Hayride-Cemetery Walks: Pumpkins, Ghosts & Cemeteries

We were pumped to team up with Johnson’s Nursery & Gardens, Forestvale Cemetery, and historian Ellen Baumler for some fun days of pumpkin picking and hayride ghost story cemetery tours. After playing at Johnson’s Nursery & Gardens, folks loaded into our hayride wagon and took a ride down the road with us to Forestvale Cemetery, where heard ghost stories, wandered the cemetery grounds, and learned more about its residents and history! Check out the video and photos here!

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Philosophy as a Way of Teaching: A Handbook (by Dr. Jane Drexler)

Philosopher Jane Drexler, PhD — Associate Professor of Philosophy at Salt Lake Community College — provides a wonderfully informative, relatable…and always entertaining (she’s a hoot!) overview of her approach to teaching, inspired by her unique life experience and philosophy as a way of life.  This video was part of her 2020 Distinguished Faculty Lecture Award (in lieu of a longer discussion, which would have taken place in person if not for COVID).

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Philosophy Workshop: The Philosophy of Evil (October 2020)

In this2½-hour ZOOM philosophy workshop led by philosopher David Nowakowski, we investigated the philosophy of evil — both at the level of abstract concepts, and at the level of practical, everyday action. Access resources and reading recommendations here!

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Merlin Receives $10,000 Social Services Nonprofit Grant from Montana Department of Commerce & DPHHS

Much gratitude to the Montana Department of Commerce and the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services for awarding our organization a grant as part of their Corona Virus Relief program.  This grant will help to support  every day operations, existing programing and future programming viability.  Thank you so much!!!

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2020 Merlin Mailer Mid-Season Newsletter

Well….2020 has been a doozy thus far. That’s putting it beyond lightly. Every one of his has been affected in some shape or form from the world events. This is what it has felt like for us! Amidst this whirlwind, it’s our sincere hope that you and your loved ones are well, safe & healthy. We’ve been doing our best to respond & adapt accordingly (and not get too grated in the process!). Here’s a newsletter highlighting what we’ve been up to & things on the radar this Fall. Read more here!

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July 2020 Philosophy Walk: Into the Wild with Muir & Pinchot

What a gorgeous day for our July philosophy walk with author and journalist John Clayton.  And what a great group of people. Through a combination of storytelling, biography, and philosophy, our walk took us into the wild (up Davis Gulch) with John Muir & Gifford Pinchot. Access audio recordings & photos from the walk here!

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Merlin Receives $3,500 Grant from Humanities Montana for their 2020 “Thinking as a Community” Project

Our “Thinking as a Community” public philosophy project stems from our belief in the importance of staying connected as a people, the richness and power of thinking together, the value of philosophy and philosophically driven dialogue across disciplines, the importance of cultivating of our personal and civic selves, and the vital role the humanities plays in this process. Our project will offer opportunities for communities to think together (on-line/digitally and in-person) via philosophy workshops and philosophy “walk”shops over the course of 2020 into 2021.  We are tremendously grateful to Humanities MT and the National Endowment for the Humanities for their support of our project and for all of the amazing work they are doing in Montana! 

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