Spring 2021 Courses   

Participants will take field trips to observe local and migrating birds. Binoculars are recommended.

Participants will learn how United Way of Southern Kentucky is impacting the community through four key areas: Health, Education, Income, and Safety Net.  The 2-1-1 program meets the needs of those in our region and connects callers to local agencies and resources that can help.

This class will help participants increase their understanding of the many roles race plays in the lives of all U S citizens.  We will examine why black males are disproportionately killed when conflict occurs and other important topics of race relations.

This course traces WKU from its roots in the late 19th century to the present day.

Mountains are the most majestic and awe-inspiring features on Earth. They cover about one-fifth of the planet's terrestrial land area and provide essential elements for a sustainable global system. This course examines the processes that operate within and upon the Earth to create and shape mountains.  We will conclude with a discussion of their important societal, environmental and sustainability issues.

Presented by Career and Workforce Develpment at WKU (CWD)

This course will introduce you to charting features and database management in Microsoft Excel. You will design worksheets that meet Excel criteria for database functions, such as sorting and filtering. You will also learn how to link sheets and files together, demonstrate how to use the conditional functions and understand how to use essential list management.

Presented by Career and Workforce Development at WKU (CWD)

Pivot Tables and Pivot Charts are powerful tools available in Microsoft Excel the allow you to filter, sort, analyze, and summarize very large spreadsheets in incredibly flexible ways and transform that information into an easy to understand visual format.

NOTE: This class is not for beginners, but if you know the basic functions of Excel, it can help you step up your ability to get the information you need from your data and share it with others in a concise, useful format.

In this course, we will watch several short films, including Oscar winners and those that have won awards at major film festivals.  We will compare the short film to the feature film and study both narrative and technical aspects of the short.  We will watch the films together during class with plenty of time to discuss them.

Each week, we examine key events in geopolitical history, such as the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement, the 1980 Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, the 1982 Falklands conflict, and the 2003 Iraq War, to understand the consequences of these events.

Join Dr. Anton and her WKU students in their Philosophy of Aging course and participate in the Life Review process. We will read Elizabeth Marshall Thomas' Growing Old: Notes on Aging with Something Like Grace, a short, exciting, reflective autobiography of an amazing woman in her late eighties.  We will discuss this New York Times best-selling author's journey living amont different peoples and animal groups all over the world as she chronicled their communitites and cultures. In the second half of the course, SLL participants will be paired with her students for several interviews about the SLL member's life. Her students will then write a Life Review - a philosophy reflective summary of ther SLL partner's journey through life and the meaning he or she derives from it.  All SLL participants will be gifted a copy of their partner's final product.

Is it safe to travel? What has changed when it comes to taking trips? What destinations are accessible? Join Christi for this four-week course as she walks us through how to travel again safely.  She will cover details about the Real ID, all-inclusive resorts to consider, travel methods and destinations, including some hidden gems.

Come travel with John and Lisa to experience some of what North America has to offer via trailering and camping. Skepital about camping and roughing it? In this course, you will be introduced to some of the many options and resources available to fit a variety of preferences from motorhomes to pull-behind trailers and everything in between. Time will be spent (as needed) covering some of the basics related to trailering and camping so you know where to begin. We will share pictures and stories from our travels so you can experience what is posssible and how you might be able to make it work for you.

In this class, we will cover the art, craft, rules, history, and enjoyment of whiskies from around the world. We will discuss flavors, where they come from, and a variety of ways to enjoy whiskey. Also discussed will be be the craft-distilling scene and some of the exciting new types of whiskey that are emerging. And of course, we'll do all this while enjoying a dram online.

The stories chosen from the class text, A Place in Time, will focus on a variety of topics that Wendell Berry believes to be important to a better quality of life for all. Those topics range from environmental concerns to community life and the need for love of family and community. The class will work on the basis of shared insights gained from group and class discussion. No previous knowledge of Berry or his writings is required or needed.

Class Text: A Place in Time by Wendell Berry (available online and from major booksellers)

This class will explore kindness - what it is, what the benefits are, and who benefits from it. After learning about kindness, the last two sessions will be spent developing a personal kindness "to do" list and together coming up with an SLL joint kindness project.

With a mission of "Healing the Earth One Yard at a Time," the Wild Ones organization has chapters throughout the country, including one in Southern Kentucky. Class sessions will feature recorded presentations by notable experts, practice in designing gardens and landscapes, and opportunities to build connections with fellow native-plant enthusiasts in our area.  Optional: field trips to a garden and a nursery with native plants.