Speaking

Most of my lecture time is reserved for my students, but I also give talks to universities, local churches, writers' conferences, research conferences, senior education forums and other civic organizations.

 

TEDx

If you're curious, here's a TEDx talk I gave in Fargo in 2019, about bear poop and "unnecessary" knowledge.
 

Podcasts

• "Studying the Past to Unlock the Future," on Leadmore, with John T. Meyer
• "Charles Peirce and Inquiry as an Act of Love" on Damn The Absolute, with Jeffrey Howard
• What is AI?, with Justin Smith, Ph.D.
  
• The Writing Gym, with Annalisa Parent
  
• Last Born In The Wilderness, with Patrick Farnsworth 
• "The Limitations of Computer Learning"
• "Childhood Dreams and Life Under the Surface"
  

 

Media Interviews

• I've been a frequent guest on South Dakota Public Radio's "In the Moment" with Lori Walsh. That link should take you to some of my most recent appearances.
• Interview on Keloland news with my Environmental Philosophy and Sustainability student Mia Werger, about the prairie pollinator garden she created on our campus, and about the new orchard my students and colleagues built as part of the Sustainability program I direct.
  
• CNN interview with Jen Rose Smith on the Outdoor Classroom my students and I designed and built, and the Norwegian philosophy of Friluftsliv
• Interview with Kelli Volk on KELO news about our Outdoor Classroom 
  

 

Public Speaking

I have given invited talks at the College of William and Mary, Drexel University, Middlebury College, South Dakota State University, University of Sioux Falls, University of Minnesota, Providence College, Universidad de Navarra, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, Southwestern College (Kansas), Augusta University (Georgia), Hope College, Stony Brook School, School of Environmental Studies (Minnesota), and a number of other schools.

If you're interested in having me speak to your school or organization, here's how you can email me to discuss dates, topics, and fees, or to find out more about my talks: dr.dlohara@gmail.com

Here are some of the recent talks I've given:

• The Importance Of "Unnecessary" Knowledge
• How To Begin To Solve Unsolvable Environmental Problems
• The Environmental Vision of C.S. Lewis
• Ancient Philosophy and Scripture 
• Creeds And Communities: A Pragmatic Approach To Religion
• William James' "A Moral Equivalent of War" 
• "The Sentiment That Invites Us To Pray"(Spanish version here)
• The Desire To Find Things Out: Why Scientific Research Matters
• Contemporary Atheisms For Christians (And Other People Who Love Their Neighbors)
• Boredom And Curiosity
• Kindling The Fire Of The Mind: Why A Free Society Needs The Liberal Arts
• Chaos and the Sublime: Charles Peirce on Mathematics, Theology, and Science 
• Palm Sunday And The Vocation Of A Church
• On Listening to Lectures (on the liberal arts as preparation for better loving one's neighbors)
• Flourishing in a Technological Age 

From time to time, I give talks for nonprofits, churches, and other community organizations to help them with fundraising and community education.  These include:

• Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI)
• American Cancer Society
• Sioux Falls REACH (formerly the Sioux Falls Literacy Council)

And here are a few others you might be interested in:

• Brook Trout, Ecology, and Love 
• Competing Resource Extraction Interests in Alaska: Salmon and Mining
• Teaching Outdoors: Teaching In Badlands, Rainforests, and Rivers, and Why Students Need It
• Friluftsliv: The Norwegian Idea Of Living With And In The Outdoors
• Friendship 
• Why We Need Emerson and Thoreau Today 
• Poetry in a Busy Life
• On Vocation: Why Jobs Are Not Enough

 

Consulting

I am also available for consulting on

• Environmental ethics and policy
• How leaders can learn to see what we don't tend to see
• Tool-making and design, and the art of cultivating curiosity
• Great Books, leadership, and the nourishment of the intellect 
• Biomimicry, semiotics and regenerative urban design
• Learning how to build better robots by observing nature
  

 

And finally, some kind words about my teaching (from an admittedly biased source).