Expeditions into the Common Good

Thank you so much to Steve Horsfield and Bihotza James-Lexartzegi for leading our discussion on Homelessness and Housing at our March seminar!

In this discussion we learned about the barriers that lead people into- and keep them in- poverty and homelessness, including racial and gender specific causes.

We acknowledge the prevalence of disability, mental health, and addiction in our homeless community, and emphasized that safe and dignified housing MUST be accompanied by adequate services and support.

We then learned about what systems, organizations, and funding are in place here in Minnesota, studying Simpson Housing Services and its leading 'Housing First Model'. Through this, we discovered how transformative Housing First is, and about the process to get people into- and remaining in- housing.

We learned about partnerships with shelters, property owners, organizations such as Salvation Army, Mary Jo's, and Bridging. Bihotza recounted about what her day-to-day looks like as a Case Manager, and we finished with opportunities to get involved and support Simpson and similar services.

If you are interested in learning more, feel free to send a private message, or email us at [email protected]

Keep an eye out for our April event!

What a robust and thought-provoking discussion we had at last month’s seminar on Degrowth.

In collaboration with The Sierra Club and The Magpie Project, Expeditions into the Common Good prompted attendees to contemplate whether an economic structure based on infinite growth is sustainable, ethical, or even possible. We were asked to envision what it would mean to dismantle exploitative systems beyond the individual lifestyle changes we can all do.

Thank you Emma for providing your knowledge and leading us through this challenging topic. We were left enlightened and eager for an ongoing conversation.

We are so grateful to have had Kathya Cibelle Dawe join us for our January Seminar on International Tribunals. During a time of so much injustice and suffering within our own community and abroad, we used this space to question the purpose and effectiveness of international courts.
We were also so blessed to hear some first-hand experience Kathye shared of her time working with women who had lived through the Bosnian Genocide, as she recounted her experience doing research for the International Tribunal of Yugoslavia.

As our community continues to fight and persevere, it is all the more important to find space for gathering and critical discussion. Stay posted for our upcoming February event on the concept of 'Degrowth'!

Welcome to The Institute’s thirty-first season! This year’s series calls us to probe, ever more critically, education and to attend momentous literary anniversaries (Postman,Lewis, Fitzgerald). For these expeditions, we delight in partnering with new friends at the splendid University Club. At the time when Neil Postman released his searching and prophetic thesis "Amusing Ourselves To Death," everyone sensed that some radical change was at hand, but Postman was among the few who understood how corrosive it would be and how it would infect not only our leisure time but also our solemn institutions and, indeed, every area of our private and public lives.

— R. Alan James