Indiana University Bloomington
EN-12: Continuing Education

Celebrating 100 Years of Indiana State Parks!
This year marks the 100th birthday of the Indiana state park system. In celebration of the history–and the future –of our state parks, we proudly offer this lecture and day trip combination.

A Blue Ribbon Bicentennial Day in Indy with Jim Madison
Celebrate Indiana’s Bicentennial with a special visit to two outstanding history exhibits in Indianapolis. We’ll begin with the State Museum’s “Indiana in 200 Objects,” where we’ll marvel at the range of artifacts including the Treaty of Greenville, Amelia Earhart’s flight jacket, Johnny Appleseed’s drinking flask, a copy of the 13th Amendment signed by Abraham Lincoln, and the leather jacket Elton John gave to Ryan White. At lunch in the L. S. Ayres Tearoom (a historic experience in itself), history professor emeritus, Jim Madison, will moderate our discussion with museum curator, Dale Odgen, who helped select the objects. We’ll have a chance to identify our favorite and ask Dale why other particular objects were not included.
After lunch we’ll follow the canal to the Indiana Historical Society to visit the You Are There exhibits: 1816: Indiana Joins the Nation (where we’ll meet delegates who drafted Indiana’s first constitution), 1948: Communities Can (where we’ll talk with women as they can their produce); and Eli Lilly at the Beginning (where we’ll meet Civil War veteran Eli Lilly and step inside his new business). Afterward we’ll talk with the Society’s Director of Exhibitions and Research, Eloise Batic. On the bus to and from the capital city, Professor Madison will provide context and commentary.

History's Happy Hour: Historians Reflect on Contemporary Issues

Confucius says, “Study the past, if you would divine the future,” and that’s exactly what we are doing in this new lecture series. Head on over to Nick’s English Hut after work and join in the discussion! Note:This room is not handicap accessible.

There are three section, two of them are:
The Middle East: Current Events in Israel in Historical Perspective:
There is no boring moment in the Middle East. Almost every week there is news from the region reporting recent events in the long-lasting Israeli-Arab conflict, and every year we witness major political or violent events. Yet, what we read about in our daily newspaper has its roots in the long history of the conflict in the region caused by the encounter between Zionism and Arab nationalism, the encounter of Jewish settlers and the Arab population of the land. The aim of this event is to provide a platform for discussing the historical context that helps us understand better today’s news.

Climate Change and the Roman Empire:
The Romans left behind impressive monuments to human ingenuity: hundreds of freshwater aqueducts, thousands of cities, over 50,000 miles of stone-paved roads and numerous other achievements. Remarkably, their society only survived a few centuries after peaking in the mid second century A.D. How can this be explained? Our session investigates the latest theory to account for decline and fall of the Roman Empire: climate change. Did the Romans benefit from a relatively warm and wet Mediterranean? Conversely, do the plummeting temperatures and droughts which began in the fourth century A.D. explain migrations into Roman territory from northern Europe and central Asia? Rome’s interaction with its ecological context helps us understand fundamental human questions about how our societies interact with the natural world.

Fall Focus: Photography at IU's Research and Teaching Preserve:
Enjoy fall in all its glory with a Saturday of guided exploration through the peaceful Indiana woodlands at picturesque University Lake. Once a principal source of water for IU, University Lake is now part of the IU Research and Teaching Preserve (IURTP) and is equipped with a first-class LEED certified classroom facility. This restricted area of the Preserve property, not normally open to the public, is rich with native Indiana plant and animal species along peaceful walking trails.

Photograph Indiana’s natural treasures and scenic lake shore beauty under an inspiring fall canopy of color. Your special access will be enhanced by hands-on advice with Bloomington photographer Charlie Savage, followed by a relaxed photo sharing session in the comfortable IURTP classroom facility. Whatever your photographic interest or ability, you will enjoy your time amid the subtle beauty of this special place and the learning that comes so naturally from the experience within.

A Forum on Today's Germany:
In this course we will examine and discuss the unique political position Germany occupies within Europe and how its history continues to shape Germany’s present-day policies. We will explore the coalition form of government and attempt to explain Germany’s leadership role in the refugee crisis and the constitution that legally binds Germans to uphold policies that preserve the dignity of every individual.

Shakespeare and the Politics of Power:
2016 marks the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. 2016 is also an election year in the United States. Whatever your preferred medium for gathering information—newspapers, television, the Internet—you’ll find politics and political figures analyzed, discussed, and debated on a daily basis. If you think political shenanigans are solely the province of American presidential elections, think again. Shakespeare’s plays are rife with political intrigue, power struggles, and dirty tricks. We will look at how political power is pursued, negotiated, and attained in three of Shakespeare’s plays—Richard III, Coriolanus, and Macbeth. Drawing on a number of other plays, we will strive to observe parallels between the politics of Shakespeare’s age, the politics of the periods in which the plays are set, and politics in the modern age

Noon at Noodles & Co.
Come and hear a stimulating talk given by one of IU’s fine faculty or staff members. Your body needs nourishment at lunchtime and so does your brain!
This class has three sections, and one of them is:
A Literary Tribute to Indiana’s Bicentennial:
It’s our state’s bicentennial and what better way to honor our Hoosier heritage than by this session, highlighting Indiana “then and now,” as expressed through the written word.
Come join Kim Manlove in a backward glance at rural Indiana of the late 1800s through the philosophical musings of Indiana’s beloved poet, James Whitcomb Riley. Hear your favorite Riley poems from childhood and a few that may become your new favorites of today.
Then listen as journalist and author Douglas Wissing discusses some of Indiana’s 20th-century literary and artistic highlights from his recent IU Press book, IN Writing: Uncovering the Unexpected Hoosier State, including poet Ezra Pound’s tumultuous experience as a Wabash College professor, which inadvertently led to the founding of contemporary literature.

Robots Among Us: Social Applications and Implications of Assistive Robotics:
In the early days of robotics, automation was relegated largely to specialized domains like industry and space. Robotics in the 21st century, however, is increasingly entering everyday spaces like hospitals, schools, malls, and even “every home,” in the words of Bill Gates. Robots in these environments are meant to interact with and assist all kinds of people, most of whom may not have much previous experience with robots or other advanced technologies, including children and the elderly. Many of these everyday robots are envisioned as social agents—assistants, companions, care-takers, teachers, and mediators between people and the ubiquitous technological network that surrounds them. As such, robots present social as well as technical challenges for design, including the need to adapt to different social and cultural contexts, ethical concerns regarding their effects on human activities, social ecologies, and vulnerable populations, and broader social issues such as privacy and work and automation. We will discuss the current state and potential consequences of assistive robotics, and also give attendees the opportunity to interact with some robotic technologies.

Lake Monroe Revealed!
The next time you drive across the Lake Monroe causeway on Highway 446, you might be surprised to learn that there is a lot more to the story than a scenic view. Join us for a boat ride on Lake Monroe this fall and learn about Indiana's largest lake, how it is a flood savior, it's value as Bloomington's water source, and is one of the few places for water-based recreation in southern Indiana. And guess what? Lake Monroe was not built by nature. Originally home to the Delaware and Miami tribes, followed by early settlers and farmers, the lake eventually flooded homes, roads, cemeteries, even whole towns. Why did this happen, how does it work, and what are the downsides of an engineering endeavor of this magnitude? Join us for a great day of learning on the lake!

IU Lifelong Learning does not offer certificates of any kind, rather, they offer a variety of individual courses.

Sustainability courses are offered on occasion, but the classes change every year. The data included is for the 2015-2016 academic year.