On Nov 2-3 I had the pleasure of traveling to Houston, Texas, to Houston Community College, to participate in their annual Philosophy & Humanities Conference.

I was also fortunate to be asked to give the keynote presentation for this conference. (These verticals are videos, fyi.)

This was the first philosophy conference I’ve attended since leaving academia in 2015, and frankly, the first opportunity to have an extended social visit with a group of philosophers. It was a delight! Many thanks especially to my gracious hosts Cinnamon Jenson and Chris Jenson, who couldn’t have been more kind and helpful.

One of the social highlights was an evening at Axelrad’s Beer Garden, just beside the campus, which comes alive at night. It’s got beer, colorful hammocks for hanging out, a stage for a band, and much more!

Had some great Texas barbecue the night before, at the Pit Room BBQ. This plate had brisket, sausage and pork. That side on the top right is “elote”, which was new to me (a kind of Mexican grilled corn with mayo, spices and cheese). Yum!

I was surprised how big the HCC campus is, and how large the philosophy faculty is here. Larger than many four-year university faculties. It’s very unusual for community colleges to hold conference like this, but once I arrived I understood how it’s possible.

Here are a few pics from the conference:

Brandon Williams, Houston Community College, “Against External Reasons”:

Lamont Rodgers, Houston Community College, “The Foundations of a Sufficiency Proviso”:

Nathan Smith, Austin Community College, “Playing Piano: Teaching Alternative Systems of Value for a Post-Labor Era”

Walter Barta, University of Houston, “A Resplendent Conclusion: Deflecting Marginal Utility”

I wasn’t able to stay for the second day, so I apologize to all the speakers whose talks I missed (fyi, there were quite a few more women on the program on the second day).

My talk was assembled from the graphics I created for my three sketchbook videos on critical thinking and tribalism. (140 slides, yikes)

I basically walked through the main ideas and tried to extract some lessons and themes.

I’m inspired to continue this series. The issues are more timely than ever. We’re still just beginning to have a serious conversation about the moral and epistemological consequences of tribal thinking in an increasingly polarized society.

You can watch these videos below: