History & Current Affairs   

Almost 50 years ago, the US government, prompted by questionable economic motives, redrew the boundaries of the Navajo and Hopi tribal lands, forcing some Navajo to resettle. As detailed in the Oscar-winning documentary Broken Rainbow (60 minutes), that relocation exacerbated intertribal tensions, and continues to prompt demands for its repeal. After viewing the film, we'll review the 2006 intertribal settlement and a 2012 Navajo public hearing, and discuss the human rights issues involved.

Stepping inside a cathedral lifts the spirit to experience architecture, art, and music, culture, and history. Cathedrals have served as sites of religious, political, cultural, and economic importance. This workshop uses the Great Courses Program as an historic guide to European cathedrals. The post-fire restoration of the Cathedral of Notre Dame will be updated. Our own Washington National Cathedral is also visited. Music of the holiday season in cathedrals will be featured.

With only 8% of the world's arable land, China feeds 20% of its people. In imperial China, good harvests meant prosperity; poor ones, political unrest and even dynastic collapse. Under Mao, class warfare, stupid ecological policies and poor infrastructure led to one of the world's worst famines. Later, miracle rice -- developed in China -- greatly improved food security. Will China be able to manage climate change, scarce water, pollution, unstable global production and geopolitical tensions?

With only 8% of the world's arable land, China feeds 20% of its people. In imperial China, good harvests meant prosperity; poor ones, political unrest and even dynastic collapse. Under Mao, class warfare, stupid ecological policies and poor infrastructure led to one of the world's worst famines. Later, miracle rice -- developed in China -- greatly improved food security. Will China be able to manage climate change, scarce water, pollution, unstable global production and geopolitical tensions?

Come along on this two-hour fact-filled, fun space odyssey adventure. You will hear little-known facts and stories about “manned” space flight from a first-hand observer. Topics about the astronauts, what they ate, pranks they pulled, what they said and did, their missions, rockets, and more will be presented. The author has prepared, and will share, his set of “mission materials” slide decks with the attendees.

As Paris prepares for the 2024 Olympics this is a good time to consider an overview of Paris, the Paris Basin, and the Seine River. After a quick look at the geology and geography of the river and the basin, we will consider venues along the Seine, within Paris, that the French plan to feature during the Olympics. A particular issue is the attempt to clean up the Seine sufficiently to allow swimming. The City of Light is always an inviting topic.

Thomas Jefferson is considered one of America’s greatest political figures. As author of the Declaration of Independence, a champion of liberty, an ambassador, and a US president, Jefferson was truly an American icon. He also owned slaves and was indecisive and a spendthrift. Join us to study and discuss the life and times of this brilliant, complex, and controversial man.

This program was made possible by Arizona Humanities.

In this presentation, Dr. Maurice Crandall connects central Arizona's natural history and resources to the violent displacement and removal of the Yavapai and Dilzhe'e Apache people, and their eventual return.

This is being offered both in person and live stream via zoom.  Please register for the section (in person or zoom) that you are interested in.

Learn how Yavapai-Apache experiences are directly tied to discoveries of gold around Prescott and rich copper mines on Mingus Mountain, and the perennial streams of the Verde River watershed to raise the crops necessary to feed the growing numbers of non-Indian settlers who flooded the region beginning in the 1860s. Even after the Yavapai-Apache returned from forced exile around 1900, they survived by working in mining operations and infrastructure projects while squatting on United Verde Copper Company land. The natural beauty of central Arizona is contrasted by the ugly remnants of this extractive past: slag heaps, leach fields, and abandoned mines. This lecture will challenge listeners to think about their relationship to the environment, how the natural history and resources of the region have been abused to the detriment of the land and its original inhabitants, and open a discussion of how to heal and move forward, honoring the natural history of the land and its people.

Dr. Maurice Crandall is an Associate Professor of History at Arizona State University and an enrolled member of the Yavapai-Apache Nation. He previously taught at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. Professor Crandall is a multi-award-winning author and public intellectual who has presented his research throughout the United States, as well as in Canada and Europe. His first book, These People Have Always Been a Republic: Indigenous Electorates in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, 1598–1912, was published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2019. His second book, on Yavapai-Apache Scouts, is under contract with W.W. Norton & Company. He received his PhD in History from the University of New Mexico, and is a graduate of Mingus Union High School.

This program was made possible by Arizona Humanities.

In this presentation, Dr. Maurice Crandall connects central Arizona's natural history and resources to the violent displacement and removal of the Yavapai and Dilzhe'e Apache people, and their eventual return.

This is being offered both in person and live stream via zoom.  Please register for the section (in person or zoom) that you are interested in.

Learn how Yavapai-Apache experiences are directly tied to discoveries of gold around Prescott and rich copper mines on Mingus Mountain, and the perennial streams of the Verde River watershed to raise the crops necessary to feed the growing numbers of non-Indian settlers who flooded the region beginning in the 1860s. Even after the Yavapai-Apache returned from forced exile around 1900, they survived by working in mining operations and infrastructure projects while squatting on United Verde Copper Company land. The natural beauty of central Arizona is contrasted by the ugly remnants of this extractive past: slag heaps, leach fields, and abandoned mines. This lecture will challenge listeners to think about their relationship to the environment, how the natural history and resources of the region have been abused to the detriment of the land and its original inhabitants, and open a discussion of how to heal and move forward, honoring the natural history of the land and its people.

Dr. Maurice Crandall is an Associate Professor of History at Arizona State University and an enrolled member of the Yavapai-Apache Nation. He previously taught at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. Professor Crandall is a multi-award-winning author and public intellectual who has presented his research throughout the United States, as well as in Canada and Europe. His first book, These People Have Always Been a Republic: Indigenous Electorates in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, 1598–1912, was published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2019. His second book, on Yavapai-Apache Scouts, is under contract with W.W. Norton & Company. He received his PhD in History from the University of New Mexico, and is a graduate of Mingus Union High School.