why hasn't modern transportation and technology solved our loneliness? -
Mon, 01 Apr 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Are there comic forms that are universal, or is comedy a social construct that can only be appreciated from within a cultural paradigm? -
Wed, 03 Apr 2019 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | Can extreme alterations of consciousness give us knowledge? Is there a difference between being crazy and being enlightened? -
Thu, 04 Apr 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | The wedding dress: does the commodification of weddings obscure the true meaning of marriage? What is the true meaning? -
Sun, 07 Apr 2019 3:00 PM
Pop Up Cafe | What is the relationship between self-knowing and social responsibility?? -
Tue, 09 Apr 2019 5:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | “Do I know you?”: can we truly connect to others? -
Tue, 09 Apr 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Do you agree with Théophile Gautier that “immortality of the soul [and] free will…[is] all very amusing to talk about up to the age of twenty-two, but not after that”? -
Wed, 10 Apr 2019 6:30 PM
Pop Up Café | Nationalism versus globalism: what is the best approach to protect the environment? -
Thu, 11 Apr 2019 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | The Temporary Foreign Worker Program: should it be expanded, kept as is, reduced or scrapped? -
Thu, 11 Apr 2019 7:00 PM
Philosopher's Café | Practicing forgiveness: why is it so important to let go? -
Fri, 12 Apr 2019 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | It's not what you do; it's how you do it; and how you do it is what you do. What does this phrase mean to you? -
Fri, 12 Apr 2019 12:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | Genius in music and art: rarity, commonplace or trickery? -
Fri, 12 Apr 2019 3:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Do we have the right to be ignorant about some issues? -
Sat, 13 Apr 2019 3:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | “I was only a kid." How do we draw a line between youthful mistakes and criminal behaviour? -
Mon, 15 Apr 2019 6:30 PM
Pop Up Café | What is the geography and psychology of racism?
What prevents humans from going beyond the binaries of their social conditioning? -
Mon, 15 Apr 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | In today's consumer capitalist spectacle, celebrities are held up as role models and spokespeople. Why?
What are the promises and pitfalls of our obsession with celebrities? -
Tue, 16 Apr 2019 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | Are there basic beliefs in all religions? If so, what are they? -
Wed, 17 Apr 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Has the past led us to believe we live in a simple understandable world when that is not the case?
Is it absurd to expect to be able to understand anything? -
Wed, 17 Apr 2019 7:00 PM
Pop Up Café| How and where do you enjoy art? -
Thu, 18 Apr 2019 5:30 PM
Inclusive City Café | The new world of health: are we really in control of our own health? -
Thu, 18 Apr 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Is the modern mental health epidemic real, or a manufactured crisis? -
Thu, 18 Apr 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Philosophers often write of a well-lived life—but what is it? How do we know we’re living well?
What factors contribute to a well-lived life? -
Thu, 18 Apr 2019 7:00 PM
Russian Café | Почему Запад превзошел Восток в технологиях и уровне жизни? И это навсегда?
Why has the West exceeded the East in certain aspects of technology and quality of life? Will this always be the case? Guest speaker: Irina Mashedo -
Thu, 18 Apr 2019 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | How do we discern truth?
How do we work together to arrive at truth in a world where there are so many competing claims? -
Wed, 24 Apr 2019 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | What is heaven on earth for you? -
Wed, 24 Apr 2019 6:00 PM
Pop Up Cafe | How does our direct participation in community contribute to the well-being of society?
Is volunteering a moral virtue or obligation? -
Wed, 24 Apr 2019 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | Deconstructing FOBS: what does it mean to be "fresh off the boat"?
What are the effects of this dialogue surrounding immigrants and people of colour? Who benefits from this type of language and how? -
Thu, 25 Apr 2019 2:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | What happens when your inner child gets arthritis? Is play important for all of us?
How does play fit into the life of today's child or adult? -
Tue, 30 Apr 2019 6:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Where do you find meaning in your life?