In this episode the upcoming 100 years Rudolf Steiner Conference at Harvard is discussed, the research of one of its main organizers, Dan McKanan, and its potential significance. Webpage for conference: https://pes.hds.harvard.edu/steinerconference References: Ed. Johannes Kronenberg and Lammerts van Bueren (2025) On the Earth We Want to Live. Springer Nature, forthcoming Dan McKanan (2017) Eco-Alchemy: Anthroposophy and the History and Future of Environmentalism. (Berkeley, CA: Univ of California Press).
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9:26
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9:26
Victor Pelevin and Aesthetic Freedom
This episode of Questions of Courage offers reflections on the contemporary Russian novelist and writer Victor Pelevin, and particularly the intersection in his work of aesthetics and Buddhist orientations of liberation.References: BOMB Magazine | Victor Pelevin. https://bombmagazine.org/articles/2002/04/01/victor-pelevin/ Pelevin. Generation P ; Curtea Veche Publishing. -The Blue Lantern; Faber, 2001. -The Clay Machine-Gun; Faber & Faber, 1999. Victor Pelevin: anatomist of the new Russia | Profiles | Jason Cowley | journalist, magazine editor & writer. https://www.jasoncowley.net/profiles/victor-pelevin Solovyov, V. S. Lectures on Divine Humanity; Lindisfarne Press, 1995.
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12:55
The New Pegasus Project
In this episode the new Pegasus Project is introduced which involves the fabrication of a new generation of analogue projection instruments, the creation of an ensemble of light artists, the collaboration with an ensemble of singers and a tour of schools and youth groups. Reflecting on current screen culture and technology use among young people an unusual area of opportunity presents itself here, something highlighted by testimony from young people who have been involved in earlier iterations of the project. The project timeline and opportunities for collaboration and support are described as well. References: https://www.centerforvisualmusic.org/ Veit, W.; Stuten, J. Bewegte Bilder: der Zyklus “Metamorphosen der Furcht” von Jan Stuten: Entwurf zu einer neuen Licht-Spiel-Kunst nach einer Idee von Rudolf Steiner; Urachhaus, 1993. Haidt, J. The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness; Random House, 2024. Mattis, O. Visual Music: Synaesthesia in Art and Music Since 1900; [Published on the Occasion of the Exhibition “Visual Music”], Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, [23 June - 11. September 2005], the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Thames & Hudson, 2005.
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15:54
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15:54
On Separating Nations and States
Nationalism is one of the most powerful aspects of political life, connected with the defining conflicts of today. This episode is dedicated to exploring the differences between nations and states, how they areconfused, and how they have come to be seen as intrinsically bound up together in recent centuries. While there is a largely unconscious conventional notion that nations should ideally have their own states, there is a way to look at things that reveals the opposite. It shows that the fusion of nations and states is not an ideal but a source of conflict and the degradation of national culture itself, and a central problem of political thoughts and life today. References:Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London - New York: Verso, 2006.Gottlieb, Gidon. Nation Against State: A New Approach to Ethnic Conflicts and the Decline of Sovereignty. Council on Foreign Relations, 1993.Jefferson, Thomas. Thomas Jefferson: Writings (LOA #17): Autobiography / Notes on the State of Virginia / Public and Private Papers / Addresses / Letters. Library of America, 1984.Steiner, Rudolf. Towards Social Renewal: Rethinking the Basis of Society. Rudolf Steiner Press, 1999.Questions of Courage is a project of the Youth Section at the Goetheanum, in collaboration with Goetheanum TV. To support the Youth Section Global Access Fund, please visit: https://www.goetheanum.org/en/youth-donations.
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23:51
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23:51
Marilynne Robinson and Rights in the USA
This episode explores some of author Marilynne Robinson’s thoughts about the importance of seeing people as spiritual beings and how this relates to the history of civil and political rights in North America, and especially the USA. These thoughts are connected with current tensions within both US universities and society at large, and the role that artistic education plays in being able to experience a deeper, spiritual facet of human beings. References: Rachel Feintzeig, (2025) Opinion | Zombies Are Better Than the Alternative. The New York Times, 25 May. Available at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/25/opinion/last-of-us-finale.html, accessed 4 June 2025.Marilynne Robinson, (2010) Absence of Mind: Dispelling of Inwardness from the Modern Myth of the Self. (Yale University Press).Marilynne Robinson, (2019) Which Way to the City on a Hill? The New York Review of Books. Available at https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2019/07/18/which-way-city-hill/, accessed 4 June 2025.Rudolf Steiner(2006) Becoming the Archangel Michael’s Companions: Rudolf Steiner’s Challenge to the Younger Generation (CW 217). (SteinerBooks).Questions of Courage is a project of the Youth Section at the Goetheanum, in collaboration with Goetheanum TV. To support the Youth Section Global Access Fund, please visit: https://www.goetheanum.org/en/youth-donations.
“Questions of Courage” is a video/podcast with Nathaniel Williams, leader of the Youth Section at the Goetheanum. It is an independent and unique look at questions related to technology, education, art, ecology, vocation, community, justice and meaning require a deeper, spiritual take on life. The ability to take up these issues from this perspective is a question of courage.
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