Recording: The Power Of Saying No: Learn the Art of Empowered Refusal

THIS COURSE DATE HAS PASSED. RECORDING IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE BELOW.

In this webinar, award-winning professor and researcher Dr. Vanessa Patrick delves into the new science of saying no based on her new book The Power of Saying No. She introduces the ground-breaking concept of “empowered refusal”—a proven framework for saying no that...

Recording: Houston 2026: Hosting the World Cup

THIS COURSE DATE HAS PASSED. A RECORDING IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE BELOW.

In 2026, the World Cup will be hosted in Houston in addition to 15 other cities across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Other successful bidders include Atlanta, Dallas, Kansas City, Toronto, and Mexico City. Hosting the World Cup is...

Cities of Silver: A Survey

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 6:00–7:45 P.M.

Mexico is so close, and yet so different. It has an architectural legacy that spans three-thousand years— including ancient archeological sites, colonial cities like Santiago de Querétaro, Guanajuato, and San Miguel de Allende that were founded by the Spanish almost...

Early Childhood Education in Houston: Are We Preparing Our City’s Children to Succeed?

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 10:00–11:30 A.M.

High-quality early childhood education programs help prepare children for success in elementary school and beyond. Decades of research show that these programs have strong and persistent benefits, including substantial learning gains, better social and executive function skills, increased high school...

Cities of Silver: Santiago de Querétaro, San Miguel de Allende, and Guanajuato

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4-SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2023

  Cities of Silver: Santiago de Querétaro, San Miguel de Allende, and Guanajuato $3850 pp/double occupancy        $4400 pp/single occupancy $1000 pp deposit The Houston Seminar will explore the colonial—and contemporary—heritage of three central Mexican cities founded in...

Women's Reproductive Health

TWO THURSDAYS, OCTOBER 12 AND OCTOBER 19, 6:00 – 7:30 P.M.

These two courses are designed to provide an update on the state of reproductive health in Texas. Our speakers are on the front lines of advocacy and will discuss bills being presented and evaluated by Texas legislators ranging from contraception...

Deep Seabed Mining

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 6:00 – 7:30 P.M.

There is currently a great deal of activity surrounding the topic of deep seabed mining. This is due to the vast quantities of critical minerals that exist in various forms of deposits in the abyssal zone, the very minerals that...

An Introduction to García Lorca: Images as Time Frames

TWO WEDNESDAYS, OCTOBER 18 AND 25, 6:00–7:30 P.M.

Federico García Lorca (1898-1936), one of the most essential and influential poets of the twentieth century, lived only a few decades, but his works cast centuries. Join professor Carlos Jimenez in a two session course exploring the poetry of García...

Blue Nile: A Culinary Exploration of Ethiopia

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 11:30 A.M.–1:00 P.M.

The fragrant seasonings of Ethiopia, including cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, basil, and turmeric drifting through Blue Nile, an authentic Ethiopian restaurant, will greet us as we begin our culinary and cultural exploration of that country’s cuisine. The traditional Ethiopian meal always...

The Commons at Hermann Park: A Sneak Preview

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 10:30 A.M.–12:00 P.M.

Doreen Stoller, Hermann Park Conservancy’s president since 2003, will provide an overview of Hermann Park’s updated master plan. She will offer a brief history of the Conservancy and highlight the ambitious projects that will be coming to the park in...

When Opera Was "Verboten": 17th-century Christmas Oratorios in Dresden and Vienna

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 6:00–7:30 P.M.

Musicologist, conductor, and harpsichordist Mario Aschauer will present a lecture and performance focusing on two works commissioned to skirt the prohibition against opera performances during Advent in seventeen-century Dresden and Vienna. The Seminar audience will hear selections from Heinrich Schütz’s...

How the “Deinstitutionalization” of Mental Hospitals in the 20th Century Led to the Homelessness Epidemic of the 21st Century

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 6:00–7:30 P.M.

In 1955 the United States reached its peak number of mental hospital beds, almost all of which were in state-run facilities. At that time, there were over 500,000 psychiatric beds compared with just over 50,000 as of 2014 — a...

Subversive Verses

TWO MONDAYS, NOVEMBER 20 AND DECEMBER 4, 6:00-7:30 PM

To paraphrase Russian poet Osip Mandelstam: Where is poetry more respected than a country where poets are killed for their verses? Of course, he was referring to the Soviet Union, but dictatorial regimes all over the world have held poets...

Before Texas: Historic Ranches and Towns of Nuevo Santander

TUESDAY, MARCH 12-SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2024

  Before Texas: Historic Ranches and Towns of Nuevo Santander Only after the U.S.-Mexico War of 1846–1848 was the southern tip of the state incorporated into Texas. From 1748 until 1824, this territory comprised the northern half of the Spanish...

Where is Kansas City? What is Kansas City?

FALL 2024. DATES ARE TBD.

  Where is Kansas City? What is Kansas City? Missouri? Kansas? The answer is both. This holds true for many aspects of the region that will be brought to light during our visit to Kansas City, Missouri. We will delve...