Culture Places, which combines various areas of interest, relies on events throughout the Bay Area to provide more opportunities to compare opinions on the ramifications of changing social mores.

Programs with the standard format of presentations from experts followed by Q&A serve their purpose of imparting information. However, we think there is interest in creating a congenial space for the exchange of informed observations on the passing scene by nonexperts, i.e., our peers. We also believe a written or performed piece, or a brief introductory commentary, can serve as a springboard for these discussions.

We base our approach on three premises:

- First, many of us don't have the time to plow through another book in addition to the reports, articles, and books we are already reading, but could manage to join an hour's discussion and read an excerpt or essay(s) that develops a line of argument in far fewer words than a book. The most efficient means for accessing such documents is via the Internet, so we often provide links in the expanded description of the sessions on this page or attach pertinent readings on other pages of this website.

- Second, regardless of one's class, gender, age, race, sexual orientation and the numerous other distinctions that seem so wrapped up in identity politics these days, educated adults want to grapple with the ideas that are shaped by these associations but are not bound by them.

- And finally, we believe that the meaning and implications of data emerge through discourse. All that is required is a probing mind and the capacity to engage in dialogue (attributes that are too often missing in conversations around the water cooler or at the dinner table). And while we may wrestle with weighty matters that can ignite strong feelings, we want to be able to treat them playfully and with a disinterested passion for clarity that avoids partisanship.

Since the beginning of the year, discussions have explored places that reflect the cultural norms and values that affect both individual and group behavior in this the new millennium. We wish to explore what was once called, rather grandiously, the Human Condition with an emphasis on societal and artistic trends.

Though not required, session participants should try to take the time to read some background material contained on or linked from this site, a commitment that should take no more than an hour, and then come to the table with some opinions about the reading and its significance. The "homeplay" assignment is normally drawn from articles and book excerpts found on a website, so participants do need to have easy access to a Web browser.

For some of our discussions, we have invited an individual, often an advocate or researcher involved in some aspect of the issue, to join us as a resource person. As noted, this person does not give a speech, but instead offers some preliminary remarks to launch our exploration and then serve as a kind of "river guide" to keep the discussion on course.

GOALS