Humanities Café
Humanities Cafe is a bi-weekly program which brings together presenters to discuss important issues affecting Americans.
The goal of this program is to be informative and conversational — to discuss issues and bring about a greater understanding of the complexities that lie beneath these issues.
Upcoming Humanities Café Topics
April 24 | Dr. Axton Betz-Hamilton and Dr. Tom Dean –We’re #1 in the Nation…for Medical Debt?! – Dr. Axton Betz-Hamilton, Associate Professor in the Ness School of Management and Economics at SDSU, and Dr. Tom Dean, retired family medicine physician and columnist, join SDHC to discuss why South Dakotans have the highest medical debt in the nation, what can be done to turn that around, and how people can cope with that debt in the meantime.
May 8 | Dr. John Little and Megan Red Shirt Shaw – Everywhere and Nowhere: Moving Beyond Mascots, Stereotypes, and Cultural Appropriation – Dr. John Little, Director of Native Recruitment & Alumni Engagement at the University of South Dakota, filmmaker, and enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and Megan Red Shirt Shaw, Director of Native Student Services at the University of South Dakota, founder of Natives in America magazine, and enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, join SDHC to discuss the persistence and presence of Indigenous peoples, moving beyond mascots, stereotypes, and cultural appropriation.
May 22 | Dr. Daniel Mourlam and Dr. Kyle Kopplin – South Dakota’s Teacher Shortage: Challenges and Change – Dr. Daniel Mourlam, Chair of the Division of Teacher Education at the University of South Dakota, and Dr. Kyle Kopplin, Assistant Professor of Economics at Black Hills State University, join SDHC to discuss the ongoing issue of South Dakota’s teacher shortage.
June 5 | (Guests TBA) – Native Tourism in South Dakota – Invited guests join SDHC to talk about a move toward increased Native Tourism in South Dakota – what it means and why it’s so important to the state.
June 19 | HOLIDAY – NO PROGRAM
Disclaimer: The opinions shared by Humanities Cafe guests and panelists are their own and are not to be considered representative of any state organization and/or the South Dakota Humanities Council.
NOTE: SDHC expects program participants to behave respectfully. Any questionable conduct may be considered grounds for removal from program participation.