Café Inquiry (ONLINE) - Fear of a Round Planet

This event is held online. To see the Zoom link, RSVP and look at the right hand panel.

Join us for a Special Guest Presentation by Glenn Branch!

When Charles K. Johnson, the president of the International Flat Earth Research Society, died in 2001, he seemed at the time to be the last apostle of his unusual creed. Twenty-four years on, however, the flat earth is alive and well, especially, but not exclusively, on the internet. In his talk, Glenn Branch of the National Center for Science Education will sketch the history of the flat-earth movement, from its source in the ancient Near East through its coalescence in Victorian Britain to its modern rebirth on the Internet, and discuss current scholarly research on the prevalence, causes, and consequences of modern flat-earthery.

Glenn Branch is deputy director of the National Center for Science Education, a nonprofit organization that defends the integrity of American science education against ideological interference. He is the author of numerous articles on evolution education and climate education, and the co-editor, with Eugenie C. Scott, of Not in Our Classrooms: Why Intelligent Design is Wrong for Our Schools (2006). He received the Evolution Education Award for 2020 from the National Association of Biology Teachers. He studies the flat-earth movement avocationally.

Visit https://michiganhumanists.org/events for recommended readings prefacing this week's discussion.

Café Inquiry starts with a short introduction of the day’s topic, followed by casual discussion.

This event is free and open to the public. Donations appreciated, but not expected.

Attendees are able to future propose topics which would align with Michigan Humanist’s purpose: from atheism, agnosticism, humanism, secularism, and freethinking to broader subjects in science and humanities, such as religion, philosophy, social issues, politics, evolution, morality, ethics, and psychology.

Café Inquiry (Grand Rapids) meets each month IN PERSON on the second Sunday and ONLINE on the fourth Sunday.

Contact: Frank Crownover or Jessica Wolin, cafeinquiry-grandrapids@michiganhumanists.org, (617) 645-0713

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Michigan Humanists values the participation of all guests — requests for reasonable accommodation may be made by contacting the event host at least three days prior to the event.

Michigan Humanists expects all guests to engage in respectful discussion. Please visit the Michigan Humanist Culture and Expectations page for more information. Speak to the event host or contact info@michiganhumanists.org if you feel these expectations are being violated.

Events are made possible by your financial support. Michigan Humanists is a 501(c)3 non-profit. All donations are tax-deductible as provided by law. Donations to Michigan Humanists can be made at https://www.michiganhumanists.org/donate/

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Do not worry if you are the only person listed as attending on Meetup. We promote events on several platforms, and we do not require RSVPs. There will be others there!