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Although author Jane Austen died more than 200 years ago, her books have an enduring fascination for many of us. In this class, we will look at some of the issues of her day. What effect did agricultural reform have on her writing? What about the British slave trade? Or the picturesque movement? We will explore the background knowledge her contemporaries brought to her novels, providing crucial context that is often missing for modern readers. In addition, we will look at her struggles as a female author.
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Instructor: Carol Hodges
Capacity Remaining: 20
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Dates: 3/3/2025 - 3/10/2025
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
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Sessions: 3
Days: M W
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Building: College of Health and Human Services
Room: 1087
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Member Rate $30, Non-Member Rate $60
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WMU's prison education program, Higher Education for the Justice-Involved (HEJI), began as a volunteer, non-credit program in 2018. In 2023, 22 incarcerated Broncos started a 5-year journey towards a Bachelor of Arts degree in an interdisciplinary curriculum firmly rooted in the liberal arts and humanities. Although some may wonder about the efficacy of these degrees, particularly in the carceral setting, plenty of evidence supporting this approach has emerged in the year since HEJI began providing credit-bearing programming. Over the course of three sessions, HEIJ’s leaders, Dr. Ann Miles, Director of WMU's Center for the Humanities, Dale Brown, the program's director, and McGwire Hidden, the program's coordinator, will present information regarding higher education in prison generally, as well as the details of WMU's program. Further, they will share details of their successful launch of a second cohort, bringing the total number of incarcerated Broncos to 44.
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Instructor: Dale Brown, McGwire Hidden, Ann Miles
Capacity Remaining: 60
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Dates: 3/3/2025 - 3/17/2025
Times: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
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Sessions: 3
Days: M
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Building: College of Health and Human Services
Room: 2089
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Member Rate $30, Non-Member Rate $60
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Alzheimer’s and other dementias cause changes in memory, thinking, and behavior that interfere with daily life. In this free, virtual course, you’ll learn ten common warning signs, as well as what to watch for in yourself and others.
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Instructor: Shukurani Nsengiyumva
Capacity Remaining: 15
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Dates: 3/4/2025 - 3/4/2025
Times: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
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Sessions: 1
Days: Tu
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Building: Online
Room:
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Free to members, registration is required. You must sign in to your account to verify membership before the add to cart button will appear.
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Why do we go to war? When conflicts break out, how can they be resolved with the intention to minimize as much death and destruction as possible? And when the dust settles, what is the best way to move forward? In this course, we’ll explore the three primary components of just war theory—jus ad bellum (the moral reasons to go to war), jus in bello (the just way to fight a war), and jus post bellum (the ethical requirements at the conclusion of a war)—as well as the practical issues that cause tension in each of these three areas.
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Instructor: Jonathan Milgrim
Capacity Remaining: 20
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Dates: 3/4/2025 - 3/25/2025
Times: 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
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Sessions: 4
Days: Tu
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Building: College of Health and Human Services
Room: 1035
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Member Rate $40, Non-Member Rate $80
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Accompanied by live music, the unique course, “The Amazing Adventures of the Abernathy Brothers,” tells the fascinating—but true—story of two brave young boys who traveled alone on horseback from the border of Texas and Oklahoma to New York City in 1910 to see Teddy Roosevelt upon his return from Africa before making their way back home in an automobile they bought for themselves while there. The instructors will give two private tours of the earliest cars in the Gilmore Collection in the steam barn as well as those in the Carriage House. These tours will also include a discussion on Gilmore Museum History, and students will be free to explore the campus on their own following the tour. In case of inclement weather, this class will be re-scheduled.
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Instructor: Fred Colgren, John Burton, Robin Nott
Capacity Remaining: 60
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Dates: 3/5/2025 - 3/5/2025
Times: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: W
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Building: Gilmore Car Museum
Room: 6865 W Hickory Rd, Hickory Corners, 48060
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Member Rate $28, Non-Member Rate $38 (Includes $18 Museum Entry Fee)
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We will be studying the fundamentals of calligraphy by using the hand commonly known as Copperplate. Starting with posture and how to hold a pen, we’ll transition into the specifics of nibs,, writing paper, shading, spacing, making lines, flourishing, and corrections. You’ll also learn about Titivillus, light tablets, laser lines, pencil layouts, computer layouts, erasing shields and workable fix. Students should expect to take home calligraphy homework throughout this six-part course. Those writing with a Left-Handed Hook should contact Robert Hosack, rlhosack967@gmail.com before registering.
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Instructor: Robert L. Hosack
Capacity Remaining: 15
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Dates: 3/5/2025 - 4/9/2025
Times: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
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Sessions: 6
Days: W
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Building: The Bellflower
Room: 4700 D Ave W, Kalamazoo MI 49009
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Member Rate: $115, Non-Member Rate: $175
A $55 Supplies Fee is included.
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Decluttering websites and books tell us to divide things into “keep” or “donate” piles and suggest tons of other tips and tricks about how to better organize. But after living such long lives with our homes and belongings, it's never this simple—emotions, commitments, and our identities get in the way. This series of classes will focus on how we can meet the task of decluttering without feeling deprived of memories or pressured to drop down to the bare necessities. We’ll explore the best questions to ask ourselves while discovering how to distinguish between life treasures and mere possessions carrying memories that are no longer relevant to today.
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Instructor: Niki Nimmo
Capacity Remaining: 20
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Dates: 3/6/2025 - 3/27/2025
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
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Sessions: 3
Days: Th
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Building: Friendship Village
Room: Village Clubhouse Classroom
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Member Rate $30, Non-Member Rate $60
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When did modern humans appear and how did they evolve? Religious, political, and commercial interests staked their claim to the correct answer long ago and often cut off education and discussions about human evolution. Today, roughly 40% of people believe that humans appeared 10,000 years ago, without evolution or mating with other primates and “protohumans.” During the last 100 years, however, paleontologists have discovered many fossils from Africa, Europe, and Asia that are beginning to tell a more complex human story. For example, as a geneticist, the instructor was able to develop a simple unified explanation and may have even found Adam and Eve. Additionally, the recent study of ancient DNA from the bones of our ancestors has provided new information about the interaction between early human types, which has led to controversies with some paleontology theories. This course will provide background information to be able to discuss these theories, as well as up to date information about how and when the evolution of modern humans occurred.
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Instructor: Leonard Ginsberg
Capacity Remaining: 20
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Dates: 3/11/2025 - 3/18/2025
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
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Sessions: 2
Days: Tu
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Building: College of Health and Human Services
Room: 1057
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Member Rate $20, Non-Member Rate $40
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At any age, a transformed or enlightened life can awaken your unique, dormant gifts and talents you may have forgotten about or not yet discovered. After recently writing and publishing a Biblical, historical fiction series at 89, instructor Carol Lacey revisited and reflected on the life lessons that brought about conflict, change, and challenges. These realities of life are the basis of this Christianity-centered course, with the hope that you’ll walk away inspired to pursue your God-given purpose.
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Instructor: Carol Lacey
Capacity Remaining: 20
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Dates: 3/11/2025 - 3/25/2025
Times: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
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Sessions: 3
Days: Tu
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Building: College of Health and Human Services
Room: 1093
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Member Rate $30, Non-Member Rate $60
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Over 30 years have passed since the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope and the secrets of our Universe began to come to light. The first exoplanets were also discovered in the early 90’s, inviting us to speculate further about what we might find in other solar systems. Today, we have the tools to see beyond what Hubble showed us and truly explore the atmospheres of exoplanets, delve into the details of ancient galaxies, and even take images of blackholes! Discover how far we’ve come in just three decades and learn about the latest equipment astronomers are using, including Near-Infrared imaging and Spectroscopy, that lets us see farther into deep space than ever before.
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Instructor: Erin Lewis
Capacity Remaining: 30
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Dates: 3/12/2025 - 3/12/2025
Times: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
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Sessions: 1
Days: W
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Building: Air Zoo
Room: 6151 Portage Rd. 49002
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Member Rate $10, Non-Member Rate $20
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Read the news after an election cycle, and you'll see reports heralding the number of women serving in state government. What we often forget is that Michigan women have been making a place for themselves at the Capitol since the early days of statehood as public speakers, lobbyists, advocates, librarians, clerks, custodians, telephone operators, and curators. In this course, you’ll learn about prominent female state officials that led the way, such as State Librarian Harriet Tenney (1869-1891), State Board of Agriculture member Dora Stockman (1919-1931), Senator Eva McCall Hamilton (1921-1922), and Representative Cora Reynolds Anderson (1925-1926), in addition to exploring the invaluable work done by dozens of clerks and secretaries, who made up the bulk of departmental staff by the 1920s. This class will also examine causes Michigan women lobbied for in the 1840s-1920s, including the right to vote, access to higher education, improved public health, and mothers’ pensions (an early form of welfare).
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Instructor: Valerie Marvin
Capacity Remaining: 60
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Dates: 3/12/2025 - 3/19/2025
Times: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
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Sessions: 2
Days: W
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Building: College of Health and Human Services
Room: 2089
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Member Rate $20, Non-Member Rate $40
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This interactive class will analyze three short stories by Flannery O’Connor, who, next to William Faulkner, is the most complex fiction writer of the American South. Conversation topics will center around O’Connor's dark humor, Christian faith, and her idiosyncratic portrait of downtrodden and morally blind inhabitants of the rural South. As this is more of a discussion-based class than a lecture, students must read these stories before class— “The Displaced Person” on March 17, “Good Country People” on March 24, and “Revelation” on March 31—all of which can be printed off from the internet for free.
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Instructor: David Isaacson
Capacity Remaining: 20
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Dates: 3/17/2025 - 3/31/2025
Times: 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
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Sessions: 3
Days: M
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Building: Friendship Village
Room: Village Clubhouse Classroom
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Member Rate $30, Non-Member Rate $60
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Public information should be, well, public. It belongs to all of us. But for a variety of reasons, sometimes our government would rather keep certain information hush-hush. Fortunately, there are laws like the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Open Meetings Act. These are laws that journalists make use of every day, but they can also be used by private citizens just as easily—if you know how. As part of Sunshine Week, a national awareness effort centered around openness and transparency in government, staff from NowKalamazoo and The Local Journalism Foundation of Kalamazoo County will teach you all of the ins and outs of the FOIA process, including how it works, what you can and can't ask for, how to write a FOIA request, how a government body might try to resist fulfilling it, and more. This will be both an educational session and a hands-on workshop for those who have ideas for information requests they'd like to investigate.
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Instructor: Reid Williams
Capacity Remaining: 40
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Dates: 3/17/2025 - 3/17/2025
Times: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: M
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Building: College of Health and Human Services
Room: 1057
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Member Rate $10, Non-Member Rate $20
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The Disability Network Southwest Michigan (DNSM) are people with disabilities that are advancing justice, access, and inclusion for the disability community and are committed to providing many services that support individuals in our community living with disabilities. In this class we will focus on some of the free programs that the DNSM offers for people with disabilities and their families in Southwest Michigan. We will also share information on the do’s and don’ts of service animals and highlight the differences between service animals, emotional support animals, and therapy animals. If you don't know what DNSM does, or how they can help you or a loved one, this is the course for you!
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Instructor: Miranda Grunwell
Capacity Remaining: 15
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Dates: 3/18/2025 - 3/18/2025
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: Tu
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Building: Milestone Senior Services
Room: 918 Jasper St, Kalamazoo MI 49001
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Fees: Free to members, registration is required. You must sign in to your account to verify membership before the add to cart button will appear.
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A Pulitzer Prize finalist, the play “Two Trains Running” explores the racial tensions of the Civil Rights era in 1969 through the story of the hardworking Memphis Lee and the lives of regulars at a soon-to-be-demolished diner. Written by August Wilson, dubbed “theater's poet of Black America” by the New York Times, “Two Trains Running” is the seventh of ten plays in Wilson’s series “The Pittsburgh Cycle.” This course will explore background information about the story and overarching themes of the cycle, as well as learn about the design elements that bring a production to life. While this course is being offered in conjunction with the OLLI group attendance of the performance on March 21, all theatre-lovers will enjoy learning about one of America's best plays of the 20th century. The final session of this two-part course will be a conversation about the experience of seeing the performance live.
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Instructor: Shannon Huneryager
Capacity Remaining: 30
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Dates: 3/18/2025 - 3/25/2025
Times: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
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Sessions: 2
Days: Tu
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Building: College of Health and Human Services
Room: 1035
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Member Rate $20, Non-Member Rate $40
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This course will focus on the exploration of our genealogical roots and family history. You’ll discover where to start investigating, by utilizing several useful research techniques, as well as learn how to develop deep-diving questions, overcome research barriers, and form a family narrative. Together, we will find the extraordinary in the ordinary!
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Instructor: Denise Miller, Donna Odom, Shannon Sykes-Nehring
Capacity Remaining: 20
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Dates: 3/18/2025 - 4/8/2025
Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
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Sessions: 4
Days: Tu
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Building: College of Health and Human Services
Room: 1416
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Member Rate $40, Non-Member Rate $80
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Tai Chi is one of the Chinese traditional martial arts, which was originally designed as a unique self-defense technique, but later evolved into a self-efficacy health exercise. Characterized as flowing, graceful, and being well balanced, Tai Chi's movements strengthen the body as well as the mind from within, promoting a complete body-mind harmony. Through practicing Tai Chi, the balance of Yin and Yang—the essentials of nature and relaxation—will be embedded into the practitioner. Unrestrained by age, gender, and health status, Tai Chi can serve as an ideal physical exercise for many. This course will introduce some essential Tai Chi principles such as controlled relaxation, mental quietness, breathing in-depth, and intent first. As a starting class, we will learn and practice 5 to 8 basic, yet classic, Tai Chi movements. By the end of the session, the participants are expected to grasp these essentials and be able to practice basic Tai Chi movements independently.
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Instructor: Cheng Tao
Capacity Remaining: 10
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Dates: 3/19/2025 - 4/23/2025
Times: 10:45 AM - 11:45 AM
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Sessions: 6
Days: W
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Building: College of Health and Human Services
Room: 4010
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Member Rate $60, Non-Member Rate $120
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Shockingly ahead of her time, Kate Chopin believed that women should have the ability to make the same life choices as men. Her writings focus on fiercely independent women who intelligently and thought-provokingly experience life, societal pressures, and complex emotional journeys during a time in which women were encouraged to silence themselves in the name of propriety. In this two2-session course, we will delve into these themes with lively discussions of Chopin’s novella “The Awakening” for our first class, and two short stories, “The Story of an Hour” and “Desiree’s Baby," for our second class. All these stories can be found online by typing the title and then “full text;”; reading the specific texts before each class will certainly enrich your learning experience.
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Instructor: Jeanette Barry
Capacity Remaining: 40
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Dates: 3/20/2025 - 3/27/2025
Times: 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
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Sessions: 2
Days: Th
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Building: College of Health and Human Services
Room: 1093
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Member Rate $20, Non-Member Rate $40
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There have always been groups and individuals who have dissented from mainstream political, economic, and social views. In this course, we will explore labor advocates, civil rights activists, and supporters of women's rights, such as the Mollie Maguires and the Industrial Workers of the World. Emma Goldman and Victoria Woodhull offered differing perspectives on women's role in society, prolific writers Ida Barnet-Wells and W. E. B. DuBois were vigorous champions for African American rights, and Robert Ingersol’s challenge to the status quo led him to be dubbed the 19th Century's "Great Agnostic." We will explore these and others who raised their voices to create change and the impact their actions have had on American society.
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Instructor: Thomas Dietz
Capacity Remaining: 30
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Dates: 3/21/2025 - 4/4/2025
Times: 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
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Sessions: 3
Days: F
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Building: Portage Zhang Senior Center
Room: Meeting Rooms 2A/2B
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Member Rate $30, Non-Member Rate $60
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Artificial Intelligence has become somewhat of a buzzword in modern society, but many people are left unclear on what it really is or capable of doing. This beginner-friendly course will provide a basic overview of what AI is, what it can do, and perhaps most importantly, what it can't do. You are not required to have any background in coding, computer science, or technology, and this course will not teach you how to code or make AI. Instead, we will focus on how to see through the hype around AI and make informed decisions with Artificial Intelligence in mind. Additionally, because AI is a very hot topic among the scientific community that continues to rapidly develop, we will also discuss some speculations about what advancements we are likely to see in the near future. No external materials will be required unless they are provided at no charge by the instructor.
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Instructor: Winston Smith
Capacity Remaining: 60
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Dates: 3/21/2025 - 3/28/2025
Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
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Sessions: 2
Days: F
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Building: Online
Room:
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Member Rate $20, Non-Member Rate $40
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Come learn what research has shown about how the lifestyle choices you make now may help keep your brain and body healthy as you age. You’ll also discover practical ways you can incorporate simple changes into everyday life as you develop a game plan for a thriving future.
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Instructor: Shukurani Nsengiyumva
Capacity Remaining: 15
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Dates: 3/25/2025 - 3/25/2025
Times: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
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Sessions: 1
Days: Tu
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Building: Online
Room:
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Free to members, registration is required. You must sign in to your account to verify membership before the add to cart button will appear.
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