University of Melbourne Secular Society [UMSS]

To celebrate Welcome Back Week, UMSS are screening selected highlights from the sold out 2010 Global Atheist Convention, including talks by Richard Dawkins, AC Grayling, Philip Adams, Peter Singer and more.

Free pizza will be provided to all members at the event, and UMSS merchandise (badges, tees, hoodies) will also be available to purchase.

Details:
Time: 1:00pm Wed 28 July
Location: Medley Theatre, Redmond Barry

RSVP on Facebook.

The DVD of the 2010 Global Atheist Convention can be purchased online from JB HI FI or EZY DVD.

The Australian Rationalist, the journal of the Rationalist Society of Australia, has been publishing articles promoting rational thought for over 41 years.

For the latest edition, editor Kevin Childs invited Jason Ball, President of UMSS, to be the guest editor for a revamped edition, which includes a new-look design, a cover story on the rise of Gen Y freethinkers and contributions from several younger writers, including several UMSS members.

Also featured in this special edition is a piece on secular education by former High Court Justice Michael Kirby, and an interview with playwright and political activist Gore Vidal.

The journal is only $9.50 and is available to purchase from any Borders store, as well as a large number of newsagents across Australia.

We encourage you to go and pick up a copy today, and help support the Rationalist Society of Australia – who have been a huge sponsor and friend of UMSS over the years.

You might also like to consider joining the Rationalist Society, which is only $25 (conc.) and includes a one-year subscription to their journal.

The overwhelming majority of Australians (85%) believe that terminally ill individuals should have a right to seek and obtain assistance to end their life with dignity.

However, the Attorney General Rob Hulls is steadfastly refusing to refer the matter of physician assisted dying for the terminally ill to the Victorian Law Reform Commission for community consultation.

UMSS are delighted to announce that Neil Francis, President and CEO of Dying With Dignity Victoria, will be joining us for ‘Q&A on Campus’ – the Secular Society’s weekly group discussion event.

Details:
Neil Francis – ‘The need for euthanasia law reform’
1-2pm
Thursday 27th May
Old Geology 1
University of Melbourne

RSVP and invite friends via Facebook

Who are the major players and pressure groups in this debate? Why is the government refusing to even let the debate be had? Is the right to die with dignity worth fighting for? These questions as well as your own will be up for discussion in what should be a fascinating conversation.

The University of Melbourne Secular Society and ALP club are proud to be holding a joint event about the intersection of religion and politics in Australia.

Details:
6:00 – 7:30pm
Wednesday 19th May
Upstairs of Prince Alfred Hotel, Carlton

RSVP and invite friends via Facebook.

Featured guests will include Meredith Doig from the Rationalist Society of Australia, a think-tank devoted to promoting science, reason and secular values in Australian society, along with Labor MP Brian Tee (Eastern Metropolitan Region). Brain has served on the Victorian Legislative Council since 2006 and was involved in the sculpting of the Human Rights Bill in Victoria, and thus dealt with the issue of the many Church groups that attempted to secure exemptions from the Bill.

What role does religion play in influencing public policy in Australia? What role should it play? Is there a separation of church and state in Australia? These questions as well as your own will be up for discussion in this fascinating conversation.

Drink and food specials will be available at PA’s during the event.

“Catherine Deveny is provocative, borderline insane, and above all a very, very fine writer” – Marieke Hardy

Catherine Deveny has been a regular columnist for The Age newspaper for the past 10 years, and was named in The Age Magazine’s top 100 most influential Melbournians. She is the author of six books, with her latest being ‘Free to a Good Home’ (2009), ‘It’s Not My Fault They Print Them’ (2007) and ‘Say When’ (2008). Catherine made a huge splash opening for the Global Atheist Convention, and she is currently performing a show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival titled “God is Bullshit: That’s the Good News“, which is playing until April 18th at Trades Hall.

Dr Leslie Cannold is an author, researcher and ethicist. She has worked for years at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne, were she now holds an Honorary Fellowship, as well as an Adjunct Senior Lecturer position at Monash University. In 2005, Leslie was named as one of Australia’s top 20 public intellectuals. She is the resident ethicist for Channel 10′s The 7PM Project, and has appeared widely on TV, radio and print. She is the author of two award winning books, ‘The Abortion Myth’ (2001) and ‘What, No Baby?’ (2005). Leslie was a standout presenter at this years Global Atheist Convention, ruffling some features by preferring the term “agnostic.”

We’re delighted to announce that both Catherine and Leslie will be joining us for our next Q&A on Campus – the Secular Society’s weekly group discussion event!

Details:
Catherine Deveny & Leslie Cannold
“The media’s fear of atheism”
1 – 2PM
Tuesday 13th April
Theatre 1, Elizabeth Murdoch

RSVP and invite friends to attend via Facebook.

“‘Jamie Kilstein is one of the funniest and smartest humans on the planet: his rocket-powered wit leaves you gasping – for more: sheer brilliance.”
- Philosopher and Professor A.C Grayling

Jamie Kilstein is a New York comedian in town for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Global Atheist Convention.

We’re delighted to announce that he’ll be joining us for our next Q&A on Campus – the Secular Society’s weekly group discussion event!

His chosen meme for discussion – “why people think atheists are dicks.”

Details:
Jamie Kilstein [USA]
“Why people think atheist are dicks”
1:00-2:10pm
Wed 31st March
Chrisholm Theatrette, Level 3, Babel Building

RSVP and invite friends via Facebook.

Bring it on!

Note – this week we’ve had to change this event from Monday to Wednesday as our room was already booked already for Monday.

Following on from last week’s “Answers to Creationist Nonsense” event with Dr James Bradley, this week UMSS are delighted to announce that Professor Robert Saint (Department of Genetics and Dean of Science at the University of Melbourne) will be joining us to give his response to the recent Creationist happenings on campus.

Details:
Professor Robert Saint
“Understanding evolution: Darwin, Mendel and beyond”
Wednesday 24th March
1:10-2:10PM
Chrisholm Theatrette, Level 3, Babel Building

RSVP and invite friends via Facebook.

As we’ve stated before, we know that a lot of you were as outraged as we were at the coordinated attack on science by Creationists happening on our very own campus – these events are our chance to strike back, not with political rhetoric, but by furthering the understanding of science and evolution by letting the facts be known.

Ross Fitzgerald in “Whatever happened to secular democracy” (The Australian, 28/12/09) stated that “there is now an Australian political party prepared to challenge the pious claptrap that dominates most of the other parties.”

This new political party is of course the interestingly titled Australian Sex Party, led by Fiona Patten. UMSS are delighted to announce that Fiona will be joining us for our next Q&A on Campus – the Secular Society’s weekly group discussion event.

The discussion will focus mostly around censorship and the government’s ISP filter, which I’m sure you all know plenty about…

The Australian Sex Party’s policy interests are broadly related to civil liberties, and include the separation of church and state, the introduction of an R18 rating for video games, a national sex education curriculum, equal rights in all areas of the law for the GLBT community and the abolishment of sex slavery and sexual servitude.

Should make for an interesting discussion!

Details:
1:10-2:10pm, Monday 22nd of March
Chrisholm Theatrette, Level 3, Babel Building
University of Melbourne

RSVP and invite friends to attend via Facebook.

Did anything weird happen to you last week? Were you handed a particular scientific and literary classic, with an odd and badly written introduction? Specifically, let’s say, on Tuesday? Near the tram stop?

If all this hinting sounds oddly cryptic to you, you missed out on a spectacle when a group of Creationists parked themselves at the corner of the Asia Centre to hand out 2,500 of copies of On The Origin of Species with a ‘special’ introduction by Kiwi Creationist Ray Comfort. This mostly plagiarized introduction touches on such topics as the so-called ‘problems’ with evolutionary theory, Darwin’s supposed sexism and racism, as well as the links between evolution, Social Darwinism, the Holocaust, and atheism.

You can read about the incident over at Homologous Legs and Divisible By Pi, both blogs from members of the Secular Society who managed to talk with the Creationists.

The University of Melbourne Secular Society have managed to (at very late notice) organise a coordinated response to the Creationists, and we’d love if you could attend.

Details:
Dr James Bradley (History & Philosophy of Science)
“A history of Creationism”
1 PM Thursday 18th March
Threatre 4, Alan Gilbert Building

RSVP and invite friends via Facebook.

We know that a lot of you were as outraged as we were at this coordinated attack on science happening on our very own campus – this is our chance to strike back, not with political rhetoric, but by furthering understanding of the Creationist movement and letting facts be known. If you were angry at the idea of Creationists spreading falsehoods on campus, come along and invite as many of your friends as you can. We will have extra copies of the book to hand out to those who ‘missed out’.

What is church/state separation? What are the disagreements amongst secularists about what church/state separation entails? Do we have a church/state separation in Australia?

UMSS is delighted to announce that Russell Blackford (co-editor of 50 Voices of Disbelief) will be joining us for next week’s Q&A on Campus – the Secular Societies weekly group discussion event!

1:00-2:00PM
Monday 15th March
Chrisholm Theatrette, Level 3, Babel Building (note: change of venue)

RSVP and invite friends to attend via our Facebook event.

Students are invited to be as active or passive in the group discussion as they wish. Also feel free to bring your lunch along to the event.

Russell Blackford is an Australian writer and editor. His formal qualifications include first class honours degrees in both Arts (University of Newcastle) and Law (University of Melbourne), and separate Ph.Ds in English literature (University of Newcastle) and philosophy (Monash University). His publications include novels, short stories, academic monographs, and numerous book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles on topics within his areas of expertise. His philosophical interests include bioethics, philosophy of law, and philosophy of religion. Russell is a Fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, and editor-in-chief of The Journal of Evolution and Technology. He is co-editor, with Udo Schuklenk, of 50 Voices of Disbelief: Why We Are Atheists (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009).