History & Humanities   

Through the novel My Mother Told Me Stories, we will study and remember an American people whose story is not often told: the story of how Japanese Americans were treated as enemies of America in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Caught up in a conflict beyond their control, over 120,000 Japanese Americans were required to give up their homes, businesses, and lives without complaint – solely on the basis of their ancestry – and were incarcerated for the duration of the war. In this class, we will explore the historical and cultural impact of the times as well as the themes of "gaman" (enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity), friendship, forgiveness, and the enduring love of family.

Discover the past through the indigenous art of the Columbia Plateau! Join collector and author Fred Mitchell on a private foray into his vast collection of artifacts, art, and photographs – expanding on the content in his book Plateau Pictorial Beadwork: The Fred L. Mitchell Collection – to tell the compelling story of the native peoples of our region. This exclusive experience offers a unique confluence of history, art, and a collector's insight – an unmissable journey through time and culture.

"The greatest land geographer in the world", David Thompson surveyed and mapped more than 3.9 million square kilometers of the North American continent. Find out who he was, how he explored and surveyed, the tools he used, the maps he created, and his impact on the fur trade and western migration. Through discussion and hands-on learning with period artifacts – guided by a presenter both in-character and in-costume – you will gain a deeper understanding of the early exploration of North America.

Over a period of 20 years, Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) wrote a myriad of essays spanning such topics as education, death, dying, torture, friendship, imagination, solitude, skepticism, inconstancy, vanity, witchcraft, love, sex, politics, and more. In this class, we will read and discuss the most important of his essays, seeing which of his ideas remained constant and which evolved over time. By the end, you’ll have discovered how Montaigne epitomizes Renaissance secular thinking and heralds the modern world.

You are invited to join us on a family history journey! Since genealogy is an ever-evolving field of study, this class will have something for seasoned researchers and those new to the field alike. During the course of your studies, you will improve your skills and discover the latest technologies and tools. You will also learn how to use online trees, set research goals, and gain a basic grasp of DNA research. While such research can be a serious pursuit, come prepared for an approach that's not just effective, but also fun!

Explore a series of thematically-related films. We'll engage in lively discussions as we analyze the films and our responses to them, while developing a sense of each film's creation, impact, and place in history.

Despite the still-active myth of Jewish passivity during the Holocaust, Jewish people resisted the Nazis in every way possible, violently and nonviolently, in the ghettos, forests, concentration camps, death camps, and all countries occupied by the Germans. We will watch and discuss six films that deal with this resistance: The Pianist, Defiance, The Grey Zone, Korczak, Defiant Requiem, and Resistance: They Fought Back.

Join our community of Quest readers! Meet weekly and discuss a book under the guidance of an experienced facilitator. In some years, we'll trade insights with other communities of readers like undergraduates at Whitman College or inmates at Washington State Penitentiary. We'll have friendly debates and reflections where you'll get to learn what others got out of the book, and maybe even walk out with a different perspective.

Between the companies, causes, and people involved in the North American fur trade, many factors converged to drive westward expansion. In this course, you will learn all about those factors and the people involved – including Henry Hudson and Hudson Bay; the enmity between England and France; the explorations of David Thompson, Lewis and Clark, Juan Rivera and others; how the Hudson Bay Company monopolized the fur trade; relations with indigenous tribes; politics; and warfare. Guided by William McBean, last Chief Trader of the Hudson Bay company, you'll expand your knowledge not only through discussion, but also hands-on learning with 24 feet worth of fur trade era artifacts.

The Roberts Court has overruled "Roe v Wade;" expanded gun rights; found section 4 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act unconstitutional; ended affirmative action; expanded protection of religious practices; limited Congressional delegation of authority to executive agencies; and allowed corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections. At the same time, the Roberts Court found a constitutional right to same-sex marriage; validated Obamacare; and preserved section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. In this class, we will discuss cases dealing with all of the above; the shadow docket; the Chevron Doctrine; and what it means to be a conservative or liberal Supreme Court justice. By the end of the class, you will be better equipped with the tools to assess for yourself the Roberts Court.

Are you ready to immerse yourself in one of the greatest periods in human history? Join us in examining the history and culture of Florence from 1330 to 1550, with special emphasis placed on the writers, artists, and philosophers whose works embodied humanism and helped bring about modernity. Together, we will begin our journey with Dante and Petrarch; face the devastation of the plague; learn of banking and the Medici; follow the Baptistry competition; engage in civic humanism and the teachings of Machiavelli; contemplate Neoplatonism and Botticelli; mourn Savonarola's Bonfire of the Vanities; and admire the greatest of them all, Michelangelo.

Explore a series of thematically-related films. We'll engage in lively discussions as we analyze the films and our responses to them, while developing a sense of each film's creation, impact, and place in history.

"Liberalism" is a word that is hard not to encounter these days - but for all we hear it thrown around, what does it truly mean, both in theory and in practice? In this class, we will take a historian's view of the gradual rise of liberalism through world history, exploring its links with both creativity and science. We will delve deep into various supporters' modes of thinking about life, problems, economics, religion and ethics. We'll also examine examples of liberalism in history, the opposition it has faced from the right and the left alike, and the relationship between liberalism and conservatism to identify both its greatest successes and its greatest failures.