UPCOMING EVENTS
ART, ECOLOGY & THE GOOD LIFE
Images from Left to Right: From Spiritual Microbiomes by Eileen Ryan, Beautiful & Brutal by Alicia Ethridge, Deepest Waters by Brian Smith, The Hunter by Holden Willard
EVENT DETAILS
Saturday December 7th, 1:30-3:30pm
Join us for a facilitated conversation at the intersection of art, ecology and the good life. Our inaugural cohort of Maine Ecology and Art Residents (MEAR) will be joined in dialogue by the directors of Seguinland Institute, Philip Francis and Marsha Dunn, and the ED of The Parsonage Gallery, Aaron Rosen. MEAR emerges from the shared vision of Seguinland and the Parsonage to promote creativity and dialogue with exceptional contemporary artists exploring ecological themes. This year’s artists include Alicia Ethridge, Eileen Ryan, Brian Smith and Holden Willard. Come join in the conversation in Seguinland Treetop Gathering Space!
Registration
Book Discussion at Seguinland Institute:
ON BEAUTY & BEING JUST
EVENT DETAILS
Wednesday December 11th, 4:30-6:00pm
Come join in a discussion of On Beauty and Being Just by Elaine Scarry. Founder and Director of Seguinland Institute, Philip Francis will host a conversation on this powerful book and explore the interconnected themes of beauty and justice, both of which are central to Seguinland Institute’s programs,
This event is free and open to anyone in Georgetown, Arrowsic and the surrounding area.
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PAST EVENTS
THE ANNUAL GOOD LIFE LECTURE
Each year we invite an esteemed thinker to give a lecture inspired by one simple prompt: “Tell me, how do I go about living the good life?” The lecture is attended by students and alums of Seguinland Institute, members of the local community and invited guests. We hope that meaningful conversations about wide-angle questions are inspired by these lectures across generations.
FALL 2024 Speaker: S.B. Rodriguez-Plate
S.B. Rodriguez-Plate is a Professor of Religious Studies at Hamilton College and leading scholar of religion and material culture. They have authored or edited 15 books on religion and aesthetics, film, philosophy and the senses. They are also the executive director of the Association for Public Religion & Intellectual Life, the editor of the journal CrossCurrents, and board member of the Interfaith Coalition.
Fall 2023 Speaker: Tamsin Jones, PhD
Tamsin Jones is the Ellsworth Mortin Tracy Lecturer and Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Trinity College. Her scholarship bridges the disciplines of philosophy, religion and gender studies. She has published and lectured widely on topics ranging from political theology, phenomenology and trauma theory. Her favorite drink is Chartreuse, a beverage made by Carthusian monks since 1737, using 130 herbs and plant extracts.
Fall 2022 Speaker: Kristen Case, PhD
Kristen Case is an award-winning poet, widely published scholar and professor of English at UMaine Farmington. She has published works on Henry David Thoreau, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Ezra Pound, Wallace Stevens, and William James. She is the recipient of the Maine Literary Award in Poetry (2016 and 2020), the 2018 Gatewood Prize, a MacDowell Fellowship, and the UMF Trustee Professorship. She is the Director of Thoreau’s Kalendar: A Digital Archive of the Phenological Manuscripts of Henry David Thoreau.
“One of the most common pieces of advice to young people in our culture is “ find yourself”... but I wonder if better advice might be “lose yourself”— not forever and not completely and not in the sense of self-abandonment—lose yourself lightly, temporarily, because the enormity and beauty of the sky or the interest of the problem or the depth of the suffering is so totally absorbing that you put yourself down for a minute and wander into a bigger life, a life where different kinds of work and different kinds of being and different kinds of perception are possible for you because you aren’t really you, you are bigger than you. You are part of the world. Part of life. Turn towards the kind of experience that pull us into collaborative action with something beyond ourselves…” - Kristen Case, PhD, Seguinland Institute Good Life Lecture 2022
Bi-Annual Foraged Feast
Our students work with expert foragers to study, harvest, and prepare a sumptuous repast. Each student develops a dish centered on a different foraged ingredient. At the feast, students present their edible creations along with an original ode-to-a-plant. Odes and dishes are shared with members of the community at the Foraged Feast.
Annual Mad Farmer Award Ceremony
The Mad-Farmer Award is inspired by Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front by Wendell Berry and is awarded annually to a Maine Farmer. The ceremony is designed and led by students in our May Term program and includes original music and poetry (along with the Berry’s words).
Mad Farmer Award Recipients:
2023: Rich Lee of Tender Soles farm—a horse-powered farm based in Richmond, ME.
2024: Chloe Maxmin and Bill Pluecker of Begin Again Farm - a growing to give farm in Warren, ME.
May Term students, Abby and Elie performing an original musical rendering of Wendell Berry’s Mad Farmer poem
Above: Our wonderful alum, Shay Mahoney, composed the following piece riffing on Wendell Berry’s Mad Farmer poem after a visit to Tender Soles Farm. Shay read this poem aloud during the inaugural Mad Farmer’s Award Ceremony.
THE FUTURE OF GREEN ENERGY: AN AFTERNOON OF HOPE
Featuring inspiring talks and hands-on experiences with energy experts Ben Polito, Founder of Pika Energy and Phil Coupe, Co-Founder of ReVision Energy, this public event was attended by local residents and the Fall semester cohort of Seguinland students.
Ben, a Georgetown native shared his story of growing up on a homestead on the island - with minimal electricity - and how this experience shaped his career in green energy, particularly the founding of his successful start up Pika Energy. He demonstrated a solar powered grain mill and share his insights on the future of green energy.
A Mainer, Phil has been recognized nationally for his work, receiving awards such as Volunteer of the Year presented by former Sec. of State Colin Powell, Community Hero Award from City Year, and Business Leader for the Environment Award from the Sierra Club. Phil presented on the state of green energy and why he is hopeful about the transition to green energy. He also offered a spin in his electric boat.