UCALL
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TUESDAYS
Spring Lecture Series
April 7, 14, 21, 28, May 5
9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
In-Person, Remote Option via Zoom
Our engaging lecture series includes:
Week 1: John Polimeni, associate professor of economics, ACPHS, on how the economy is responding to some current policies and conditions, such as tariffs, inflation, the national debt, and the role of the Federal Reserve.
Week 2: Andrew Flynn, instructor, ACPHS, on the remarkable history of pharmacy, from ancient remedies and early healers to the rise of apothecaries and today’s highly trained pharmacists.
Week 3: Bruce Roter, president & founder, Museum of Political Corruption, on the history of political corruption and reform in New York State.
Week 4: Jack Rightmyer, retired English teacher, author and bicycling enthusiast, on Henry Knox and the “Noble Train of Artillery."
Week 5: Sheri Lullo, associate professor of art history at Union College, on early Chinese tombs and their contents, along with evolving ideologies of death during China's earliest dynasties.
Coordinator: Angela Dominelli
Scene and Unseen
April 7, 14, 21, 28, May 5
1 to 3 p.m.
In-Person, Remote Option via Zoom
Movies are a unique blend of many art forms—photography, literature, music, choreography, theater, and performance. In the hands of collaborative creative artists, great films capture our hearts and minds, drawing us into powerful visual and emotional experiences that linger long after the screen goes dark. This course invites students on a guided journey through four distinctive films to explore how and why movies affect us so deeply. Through carefully selected clips, still images, and memorable lines of dialogue, we will uncover the techniques filmmakers use to create meaning, emotion, and resonance. Along the way, students will gain insight into the filmmakers themselves, as well as the cultural contexts and influences that shape each work. The four films we will explore—Nomadland, The Holdovers, Arrival and The Wizard of Oz—span genres, eras, and styles. Note that we will devote two classes to Wizard of Oz as this iconic film has a particularly rich background few may be aware of. Collectively these films reveal a powerful common thread: stories of individuals confronting difficult truths, navigating change, and emerging with greater wisdom, resilience, and self-understanding. Whether you are a lifelong movie lover or simply curious about what makes films unforgettable, this course offers a deeper appreciation of cinema’s artistry and its ability to reflect—and transform—the human experience.
Speaker: Jim Dillon, retired education administrator and author
Coordinator: Michael Davi
WEDESDAYS
Latin America, the Region and its People
April 8, 15, 22, 29, May 6
9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
In-Person, Remote Option via Zoom
Professors from Union’s Department of Latin American and Caribbean Studies will lecture on various aspects of South American history and society.
Week 1: Guillermina Seri and Vilhelm Lund discuss “Social Aspects of Modern Argentina.”
Week 2: Elena McGrath relates the “History of Mining, from Silver to Lithium, 500 Years of Mining in the Andes.”
Week 3: Robert Samet examines “Modern Venezuelan Politics: The Chávez Era and its Aftermath.”
Week 4: Guillermina Seri discusses “The Long Shadow of Authoritarianism: Southern Cone Dictatorships and the 2026 Crisis of Democracy.”
Week 5: Daniel Mosquera explores “Devotion and Deviation: The Feast of St. Francis of Assisi in the Afro Region of Chocó (Colombia).”
Coordinator: Vilhelm Lund
Contemporary Speeches: Our Country, Our World
April 8, 15, 22, 29, May 6
1 to 3 p.m.
In-Person Only
As a follow up to the Great Speeches and Their Backstory course, this course will feature contemporary speeches that focus on our nation and our world. The course will examine compelling speeches that challenge thought about and provide insight into some of the pressing issues in society today. This will be an in-person discussion-intense course with enrollment to allow for extensive interaction among participants. Presented and coordinated by: Angela Dominelli and Judith Rabig
THURSDAYS
The Life and Work of Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women
April 9, 16, 23, 30, May 7
9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
In-Person, Remote Option via Zoom
This course will offer a deep dive into Louisa May Alcott’s best-known and much beloved novel Little Women. We will consider how Alcott drew from her own experiences, reimagined her own family, and spoke to the hopes and anxieties of post-Civil War America in that novel and its sequels, Little Men and Jo’s Boys. We will also learn more about the woman behind the novel, uncovering a fascinating life and varied literary career that offers insight into the development of American literature, culture, and womanhood. In addition to Little Women, we will consider some of Alcott’s lesser-known but equally compelling works including the collection of autobiographical stories Hospital Sketches, adult novels Moods and Work, and sensation stories including Pauline’s Passion and Punishment and Behind a Mask. Participants do not need to read any of Alcott’s work to fully engage in the course but are encouraged to read any titles of interest, especially Little Women.
Speaker: Billie Bennett Franchini, director of the Institute for Teaching, Learning and Academic Leadership at the University at Albany
Coordinators: Linda Doyle and Jenny Overeynder
The Human Side of Opera
April 9, 16, 23, 30, May 7
1 to 3 p.m.
In-Person, Remote Option via Zoom
In this course we will cover five operas by the great masters, each of which shows us a different aspect of how we interact and mature. Mozart’s music is unsurpassed for emotional depth. Cosi fan tutte, the third of the da Ponte operas, shows us the difficulty of love, infidelity and forgiveness between two couples. In La Traviata, Verdi miraculously portrays a “fallen” woman, who despite her status in society can sacrifice for love. Wagner’s Das Rheingold, the first of the four in the Ring Cycle, is different. Here we learn that pervasive greed does not bring us happiness. It leads to destruction. Puccini’s first success was Manon Lescaut. Based on the same novel as Massenet’s Manon, Puccini’s music boils over with passion, immaturity and stupid greed. It does not end well. Strauss and Hofmannsthal called Der Rosenkavalier “a comedy for music.” Funny, but also a spectrum of emotions from young love to wisdom in facing maturity. If Hofmannsthal’s words are beyond par, Strauss’ music is downright ethereal.
Speaker: Josef Schmee, the Kenneth B. Sharpe Professor of Management Emeritus
Coordinator: Jim Comly
For additional course details and speaker bios, please visit our online registration page.