Time: 9:15 - 10:30 AM             Day & Dates: Tuesdays, Sept. 5, 12, 19 & 26 and Oct. 3 & 10

Presenter: Leathem Mehaffey, CLS Member

Description: Earth’s climate has changed drastically over its 5-billion-year history, from periods when the Earth was entirely ice-covered (“snowball Earth”), to periods when there was no ice anywhere on Earth (“hothouse Earth”).  What do we know about these ancient climates? What causes such changes? What can a study of the Earth’s ancient climate tell us about future climates? Paleoclimatology is the study of these matters.

Handouts:

Paleoclimatology - Lecture 1 (9-5-2023)

Paleoclimatology - Lecture 2 (9-12-2023)

Paleoclimatology - Lecture 3 (9-19-2023)

Paleoclimatology - Lecture 4 (9-26-2023)

Paleoclimatology - Lecture 5 (10-3-2023)

Time: 9:15 - 10:30 AM                            Day and Dates: Tuesdays, Sept. 5, 12, 19 & 26 and Oct. 3, 10, 17 & 24

Description: Do you enjoy traveling? If so, please join us as some CLS members discuss their trips, both locally and around the world. Emphasis will be on various types of travel experiences, including individual and group trips and tours. Please note, the weekly presentation order is subject to change, and this is a travel course of first- hand experiences, not an in-depth look at a given county or region.

Topics, Presenters:

Galapagos Islands Travel Overview                    John Wargo

Vegas and Circling the Grand Canyon              John Wargo

Alaska                                                                             Jack & Karin Fein

Mongolia                                                                       Dave & Mary Lou Davis

Panama                                                                          John & Abby Dux

Rt. 66                                                                              Robert & Virginia Nasser

Greenland & Iceland                                                 John Wargo

Bringing background scenery into our foreground through photography     Duane Beyer, Sr. Systems Admin., Marist College

Time: 9:15 - 10:30 AM                            Day & Dates:  Tuesdays, Sept. 5, 12, 19 & 26 and Oct. 3, 10, 17 & 24

Presenter: Chuck Mishaan

Description: Opera has been a major art form in Western society for over 400 years. This course looks at governmental, sexual, economic, and religious political issues in opera. An examination of significant operas and their political contexts, and a look at the current state of opera as a political vehicle are part of the course. We will experience video performances in class as political themes are developed. No technical musical knowledge is required and familiarity with opera is not assumed.

Time: 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM                  Day & Dates:  Tuesdays, Sept. 5, 12, 19 & 26 and Oct. 3 & 10

Presenter: Anne Constantinople, CLS Member

Description: This course will use selected psychological theories to help us understand stories and characters found in literature. These theories help us see a particular character in a particular setting. We will examine their usefulness in increasing our understanding of human nature and behavior. Our purpose is to have lively discussions of our often-differing views of “what makes someone tick”.  Class members may suggest a book that they’ve enjoyed that may bear rereading.

Time: 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM                  Day & Dates:  Tuesdays, Sept. 5, 12, & 26 and Oct. 3, 10 & 17   (no class on Sept. 19th)

Presenter: Esther Kando Odescalchi, CLS Member

Description: This course will cover more amazing wonders of our world: human created and natural. The topics range from Natural Wonders of the World to the Wonders of the Industrial, Modern, Celestial and Technological Worlds. Each topic includes illustrations, detailed explanations of the “wonder’s” background, UNESCO heritage sights, and today’s efforts to preserve the natural and human created marvels for future generations.

Time: 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM                                 Day & Dates:  Tuesdays, Sept. 5, 12, 19 & 26 and Oct. 3 & 10

Presenter: Thomas Wermuth, PhD, Marist College Associate Professor of History; Co-Founder & Director of
                        the Hudson River Valley Institute (HRVI)

Description: This class examines the popular, or "unofficial" culture of the people of the Hudson Valley from the 18th through the mid-20th centuries. Beneath the surface of public life were layers of popular culture, attitudes, and beliefs among rural valley residents. The Valley's rich tradition of popular festivals, carnivals and rituals provided order, security, and agency for those whose public political role was muted. Each week will focus on a ritual, celebration, or protest that was unique to the Hudson Valley.

Handouts:

Misrule Along the Hudson Valley - Sept 12th Suggested Reading

Misrule Along the Hudson Valley - Sept 19th Reading The Women Have Risen as a Mob

Misrule Along the Hudson Valley - Sept 26th Reading Pinkster Festivities in Nineteenth-Century Albany (M.E. Groth)

Misrule Along the Hudson Valley - Oct 10th Reading Land & Freedom - The Face of the Savage

Time: 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM                                 Day & Dates:  Tuesdays, Sept. 5, 12, 19 & 26

Presenter: Melaine Rottkamp, President & CEO of Dutchess Tourism, Inc.

Description: This fun and interactive course is designed to inspire attendees to discover and explore world-class attractions and hidden gems in their own backyards through vibrant video and engaging guides. Attendees will also learn how tourism is an important economic engine for the region and why it matters.

Time: 1:15 - 2:30 PM                               Day & Dates:  Tuesdays, Sept. 5, 12, 19 & 26

Presenter: David Roberts, Adjunct Instructor—Marist College Fashion Program

Description: In these lectures we will look at the development of two highly stylized movements in the decorative arts from the end of the 19th century up to the beginning of WWII. Art Nouveau was inspired by natural forms and was very organic. Art Deco went through several different phases. Influences included Wiener Sezession, cubism, Fauvism, and Russian Constructivism. In the 1930s, a variant of Art Deco was called Art Moderne.

Time: 1:15—2:30 PM                               Day & Dates:  Tuesdays, Sept. 5, 12, 19 & 26 and Oct. 3, 10, 17 & 24

Presenter: Judith Saunders, PhD, Professor of English, Marist College (retired)

Description: Three 20th-century American Poets: Edna St. Vincent Millay, Gwendolyn Brooks, Howard Moss

We'll examine a potpourri of poems by Millay, Brooks, and Moss, considering both formal and thematic elements of their work.

Time: 1:15—2:30 PM                               Day and Dates: Tuesdays, Sept. 5, 12, 19 & 26 and Oct. 3, 10, 17 & 24
 

Description: This semester we continue the conversation with area artists as they explain how they have turned a passion into a profession. We will continue to learn about the materials and processes used to turn their ideas into works of art. We are adding the topic of how we may curate art works for viewing. Join us as we continue our conversation with artists, gallery directors/owners and YOU, the appreciative viewer.

Topics, Presenters & Affiliations:

Calligrapher and Painter                                                        Jim Bennett, Artist and Author

How This Artist Runs His Live4Art Gallery                   Ned Reade

Graphic Art, Illustration and Printmaking                     Gina Palmer, Gina Palmer Illustrations

Jewelry and Photography                                                      Susan Bores, Emergent Jewel Fine Art Studio

Fiber/Metal Sculpture                                                             Karen Madden, Rock and A Soft Place Studio

Stone Sculpture                                                                          Bob Madden, Rock and A Soft Place Studio

Camera Obscura                                                                        Lonna Kelly, Lonna Kelly Studio

Womenswork.Art — A gallery for mid-career and emerging women artists and curators              Nikki Hung, Womenswork.Art Gallery Director

Handouts:

Conversations About Art Continued - Presenter Biographies

Time: 1:15 - 2:30 PM                                              Day & Dates: Tuesdays, Sept. 5, 12, 19 & 26

Presenter: Dr. Sandra Opdycke, Author and Historian

Description: Throughout history, people have periodically banded together to build new utopian communities, designed to be purer or happier or fairer than the society around them. The four lectures in this course will explore several dozen American utopias, ranging from the Shaker villages of the early 1800s, to the Kansas towns built by former slaves in the 1880s, to the hippie communes of the 1960s, to the “intentional communities” of today.

Time: 1:15 - 2:30 PM                                              Day & Dates: Tuesdays, Oct. 3, 10, 17 & 24

Presenter: Dr. Irvin M. Miller, Mathematician, IBM (retired)

Description: We are going to show you how grade school math should have been taught so that you, your children, and grandchildren can enjoy and understand math. There will be four sessions; the first is how to learn, understand, retain and apply your basic addition and multiplication skills; the second is how to do extremely long multiplication and many multiple multiplications, the third is negative numbers and fractions, and the fourth is magic squares.

Time: 2:45 - 4:00 PM                              Day & Dates: Tuesdays, Sept. 5, 12, 19 & 26 and Oct. 3, 10, 17 & 24

Presenter: Christine Crawfis, County Players

Description: Readers Theatre celebrates ideas, imagination, and ingenuity, and offers an opportunity to experience great theater stripped to its essence: the playwright’s words. Reading from works of classic 20th Century American playwrights (Arthur Miller, Thornton Wilder, George F. Kaufman, Tennessee Williams, Lillian Hellman, and Paula Vogel), professional actors will provide an opportunity to experience and discuss the ideas of these celebrated playwrights.

Handouts:

The Power of Readers Theatre - Syllabus & Week 1 Class Notes

The Power of Readers Theatre - Week 2 Lauren Gunderson & Silent Sky

The Power of Readers Theatre - Week 3 Garson Kanin & Born Yesterday

Time: 2:45 - 4:00 PM                              Day & Dates:  Tuesdays, Sept. 5, 12, 19 & 26 and Oct. 3, 10 & 17

Presenter: Arnold (Arnie) Serotsky, Vassar LLI

Description: Each week we will visit a different wine region of France and learn about the wines it produces, the nuances of winemaking and the unique characteristics of the wines of the region. Lectures will be followed by a tasting of an upscale wine from the region.