Spring 2025!   

Whether you mean to teach them or not, the dogs and cats in your home are always learning from you. We will talk about different ways to approach training dogs and cats, what you may accidentally be teaching them, the benefits of training your dog and cat - even if they are already perfectly behaved - and what to focus on teaching them. We will discuss when and how to teach puppies and kittens, training newly adopted rescues, and what’s different about training dogs from puppy mills or cats from hoarding houses. While we’re at it, we will bust some myths about dog and cat training. Can you teach an old dog new tricks? Yes! Do you have to make a point to be in charge? No. Are cats harder to train than dogs? Not really. Bring your training questions and challenges. There will be time for questions and answers. You will receive some excellent training resources and watch some cute animal training videos for inspiration.

We will explore Johann Sebastian Bach’s cantata production during his tenure in Weimar (1708-1717). In this period, Bach composed cantatas for the Ducal court chapel, honing his style and paving the way for his extensive cantata production later in his career as he became Thomaskantor in Leipzig. Whether or not you participated in Part I in February, please join us as we continue our journey through Bach's most notable Weimar cantatas. We'll discuss the occasion for each piece, review its text, and conduct high-level musical analysis to enable a deeper appreciation of Bach's evolving musical language. The sessions will include listening to excerpts or entire cantatas if time allows. Whether you're a Bach enthusiast or new to his music, this course will equip you with new insights and tools to engage with the works of one of the greatest composers in history.

Each day, there are many news stories revolving around the world of art. A theft, a rediscovery, forgeries, acts of terrorism, a restoration, lawsuits, or restitutions–the list goes on and on. In our media-packed world, it is difficult to keep up with current happenings and even more challenging to see the implications to those people involved: collectors, museums, auction houses, the world of art, and to our society and heritage. Tracking the typical art crime news of a day, we will then examine the stories and capers of today as well as the recent year. These cases have or will affect the future of the art world legally and, most certainly, morally and ethically. Once again, grab your legal pad and sharpen your pencil. Come catch up on the latest Art Crimes.

This is the story of the North Atlantic region spanning billions of years. We begin with Rodinia, a supercontinent that assembled about 1 billion years ago. When it broke apart about 500 million years ago, the fragments formed the next supercontinent, Pangaea. Over the last 200 million years, Pangaea has fragmented, giving rise to the continents we know today: North and South America, Eurasia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica. This motion of both seafloor plates and continental plates was driven by the opening of the Atlantic Ocean and other ocean basins. Old seafloor and continental margins were crumpled into vast mountain ranges, and smaller landmasses were incorporated into the growing continents. Starting in northwest Norway, we’ll journey across the UK and conclude in southeastern Newfoundland, Canada. We will encounter remarkable evidence of this past: 565-million-year-old fossils that once resided on the Moroccan coast, a testament to the incredible mobility of Earth’s crust.

Every city has a particular feel about it, defined by its architecture, demographics, geography, climate, and the people and cultures that have shaped the city from its founding to its current status. From historical to contemporary structures, this course will explore the iconic structures that identify various American cities and how they came to be. We will discuss architectural styles and the sociopolitical context in which these buildings were created. Cities to be discussed include New York, Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles.

Architecture is a “fine art” along with painting and sculpture, but the shackles of utility have hampered its fine art designation. With the destruction of the Pruitt Igo housing project in 1972 and the rise of post-modernism, those shackles have been loosened. Architects could begin to explore expressive and philosophic art. Compare the modernist expression “Form follows function” and “truth to materials” to post-modern expressions “the decorated shed,” “conceptual form,” and “decomposition of geometric systems.” These phrases express a bid for freedom from utility and yield wildly different architectural forms. Architecture behaves as a divergent pursuit. The more architects who work on a problem, the more solutions are generated. Pure engineering problems behave as though there is a single best solution. This course investigates the multiplicity of architectural ideas and forms that freedom encourages.

In this introduction to Google Docs, we will show you how to create documents and share work “in the cloud.” We will also discuss how Google Docs can fit into and simplify workflow across devices and operating systems. This class is intended for desktop/laptop computer users but will include information for mobile device users. The Chrome web browser is recommended. This class will use recorded and live demonstrations as well as written material.

CLASS CANCELLED

Please contact us with any questions.

Just like death and taxes, security compromises are inevitable but manageable if you prepare and take precautions. We usually do not want to think about them or feel overwhelmed by all the things necessary to keep us secure. What if you had a checklist of what to do each day, each month, or each year to stay safe? Let's pluck the best security practices and organize them into lists you can use to balance your life and security.

Come explore the fascinating geology of Washington State with us as we climb the high Cascades, explore the deserts, and unravel the geologic story behind the beautiful landscapes of our state. We will learn about the web of geologic faults that transect the Puget Lowland, visit our mighty volcanoes, and examine the floodscapes east of the mountains left by the great Ice Age floods. We will also scan the bluffs of Puget Sound for evidence of the advance and retreat of the great Cordilleran Ice Sheet and visit the ancient seashore in Spokane. Let the adventures begin!

This class is full. Please click the Add to Waitlist button below.

Project 2025 is just beginning. This “blueprint for a next Republican administration,” from the Heritage Foundation and refugees from the first Trump administration, provides guidance for realizing a new conservative vision for government. Trump’s re-election and the appointment of sympathetic officials set the stage for this vision to become reality. The Project’s 900-page summary document, “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise,” is bold and specific, representing a sharp turn away from checks and balances and towards a more centralized, autocratic state. We all know about the gap between cup and lip and have witnessed countless bold documents gathering dust on policymakers’ shelves. This begs the question: “To what extent, and how, has Project 2025 come into being during the first 100 days of the Trump administration?” Aided by cartoonists, fact-checkers, and astute observers, we’ll probe this question and its implications across the political spectrum for us all.

Francis Poulenc was the most prominent member of “Les Six” (“The Six”), a mid-20th-century organization of young French composers which, startingly for the times, included a woman. The music of this group often is seen as a neoclassic reaction against both the musical style of Richard Wagner and the Impressionist music of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. Erica Miner provides compelling background and striking videos to portray Poulenc’s importance in the history of music. “Dialogues of the Carmelites,” his highly dramatic opera about the mass execution of nuns during the French Revolution, is recognized as one of the most emotionally moving in all of opera.

This class is full. Please click the Add to Waitlist button below.

We will dive into the free Google Drive services found in your Google account, which will simplify your life and make you more productive. We will show you how cloud-based apps work within the Google universe. We will cover the advantages of using Google’s office productivity apps — and the pitfalls. Touching on security and privacy, we will show how Google’s products can work with — and sometimes better than — the business software you might be familiar with. This class is for desktop/laptop computer users and will include information for mobile devices. The Chrome web browser is recommended. This class will use recorded and live demonstrations as well as written material.

This course is Part I of a two-part sequence on global warming. Part I provides an overview of historical climate change, examining the impact of fossil fuel burning on the environment. It explores the link between historical fossil fuel consumption (based on tax records), greenhouse gas emissions, and subsequent climate changes. The analysis includes regional impacts on the Pacific Northwest, such as changes in summer drought patterns, increased rain intensity, and the rise of wildfires, landslides, and heat waves. Additionally, it explores global consequences, including impacts on food production, water resources, and the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events like droughts, hurricanes, and floods. Part II is planned for a future quarter and will describe what can be done to stop global warming.

Knowing about the sources of greenhouse gases enables informed approaches to controlling and reducing them. This course will cover electric power generation, the grid (fossil, renewable, and nuclear fission and fusion), fuels and vehicles (fossil, biofuels, hydrogen, hybrid, and electric), and materials (concrete, steel, and aluminum).

Each week, students will look at contemporary fashion and hear about the origin of that style from the past. Very few designs are original; most designs are borrowed from past designs. Students will learn how historical fashion designs have shaped and continue to influence contemporary fashion trends.

NOTE: Class time and price have been updated since the brochure was printed. This page reflects the latest information. 

Calling all Janeites! In this interactive online discussion class, we will apply philosophical questions to the plots and characters of these beloved novels. What are some of the different types of injustice, particularly those experienced by women? What is the definition of a secret, and when is it ethical or unethical to keep secrets? And what would Aristotle say is the correct amount of various virtues, including sense, sensibility, and pride...you get the idea! This course will largely focus on the novels "Pride and Prejudice" and "Sense and Sensibility." Suppose you don't want to read (or reread) them. In that case, I recommend these film adaptations available on various streaming sites: the six-part BBC production of "Pride and Prejudice" starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, and Emma Thompson's film "Sense and Sensibility." They were both originally shown in 1995.

Born in Paris less than a decade apart, Edouard Manet (1832-1883) and Claude Monet (1840-1926) were two of the most consequential painters in the history of art, and given their almost identical names, they are easily confused. Superficially, their work may look similar, and while Manet hugely influenced the younger Monet, he would later take up Monet’s interest in painting outdoors with a lighter palette. Both strove to paint modern life, but their art diverged substantially, and only one of the two would associate himself with the radical movement of Impressionism. Come learn about these two giants of modern painting and how to distinguish one from the other.

In this course, we will explore the marine life in tidal pools of some of the most extensive low-tide sand beaches on the Puget Sound — tide flats which are right in our backyard in Kingston. We will learn about the sound’s marine mammals, sea birds, mollusks, and more. We will find out the answers to questions like: What is that thing? What do divers see in the Edmonds Underwater Park? What is living out in the Puget Sound? The featured animals will include the orca, harbor seal, river otter, bald eagle, osprey, great blue heron, geoduck, moon snail, squid, octopus, sea star, jellyfish, sea cucumber, sea anemone, and sand dollar.

This course is designed to provide a layman-accessible overview of how human pharmaceuticals are developed, evaluated, used, and regulated. Class participants will gain basic knowledge of drug production, testing, and marketing, focusing on the importance of regulations in these areas, including drug types, how they work, pharmaceutical development, and commercialization.

Since its founding in the aftermath of World War II, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been the cornerstone of U.S. security strategy. Originally designed, in the words of its first secretary general, to “keep America in, the Soviets out, and Germany down,” NATO has evolved into an alliance of 32 member nations committed to mutual defense. We shall explore the organization’s history, costs, successes, and challenges and spend considerable time examining Article 5, the key tenet of the treaty that states, “An attack on one is an attack on all” member states. Each week, a Resource List and Q&A segments will enhance our understanding of this central pillar of North Atlantic security and the rules-based international order.

Think you can’t be a gardener if you don’t have a garden plot for vegetables and flowers? Well, think again. Container gardening offers a ready solution for gardeners without a garden plot. We will discuss how to care for container plants and explore topics like watering, fertilizing, plant spacing, selecting the appropriate soil, choosing appropriate plants, and the advantages and disadvantages of container gardening.

May Swenson’s poetry has been described as keen, authentic, visionary, accessible (also elusive!), and democratic in its vision. I first fell for her when I read “The Centaur,” her whimsical, gender-twisting poem about a 10-year-old child pretending to be a horse. One thing I’ve learned in years of reading and studying her is that every reader has their own Swenson, and we don’t always agree on “who” she was. In this class, we will read Swenson’s writings, a sampling of her influences, and consider how she influenced the generations of poets who came after her. Poems not available in “Nature: Poems Old and New” (2000), will be provided.

In this course, we will continue our reading of Chaucer’s great satirical classic in the original Middle English language, a project we will pursue over many subsequent quarters. Our text will be Larry D. Benson’s edition (Houghton Mifflin), widely available in paperback and online. Make sure you get this edition so that we all have the same line numbers. Our point of departure will depend on how far we got in the Winter, so instructions on reading for the first class meeting will be forthcoming before the quarter starts. It is not necessary to have taken the first two parts of this course to enroll in Part III.

Rumi was a 13th-century mystical Persian poet whose insights into life, loss, freedom, longing, spirit, and imagination resonate even today. As a Sufi, Rumi was the founder of the “whirling dervishes.” Rumi’s brilliant and inspired work is universal in its appeal. His soulful work explores the “feeling side” of life in depth. His mentor was the mysterious Shams of Tabriz. The required text is “The Essential Rumi” (new expanded edition), translated by Coleman Barks. Rumi is the most widely read poet in America today. Come share in Rumi’s heartfelt search for beauty.

This year marks 200 years since the first Norwegian immigrants came to America. This anniversary will be commemorated on both sides of the Atlantic, including in this class at CRI! The history of Scandinavian immigration has been richly documented in historical studies and novels, letters and diaries, photographs, and oral history interviews. A wealth of sources offers windows into the lives of people who decided to leave their homeland and try their luck in uncharted territory. What motivated them to leave? Where in America’s great expanse did they end up? For those who stayed and settled, how were they accepted, and how did the lives they built contribute to the fabric of American society? This class will learn about these questions and topics from lectures and explore them through readings and discussion. Participants are encouraged to read Edvard Hoem’s novel, “Haymaker in Heaven,” translated from Norwegian by Tara Chase. The instructor will provide other readings.

Since Mary Shelley anonymously published “The Modern Prometheus” for the first time in 1818, science fiction has been an imaginative exploration into the question: what does it mean to be human? Specifically, the genre has become inextricably linked to critical commentary on social stratification and how we respond to injustice. From the writings of Ursula K. Le Guin to Gene Roddenberry’s vision of the future, “Star Trek,” this course will investigate how science fiction continues to be a vehicle for identifying and confronting social justice issues. Through the use of allegory, these speculative works hold a mirror to humanity and prompt us to question our current reality and imagine alternative futures. Learn about science fiction’s socially conscious history and how to critically approach strange new worlds to better understand our own.

In this course, we will conduct a reading of one of Shakespeare’s last tragedies, “Coriolanus,” which T. S. Eliot considered “greater than ‘Hamlet.’” Our reading will focus on the problematic nature of Coriolanus as a tragic hero compared to other Shakespearian heroes. Additionally, we will seek to place the work in its socio-historical context and investigate the contemporary events that may have influenced its composition in 1608. Students are asked to read through Act 2 for the first class meeting. Any edition of the text will do, though it is recommended to find one with line numbers and footnotes (the instructor prefers Signet Classic paperbacks, widely available).

Social Security and Medicare are on an unsustainable path. They spend more than they take in, and by 2035, the combined Social Security Trust Funds are projected to be depleted. Medicare’s Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund will be depleted even sooner (2028). The US population and increasing healthcare costs continue to put pressure on the programs, and without action, benefits in the future would be significantly reduced after the depletion dates. This class will consider the options for these critical programs, including very likely significant cuts to benefits.

This class will explore the modernization of China, focusing on the last dynasty, the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). The Qing initially pursued an isolationist policy, closing their borders to the outside world. However, this isolation was disrupted by contact with Western powers, particularly the Jesuits and the Portuguese. The forced opium trade by the British Empire ushered in the Century of Humiliation (1839-1949), a period of significant internal and external turmoil. The early 20th century witnessed a period of intense political upheaval, with various factions vying for power, including warlords, nationalists, communists, and the Japanese.

In this course, we will focus on the events that led to the astounding modernization of China in a mere 50 years. From the early 1900s, China was embattled in an on-again, off-again Civil War that was eventually settled when the Communists triumphed in 1949. This led to an era that featured misguided pitfalls: The Great Leap Forward (which was anything but) and the Cultural Revolution (complete chaos). China would emerge in the ‘80s after the death of Mao Zedong as a world player in the modern era.

Who is the real James Bond? Who did Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, base his character on? There are over a dozen candidates, and in this class, we are going to look at most of them to get an informed idea about who the most likely person was that formed Ian Fleming’s concept of the ultimate spy. In our “study,” we will include an examination of Ian Fleming’s preference for whom he thought should play Bond in films (a clue perhaps?) as well as get some insight into Fleming himself. We will also cover where “007” came from and how Fleming chose the name for his blockbuster hero.