Events
An Experiment in Direct Democracy
October 16, 5:30-7:30 PM
2815 Swain Library, Sangren Hall, WMU
Join us for a screening of the new documentary, 9/11: Reclaiming Ground Zero. The film tells the story of the 5000-person town hall meeting—an unprecedented experiment in direct democracy—that shaped the future of the 9/11 memorial.
The screening will be followed by a discussion with the film's director, Josh Sabey, and Eric Thomas Weber, the author of A Culture of Justice (SUNY 2026), which examines how culture itself can enable or inhibit the pursuit of justice. The discussion will be moderated by Jessica Heybach, the Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies at the College of Education and Human Development.
Screening of BURD at the Canadiana Festival
September 19, 1-2 PM
City Centre Events
The Ethics Center will be opening the Canadiana Festival with the world premiere of BURD. This 26-minute documentary features 110-year-old WWII vet Burdett "Burd" Sisler—the oldest Canadian. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with BURD's director and producer.
BURD confronts the physical and cognitive reality of living to 110. Rather than offering lifestyle strategies for longevity, it explores memory, family, love, conflict, and the weight of outliving all of your contemporaries.
As Burd reflects on war, marriage, grief, and the family that sustained him, larger questions emerge: What does it mean to become one of the final witnesses to history? What details disappear when a person dies? What can cinema preserve before that moment arrives?
Note: BURD touches briefly on the topic of physician-assisted suicide. The post-film Q&A panel will include Tyler Gibb, a faculty member at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. Tyler will field questions about the changing landscape of assisted suicide in Michigan and in Canada.
Tickets for this event are available here.
Cocked and Boozy
September 22, 7-8 PM
ONE WELL Brewing
“Boozy,” “Bowz’d,” “Piss’d in the Brook,” or “Drunk as a Wheel-Barrow”... Those are just a few of the 200+ terms Benjamin Franklin included in his 1736 Drinker’s Dictionary.
Eighteenth-century Americans consumed a staggering amount of alcohol compared to us today, including some of the most famous names from the founding generation. Join us for an evening with historian Brooke Barbier, author of Cocked and Boozy: An Intoxicating History of the American Revolution. Brooke will dish on what Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and others liked to imbibe. She'll also talk about how drink influenced their relationships, politics, and the American Revolution.
By the end of the evening, you'll have discovered which revolutionary you'd be most likely to drink with: will it be Abigail Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere, or another storied American?
Tickets for this event are available here.