the KnowMore Lectures

Feminism

2010-03-29T09:55:00.001-07:00

Talk'n feminism.

Feminism is for everybody. I've always loved talk'n feminism to terrified high school students, dealing with their perceptions of the powerful movement that has shaped our world.

From "what is the White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy?" to "is Xena Warrior Princess a feminist icon?" This lecture will also include a brief history of Feminism.

Bring your questions. If you'd like, we'll give a feminist reading of Lady Gaga, Carrie from Sex in the City, anything. We'll definitely do a feminist reading about how the media presents feminism.

The Comedy Bar
945 Bloor
8 - 9pm

$5 for men
$4 for women
(lecture price adjusted for Ontario's gender pay gap http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/500415)

Colonialism/Postcolonialism/Neocolonialism

2010-02-22T19:24:00.000-08:00

This is what we're all about. Dusting off academic terms and showing how they live and breathe in your world. New perspectives and key information. From the Scramble to Africa to World Cup soccer. From Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness to James Cameron's Avatar.

KnowMore Lecture 10
Colonialism/Postcolonialism/Neocolonialism
March 1st
8pm - 9pm
$5

We're Back.

2010-01-13T16:34:00.000-08:00

The KnowMore Lectures are back. We've moved to a new space but we've kept our badass approach to learning (winks, attempts to wheelie on motorcycle, settles for driving really fast). We're starting back up on February 1st.

The KnowMore Lectures
Monday, February 1st.
8pm - 9pm.
$5.
At the Comedy Bar (945 Bloor street -right across the street from the west exit of Ossington station)

KnowMore Hiatus

2009-03-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

The KnowMore lectures have begun their four month hiatus.

They will return in August with a new venue and maybe a haircut (unlikely).

Thanks to everyone who attended and shared their feedback.

The next step for the KnowMore lectures is total transparency. I'll be keeping the fun, informal, unpretentious style and adding a discreet layer of quotes from primary sources and recommended readings. In my early days as a teacher it was all about how flashy and funny I was. Now, as I move into phase II, I'm trying to focus on effectiveness. Help people retain information, pursue their interests, and introduce ideas that may inspire them.

In the future, I'll be revisiting lectures, perhaps even breaking up the more ambitious ones into a miniseries.

All the Science

2009-03-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

Major scientific developments in a nutshell. From teeny subatomic particles to the vast reaches of the universe and all of the gravity, electromagnetism, and theories of relativity in between.

Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Faraday, Einstein, and more.

Great ideas explained in a straightforward and fun way. Spreading an understanding of relativity, entropy, evolution, black holes and other fascinating ideas.

Thursday, March 19th, 2009
$5
Unit 102
8pm - 9:30pm

KnowMore Break

2009-02-23T13:16:00.000-08:00

There will be no lecture on Thursday, March 5th. I'll be having my wisdom teeth removed.

I will return, less wise, on Thursday, March 19th for All the Science.

WWI and WWII

2009-02-06T15:54:00.000-08:00

This is the tale of the war that cast a shadow over human civilization. A time when all of our greatest achievements were unleashed as nightmares. From poison gas to atomic bombs. From scientific racism to civilian bombings. From the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand to the suicide of Adolf Hitler. World War I and World War II are directly connected. Hundreds of years from now it will most likely be remembered as a single narrative of war.

This is a story about glory, empire, invention, and human suffering. It will see Emperors fall, revolutionary visionaries rise, and the unnatural deaths of over 100 million people.

Churchill, Wilson, Truman, Bismarck, Hitler, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mao, Hirohito are all leaders who brought bold answers to the daunting questions of their time.

What started it? What happened? And will awareness prevent it from happening again?

(pictured: the firebombing of Dresden)

WWI and WWII
Thursday, February 19th.
8pm-9:30pm
$5 Unit 102 (46 Noble Street)

I thank you heartily for your mediation which begins to give one hope that all may yet end peacefully. It is technically impossible to stop our military preparation... We are far from wishing war... I put all my trust in Gods mercy and hope in your successful mediation in Vienna for the welfare of our countries and for the peace of Europe.

Your affectionate
Nicky

(excerpt from the Willy-Nicky telegrams July 31st, 1914)

Ancient Greece - Readings

2009-02-06T09:22:00.001-08:00

Reading: The Funeral Oration.
"Our government does not copy our neighbors', but is an example to them."

"And, if I am to speak of womanly virtues to those of you who will henceforth be widows, let me sum them up in one short admonition: To a woman not to show more weakness than is natural to her sex is a great glory, and not to be talked about for good or for evil among men."

Pericles' great speech to re-affirm why Athens is at war (from Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War).

Reading: The Melian Dialogue.
"... the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must."

The Athenian give the Melians a dose of harsh city-state politics. (from Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War).

Reading: Socrates' Proposal for his Sentence. (second last section)

"And so he proposes death as the penalty. And what shall I propose on my part, O men of Athens? Clearly that which is my due... I say that maintenance in the Prytaneum is the just return."

The jury expects Socrates to beg that his sentence be reduced from death to exile. Instead, he argues for "maintenance in the Prytaneum*". (from: Plato's Apology).

*The Prytaneum was a public hall where dinners would be held for diplomats and Olympic Champions at the state's expense. Essentially, with his life on the line, Socrates proposes his punishment should be free dinners for life for the service he provides to Athens by asking difficult questions.

Reading: Rhampsinitus and the Thief
"As he spoke, the princess caught at him, but the thief took advantage of the darkness to hold out to her the hand of the corpse. Imagining it to be his own hand, she seized and held it fast; while the thief, leaving it in her grasp, made his escape by the door."

This is the story that amused me. It's a longer tale found a little more than halfway through Book II of Herodotus' The Histories. Search the text for the name Rhampsinitus (from Herodotus: The Histories).

Ancient Greece - Timeline Handout

2009-02-05T10:06:00.000-08:00

Once again, thanks to archive.org, the .pdf handout is available for download.

I had to do the guesswork for the lifespan of some early figures like Homer, Cliesthenes and Pisistratus. The sequence is preserved but there are few reliable dates for Greek history in the 6th Century and beyond.

Ancient Greece

2009-01-29T20:21:00.001-08:00

This is a tale of new ideas, ambition, overconfidence, war, and desperation. Come hear about the rise and fall of Athens, the war that "saved the western world", and the legendary stories (the Odyssey and the Iliad) that inspired the Greeks. You'll also meet a cast of unforgettable characters: the sh*t disturbing Socrates, the dreamer Plato, captivating Pericles, the story-weaving historian Thucydides, brash Alcibiades, and more!

After we cover the five most popular trivia questions about Ancient Greece and the major stories that all scholars must learn we'll discuss the brutal realism of Athenian imperial politics, the details of their limited citizenship and democracy, as well as sex and gender in the ancient world (including same-sex relationships like the Sacred Band of Thebes).

The echoes of the Ancient Greeks continue to resonate in our world. Their spirit was revived during the Renaissance and continues to touch our movies ("This is Sparta!"), government, modern Olympics, architecture, theater, philosophy, and art (pictured: The School of Athens).

Ancient Greece
Thursday, February 5th.
8pm-9:30pm
$5 Unit 102 (46 Noble Street)

"It is from the greatest dangers that the greatest glory is to be won."
Thucydides
History of the Peloponnesian War

The French Revolution and the Rise and Fall of Napoleon

2009-01-11T07:58:00.000-08:00

The French Revolution is a story about bold ideals, human rights, betrayal, war, violence, and one of the most discussed conquerors in history, Napoleon.

Come find out why French history from 1793-94 has been labeled the Reign of Terror, why chopping off people's heads with a falling blade was seen as a humane practice, and how 18th century democracy was born in blood. We'll also cover Napoleon's wild successes, his great blunder in Russia, and the comeback that shook the world.

We'll also discuss the Princess and the Pea, Maid in Manhattan (spoiler alert: this film is awful), and why this generation finds Charles Dickens to be boring,

The French Revolution
and
the Rise and Fall of Napoleon

Thursday,
January 22nd.

8pm-9:30pm

$5 Unit 102 (46 Noble Street)

In the words of Thomas Jefferson: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. It is it's natural manure." (1787)

The Roman Empire Timeline - handout now available

2009-01-07T14:40:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the incredible archive.org the handout for the Roman empire lecture is now available. It will also be available at the lecture.

Page 1
The timeline really shows how much popular Roman history is concentrated in the transition from Republic to rule of the Emperors. As a sidenote -I'm really pleased with this timeline (begun in Microsoft Excel and completed in OpenOffice's Calc spreadsheet program).

Page 2
The write-up is a brief summary of the most famous stories from Roman history. It also includes a list of suggested readings.

*I had to extrapolate (read: make up) dates for the lifespans of Tarquinius Superbus, Lucretia, and Marcus Junius Brutus.

The Roman Empire

2009-01-03T07:13:00.000-08:00

This lecture will be the story of Rome. It is an enormous tale that spans over eight-hundred years with a memorable cast of characters (including Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Spartacus, Hannibal, and Jesus).

In one hour you'll have a grasp of the Roman Empire, a burning desire to read Plutarch, and you'll be able to answer the five most popular trivia questions about Rome.

Roman influence is still under the surface of our culture. We can see traces of Rome in our laws, words, calendars, education, monuments, and entertainment. We can also ask questions about the nature of Empire and what the Romans can teach us about democracy, the Iraq war, and what it means to be a good person.

The Roman Empire

Thursday,
January 8th.

8pm-9:30pm

$5 Unit 102 (46 Noble Street)

(Facebook Event here)

Holiday wrap up

2008-12-12T08:16:00.000-08:00

We ran out of the All the Philosophy cheat sheets at the KnowMore lecture last night. Feel free to download a copy from archive.org

The topic of the next lecture has not been settled. It may be:
Introduction to Global Conflicts in our Lifetime
Creating your own Political Opinion
All the Science
the Story of Julius Caesar
Life in Nazi Germany
All the Art
the Story of Napoleon
Famous Writers and their Work
All the Religion
the Story of the French Revolution

Your input is always appreciated.

We'll reconvene on Thursday, January 8th.

The book that I'm posing with in the picture is Will Durant's The Story of Philosophy. He is an articulate writer who can satisfy your desire for more detail.

His book discusses Plato, Aristotle, Francis Bacon, Baruch Spinoza, Voltaire, Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Spencer, and Nietzsche.

(thanks for the photos, Marc!)

All the Philosophy

2008-12-08T16:30:00.000-08:00

The most ambitious KnowMore lecture yet. All the Philosophy is a one hour introduction to the great thinkers in Western history.

Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Kant, Hegel, Darwin, Nietzsche, Freud, Wittgenstein and many more! Get the lowdown on the key players for your philosophy Fantasy Draft!

You'll hear about each philosopher in a nutshell. A straightforward introduction, a few details, and encouragement to pick your favourites and read their work.

(in rows starting top left: Kant, upside-down Hegel, Freud, Darwin, Hobbes, Thoreau, Locke's eyes, Socrates, Machiavelli, Rousseau, Hume, Nietzsche)

All the Philosophy.
Thursday, December 11th.
8pm-9:30pm
$5
Unit 102 (46 Noble Street)

KnowMore in the Toronto Metro

2008-12-08T13:57:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Brian Coulton the KnowMore Lectures are in today's Metro.

Stevens hour-and-a-half lectures demystify otherwise confusing topics to reveal easily
understandable ones, using pared down layman terms and examples at a digestible pace.

Students also aren’t used to the addition of laughs to lecture. Describing the Cold War in a lecture on communism versus capitalism as, “a big c— -swinging contest on the international stage” plus character impersonations and improvised audience interaction are commonplace in Stevens’ optimistic, often-hysterical delivery.

That's me, I'm Stevens!

Communism. Capitalism. (Marx Vs. Pennybags)

2008-11-16T16:55:00.000-08:00

The next KnowMore lecture will cover communism and capitalism.

We'll look at simple definitions of these often used terms. We'll also touch upon Karl Marx's prediction of a worker revolution (and explain the terms "proletariat" and "bourgeoisie").

Before it's all over, you'll have the context to understand Che Guevara, Mao Zedong, Vladimir Lenin -and even Ivan Drago from Rocky IV.

One night only. Saturday, November 29th. 8pm.

Testimonials

2008-11-15T23:03:00.000-08:00

Read what real people are saying about the KnowMore lecture series:

"Peter brought Frederich Nietzsche back from the dead in an entertaining and educational fashion." -FB

"Remember your favorite teacher and how you'd hang off of their every word no matter what they were saying? Peter Stevens could kick their ass, and he's a way better speaker. And funnier. " -MS

"it has not been since Gilgamesh that a soul quite like this has emerged to protect the minds of his people against straying from the true path of knowledge..." -MVD

"Remember the song lyric 'killing me softly with your words', well that's how I used to think of lectures, but now that I've heard Peter Stevens it's more like 'I saw the sign'. Just not performed from a crap band like Ace of Base, more like from a wicked band like The Cardigans." -SW

"Imagine your older brother, but much smarter and with 50% fewer noogies." -LR

Nietzsche at the torontoist.com

2008-11-13T22:58:00.000-08:00

Introduction to Nietzsche is featured in the torontoist's events. Ian McGrenaghan wrote this wonderful promo:

LECTURE: You're in the middle of the second date when she reaches across the table, strokes your hand, and coos soothingly, "Do we not smell anything yet of God's decomposition? Gods too decompose. God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we, murderers of all murderers, console ourselves?" Sorry my friend, you can't quote The Simpsons to get you out of this one. Fear not—humorous, straight-forward educator Peter Stevens has started the KnowMore Lecture Series to help you. Expand your mind and free yourself from using Toronto Life references and Wikipedia to bolster dinner party conversations. This week's topic: Nietzsche. 46 Noble Street, Unit 102, today and tomorrow 8–9:30 p.m., pay-what-you-can.

Who the f*ck is Friedrich Nietzsche?

2008-11-03T19:00:00.000-08:00

The first lecture will be an introduction to Friedrich Nietzsche. He's a great thinker for the KnowMore Lectures. I chose him because his work is often taught in snobby, elitist ways. Really, his concepts are quite bold and simple. I'll bring his work alive with relevant, practical examples. I aim to impress you by being entertaining and clear.

You'll leave feeling completely comfortable explaining Nietzsche to inquisitive children.

Who is invited?
Anyone who is interested. I thought I'd advertise at some Universities, bookstores, and coffee shops. I have also met many students looking for clarity, performers looking to expand their frame of reference, and other inquisitive minds.

What if I travel a long way in the cold and you turn out to be a madman?
That's a great reason to come!

Why are you doing this?
I wish someone had done this for me.

MAP: Unit 102 (46 Noble Street).
PWYC.
Friday, November 14th
Saturday, November 15th
8pm-9:30pm.

"God is dead."

2008-11-03T14:56:00.000-08:00

Have you not heard of that madman who lit a lantern in the bright morning hours, ran to the market-place, and cried incessantly: "I am looking for God! I am looking for God!"

As many of those who did not believe in God were standing together there, he excited considerable laughter. Have you lost him, then? said one. Did he lose his way like a child? said another. Or is he hiding? Is he afraid of us? Has he gone on a voyage? or emigrated? Thus they shouted and laughed. The madman sprang into their midst and pierced them with his glances.

"Where has God gone?" he cried. "I shall tell you. We have killed him - you and I. We are his murderers. But how have we done this? How were we able to drink up the sea? Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the entire horizon? What did we do when we unchained the earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving now? Away from all suns? Are we not perpetually falling? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there any up or down left? Are we not straying as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is it not more and more night coming on all the time? Must not lanterns be lit in the morning? Do we not hear anything yet of the noise of the gravediggers who are burying God? Do we not smell anything yet of God's decomposition? Gods too decompose. God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we, murderers of all murderers, console ourselves? That which was the holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet possessed has bled to death under our knives. Who will wipe this blood off us? With what water could we purify ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we need to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we not ourselves become gods simply to be worthy of it? There has never been a greater deed; and whosoever shall be born after us - for the sake of this deed he shall be part of a higher history than all history hitherto."

Here the madman fell silent and again regarded his listeners; and they too were silent and stared at him in astonishment. At last he threw his lantern to the ground, and it broke and went out. "I have come too early," he said then; "my time has not come yet. The tremendous event is still on its way, still travelling - it has not yet reached the ears of men. Lightning and thunder require time, the light of the stars requires time, deeds require time even after they are done, before they can be seen and heard. This deed is still more distant from them than the distant stars - and yet they have done it themselves."

It has been further related that on that same day the madman entered divers churches and there sang a requiem. Led out and quietened, he is said to have retorted each time: "what are these churches now if they are not the tombs and sepulchres of God?"

Friedrich Nietzsche
The Gay Science (1882)