Leland Library
SUMMINARS
2026
In 2011, Leelanau Summinars began presenting a series of thought-provoking, educational, and inspiring seminars during the summer months. In 2023, Leland Township Public Library became the proud steward of this tradition, committed to bringing exceptional speakers and ideas to the community.
This year, Leland Library Summinars is partnering with the International Affairs Forum, a program of Northwestern Michigan College, on two lectures: July 2nd with Christina Michelmore and July 14th with Laura Robson. These two events will be offered via livestream in addition to an in-person audience at the Leland Township Public Library Munnecke Room. Registration is required for those lectures as seating will be limited. More information can be found on our website at lelandlibrary.org.
All lectures are held in the Munnecke Room at the Leland Township Public Library.
To request accommodations due to a disability, please contact Chelsea Hilton at programs@lelandlibrary.org
or call 231-256-9152.
Arc of Fire: Understanding the Connected Wars in Today’s Middle East
Christina Michelmore July 2 at 4pm
Registration Required
In Partnership with the International Affairs Forum
Livestream Option Available
This lecture traces the unfolding conflict in the Middle East over the past two and a half years, examining how each development shaped the next. Drawing on deep historical roots, it explores why these disputes have proved so enduring, so emotionally wrought and so hard to end.
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The Implications of the Plural: Should the Founders Have Created the United STATE of America in 1776?
Greg Nobles July 7 at 4pm
When the Declaration of Independence asserted that “these colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states,” it took an obvious-seeming but still significant
step: it assumed that individual states, when united, would form one nation. The problem, though, was that the states didn’t always want to be united. This talk takes an alternative approach: what if the Founders had simply scrapped the existing state boundaries and identities and made one truly national body, the United State of America? That didn’t happen, of course, but it gives us a way to explore the implications of what did happen, from the time of the American Revolution to the Civil War—or, as some would call it, the War Between the States.
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Fly-fishing as a Life Skill
Christopher Schaberg July 9 at 4pm
Author and professor Christopher Schaberg will share what he has learned from two decades of fly-fishing and how these lessons can be applied to our modern, fast-paced, hyper-connected lives. Accessible for those new to the activity, but of use for experienced fly-fishers as well, Schaberg will demystify the sport and offer creative ways to think about this decidedly slower way of inhabiting waterscapes and interacting with non-human species.
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Inhumanitarianism? The Origins and Purposes of the Modern Refugee Regime
Laura Robson July 14 at 4pm
Registration Required
In Partnership with the International Affairs Forum
Livestream Option Available
The advent of internationalist refugee aid has long been told as an inspirational story of humanitarians fighting tirelessly for a system for that would recognize and guarantee the rights of displaced and dispossessed people. But thinking historically about the genesis of modern refugee policy tells us that has long had a different goal: to make use of refugees as cheap workers in an emerging system of global industrial capitalism. This talk traces the century-long history of the ways in which modern refugee regimes have sought not to protect refugee rights but to remake refugees as migrant labor, serving the interests of states and capital rather than the interests of displaced people themselves.
Are You Just Your Brain? Or Something More?
Paul Gregory July 21 at 4pm
Are human persons just brains in bodies? Are we fancy—but purely physical—biological robots? Or are we something more? A soul? An immaterial mind? Pure information that can be uploaded to the cloud and live forever? We will take a whirlwind tour of philosophical theories of mind, with many questions and even more possible answers.
Open Doors, Closed Gates: 200 Years of US Immigration Policy
Molly Michelmore July 23 at 4pm
The United States is a nation of immigrants. That immigration has been shaped by economic change, by ideas about race, by diplomatic and national security considerations, and by domestic politics. From the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 through the Immigration Restriction Acts of the 1920s, to today’s debates about the border, arguments over who is welcome here—and who isn’t—have been about the nature of the U.S. itself. This complex, and often contested, history, raises broader questions about identity, citizenship, and what it means to be an American.
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Creativity in Business & Life
Jamie Gallagher Tuesday, July 28 at 4pm
As we seek success and fulfillment in this volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world, we find Creativity as a superpower. Beyond artistic talent lies a mindset and skillset which drive professional achievement and personal satisfaction--- the new Creativity. The journey from the early days of LEGO to rejuvenating a 250 year old pencil business help tell this fun and engaging story.