History & Politics   

Painting, sculpture, prints, and architecture of Germany from circa 1910 to 1930 shows a variety of approaches to a changing world: Expressionism, Dada, New Objectivity, and new attitudes about architecture and design. The class will complement an exhibition at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, The Age of Anxiety: German Expressionism in Art and Film (Oct. 9 – Jan. 10). The class will include an extra afternoon period to visit the exhibition. Among the artists to be considered are Ernst Kirchner, Franz Marc, Kathe Kollwitz, Georg Grosz, Max Ernst, Hanna Hoch, Lazlo Hoholy-Nagy, Max Beckmann, Paul Klee, Vasily Kandinsky, Walter Gropius and others associated with the Bauhaus. The course will also include commentary about four makers of motion pictures, Robert Weine, F. W. Murnau, Fritz Lang, and Walter Ruttmann.

In this class we’ll explore creation, creators, and never-ending creativity. We will look at these topics from various angles: ancient Near Eastern myths of creation, the Judeo-Christian Bible creation myth, science, evolutionary thinkers (Loren Eiseley), process thinkers (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, A.N. Whitehead), and others.

This class will discuss how our legal system resolves conflicts between the right to freely exercise one’s religious beliefs and the enforcement of laws that conflict with them. While the history of various religious protections will be discussed, the majority of class time will be devoted to the discussion of contemporary issues, including recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that blur the traditional lines of separation between church and state in the areas of anti-discrimination law, school-led prayer and iconography in public schools, the right of parents to raise their children as they wish, the use of tax dollars to support private religious schools, and more.

For over 25 years, award-winning journalist and op-ed columnist John Brummett has brought his insightful analysis to LifeQuest members, exploring the key events shaping our city, state, and nation. Known for his ability to humanize complex issues and spark meaningful discussions, Brummett offers thoughtful commentary that encourages civil discourse.

What the state of Arkansas lacks in size, it makes up for in thought leaders, entrepreneurs, scientists, innovators, and great stories. Moderated by LifeQuest member, instructor, and retired pediatrician Dr. Charles Feild, this class will introduce participants to a diverse group of leaders who are shaping the direction of our state and making a positive impact on its residents.

China entered the twentieth century as a militarily enfeebled, fiscally bankrupt, and politically crumbling empire and left the twentieth century as an economically dominant global superpower. The intervening years were defined by a near-constant series of revolutions that transformed almost every aspect of daily life in China. From the Boxer Uprising to the Communist Revolution to China’s modern economic transformation, this course explores the triumphs and tragedies of China’s past 150 years through the eyes of political leaders and everyday citizens.

In the mid-1920s, Arkansas’s final chapter of commercial art pottery began with the founding of Camark Pottery in Camden. Led by Ohioan Jack Carnes, Camark emerged as Carnes shifted his focus from the oil boom to the region’s abundant clay resources, aiming to rival Ohio’s ceramic industry. Drawing skilled ceramists from Ohio, Camark quickly produced distinctive, marketable American art pottery and became a significant industry player. Using modern methods, machinery, and circular kilns, it achieved large scale production, sourcing local clays. Camark thrived for a couple decades but ultimately succumbed to post–World War II manufacturing and marketing challenges.

Author and Instructor John G. Lambert will highlight the opening months of the bloody battle for the Pacific, setting the stage to the photo intensive presentation of the history of the USS Independence CVL-22, lead ship in her class, our nation's first dedicated night aircraft carrier. Torpedoed off Tarawa, her aviators and crew earned the vessel eight Battle Stars. She would enter the Atomic Age as a target vessel at Bikini Atoll in 1946.

Beverages are more than refreshment — they're windows into human history, culture, and innovation. This lecture series explores six iconic drinks: beer, wine, alcohol, coffee, tea, and Coca-Cola. Begin with beer and wine, the social drinks born in civilization's cradles. Then discover alcohol's dramatic impact on the Americas. Trace coffee, the drink of enlightenment and revolution, and tea, the imperial beverage that shaped global trade and culture. Finally, explore Coca-Cola, the first global beverage brand and symbol of American soft power. Drinks not included.

This class will take a look at some of the famous inventors throughout history. (LifeQuest instructors in parentheses)
Sept. 16: Samuel F. B. Morse (Dick Williams)
Sept. 23: Wright Brothers (Dent Gitchel)
Sept. 30: Philo Farnsworth (Pat Goss)
Oct. 7: Alexander Graham Bell (Jon Wolfe)
Oct. 21: Doctor Jonas Salk (Sherry Bartley)
Oct. 28: Nikola Tesla (Jim McHaney)
Nov. 4: Henry Ford (Fred Ursery)
Nov. 11: George Washington Carver (Judge Mary McGowan)

This class will look at the causes and events of the War of Austrian Succession, one of several world wars fought by European countries in the eighteenth century. This course will introduce you to Frederick the Great, Maria Theresa, Maurice de Saxe, and a certain Mister Jenkins, who lost an ear. Topics we will discuss will be the war in Italy and the events surrounding the Second Silesian War.

This course examines the historical roots of the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine with the goal of shedding light on how the past continues to shape the current geopolitics. We will explore the evolution of Ukraine as a state and nation, from the medieval state of Kyivan Rus, through the colonial control of various empires (Poland-Lithuania, Habsburgs, Russia, etc.), all the way to independence and Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia attacked Ukraine, escalating a conflict that began in 2014. Our explorations will focus on the complex history of East-Central Europe, a region spanning from today's Germany and Austria in the west to the depths of Russia in the east. As we examine this lesser known part of Europe, we will look into what the right to national self-determination means in the twenty-first century and investigate how the perpetrators and the victims of this war use history to defend their respective positions.

A discussion of different ranked voting methods under consideration by some states, as well as evaluation methods for understanding when those methods work well and when they do not. Hands-on examples included for practice! Incudes discussion of gerrymandering and how it can be measured.  Finally, includes discussion about the electoral college, with pros and cons as to why we should keep it. A conversation about how visualization of data influences our understanding of the data will be included. Note: No mathematics background is required!