COURSES   

Instructor: Chris Comer                                   Course Tuition: $60.00    

Schedule: Thursdays, 4/3/2025 - 5/1/2025, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Location: Remote, Zoom

What makes a work literary? Why are we moved by plots and characters that we know are fictitious? How do we become immersed in so-called “storyworlds”? Neuroscience is beginning to suggest answers to such questions. We will consider how reading stories – or watching them performed – is a surprisingly complex cognitive activity. The course format will be lectures and discussions. We will concentrate mostly on Anglo-Irish literature in accessible formats (short stories, extracts from novels, and theater performances). Materials will be posted to ShareFile for those who want to read them before each lecture. Prior knowledge of neuroscience is not required.

Instructor: Chris Comer                                   Course Tuition: $60.00    

Schedule: Thursdays, 4/3/2025 - 5/1/2025, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Location: Todd Building, Room 204

What makes a work literary? Why are we moved by plots and characters that we know are fictitious? How do we become immersed in so-called “storyworlds”? Neuroscience is beginning to suggest answers to such questions. We will consider how reading stories – or watching them performed – is a surprisingly complex cognitive activity. The course format will be lectures and discussions. We will concentrate mostly on Anglo-Irish literature in accessible formats (short stories, extracts from novels, and theater performances). Materials will be posted to ShareFile for those who want to read them before each lecture. Prior knowledge of neuroscience is not required.

Instructor: John Sommers-Flanagan, Daniel Salois                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Tuesdays, 3/25/2025 - 4/29/2025, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Location: Todd Building, Room 204

In this course, participants will learn about and experience seven different research-based approaches to achieving greater happiness. Using a unique format, participants will have one week of traditional lecture, followed by five weeks of small-group experiential learning sessions. Each small group (aka happiness lab) will meet to practice, experience, and discuss specific happiness interventions. Before each lab group, participants will be provided with a short reading and a short video to guide their weekly happiness practice. Specific positive psychology interventions to be covered include (a) three good things, (b) savoring, (c) gratitude, (d) cognitive behavior therapy, (e) forgiveness, (f) acts of kindness, (g) and the best possible self. Labs will be facilitated by graduate students in counseling and supervised by John Sommers-Flanagan.

Instructor: John Sommers-Flanagan, Daniel Salois                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Tuesdays, 3/25/2025 - 4/29/2025, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Location: Remote, Zoom

In this course, participants will learn about and experience seven different research-based approaches to achieving greater happiness. Using a unique format, participants will have one week of traditional lecture, followed by five weeks of small-group experiential learning sessions. Each small group (aka happiness lab) will meet to practice, experience, and discuss specific happiness interventions. Before each lab group, participants will be provided with a short reading and a short video to guide their weekly happiness practice. Specific positive psychology interventions to be covered include (a) three good things, (b) savoring, (c) gratitude, (d) cognitive behavior therapy, (e) forgiveness, (f) acts of kindness, (g) and the best possible self. Labs will be facilitated by graduate students in counseling and supervised by John Sommers-Flanagan.

Instructor: Mehrdad Kia                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Fridays, 4/4/2025 - 5/9/2025, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Location: Todd Building, Rooms 203 & 204

This course will not be recorded. 

This course focuses on the conflict between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism from the emergence of Islam to the arrival of Christian Crusades and beyond, all the way to the battle between militant Islamist groups such as ISIS with the West.

Instructor: Mehrdad Kia                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Fridays, 4/4/2025 - 5/9/2025, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Location: Remote, Zoom

This course will not be recorded. 

This course focuses on the conflict between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism from the emergence of Islam to the arrival of Christian Crusades and beyond, all the way to the battle between militant Islamist groups such as ISIS with the West.

Instructor: Tim Ballard                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Fridays, 4/4/2025 - 5/9/2025, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Location: Todd Building, Room 204

In recent years, there has been renewed attention to racial inequality as a formidable problem. This course is for those wanting to explore the problem of racial inequality in American society and to understand the practical and conceptual disputes over how to achieve equality in the present moment. The course reviews the different ways that Americans conceive of the problem of inequality and investigate policies and movements that address inequality. Each week focuses on different topic: 1) Affirmative Action 2) Racial Bias in Policing and Incarceration 3) Reparations 4) The 1619 Project and debates about American history 5) The concept of Anti-blackness and the threat of white supremacy 6) Demographic indicators of racial inequality such as the wealth gap and the health gap.

Instructor: Tim Ballard                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Fridays, 4/4/2025 - 5/9/2025, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Location: Remote, Zoom

In recent years, there has been renewed attention to racial inequality as a formidable problem. This course is for those wanting to explore the problem of racial inequality in American society and to understand the practical and conceptual disputes over how to achieve equality in the present moment. The course reviews the different ways that Americans conceive of the problem of inequality and investigate policies and movements that address inequality. Each week focuses on different topic: 1) Affirmative Action 2) Racial Bias in Policing and Incarceration 3) Reparations 4) The 1619 Project and debates about American history 5) The concept of Anti-blackness and the threat of white supremacy 6) Demographic indicators of racial inequality such as the wealth gap and the health gap.

Instructor: Brad Bigelow                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Fridays, 4/4/2025 - 5/9/2025, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Location: Todd Building, Room 204

This course leads students through the process of writing and publishing a biography. It is aimed at both those considering writing a biography and those interested in the work of biographers. It outlines biography as a genre, then looks at planning, research, structure, writing and editing, and working with a publisher, with each session focusing on a specific element in the process.

Instructor: Brad Bigelow                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Fridays, 4/4/2025 - 5/9/2025, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Location: Remote, Zoom

This course leads students through the process of writing and publishing a biography. It is aimed at both those considering writing a biography and those interested in the work of biographers. It outlines biography as a genre, then looks at planning, research, structure, writing and editing, and working with a publisher, with each session focusing on a specific element in the process.

Instructor: Joanna Shelton                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Mondays, 3/31/2025 - 5/5/2025, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Location: Todd Building, Room 204

Japan’s growing militarization, emperor worship, and expansionist policies beginning in the early 20th century ultimately led it into war against America and our allies in World War II. Its defeat was followed by a period of retrenchment, with a pacifist public sentiment and governmental focus on economic recovery. By the 1980s, Japan’s economy was the world’s second largest, but Japan remained a hesitant actor on the world stage. The turn of the 21st century saw Japan stagnating economically and largely eclipsed in the world’s eyes by China. This course will examine Japan’s role in Asia and the world and explore reasons for Japan’s recent transition to a more activist player. We also will consider obstacles to Japan’s ability to sustain its current trajectory.

Instructor: Joanna Shelton                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Mondays, 3/31/2025 - 5/5/2025, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Location: Remote, Zoom

Japan’s growing militarization, emperor worship, and expansionist policies beginning in the early 20th century ultimately led it into war against America and our allies in World War II. Its defeat was followed by a period of retrenchment, with a pacifist public sentiment and governmental focus on economic recovery. By the 1980s, Japan’s economy was the world’s second largest, but Japan remained a hesitant actor on the world stage. The turn of the 21st century saw Japan stagnating economically and largely eclipsed in the world’s eyes by China. This course will examine Japan’s role in Asia and the world and explore reasons for Japan’s recent transition to a more activist player. We also will consider obstacles to Japan’s ability to sustain its current trajectory.

Instructor: Josh Slotnick                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Tuesdays, 4/8/2025 - 5/13/2025, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Location: Todd Building, Room 204

This course will unpack the structure and responsibilities of local government as they pertain to six major challenges. We will consider taxation, land use and planning, infrastructure, equity and climate, homelessness and community mental health, and housing. Each class session will combine lecture, discussion of an article, and an activity.

Instructor: Josh Slotnick                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Tuesdays, 4/8/2025 - 5/13/2025, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Location: Remote, Zoom

This course will unpack the structure and responsibilities of local government as they pertain to six major challenges. We will consider taxation, land use and planning, infrastructure, equity and climate, homelessness and community mental health, and housing. Each class session will combine lecture, discussion of an article, and an activity.

Instructor: Richard Bell                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Saturdays, 4/5/2025 - 5/10/2025, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Location: Remote, Zoom

Who made the United States? This course examines how three peoples—Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans—encountered each other in the new United States. The course begins with the American Revolution, and then proceeds through the early republic, the antebellum era, and then culminates with the Civil War and Reconstruction. This course will cover the creation of the Constitution, early foreign policy, Jacksonian democracy, the transportation revolution, manifest destiny, abolition, and secession. Together, these lessons provide a great introduction to the latest scholarship on almost every aspect of early U.S. history from the end of the American Revolution in 1783 to the end of Reconstruction in 1877. Most importantly, the course places front and center the ordinary people whose lives and struggles made this new nation.

Instructor: Peggy Kuhr                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Wednesdays, 4/2/2025 - 5/7/2025, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Location: Todd Building, Room 204

U.S. women journalists increased to 41 percent of the workforce, as measured in 2022 – up from 20 percent in 1971. While women outnumber men early in their journalism careers, they leave the profession much earlier than men. In this course, we’ll look at demographic trends and explore the lives and legacies of pioneering U.S. women journalists. Among them, we’ll meet women running small town and/or digital newsrooms today; pioneering broadcasters such as Connie Chung and Genie Chance, a radio reporter who was the voice of news during the 1964 Alaska earthquake; and an array of sports and photojournalists. This will be a lecture course enriched with speakers’ first-hand reports, joining us via Zoom.

Instructor: Peggy Kuhr                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Wednesdays, 4/2/2025 - 5/7/2025, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Location: Remote, Zoom

U.S. women journalists increased to 41 percent of the workforce, as measured in 2022 – up from 20 percent in 1971. While women outnumber men early in their journalism careers, they leave the profession much earlier than men. In this course, we’ll look at demographic trends and explore the lives and legacies of pioneering U.S. women journalists. Among them, we’ll meet women running small town and/or digital newsrooms today; pioneering broadcasters such as Connie Chung and Genie Chance, a radio reporter who was the voice of news during the 1964 Alaska earthquake; and an array of sports and photojournalists. This will be a lecture course enriched with speakers’ first-hand reports, joining us via Zoom.

Instructor: Tate Jones                                   Course Tuition: $60.00    

Schedule: Mondays, 3/31/2025 - 4/28/2025, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Location: Todd Building, Room 204

This course is an exploration of nearly 150 years of Fort Missoula’s history from 1877 to the present, encompassing period accounts, archival photos, exhibit artifacts, and in-person tours of the historic grounds and buildings. Students will experience the melding of national, regional, and local history at the Fort. The course will reflect on how this history is relevant to our current times. For those students who choose the option with the tour, students will meet at the Rocky Mountain Museum of Military History on May 5th.

Instructor: Tate Jones                                   Course Tuition: $60.00    

Schedule: Mondays, 3/31/2025 - 4/28/2025, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Location: Remote, Zoom

This course is an exploration of nearly 150 years of Fort Missoula’s history from 1877 to the present, encompassing period accounts, archival photos, exhibit artifacts, and in-person tours of the historic grounds and buildings. Students will experience the melding of national, regional, and local history at the Fort. The course will reflect on how this history is relevant to our current times. For those students who choose the option with the tour, students will meet at the Rocky Mountain Museum of Military History on May 5th.

Instructor: Tate Jones                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Mondays, 3/31/2025 - 5/5/2025, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Location: Todd Building, Room 204

This course is an exploration of nearly 150 years of Fort Missoula’s history from 1877 to the present, encompassing period accounts, archival photos, exhibit artifacts, and in-person tours of the historic grounds and buildings. Students will experience the melding of national, regional, and local history at the Fort. The course will reflect on how this history is relevant to our current times. For those students who choose the option with the tour, students will meet at the Rocky Mountain Museum of Military History on May 5th.

Instructor: Tate Jones                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Mondays, 3/31/2025 - 5/5/2025, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Location: Remote, Zoom

This course is an exploration of nearly 150 years of Fort Missoula’s history from 1877 to the present, encompassing period accounts, archival photos, exhibit artifacts, and in-person tours of the historic grounds and buildings. Students will experience the melding of national, regional, and local history at the Fort. The course will reflect on how this history is relevant to our current times. For those students who choose the option with the tour, students will meet at the Rocky Mountain Museum of Military History on May 5th.

Instructor: Ruth Vanita                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Wednesdays, 4/2/2025 - 5/7/2025, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Location: Todd Building, Room 204

Learn how an ancient culture and religion thinks about action and contemplation; life, death, and rebirth; violence and non-violence; and the individual and the universe. We will also look at the Gita as a contribution to world civilization, a text that has influenced important writers and thinkers like Wordsworth, Shelley, Thoreau, Emerson, Whitman, Sri Aurobindo, Vivekananda, and Gandhi.

Instructor: Ruth Vanita                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Wednesdays, 4/2/2025 - 5/7/2025, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Location: Remote, Zoom

Learn how an ancient culture and religion thinks about action and contemplation; life, death, and rebirth; violence and non-violence; and the individual and the universe. We will also look at the Gita as a contribution to world civilization, a text that has influenced important writers and thinkers like Wordsworth, Shelley, Thoreau, Emerson, Whitman, Sri Aurobindo, Vivekananda, and Gandhi.

Instructor: Alan Noonan                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Wednesdays, 4/2/2025 - 5/7/2025, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Location: Todd Building, Room 204

Instructor: Alan Noonan                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Wednesdays, 4/2/2025 - 5/7/2025, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Location: Remote, Zoom

This course explores the social, cultural, and political history of Ireland from its earliest days to the present. Students will examine key events such as the conversion to Christianity; Viking, Norman, and English conquests; the Plantations; the Great Famine; Home Rule; and the War of Independence. Class discussions will focus on significant debates in Irish history and themes like Gaelic Ireland, Ireland's European context, nationalism, unionism, and Irish identity. The course encourages critical thinking about the complexities of Ireland's history and includes a case study on the 1916 Easter Rising to highlight the global impact of Irish events and their significance worldwide.

Instructor: Mari Hodges, Tim Cacciatore                                   Course Tuition: $90.00    

Schedule: Tuesdays, 3/25/2025 - 5/13/2025, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Location: Remote, Zoom

Over the past few decades, a revolution in the science of pain has shed light on how pain works, what contributes to it, and what turns it down. This information doesn’t always reach the people who need it most, but it is now known that understanding pain helps to reduce it. In this course, we approach modern pain science in an accessible way to look at the whole picture. We will delve into the biological, psychological, and social factors that contribute to pain. We will focus discussions on how a modern understanding of pain science can help with pain management and recovery. We also will look at the success of emerging interventions for pain and highlight the unique contributions that somatic practices bring.

Instructor: Dexter Roberts                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Tuesdays, 4/1/2025 - 5/6/2025, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Location: Todd Building, Room 204

Drawing on the instructor’s more than two decades as a foreign correspondent in China, the course will use a lecture format to look at problems and prospects in U.S.-China relations. Units will examine flashpoints, including inequality complicating China’s rise; the resurgence of ideology under Xi Jinping and how that affects the world; Xinjiang and Tibet; Hong Kong; Taiwan; and the U.S.-China tech and trade rivalry. It will also examine opportunities, including those for an agricultural state like Montana. Readings will include commentary from a range of media, including pieces written by the instructor. The course will also include short news videos and documentaries to be watched in class and discussed. There will be plenty of time offered to the students to ask questions and offer thoughts.

Instructor: Dexter Roberts                                   Course Tuition: $70.00    

Schedule: Tuesdays, 4/1/2025 - 5/6/2025, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Location: Remote, Zoom

Drawing on the instructor’s more than two decades as a foreign correspondent in China, the course will use a lecture format to look at problems and prospects in U.S.-China relations. Units will examine flashpoints, including inequality complicating China’s rise; the resurgence of ideology under Xi Jinping and how that affects the world; Xinjiang and Tibet; Hong Kong; Taiwan; and the U.S.-China tech and trade rivalry. It will also examine opportunities, including those for an agricultural state like Montana. Readings will include commentary from a range of media, including pieces written by the instructor. The course will also include short news videos and documentaries to be watched in class and discussed. There will be plenty of time offered to the students to ask questions and offer thoughts.