Join us during Texas State University’s “Night of Ideas” when Al Cubo, a participatory public performance for people of all ages, lands on our campus. Like a strange arrival from beyond our world, its meaning is not given in advance. It emerges through curiosity, play, and the varied ways people choose to engage with what appears among them.
Check-in with the QR code as you enter.
This exhibition invites the viewer to explore what “togetherness” means—whether alone, inspiring others, or amongst and with others.
A performance of the Catalan “Cant dels Ocells.” The legendary cellist, Pablo Casals, performed this as his encore for decades to promote peace and unity across the globe. In 1971, he presented this at the United Nations for the world to recognize the action to come together as one.
A movie screening of the African-British folk horror film His House, followed by an open discussion on Black diasporic monsters.
An open space for members of the club to show off the games they created as part of their portfolios.
Register to vote and learn about the Texas State chapter of the non-partisan group, MOVE Texas.
AAP presents Grammy-winning vocalist Mela Dailey, Jasmine Williams, and Frederick Jackson for an intimate performance in the Taylor-Murphy Courtyard.
Literary Curator Carrie Fountain will share stories of inspiration and impact gleaned from the 500+ archives held at the Wittliff Collections, which enters its fortieth year in 2026.
Digital archives are incredible tools for exploring our diverse cultural heritage, and digital storytelling allows us to narrate these rich materials and engage wider audiences. In this workshop, we introduce digital storytelling strategies to help you uncover amazing histories, bringing them from the archive to the community.
No matter where you are or what you do, this talk will help you to identify the creative resources and support community all around you to help you live a meaningful (and successful) creative life.
“Ever feel like you’re the only one who doesn’t have it all figured out?” The path to a successful career is rarely a straight line—it’s usually full of “oops,” “uh-ohs,” and “I can’t believe I did that.” Join Career Services for a 30-minute interactive group session where we strip away the “perfect professional” mask and embrace the power of the pivot.
A practical window into how science is actually made, this talk sets up the basis for informed conversations about different kinds of expertise, trust, and the role of knowledge in society.
A roundtable discussion with five established filmmakers for those seeking to enter the industry. Please pre-register.
This session explores the intersection of divine sexuality in Indian traditions, featuring gender fluidity of Hindu deities and the sacred role of the Hijra third gender for over 2000 years.
This presentation will be a discussion of the legacy of the Enlightenment in connection to mechanisms of socioeconomic control and political ideologies from the Consumer Revolution to the Cold War, focusing on non-cooperation in the Indian Revolution, the Bolsheviks’ propaganda, consumer citizenship, House Un-American Activities Committee and the Hollywood Blacklist.
In our panel we will lead the audience through a discussion of how early Enlightenment fundamentals and deep-rooted religious identities influenced the foundations of America, how Thomas Hobbes’ logic justifies authority, how ignorance hinders democratic stability, and concludes with whether we are currently experiencing a second enlightenment.Taylor-Murphy 104
Performance of original material by Tristan Lake Leabu.
What if the future of Texas wine starts with one vineyard block? The One Block Challenge, a year‑long regenerative viticulture experiment, seeks to develop and deepen place‑based sustainability practices within Texas wine. Come for the story of soil, vines, and risk-taking; leave with ideas and tools for impact in the landscapes we cultivate and share.
This presentation discusses the lessons of the Chicano Movement’s dicho, “We didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us” through the story of the Chamizal Land Dispute and the landmark Chamizal Treaty of 1964.
My workshop is designed to be a deep dive into instant photography and my personal evolution with my Polaroid and instax journey film from 2024 to today from frames, archive and books. I’ll bring my Polaroid and instax camera collection to teach everyone the demonstration of how to operate them.
How showing up to vote, speaking out and working together shape democracy.
Join Dr. Courtney B. Cook, producer and impact strategist, as they share their work building bridges between documentary film, performance, and nontraditional storytelling and the communities these projects are meant to serve.
This talk shares new historical research uncovering how the “Woman’s Crusade” against alcohol (the temperance movement) brought the first women into law enforcement and gendered American jails, prisons, and police departments at the turn of the twentieth century.
Get an overview to get involved & make your voice heard and to meet people interested in the issues that matter most to you. Write letters to your representatives and leaders in this workshop.
This panel explores the ideals and limits of Enlightenment thought by examining who had access to knowledge, authority, and intellectual freedom. While Enlightenment thinkers promoted reason and individual liberty, these ideas were unevenly applied. Through discussions of religion, public knowledge, and racial inequality, the panel considers who was truly considered “enlightened.”
Digital platforms often decay because innovation evolves under changing pressures. Early technologies succeed by solving human problems; mature platforms survive by maximizing profit, surveillance, and lock-in. Degradation of the innovation lifecycle is not inevitable but to preserve utility for users, democracies must reshape incentives through governance, competition, interoperability, and accountability.
Carmen Rumbaut, Betsy Robertson, and Carolyn Jennings will present an updated version of last year’s workshop, Survival Tactics for Collapse. They will focus on practical preparations, mindset adjustments and community building in this alarming and chaotic new order.
A conversation on the translatable aspects of film production and community organizing — how story can help us imagine, plan, and galvanize toward a shared vision.
Encounter a performance of original music by Elle Bramhall.
Kenneth will be hosting a discussion of organizing, collaborative governance, and how to effectively confront concentrated power to defend people’s health against the pursuit of profit.
A brief history of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and how it’s adapted since its original release and what we can learn from this when looking at multimedia adaptions.
A discussion of Armin Meiwes and his role in the death of Bernd Brandes. This talk examines the case, its legal complexities around consent and cannibalism, and the broader psychological and ethical questions it raised worldwide.
An overview of citizens’ Constitutional Rights, misconceptions and Q&A
Through sound, video, spoken word, and song, Ghost in the Throat is a multi-media performance that weaves together connections between place, personal narrative, folklore, and ancestral memory.
A short true-or-false comparison between United States prisons and detention centers and those of other countries, leading into a discussion of current and past American genocides, ICE detention centers, and modern-day slavery.
we will host a screening of the 2019 film The Curse of La Llorona (Michael Chaves) after which we will have a conversation about representations of monstrous maternity and Latinidad.
In a world where you cannot escape politics, join SASP to learn how to interrupt right-wing misinformation with the power of interpersonal and persuasive communication. We invite participants to make a zine of their own that will leave you feeling determined and prepared to fight the red pill pipeline.
Our workshop is intended to open people’s eyes to the different ways others experience gender euphoria. We plan on using a fill in the blank zine as an activity used in tandem with our presentation. The goal is to have people self-reflect on their gender expression in order to then better understand the expression of others.
Persecution of gay men in Germany existed across eras that appear completely different at a glance. However, one law covers over 100 years of German history. By examining this one law, we can see how historians bridge the gap and find continuities between historical periods.
What exactly is fascism? Is there an antidote? Historically, fascism has depended on putting people into boxes—classifying who belongs, encouraging neighbours to turn on one another, and promoting ideologies built on exclusion. This talk examines the decades-long challenge of defining fascism and the ways Enlightenment thought helped create it while also offering tools to resist it.
A presentation on Scooby-Doo, covering everything from the continuities between the different iterations throughout the decades to the theoretical contexts of their varied settings, as well as the initial creation of the show itself.
This talk analyzes Guillermo del Toro’s films with respect to the monsters in them while connecting those monsters to a variety of other examples to illustrate how these monsters represent our fears, traumas, and ability to empathise with others.
This is a talk about how themes of love carry throughout the story of The Magnus Archives. There will be spoilers for the main plot so be aware.
The dos and donts and how to get your feet wet. Screening of our Oscar Qualifying Short Film – “A Very Crowded Room” “A Very Crowded Room” functions as an overstimulating one take centered around a long run on sentence phone call that Violet Plight is delivering at a dizzying pace.
Setanta becomes Cú Chulainn, Pryderi and Manawyddan get odd jobs, and Blodeuwedd becomes the first owl: comedy, death, and honor in traditional Irish myths.
In our online culture, virality is highly desirable and going viral is lauded as the ultimate achievement, but at what cost? How has the quest for maximum exposure online influenced our behavior offline? This talk will explore the implications of social media and online culture on public health.
Singer-songwriter deconstructs his Gen Z tag.
In this talk, Beth discusses how growing up as an only child impacted her view on the world, friendships, and community.
The relationship between the Celts and Romans in Europe will be discussed, that is their trade and ideological differences. A chronological history of Celtic art will be presented via objects; Celtic designs developed from various objects of various peoples will be addressed as the objects are presented.
A talk on how short term discomfort can build long term satisfaction.
Proceeding from introductory comments on the tyranny of fashion, Jakob Price develops a critical perspective of the economy of the sign’s relationship to the libidinal economy in the age of Instagram.
A discussion on the considerations taken in character writing for a show, and exploration into the world of an original show in the works, Stray Dogs.Comal 116
Connor Palomino performs songs presented as stories, with local traditional folk, country pioneers, and originals that chronicle life in the southwest.
What were the failures of presidential reconstruction?
This talk examines why many promising ideas fail to translate into real-world impact. Drawing from his experience building ‘Function’ as a student startup, Jonas F. Tuttle reflects on how ideas move through modern systems and constraints, as well as what enlightenment values like curiosity and experimentation look like today. The session will conclude with an open discussion on how ideas become action in the modern world.
This talk explores the history of cowboys, their contributions to queer culture, and the ways films like Brokeback Mountain have shaped how we understand cowboys today.
A presentation on the influx of data center and other related big tech developments in central Texas. An overview of their potential harms to the ecosystems and communities of San Marcos.
Explore both the operational excellence and emotional resonance within Disney theme parks.
What tools and ideas are used to make an impact? Examine two series of collective action: the efforts against the Dilley family detention center and the efforts against Data center developments in Hays County.
What impact has AI had on the creative arts? What has AI given to artists & taken away from them?
This talk discusses the controversy surrounding the mural “Man at the Crossroads,” now known as “Man Controller of the Universe.” It will provide an informational chronological timeline leading up to its demolition at Rockefeller Center and its recreation at Mexico City’s Palacio de Bellas Artes.
This talk will examine how social media creators and trends centering transactional dating in heterosexual relationships utilizes benevolent sexism to promote a socially conservative version of gender role performance to the target demographic of young women with the promise of wealthy men as the reward.
An interactable presentation in the form of a video game, which explores how to use traditional narrative analysis on video games and how stories can emerge from the act of play. The game will be available for visitors to experience during the event as well.
How can internet communities heal trauma? After spending five years in and out of rehabilitation I found my lifeline in the most unexpected place, the Dream SMP. I’ll share how a Minecraft roleplay server taught me to reclaim my identity and become the author of my own life.
This will be a brief analysis of the story and artistic choices of hit video game Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice. Specifically it’s very first case and the numerous ways that the game manages to subvert the expectations of its audience while immersing them in the plot.