Forty Minute Forum » Spring 2009

April 19, 2009

Dr. Jessica Warner Senior Scientist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health; Historian, University of Toronto; Author (The Day George Bush Stopped Drinking); Governor General’s Award nominee (John The Painter)

Abstinence and the American Evangelical: The Theology of a Lifestyle

Abstinence from alcohol is a way of life for many evangelical Protestants, with rates of abstention running over 70 percent among some Pentecostal denominations. This talk examines the religious beliefs that have historically supported abstinence from a wide variety of substances and behaviors, and identifies the factors that have led some evangelical denominations to take a more relaxed attitude toward drinking and other pleasures.

April 26, 2009

Mike Filey Author of two dozen books on the history of Toronto; Toronto Sun columnist “The Way We Were” for 30 years; guide; lecturer; broadcaster.

Toronto: Then and Now

Mike Filey, the well-known advocate for Toronto’s history, presents a 35mm slide presentation that contrasts the way various areas of the city appeared years ago with the way those same scenes look today. Of particular interest are the views of Toronto's waterfront that show the amazing changes that have occurred over more than a century.

May 3, 2009

Rahul Bhardwaj President & CEO, Toronto Community Foundation; Board Member of Stratford Festival, George Brown College, Community Foundations of Canada; Member of the Mayor’s “Blue Ribbon” Fiscal Review Panel.

Toronto’s Vital Signs

For over 25 years, the Toronto Community Foundation has been connecting philanthropic individuals and families with a wide range of charitable organizations that help improve the city’s quality of life. Today the CEO summarizes their annual Toronto’s Vital Signs® report, which looks at important indicators of Toronto’s quality of life and the overall health of our city based on current statistics and special studies. This year’s “report card” is especially important as it provides an opportunity to look back over the past decade and see how Toronto has fared since Amalgamation.

May 10,2009

Lisa Rochon Award-winning Architecture Critic, The Globe and Mail; author of Up North: Where Canada’s Architecture Meets the Land

Stopping the Violence: How Beautiful Buildings Can Transform the Toughest Neighbourhoods

The barrios in Medellin, Columbia and the toughest neighbourhoods of London, England: even the worst slums with shocking murder rates can be transformed.  In this PowerPoint presentation, Lisa Rochon describes how iconic architecture and new public space combined with social programming can reinvent areas previously plagued by gun violence, high unemployment and illiteracy. Award-winning libraries, community centres and sports fields have triggered massive change in high-risk areas around the world.  Leaders of vulnerable and dangerous Canadian communities should pay attention.

May 17, 2009

Dr Martha Lee Associate Professor, Political Science, and Stephen Jarislowsky Chair in Religion and Politics, The University of Windsor

Conspiracy Rising:  Conspiratorial Thinking in Popular Culture and Politics

In twenty-first century North America, conspiracy theories have become a common form of political discourse. How and why has conspiracy-thinking has become such a significant and surprisingly widely-accepted way of thinking? Conspiracy theories are a product of modern democracy, but also a problem for it. Widespread conspiracy thinking can lead to two responses that are ultimately harmful for democracy: apathy and extremism.