Colgate University
EN-12: Continuing Education

"One Approach to Senior Housing: Independent Living in a 'Pocket Community'": 1/7/16 Surveys and anecdotal evidence show an interest in housing for seniors in Hamilton, both for aging Hamiltonians who would like to “downsize” and stay put and for seniors familiar with Hamilton’s charms who would like to make the village their new home. "Food Cultures: From Local to Global": 3/15, 3/22, 3/29/16 How does what you eat make you who you are? Food is something we eat, but it also defines how we see our place in the world. This course takes learners through three key topics related to food cultures: the role of food in defining identity and community, social movements and food, and the globalization of food cultures. "Sherburne to Chesapeake: A Canoe Journey": 3/16/16 Join Patti and Fred von Mechow, local paddling enthusiasts, environmentalists, and adventurers, in this 90 minute program about their July, 2014 paddling excursion along the Chenango and Susquehanna Rivers to reach the Chesapeake Bay. The 400+ mile waterway featured beautiful scenery, remarkable wildlife, friendly people, challenging navigation, and several surprises. The program includes anecdotes, a photo presentation, and display of supplies and equipment used. "A Discussion of Nancy Ellen Abrams' A God That Could Be Real: Spirituality, Science and The Future of our Planet": 4/7 and 4/14/16 In this course, Wanda Warren Berry will facilitate two discussions of Nancy Ellen Abrams’ A God That Could Be Real: Spirituality, Science, and The Future of our Planet . A philosopher of science and a lawyer, in this book Abrams builds on collaborations with her husband, Joel Primack (a leading astrophysicist), to explore a radically new way of thinking about God. "Nature, Human Nature and Deep Time": 4/11, 4/18 and 4/25/16 Why am I me? This course will deal with the complex interrelationships among Nature, deep time and Homo sapiens, especially the types of interactions that reconfigure what it means to be human. How have scientific concepts, such as geologic time, biological co-evolution, and ecosystem dynamics informed the moral demeanor of humans? "Alexander Technique II: Because it Works!": 5/3 and 5/10/16 The Alexander Technique is a discipline that recognizes a new relationship between thought and movement. F.M. Alexander developed his technique in the 1920's and had, as his devotees, many of the intelligentsia of the day: John Dewey, Aldous Huxley, George Bernard Shaw, to name a few. Aldous Huxley saw the technique as opening a door of perception developing a never-had-before awareness of personal habits of movement. It is a totally non-invasive, non-drug way to ease the pain in your body, and to improve your movement, performance and appearance. "Diabetes and Prediabetes: How Healthy Eating is Essential for Treatment and Prevention": 10/3/16 This discussion will review diabetes basics with a focus on the lifestyle changes including healthy eating which are essential for those who are living with diabetes and those who are at risk of developing this disease. "Issues of Religious Pluralism: On Learning from the Other": 10/19, 10/26, 11/2/16 Religious pluralism has served as a basis for argument, even hostilities. We will focus on modes of conceiving the situation that can contribute to a greater understanding of the other and a refreshing sense of learning from the other. The course will not finally focus on what religious persons believe but what they have come to understand and why that understanding matters. "People, Planet and Prosperity for the 21st Century: Our Place in History": 10/27/16 Last year turned out to be a momentous year for sustainability and climate issues globally, nationally, and regionally. What does all of this mean at a local and personal level? Join us to explore the latest trends in sustainability and climate change and how transitioning to a sustainable, low-carbon future is both challenging and full of opportunity. During the presentation, we will touch on a number of subjects, including the science behind sustainability and climate change and its potential impacts, as well as what is being done to address it. "An Introduction to Focusing": 11/7, 11/14, 11/21/16 "Notes from the Field: A 'Food Cultures' Update": 11/17/16 This session follows from a three-part LLP course on "Food Cultures" that Chris Henke taught last spring; since that time, Henke participated in a Colgate faculty road trip themed around food in St Louis, Chicago, and Detroit. He also continued research (along with Colgate colleague April Baptiste) on access to locally-produced food in Upstate New York. Henke will report on these two experiences and what they tell us about contemporary American food cultures and politics. "How Tolkien's Use of Myth in His Trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, Can Show Us What It Means to Be Human": 11/22, 11/29, 12/6/16 Looking at our lives through myth can “free us from the drab blur of triteness or familiarity- from possessiveness.” (C.S. Lewis) C.S. Lewis has observed that “The value of the myth is that it takes all the things we know and restores to them the rich significance which has been hidden by ‘the veil of familiarity’.” Tolkien uses the Hobbit Frodo’s journey to reveal the nature of the moral basis of our human life. The course will look at the way in which Tolkien has used myth to reveal the meaning of what it is to be human.