Tuesday   

This six-week course explores the ideas, debates, and misunderstandings surrounding Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Together we will examine the origins of CRT in legal scholarship, its role in broader cultural conversations, and the ways DEI initiatives have been implemented in workplaces, schools, and communities. We’ll also consider why these topics have become flashpoints in today’s political and social climate. Through short lectures, videos, and open discussion, participants will gain the tools to separate myths from realities and develop their own informed perspectives. The goal is not to persuade but to understand—encouraging respectful dialogue on some of the most pressing issues of our time.

A significant percentage of the world’s population lives with the threats posed by various natural hazards. In this course we’ll explore the causes and effects of natural events like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunami, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods, and the places most likely to experience them. We’ll also look at reasons why people choose to live in risky places and some of the factors that affect their perceptions of risk and their likelihood of preparing for potential disasters. Finally, we’ll address some of the social and psychological reactions of disaster victims and factors that can help in recovering from such traumatic events.

Social Psychology is the scientific study of how our attitudes, emotions, and behavior can be influenced by the presence of others. In this introduction to the field, we’ll focus on topics like the importance of social norms that govern much of our behavior and interesting cross-cultural differences in those norms. We’ll also discuss how attitudes are formed and learn about various persuasion tactics used by advertising and sales professionals. Finally, we’ll cover classic topics from social psychology such as conformity, obedience to authority, interpersonal attraction, aggression, and pro-social behavior.

Ireland, a tiny country on the periphery of Europe, has exerted an extraordinary impact on modern literature: Who is the greatest poet of the 20th century (Yeats), who is the century's greatest dramatists (Synge, O'Casey, and Beckett), who is the century's greatest fiction writer (Joyce), who are the greatest poets in the 21st century (Heaney and Bolland). This course will provide an overview of Irish literary greatness in the 20th and 21st centuries. Week 1: Yeats, Week 2: Synge, Week 3: Joyce, Week 4: O'Casey, Week 5: Beckett, Week 6: Heaney/Bolland. The course will provide an introduction to Irish literary history and its impact.

Did you know that origami techniques are used in space, architecture, fashion, and medicine? Some major breakthroughs can thank origami for their development.

Did you know there are many different types of origami? In modular origami you make several copies of a single unit and then connect them without glue or tape. Action origami models move and change. Wet folding facilitates delicacy and curves. Pureland origami allows only mountain and valley folds. Tessellations cover a plane with twist folds. Origami is an exciting and varied artform to explore!

Start your origami journey here. During our 6 weeks together, you will fold several models that together will provide a peek into this variety and begin to develop your technique! You will be asked to support your learning and enjoyment by a small amount of folding outside of class.

Supplies will be provided for this intro course.

Over six weeks, members will build foundational skills, from understanding water control and layering, to learning how to show light and shadows. You will learn both wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry techniques. We will be inspired by landscapes, still life, flowers and figures.

This six-week course explores how America’s generations view politics, culture, and the future. From Baby Boomers shaped by Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement, to Generation X’s pragmatism, to Millennials coming of age during 9/11 and the Great Recession, and Gen Z’s activism around climate change, identity, and technology, each generation brings its own priorities and values. Together we will examine voting patterns, social movements, economic pressures, and media influences that define intergenerational dynamics today. Through discussion and case studies, participants will consider how these generational perspectives interact, clash, and cooperate—and what this means for the direction of American democracy in the 21st century.

The Great Gatsby delves into the decadence and disillusionment of the early 1920s. Women’s haircuts and hemlines were shorter. Alcohol was illegal, but bootleggers kept the booze flowing. Gangsters ruled the streets, and jazz music floated out of the clubs. Enter Jay Gatsby—a mysterious man with bountiful riches and an unknown past. The Great Gatsby is an anti-love story; it’s a tale of one man’s obsession with rewriting history. In this course, students will learn about the 1920s and F. Scott Fitzgerald. They will also receive a six-week at-home reading schedule. The foundation of each class will be discussion based on the assigned reading. Join this course for six weeks of engaging literary discussion on The Great Gatsby!