From Tokyo to Canberra, from Warsaw to Westminster, prime ministers are more often removed from power by their own backbenchers than by voters in general elections. In Canada, the idea of MPs wielding that kind of power shocks experts and the public alike. Today the parliamentary system thrives all over the world, but every country's parliamentary system has its unique quirks and conventions. Historian Christopher Moore, author of 1867: How the Fathers Made a Deal invites us to consider Canada's parliamentary culture in world context.

There’s enough DNA in all your cells to stretch from Earth to Saturn 9 whole times! But what can all that genetic information really tell us? Apparently – at least according to popular personalized genomics kits being sold online – everything from your health risks to your ideal music playlist or romantic partner… And while your DNA is rich and full of instructions for building and maintaining our bodies, the latest genetics research suggests we’re putting the cart way ahead of the horse, with potentially dangerous consequences. Let’s get up to date on the latest research, and discuss future ethical concerns we need to be considering in policy and health discussions today in this friendly but informative session.

The Holocaust was central to Western memory and institution building for the entire second half of the twentieth century. It informed the post-war international liberal order we long took for granted, including the creation of the United Nations, an organization that has been central to global stability, and the International Criminal Court, the first tribunal with a mandate to seek accountability for the world’s most heinous crimes. Yet the collective memory of this unprecedented historical event has always been controversial. Today, more than seventy years after this rupture, it is vital to examine how Holocaust memory has altered over the decades, and where it may be headed in the future. Erna Paris’s lecture will explore the social and cultural implications of shifting public memory and the staying power of the so-called lessons of the Holocaust.