Woodward’s
The Olympic Games are a time of global celebration and, inevitably, with celebration comes spending. Jules Boykoff of Pacific University, a former member of the US Olympic soccer team, spoke on Feb. 14 at the Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre about “celebration capitalism.”
Celebration capitalism, a theory coined by Boykoff, refers to the economic state that emerges during a time of exhilaration and extravagance. Boykoff analyzed manifestations of celebration capitalism in the political contexts of the most recent Olympic Games — Vancouver 2010, London 2012 and Sochi 2014.
Surrey
On Feb. 11, PhD student Sieun Lee facilitated a Philosophers’ Café on depression, or what he referred to as “the ‘common cold’ of mental disorders.” This interactive session was held at the City Centre Library (just across the street from the SFU Surrey Campus).
The informal discussion addressed the causes and appropriate methods and techniques with which conscientious members of society should be addressing the “Epidemic of Depression.”
Vancouver
Coinciding with Valentine’s week, SFU’s Centre for the Comparative Studies of Muslim Societies and Cultures hosted a lecture, as part of the Spring Colloquium Series, titled “Rumi’s Religion of Humanity: Why Love Matters for Justice.”
On Feb. 13, Hossein Houshmand addressed the role of love “as the physician of our many illnesses,” through the perspective of renowned 13th-century poet, theologian and mystic, Jalaluddin Rumi. Houshmand argued that “if the society is to be stable ‘for the right reasons,’ its basic principles must be embraced with love and compassion.”
