Offered:

Please note that these regular get-togethers are in-person only and there is no distance-learning or Zoom component.

  • • Meets continuously on Thursday evenings throughout the year. Contact us first as some sessions get cancelled due to illness or other events.

  • • This course is offered as an in-person course only and there is no distance learning component.

Date & Time:

Thursday evenings throughout the year.

  • • Thursday evenings throughtout the year from 6:30-9:00pm.

  • • 2024 Term 4 discussions begin again Thursday 24 October 2024.

Description:

PHL200: The Big Questions: Food, Friends and Philosophizing!

  • • This continuing and evolving discussion group in our ongoing Philosophy series examines life’s big questions and encourages participants to share their thoughts on a wide variety of topics and subjects chosen by group participants. It follows on from our very first discussion group that began in February 2021 that tackled some of life’s thorniest issues. Our weekly gatherings continue into 2023 with a new series of Big Questions and topics. This Term we continue the tradition of holding our weekly discussions in the various homes of our registered course participants in Hamilton and mix some Food with our Philosophising. Each weekly session is hosted by a by a member of our discussion group, which begins with a shared meal with friends (pease bring a plate!), followed by an evening of group discussion on a topic of the host’s choosing.

  • • Previous discussions have included such topics as What is the meaning of life? Is our universe real? How to live the Good Life? What is the Best political System? What does it mean to be human? Is there Truth, and if so, what is it? What is language? Does God Exist? What is creativity? How to live with fear and anxiety in an uncertain world? How to best understand other cultures? Do animals have consciousness? Countering misinformation and conspiracy theories, and What happens when we die?

  • • Prior registration is required for attending these sessions. There is no cost (except to bring a dish to share!), but a koha or donation of your choice will go a long way to offset administrative costs and will help support the work of EarthDiverse.

Meet our Organiser:

Executive Director, Senior Lecturer Dr Todd Nachowitz, PhD

Dr Todd Nachowitz, PhD, is the Founder and Executive Director of EarthDiverse. Todd is a Hamilton-based lecturer, anthropologist, environmentalist and diversity educator. He previously taught in Religious Studies at the University of Waikato, teaching courses on Comparative Religion and Religious Fundamentalism & Extremism. Todd holds a Masters Degree in Development Anthropology from Syracuse University in upstate New York (1991) and a PhD from the University of Waikato (2015) in Political Science and Public Policy where he completed his thesis on diversity governance and the Indian diaspora in New Zealand.

Prior to settling in New Zealand in 1995, Todd lived and worked in the United States, India, Pakistan and Nepal. He spent 11 years in South Asia as the Academic Director for university study-abroad programmes in Varanasi, India (for the University of Wisconsin-Madison); Lahore, Pakistan (for the University of California-Berkeley); and Kathmandu, Nepal (for School for International Training, based in Brattleboro, Vermont, USA) focusing on language, culture and religion.

Todd speaks Hindi and Urdu, and is a specialist in comparative world religions and the history, religions, languages and cultures of South Asia. He also currently teaches our Hindi and Urdu language courses and the Religious Diversity courses at EarthDiverse.

Location:

We meet in the various homes of our course participants in order to share food, friendship and philosophy!

This course currently takes place in the homes of those enrolled in the course, with a roving venue. If enrolled, please let us know if you can host one of the gatherings. There is no requirement to host. Some sessions may be held in the EarthDiverse offices and classrooms at 401 Anglesea Street, Hamilton Central, Hamilton (see map below). Those looking for parking for our evening classes can park just in front of the main building or in any available car parks in front on Anglesea Street.
Location

Distance Learning:

  • This course no longer has a distance-learning option.

Distance-Learning option:

  • This course has no on-line component and meets weekly in the Waikato in the homes of its participants.

Pricing options:

Prior registration is required for attending these sessions. You can register for free or provide a donation of your choice or the suggested contribution. The amount you choose will go a long way to offset administrative costs and will help support the work of the EarthDiverse Trust. Please bring a dish to share at each session. Once registered, you will receive instructions each week on our location and topic. Your contribution covers all sessions offered during each Term (a quarter of a calendar year).

Notes:

Meets weekly at various Hamilton locations for food and discussion throughout the year.

  • • Any Term can be taken independently of the others, and there are no prerequisites for any of the Term courses.

  • • There are no assignments, quizzes, tests or exams.

  • • All sessions are informal and encourage questions and group discussion.

  • • Please bring a plate to share!

  • • You are most welcome to come, sit back, relax, take part in and enjoy the discussions!

  • • There are no refunds for missed classes.

  • • Guests of registered participants are welcome to attend a single session without registering.

Prerequisites:

A keen desire to engage with friends and community members on a wide variety of interesting topics!

  • • There are no prerequisites for this course.

  • • bring a plate to share!