Single Session Classes - UCONN Adult Learning Program
** Latest Course Changes: ..... POSTPONED: 4 Classical Musicals March 13th and The Rise of Bread class has been moved to March 22 .....ADDED: Beaver Pond Wildlife. See "Multi Session Classes" and "Registration" for Details.

Single Session Classes

SSS-01 Michelangelo: Giant of the High Italian Renaissance - Seabury Chapel
Rhea Higgins, Art History Professor, Univ. of Hartford, Wesleyan Institute of Life Long Learning * , 1/26 * 1:30-3:00

The Genius of the High Italian Renaissance: Michelangelo. His Sculpture, Painting and Architecture, Michelangelo was one of the three greatest artists of the 16th-century Italian Renaissance. We looked at the art of Leonardo and Raphael in the Fall. Now we will study the major works of Michelangelo that have continued to dominate the form and style of Western European art for centuries and still inspire artists today.
SSS-02 Profile of a Lobbyist for Non-Profit Legal Services - Seabury Heritage Hall
Rafie Podolfsky, Attorney * , 1/30 * 1:00-3:00

Rafie Podolfsky, a career-long lobbyist for the non-profit Legal Services Corporation, will summarily profile the social needs addressed through his lobbying and the process involved; he will provide illustrations of issues he was called upon to address, the methods and strategy of address; and the underlying motivation that has sustained his meaningful career as a lobbyist.
SSS-03 Civil War Monuments and Race in America - Zoom Teleconference
Kevin M. Levin, Historian and Educator * , 2/8 * 10:00-12:00

Confederate Monuments and Race in America This lecture will explore the history and current controversy surrounding Confederate monuments. We will explore the individuals and organizations responsible for their dedication as well as the monuments themselves. Participants will gain a better understanding why they were dedicated and what purpose they were intended to serve. Over the past few years hundreds of Civil War monuments commemorating the Confederacy have been removed throughout the country. While the nation remains divided over the issue few people are aware of the history surrounding these monuments and what they tell us about how Americans have remembered the Civil War era.
SSS-04 A Sculptor Speaks for her Sculptures - Zoom Teleconference
Meredith Bergmann, Sculptor * , 2/15 * 10:00-12:00

Meredith Bergmann works within, develops, and subverts the tradition of narrative, representational sculpture to promote social justice and historical redress. She will show images and talk about her career as a sculptor of public monuments with an often-turbulent process of creation, and her sources of inspiration in art and historical research. Her recent projects include the Women's Rights Pioneers Monument and the FDR Hope Memorial, and she is currently creating a women's memorial for the historic town center of Lexington, MA.
SSS-05 Great Course: Bridges - Seabury Chapel
Richard Woodring, PhD. Dean Emeritus Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Drexel University * , 2/27 * 10:00-12:00

In March, 2018 the pedestrian bridge being constructed at the Florida International University collapsed as the final section was placed. There were 6 deaths, 10 injuries and 8 vehicles crushed. What led to this tragedy? Was it design, structure failure or simple human error? Dr. Richard Woodring, Professor and head of the mechanical engineering department at Drexel University for many years, with the help of a Great courses DVD, will guide us through this event and attempt to answer these and other questions.
SSS-06 Harriet Beecher Stowe Center - Zoom Teleconference
Karen Fisk, Executive Director, Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, Hartford, CT. * , 2/29 * 10:00-12:00

Harriet Beecher Stowe had relatively little power as a woman, with no official voice and no vote. Still by taking pen to paper she changed the hearts and minds of hundreds of thousands and propelled the abolitionist movement. What can we learn from Stowe's civic engagement, literary activism, and strategic choice to use sentimental fiction? This course will combine readings with discussion to learn with and from each other and, possibly, inspire more civic engagement for each of us.
SSS-07 Gardens of the Emerald Isle - Seabury Chapel
Jana Milbocker, Author, Enchantedgardensdesign.com * , 3/11 * 1:00-3:00

Discover the magic, myths and beautiful gardens of Ireland! Enjoy an armchair tour of the National Botanic Garden, Lismore Castle, Kilmacurragh Botanic Garden, Heywood Gardens, Powerscourt, Ilnacullin, Fota Island and more!
SSS-08 The Anatomy of an Expert Physician Case - Seabury Heritage Hall
Jon Dixon, M.D. * , 3/19 * 10:00-12:00

The following is an example of how expert physicians makes a sound decisions. A 49 year-old woman develops the sudden onset of weakness in her right arm and difficulty speaking while on a transatlantic flight. What is the likely cause and what needs to be done. Follow along as her problem is diagnosed and treated by expert physicians. The session will focus on the process of careful clinical reasoning and decision making in a complex case. We will review the old clinical axiom: "If you hear hoof beats, think horses. But if the pattern of hoof beats appears suspicious, be on the lookout for zebras." Audience participation will be encouraged.
SSS-09 Sailing Spain to Stamford: Personal Experience - Seabury Heritage Hall
David Tunick, Sailor * , 3/28 * 11:00-1:00

David Tunick, a 78 year old resident of Stamford, CT, sailed solo over 5,000 nautical miles in almost 8 weeks from Spain to Connecticut. He will tell us about his personal experiences on his Atlantic Ocean adventure.
SSS-10 Handler and Levesque: A Musical World Tour - Seabury Chapel
Judy Mark Handler, Guitarist * , 4/4 * 1:00-3:00

Husband and wife duo, Handler and Levesque, will perform a musical world tour with guitar and mandolin. Enjoy enchanting melodies from Europe, Latin America, the U.S. and more! Audiences respond with enthusiasm to the extraordinary sound, amusing anecdotes and the joyful spirit of their music. They will introduce each piece with interesting comments about the music, composers and their arrangements. Handler and Levesque have performed over 2,500 concerts together over the past 30 years in the United States and Europe.
SSS-11 Human Evolution at the Crossroads - Seabury Heritage Hall
Daniel Adler, PHD, PhD, Professor of Anthropology, University of Connecticut * , 4/5 * 10:00-12:00

The Pleistocene was a period of profound biological and behavioral change among ancient humans that witnessed the evolution of our species and our cousins the Neanderthals. Dr. Adler's presentation will highlight some of his team's discoveries over 24 years of field and laboratory research on the Paleolithic of Georgia and Armenia. He will discuss the earliest occupation of the region, the transition from the Lower to the Middle Paleolithic, the shift from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic and the demise of the Neanderthals, as well as many, many things we would like to know, but we remain ignorant of.
SSS-12 The Rise of Bread: Hunting and Gathering to Empire - Seabury Heritage Hall
Alexa Smith, PhD., Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Connecticut * , 3/22 * 10:00 AM-12:00 PM

Archaeology of bread, linking its earliest creation, 14,400 years ago to the Mesopotamia settlements. This lecture provides an overview of the major social developments that occurred across SW Asia as people transitioned from hunting and gathering to agriculture, early social complexity, urbanism, and eventually empire. As these revolutionary social changes took place, methods of food acquisition also changed. I describe these changes and center discussions of bread and fuel that were central to the changes witnessed. While bread and fuel appear mundane on the surface, they have much to tell us about the ways people live!
SSS-13 The "Fresh Air" Cure for Tuberculosis - Seabury Chapel
Chessie Monks-Kelly, Archivist / Curator at Historic Saranac Lake, NY * , 4/30 * 1:00-3:00

Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau came to the Adirondacks expecting to die of consumption, or tuberculosis; his recovery led to a booming health industry that lasted 70 years and brought close to 100,000 people to the mountains seeking a cure. Trudeau arrived in Saranac Lake from New York City in 1873, and dedicated the rest of his life to understanding, treating, and preventing the disease. Historic Saranac Lake Archivist / Curator, Chessie Monks-Kelly will present on Saranac Lake’s legacy as a tuberculosis destination, and discuss the treatment, research, and people that put the tiny village on the map across the world.
SSS-14* The Wallace Stevens Walk - Offsite Other
Glen MacLeod, PhD, Professor Emeritus English, University of Connecticut * , 5/1, 5/15 * 1:00-3:00

The Wallace Stevens Walk follows the route the poet walked every day from his office at The Hartford Insurance Company to his home at 118 Westerly Terrace near Elizabeth Park. Thirteen granite markers each have one stanza of the poem "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" engraved on them. It is about two miles and takes about two hours with frequent stops. Then we have to drive back to the starting point where people’s cars are parked. There is an additional fee to offset ALP's insurance cost for this program. Size Limit: 15
SSS-15 Lots To Know About Zora Neale Hurston - Seabury Chapel
Lucy Ann Hurston, Retired Sociology Professor, Manchester Commuinity College * , 5/13 * 1:00-3:00

Lucy Anne Hurston, retired Sociology Professor from Manchester Community College, is Zora's niece and the keeper of all things Zora. She has written Zora's biography, filmed videos and given countless talks about her aunt, the anthropologist, novelist and activist and how her message resonates with our cultural situation today.
SSS-16 Writing in the Margins: Mark Twain Marginalia - Zoom Teleconference
Mallory Howard, Assistant Curator, Mark Twain House and MuseumThe Mark Twain House and Museum * , 5/16 * 1:00-3:00

Mark Twain had a lifelong habit of writing in the margins of the books he read-- and it did not always matter whether the book actually belonged to him. He commented acerbically on the authors and their work-- "by an ass" was a favorite phrase-- and made other, longer comments that tell us about the man and his thoughts. His marginalia are his "conversations" with the books he was reading, and there are many examples of this in the library collection of The Mark Twain House and Museum.
SSS-17 Aspects of Legal Practice Never Identified in Law School - Seabury Heritage Hall
Kim Hunt, Attorney, Author and Poet * , 5/30 * 1:00-3:00

Kim Hunt, one of the founding members of a Hartford legal practice known as Hunt, Leibert and Jacobson, will share several anecdotes arising from 40 years of his practice that touched on professionally shaping events encountered that were never the topic of instruction in law school.
SSS-18 Space Art: Past and Future - Zoom Teleconference
Carolyn Russo, Specialist and Curator of the Art Collection, Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C. * , 6/3 * 10:00-12:00

Space Art from the National Air and Space Museum spans from the late nineteenth century to the present and captures the history of space exploration. Discover the art of Étienne Léopold Trouvelot's late 1800s astronomical observations from Harvard's powerful telescope in Cambridge, MA, Chesley Bonestell's illustrations for Collier's, Norman Rockwell's paintings for Look created in Stockbridge, MA to the NASA Art Program, Robert Rauschenberg, and Alma Thomas. Examine works from these artists and others as agents of public persuasion, documentation, and reflection of a national space program.