UCALL
Registration opens on August 18th at 8:00 A.M.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Fall Lecture Series
Tuesdays, Sept. 30, Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28
9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
In-Person, Remote Option via Zoom
CPH
This course covers a wide-ranging set of topics, including history, science, music and more.
Week 1: Brad Utter, curator and senior historian, NYS Museum, will discuss the history of New York State's canal system, from the earliest calls for a canal to the new role the system plays today.
Week 2: Tim Olsen, professor of music, leads participants on a whirlwind tour of the American musical theater, with a special emphasis on stage and screen productions since the late 1990s.
Week 3: Chris Hunter, president of miSci, explores the early history of WGY radio utilizing rare audio recordings and photography from miSci’s archival collections.
Week 4: Kerry Lewis, astronomy educator at miSci, will relate some of the stories various cultures have written in the stars and how those stories have led to today’s official set of 88 constellations used in astronomy internationally.
Week 5: Stephen Leavitt, professor of anthropology, will introduce the class to the field of psychological anthropology using a case study from Bumbita Arapesh, the people he studied with from 1984-1986. Coordinator: Mike Collins
The Nuclear Age
Tuesdays, Sept. 30, Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28
12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
In-Person, Remote Option via Zoom
CPH
This class will discuss how radioactivity, nuclear weapons, and nuclear energy have shaped the “Nuclear Age,” including: (1) The most important aspects of the history of nuclear energy and nuclear weapons; (2) How nuclear reactors and weapons are designed, built and function; (3) The environmental consequences of nuclear energy and nuclear weapons, including nuclear fallout, nuclear waste, environmental damage, the consequences of nuclear reactor accidents, and the role nuclear energy might play in combating climate change; (4) The political challenges and dangers caused by the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Presenter: Mark Walker, John Bigelow Professor of History
Coordinator: Cathy Lewis
Great Speeches…and Their Backstories
Wednesdays, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
In-Person Only
CPH Ballroom 1
Across eras of disaster and peace in the world’s history, many leaders, writers, politicians, theorists, scientists, activists and revolutionaries have delivered powerful, rousing speeches. This course will examine multiple famous speeches first, by exploring the moment in history, the speaker and the impetus. Then, participants will view the speeches together, followed by a robust group discussion to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each speech, identify the compelling arguments presented, and compare and contrast the modes of appeal and logical reasoning used by the speaker. Finally, we will analyze the impact and outcomes of each speech. The speeches will include familiar, historically significant speeches
by Churchill, Mandela, JFK, and others, examined through the lens of
the current political environment, as well as speeches by contemporary
thought leaders, including Obama, Yousafzai, Bono, and others.
Presented and coordinated by: Angela Dominelli and Judith Rabig
Recent Supreme Court Decisions
Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
In-Person, Remote Option via Zoom
CPH Ballroom 1
This course will explore the contemporary Supreme Court's conservatism by looking at the Court's decisions in the areas of voting rights and elections, gun rights, gender equality and religious liberty. In doing so, this course will shed light on originalism, the conservative legal movement and lines of fissure within contemporary conservative politics.
Presenter: Bradley Hays, Associate Professor of Political Science
Coordinator: Cathy Lewis
Topics in Medicine
Oct. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
In-Person, Remote Option via Zoom
CPH
Five esteemed medical professionals will provide insights into the latest advances in various areas of healthcare and medicine.
Week 1: Dr. Richard Holub will describe how rapid breakthroughs on multiple fronts are advancing our understanding of Alzheimer’s Disease and are leading to the discovery of new innovative approaches.
Week 2: Dr. Robert Gerstenbluth’s presentation will focus on the current state-of-the-art treatment of male and female bladder control issues, including the role of behavioral management, pharmaceuticals and surgical procedures.
Week 3: Professor David Nicholas will discuss how infectious disease epidemiology plays a crucial role in identifying, monitoring and controlling foodborne outbreaks. The ability to identify the source of foodborne illness and implementation of control measures can prevent future illness, outbreaks and impact public health globally.
Week 4: Dr. Saddam Abisse explores three key culprits in age-related cardiac disease: hypertension, atrial fibrillation and amyloidosis. Dr. Abisse will break down how chronic pressure overload, electrical misfiring, and protein buildup contribute to the “heavy heart,” altering structure, function and rhythm.
Week 5: Dr. David Pratt explores the long history of the desire for end-of-life autonomy in the U.S. This presentation will cover the history, including the mechanics of eligibility, requests, certification, prescribing, medication dosing and legal protections for those requesting Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) and their providers.
Coordinator: Bob Saltzman
Topics in Science
Thursdays, Oct. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
12:30 pm to 2:30 pm
In-Person, Remote Option via Zoom
Reamer Auditorium
This course covers topics in astronomy and physics, and ends with a bang!
Week 1: James McKee, associate professor of physics and astronomy, discusses pulsars, how they were discovered, how we can use them as highly precise clocks, and why this allows us to make some of the most precise measurements in all of physics.
Week 2: McKee continues with “Fast Radio Bursts: Signals from Across the Universe,” exploring their discovery and efforts to understand these mysterious radio pulses.
Week 3: Chad Orzel, R. Gordon Gould Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy, presents “100(-ish) Years of Quantum Physics,” which is both famously weird and incredibly successful, and arguably the most precisely tested theory in the history of science. This talk will discuss some of the scientists and phenomena behind these discoveries.
Week 4: Orzel returns with “Quantum Computing”, an entirely new kind of computing. Key features allow computing with quantum systems to be vastly more powerful than any conventional computer could match, at least for certain kinds of problems.
Week 5: The series concludes with Robert Saltzman’s “The Art and Science of Display Pyrotechnics (Fireworks)” - how pyrotechnics function and how they are safely used in a professional fireworks display. It demystifies the physical science and artistic creativity of how fireworks function, along with discussing fundamental chemistry, special effects, choreographing to music and the use of computers.
Coordinator: Phyllis Budka
For additional course details and speaker bios, please visit our online registration page.