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What can Joan of Arc, Rose of Lima, Teresa of Avila, and others can teach us regardless of our religious background? This course is not about religion. It’s about some remarkable women who can still be role models in the 21st century. Their strategies of resistance and accommodation to authority are still relevant today despite their different historical and cultural contexts. Their active involvement in the political and socio-cultural realities of their time, as well as their role in the development of national identities, reveal strong characters that are very different from the trite depiction of saints as silent, obedient, and submissive to authority.
Format: 70% Lecture, 30% Q&A
Happiness is a state of joy. In psychological terms, it’s life satisfaction. When global happiness is assessed, it takes into account how people of all nation-states judge their quality of life. World happiness incorporates ratings on how well their governments work on an individual and mass standard. Key factors include each country’s living standards, health, educational/skill levels, good governance, ecological diversity and resilience, time use, psychological well-being, cultural diversity, and community vitality. What changes have occurred from 2019 to 2021? Has the pandemic altered happiness in any of the various categories? Have we changed our idea of happiness? Who is more or less happy today?
Format: 80% Lecture, 20% Q&A and Interactive discussion
From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima, we explore battle by battle how the United States ultimately defeated the Empire of Japan and ended World War II. Inspired in part by Blaine's recent trip to the South Pacific, we discuss the Allied island-hopping strategy that ultimately enabled the Americans to inch ever closer to Japan in order to finally end the war with the dropping of the atomic bomb.
Format: 80% Lecture, 20% Interactive discussion
The genocidal war in Tigray was launched on November 4 when Americans were pre-occupied by their presidential election. The UN claims that 4.5. million people are now in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. When Tigray was left without access to electricity, phone, internet, and visits from foreign journalists, why did the world look the other way? The Biden Administration claims that this is a war of ethnic cleansing. Can it be stopped? What are the causes? Who are the actors? What are the wider political ramifications? Join us as we examine these questions.
Format: 60% Lecture; 20% Question and Answer; 20% Demonstration
November 30 - December 7
Dance happens everywhere: the stage, the club, the screen, and even at civil uprisings. This course invites you to consider how movement develops, who dances and where, and how culture and history are inextricably tied to how people dance. Join us to look at how identity and movement particularly work together to shape our perceptions about culture. After a year of so much isolation, this course will include community-building practices. We'll talk, watch, and even move together!
Format: 20% Lecture, 40% Interactive discussion, 20% Hands-on activity, 20% Demonstration
We live in an age where social media has revolutionized (if not weaponized) political speech. From the pope to our president, Twitter allows the most powerful voices in the world to speak to us directly, 24 hours a day. Join us for a wild ride through the virtual roller coaster that is today’s social media as we learn how to decipher political messages from social media content. We’ll also discuss how the court of public opinion influences social thought, and how social media is a more effective platform for political speech than any other method of communication.
Format: 60% Lecture, 15% Interactive discussion, 15% Hands-on activity, 10% Demonstration
Join Dr. Kim Keeline as she examines one of Shakespeare's finest (and shortest) tragedies. She'll examine King James's influence on the story, the sources of the story (including Lady Macbeth's first name), and look closely at the themes and some of the best speeches. We’ll also take a look at some of the play’s most famous scenes in film. What was the purpose of the gatekeeper scene? Should Macbeth fear no man that's born of woman? And what's up with the Hecate witch scene? Join the march of Birnam Wood to Dunsinane Hill and find out!
Format: 75% Lecture, 25% Video examples of scenes
Have you ever wondered why the U.S. policy of regime change has led to dismal failure politically, strategically, and financially? Since its inception in the 1900 century, it’s happened under both Republican and Democratic administrations. The justifications given for regime change policy have been diverse, and the methods used to pursue it have been varied, ranging from diplomatic pressure to military invasion and occupation. While regime change may look successful at the start, in the long run, this controversial policy has failed to achieve its ultimate goals, and the unintended consequences prove to be catastrophic. Regime change has carried heavy financial and human costs, and in many cases, it’s left affected countries in worse shape than they were before.
Format: 85% Lecture, 15% Q&A
This lecture will explore how archaeology both illuminates and contradicts the biblical accounts. We’ll begin with a brief discussion of the methodology of archaeology, examining how it is done and how one uses the results. We’ll spend most of our time looking at what archaeology has to say about the emergence of ancient Israel, the religious practices of the early Israelites, and the world of Herod and the Jewish community at the time of Jesus. Our goal is to help you gain a better understanding of archaeology and how it helps to understand the world of the Bible, and glean insights into how archaeology interacts with the accounts of the Bible.
Format: 75% Lecture, 25% Q&A
Thousands of years ago in ancient India, seers and sages wrote down field notes from their explorations into the depths of consciousness and the breadth of the cosmos. These poetic scriptures became the bedrock of a major world religion: Hinduism. But Hinduism is no mere ideology;it's a diverse family of perspectives, visions, and practices encompassing all designed to lift humanity from ignorance to wisdom. Join us as we explore the roots, branches, and flowers of this beautiful wisdom tradition as it winds through the centuries and continues to evolve.
Format: 70% Lecture, Q&A and Interactive discussion
September 8 - October 13