Friday   

Getting older has its ups and downs. Mindfulness can keep you balanced and resilient, come what may. This course will explore five simple mind and body practices to help you thrive in your later years. You'll learn to use gratitude, mindful activity, mindful eating, meditation and self-compassion to enhance daily life and smooth out the rough spots. A few easy practice exercises will give you some new tools you can use to live your best life.

 

We'll overview and provide an understanding of how the fragmented (and often confusing) array of TV streaming options continues to evolve, then discuss implications for specific actions for best aligning your TV streaming content & equipment setup with your viewing and budget preferences. Various tools, resources, and "hacks" will also be discussed to help learners enhance their streaming experience. Learners will help shape the session agenda by completing an optional online pre-class survey to help identify key concerns they'd like to see prioritized during our discussion.

One of the great novels of adultery, the first "realist" masterpiece, the first modern novel, or "a book about nothing" (Flaubert's own phrase)—Madame Bovary has been called all of these things.  We will try to understand what makes Madame Bovary not only a great novel but  one of the most influential novels in the history of the genre. Please read as much of the novel as you can before the first class. Course format will be mainly lecture but with discussion encouraged.

Required reading: Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, trans. Lydia Davis, Penguin (2010).

 

This course will walk through one of the most famous studies of fascism across time, Robert Paxton's Anatomy of Fascism. Each week, will cover the main ideas from a chapter of the book, as well as advances in the field since its publication in 2004. Learners are invited but not obligated to read each chapter at home before each class. Note: this class meets twice a week on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Recommended reading: The Anatomy of Fascism, by Robert Paxton, Vintage, any edition. 

 

Friday, 10/23: Todd Lefko, U.S. Tariffs and the Future of the World Economy

U.S. trade and tariff policies have shaken global economic norms. What’s the rationale behind this shift in economic policy, and what are the implications for multilateral trade and geopolitics?

Todd Lefko is President of the International Business Development Company, an import-export firm dealing with water purification equipment, kilns, linen, art, and new technologies.

10/30 - No class.

Friday, 11/6: Christi Silver, The Future of Human Rights and International Law

As democracy and human rights retreat globally—and the U.S. pulls back—how can civil society and legal norms remain effective in a divided world? What is the role and force of international law in this era of impunity?

Christi Siver is a Professor of Political Science at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. 

Friday, 11/13, No class.

Friday, 11/20: Anne Linnee, U.S. Foreign Policy: America and the World

The federal administration has broken from 80 years of U.S. foreign policy leadership, embracing an “America First” approach. This session explores the impact of isolation and diminished influence in relation to current U.S. foreign policy. 

Anne Linnee retired from the State Department in 2023 following a more than 20-year career as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer. 

 

There is a surge in divorce rates among adults over 50. The adjustment to being single later in life can be daunting. This course offers a practical 4-session workshop focused on addressing the emotional, financial, housing, and social adjustments. The workshops may apply to widowed people as well, but are largely focused on the aftermath of divorce. This course is also not an emotional support group, rather an opportunity for each participant to create a plan to help guide their adjustment. The exact focus of each session will depend on what the majority of the group prefers.  Expect to do some personal reflection and guided planning.  This is a hands on experience.

If you love exploring the food from around the world, this one’s for you. We will try 3 world cuisines, one lunch at a time, starting with a lunch meeting at which we choose 2 more restaurants to visit. For this edition, we will choose restaurants in the general vicinity of the U of M, including restaurants in SE and NE Minneapolis, and downtown locations near the river.