Broomfield Community Center   

Great Decisions is a course on United States foreign policy. Each week, we will focus on a specific topic related to that policy from a U.S. perspective. Other perspectives on that policy topic are valued and encouraged. At the beginning of each class, we will watch a video prepared by the Foreign Policy Association to further define the week's topic. Students are encouraged to provide their thoughts and opinions on the presented materials and should be ready to discuss with and learn from their classmates. We will tackle four topics during the Fall 2026 term: America and the World: Trump 2.0 Foreign Policy; Multilateral Institutions in a Changing World Order; U.S. Engagement of Africa; and The Future of Human Rights and International Law.

Required: Great Decisions Briefing Book 2026. Participants should order this from the Foreign Policy Association website- $35

This course will cover the great Austro-Bohemian composer-conductor Gustav Mahler's childhood, when his musical gifts emerged, and will end with his appointment as Music Director of the Vienna Opera.

We will:

Learn how his narcissism, grandiosity, authoritarian tendencies, compulsive perfectionism, and musical genius allowed him to persevere and succeed, despite facing many obstacles, personal losses, and tragic love affairs.

Cover his time at the Vienna Conservatory, his truancy, the effect of his traits upon friendships, and the major influence of Richard Wagner upon him, as well as his rise from modest positions to prominent ones following graduation at nineteen.

Learn the details of his radically innovative conducting techniques and how they were both applauded and reviled by musicians subjected to his maniacal rehearsals.

Learn how his doomed romantic entanglements stimulated his composing.

Throughout the course, we will listen to musical excerpts illustrating how thoroughly autobiographical his music was.

Reading materials will be sent to participants.

This four-week course is for people who suspect that curiosity does not retire. We'll explore artificial intelligence slowly and thoughtfully—not as technicians, but as human beings navigating a profound cultural shift. Practical questions and bigger ones are both welcome. Retirement was supposed to be the quiet part. Then humanity invented machines that can converse, explain, summarize, brainstorm, argue, and occasionally sound wiser than your cousin Larry. Bring basic copy-and-paste skills and a willingness to wonder. WiFi tablet or laptop helpful but not mandatory.

The class on 10/21 will be online.

This course examines the history of country and bluegrass music in the United States. We will learn that traditional ballads migrated from the British Isles to Appalachia between the mid-1800’s and early 1900’s. We will identify Scottish and Irish songs that became widely played in Appalachia in the early 1900’s. By examining the early recordings of country artists such as the Carter Family, Ernest Stoneman, and Jimmie Rogers, we will discover how musicians adapted songs originating in the British Isles. As we move to the 1930’s, we will learn about the impact of the Great Depression on country music and examine the origin of bluegrass music through pioneers like Bill Monroe and the Stanley Brothers. We will trace how early recordings influenced developments in country and bluegrass music up until 1960. Recorded songs, videos, and live music will help us understand and enliven the history of country and bluegrass music.

Recommended Reading: Ritchie, F., & Orr, D. (2021). Wayfaring strangers: The musical voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia, 2nd Ed. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press.