Events
Carasoul: Animating the Imaginal Mind with Kaeti MacNeil
In this SPARKS offering, artist and animator Kaeti MacNeil will share the story of her award-winning short film Carasoul: a Portrait in Nth Dimensions alongside reflections first shared in her interview for the Novel Becomings blog.
Theology Beer Camp: The Quest for the Holy Stein
For three glorious days, top theologians, podcasters, and faith adventurers will throw down on the biggest questions of existence—God, meaning, justice, resurrection, the problem of evil, and why bad beer happens to good people. You’ll sip your way through mind-blowing conversations, live podcast throwdowns, interactive sessions, and a few unexpected surprises.
Process Pop-Up: A Brief History of God: From Nature Spirits to Cosmic Consciousness
Join Nish Dubashia and Marie Murtagh for an engaging talk on "A Brief History of God: From Nature Spirits to Cosmic Consciousness." Tracing the evolution of human spirituality from ancient beliefs to modern visions of unity and awareness, this conversation blends history, philosophy, and personal insight. Includes a presentation and interactive Q&A inviting reflection on the future of faith, meaning, and consciousness.
Possibility Spaces in Cosmology, Biology, and Beyond
Join us for a fascinating webinar featuring Michael Levin (Tufts University) and George F. R. Ellis (University of Cape Town), moderated by Andrew M. Davis (Center for Process Studies). Together, they will explore the curious and profound question of “possibility spaces”—those unseen domains that shape what can emerge in cosmology, biology, and beyond. What are these possibility spaces? How do we come to know them? In what forms do they exist—and perhaps most intriguingly, why do they exist at all?
World Goodwill Seminar | Envisioning a New Global Culture: The Search for Unity between East and West
How can Chinese wisdom and Whitehead’s philosophy of organism help build a culture of shared humanity and hope—bridging East and West? Center for Process Studies Board Chair, Dr. Jay McDaniel will explore this topic. Also presenting in this session of the seminar is Dr. Jack Bagby, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Consciousness, and Cosmology at the California Institute of Integral Studies.
Process Pop-Up: Eco-Psychology, Plant Medicine, and the Sacred Earth
Join educator Travis Cox for an exploratory webinar discussing the intersections between non-ordinary states of consciousness, our relationships to the more-than-human world, and the connections between human mental health and the health of the living Earth.
Poetry at Play: Reading, Conversation and Making
Kathleen Wakefield will read a selection of her poems followed by questions and conversation with Jay McDaniel. We will cap our session off with an opportunity to enjoy an interactive poetry writing experience. Participants will be encouraged to reflect on the process of writing their poem and share their work, if desired.
Whitehead for Education, the Humanities, and the Social Sciences: In Pursuit of a Metamorphosis of Pedagogy
In the conference presentations, we encourage contributors to share the results of transdisciplinary research on the foundations of education (and, more broadly, the humanities), utilizing the interpretive framework offered by Whiteheadian process philosophy. We also warmly invite reflections on Whitehead’s educational ideas from the standpoint of your own disciplinary practice, whether it be the natural sciences, humanities or social sciences, or spiritual disciplines.
Middle Eastern Modal Process & Modulation
This SPARKS Exchange will feature a brief exposition of maqām (Middle Eastern modal) music focusing on Tanburi Cemil Bey’s “Hicazkâr Saz Semai” as a template for appreciation of the unique process of modulation that is prevalent in Middle Eastern music. Abdessamad Mason Zantow will present on the lâvta (Istanbul lute), an instrument played by Tanburi Cemil Bey and a cousin of the oud and modern guitar.
Process Pop-Up: The Death of Supernaturalism
In this Process Pop-Up, we’ll explore the core ideas of Chad Bahl’s newest book, The Death of Supernaturalism: The Case for Process Naturalism—a bold theological manifesto that critiques the metaphysical assumptions of supernatural theism. Bahl argues for a process naturalist view of God—one which sees God as relational, persuasive and embedded within the natural world.
Special Event Featuring the Graduates of the 2025 Certificate Program in Process Thought and Practice
In this special event, the students from the 2025 Certificate in Process Thought and Practice will present their springboard projects. Their projects range from artistic expressions of creativity to academic explorations of Whitehead’s philosophy. Process thought and practice unify these personal adventures and speak to the transformative power of individual encounters with the process movement.
Cultivating the Future University: Eco-Art, Healing, and Pedagogy in the Healing Garden
In this SPARKS Exchange, artist and educator Lipeng Jin invites you into the story of the “Healing Garden”—an evolving eco-art and pedagogical experiment at the Sichuan Fine Art Institute, China. More than a campus garden, the Healing Garden is a living laboratory reimagining the university’s role in an era of ecological crisis: How can higher education become a force for planetary healing and community renewal?