Past courses
Fall 2024
Classes:
- 1816: The Year without a Summer - David Gapp
- Are You a Systems Thinker? - Michael Smith
- Brain, Aging and Art - Armine Darbinyan
- Designing Women: America's Landscape Architects 1890-1950 - Val Libby
- Easier Movement for Golden Years - Deborah Page
- Geology of MDI - Ruth Braun and Duane Braun
- Hollywood UK: Part Three, the 1960's
- iPhone Photography - George Soules
- James Joyces's Ulysses - Bill Dohmen
- Just for Fun - Give Watercolor a Try - Marion Smith
- Just this Meditation - Tom Tanguay
- Meaning - John Sherblom
- Other Amendments (and Today's News) - Richard S. Cohen
- The Lesbian History Trail of Mount Desert Island - Carolyn Gage
Spring 2024
Classes:
- A Deep Dive into Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” Book One - Richard Parker
- A Foray into French and Italian Cinema: Part One, the Thirties through the Fifties - Steve Powell
- Becoming a Savvy News Consumer - Earl Brechlin
- Birding the Gulf of Maine during the Winter/Spring Transition - Michael Good
- Black Holes, the Big Bang, and the Multiverse - Bob Gallon
- Civil Rights Voices: Bobo, the Pastor, the Saint, and the Veteran - Nat Fenton
- Consciousness - John Sherblom
- Creating Textured Art - Bonnie Chase
- Guitar Refresher - Weslea Sidon
- iPhone Photography - George Soules
- Natural Hazards - Ruth and Duane Braun
- Plant-derived Medicines: The Good, the Bad, and the In-between - David Gapp
- The Forest Society of Maine: 40 Years of Intense Forest Conservation - Ben Emory
- Writing a “Legacy Letter” - Jay Sherwin
Winter 2024
Classes:
- Antarctica: Exploration, Governance, Natural History and Challenges - Lisa Crockett and Pat Hassett
- Basic Instruction for New or Former Violin Players - Fred Benson
- Designing Women: America's Landscape Architects 1890-1950 - Val Libby
- Dimensions of the Wabanaki Presence - various invited presenters
- Food and Foodways: Highlights from Prehistory to the 19th Century - David Gapp
- Highlights of American Art and Architectural History - John Bryan
- Insight Meditation in Three Steps - Tom Tanguay
- Let’s Play Games! - Andy Cline and Jonathan Bender
- Mindful Eating - Jen Harry
- New World - Seth Singleton
- Prophets: Ancient and Modern - Jonathan Dwyer
- Shakespeare’s Macbeth - Ann Caswell
- The Cellular Foundations of Life: A 21st century perspective - Phil Grimley
- The Lesbian History Trail of Mount Desert Island - Carolyn Gage
- The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins - Emma Wegner and invited presenters
- Without Reverence Things Fall Apart - William Bigelow
Fall 2023
Classes:
- Hollywood UK: Part Two, the 1950's - Steve Powell
- Meet the Researcher - You! - Alison Leonard
- Music from Bach to Beethoven - Robert Gallon
- Scandinavian Christmas Baking - Meile Rockefeller
- SCOTUS's Greatest Hits - Richard S. Cohen
- The Challenges We Face in the 21st Century (and What We Can Do About Them) - Hugh Clark, Nick Fisichelli, Charles Hewett, Larry Larson, George Manning, Harald Paumgarten, Seth Singleton
Spring 2023
Classes:
- 1816: The Year without a Summer - David Gapp
- Birding the Gulf of Maine during the Winter/Spring Transition - Michael Good
- Brain, Aging and Art - Armine Darbinyan
- Connecting Nature and Art - Bonnie Chase
- Myths and Legends from the Heart o the Indian Subcontinent - Sheila Kirby
- Roots of Revolution in China: Mao Zedong, 1919 - 1966 - Hugh Clark
- Sharpie Sailboats - An American Story - Ben Emory
- The American Family and the Law - Lawrence Rosen
Winter 2023
Classes:
- Biblical Foundations for Jewish and Christian Understandings of Social Justice - Jon Dwyer
- Comfort Bird Carving - Steve Valleau
- Evolution of Thinking on the Geology of MDI from 1836 to Now - Ruth and Duane Braun
- Food and Foodways: Highlights from Prehistory to the 19th Century - David Gapp
- Introduction to Classical Music: From the Ancients to Bach - Bob Gallon
- Russia's War in Ukraine - Seth Singleton
- Shakespeare's "Othello": Three Takes - Ann Caswell
- Shedding Some Light on Evil - William Bigelow
- The Longstanding Struggle Over American History - Greg Bush
Fall 2022
Classes:
- A New Paradigm for Human Evolution - Peggy deWolf
- Design and Fabricate Your Own Unique Cards - Pat Pugh and Mary Vekasi
- Exploring Yoga - Andrea Lepcio
- Geology of MDI - Ruth Braun and Duane Braun
- Hollywood UK: Part One - Steve Powell
- How I Got That Story - Lincoln Millstein
- Major Poetry of W. B. Yeats - Bill Dohmen
- Scandinavian Christmas Cookies - Meile Rockefeller
- Shakespeare in Opera - Robert Gallon
- The 2022 Midterm Elections in Perspective - Jack Russell
- The Delights of Museum-Going: Swiss Collections - Mollie McNickle (Wheeler)
- The Living Constitution: The Supreme Court Deals with Today's Urgent Problems - Richard S. Cohen
- The Twentieth Century from Versailles to the Present - Harald Paumgarten
- What is Woodlawn and Why Should I Care? - Rosamond Rea
Spring 2022
Classes:
- 1816: The Year Without a Summer - Impacts and Lessons Arising from Extreme Climate Change - David Gapp
- A Sense of Place: Printing and Dyeing with Spring Botanicals - Bonnie Chase
- Biography, Memoir, and Fiction - Creative Ways to Interact with History - Robin Clifford Wood
- Plant-based Cooking - Stefani Berkey
- Plantsmanship 101 - Valencia Libby
- Sea to Trees: Coastal Links to the North Woods - Ben Emory
Winter 2022
Classes:
- A Citizen's Guide to the First Amendment - John Finn
- Downeast Maine: The Wish to Be at Home - Scott Planting
- History of Midwifery and Women's Health Care - Linda Robinson
- Mind and Body-fulness - Andrea Lepcio
- Monetary Theory and Federal Finance: Deeper Meanings - David Dawson
- Money, Elites, and Media: Attention Engineering in Modern America - Greg Bush
- Myth, Psyche, and Us - Mac Bigelow
- Shakespeare's Henry IV: Fun and Adventures with Prince Hall and Falstaff - Ann Caswell
- Will Democracy Survive in America? - Seth Singleton
Fall 2021
Classes:
- Are You Ready for Some Football? - Joanne Harris and Ellie Pancoe
- Cosmology: Part 2 - Bob Gallon
- Europe: 1815 to 1924 - Harald Paumgarten and Seth Singleton
- Geology of MDI - Ruth and Duane Braun
- Me and White Supremacy: An Exploration - Mary Vekasi
- The Politics of Land Fever, Trade and the American Hinterland: 1763 - 2021 - Greg Bush
- The Truth About Government Money and Federal Finance - David Dawson
- We, the White Male Landowning People,... Do Ordain and Establish This Constitution - Rick Cohen
- Wood-Burned and Painted Fish Mobiles - Steve Valleau
Spring 2021
Classes:
- Creating a Bird Mobile - Steve Valleau
- Designing the Surface - Shira Singer
- Downeast Maine Field Ornithology: Winter Birds and the Transition to Spring - Michael Good
- Improving Decision Making and Public Policy: Lessons from Behavioral Economics - Sheila Kirby
- Introduction to Nature Writing - Ann Caswell
- Let's Make Bread Together - Mary Vekasi
- Mindfulness Practices - Jen Harry
- So You Think You Know Maine? - Earl Brechlin
- The Future of Fisheries in Eastern Maine - Paul Anderson
- The Puzzle of Religion - Bob Gallon
- The Upanishads: Foundational Scriptures of Hinduism - Ned Beach
- Traditional Chinese Folk Culture as Seen Through Plays - Hugh Clark
- Writing a "Legacy Letter" - Jay Sherwin
Winter 2021
Classes:
- Edmond Rostand's "Cyrano de Bergerac," translation by Anthony Burgess - Nick Turner
- So You Think You Know Maine? - Earl Brechlin
- The Crowd in American Culture - Greg Bush
- The Enigmatic Psyche: Tales by Henry James and Joseph Conrad - Bill Dohmen
- Topics in Constitutional and Public Law - Rick Cohen
- Understanding Viruses - Phil Grimley
Fall 2020
Classes:
- 2020 Visions: Working Forward - Jack Russell
- An Historical Introduction to Chinese Buddhism - Hugh Clark
- Civil Rights: The Other Half - Nat Fenton
- Cosmology: How Did We Ever Learn That? - Bob Gallon
- Engines of Change: The Automobile's Impact on Women's Independence - Jenna Beaulieu
- Explorations in Human Evolution - Peggy deWolf
- Introduction to the Yi Jing - Ned Beach
- The First Amendment: Freedom of Speech and Religious Rights - Rick Cohen
- Writer and Region: Exploring the Beloved Community - Scott Planting
Spring 2020
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Spring classes were cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Instead a number of instructors and other presenters offered online presentations. See the Videos page for recordings of some of these presentations.
Winter 2020
Classes:
- Becoming a Better Photographer - Robert Thayer
- Carving a Common Loon - Steven Valleau
- Evolution of Thinking on the Geology of MDI from 1836 to Now - Duane Braun
- Homemade Bread! - Mary Vekasi
- Morning Mosaic - Liz Cutler
- Preserving New England's Gardens - Valencia Libby
- Short Stories of Honore de Balzac - Annemarie V. Quin
- Spiritual Wisdom from Hawaii and India - Richard Parker
- When God Was a Woman - Carol Leonard
- Without Reverence Things Fall Apart - William Bigelow
Fall 2019
Classes:
- A Brief History of the Dismal Science (Part 2) - David Dawson
- A Close Reading of the Analects of Confucius - Hugh Clark
- Beginning Italian: Level 2 - Hank Schmelzer
- Geology of MDI - Ruth and Duane Braun
- Hollywood Goes to War: Censorship, Propaganda and Profits During WW II - Steve Powell
- How Nonprofits Work - Carolyn Ball
- I Think, Therefore I Am: What is Conciousness? - Robert Gallon
- Improving Decision Making and Public Policy: Lessons from Behavioral Economics - Sheila Kirby
- Introduction to Croquet - Fran Martin and Tina Hinckley
- Myth, Psyche, and Us - William Bigelow
- Post-Impressionism and Beyond - Mary Burnard
- Prelude to the 36th America's Cup - Nat Fenton and Michael Hastings
- Selected Topics in Modern European History - Harald Paumgarten and Michael Blythe
- The Cubism of Pable Picasso and Georges Braque - Mollie McNickle (Wheeler)
- The Sources of Constitutional Conflicts - Richard S. Cohen
- Viruses and Vaccines - Phil Grimley
Spring 2019
Classes:
- 2020 Visions: A Discussion - Jack Russell
- A Look at French Impressionism and its Historical Antecedents - Mary Burnard
- Britannia to England: AD 410 to AD 1066 - Michael Blythe
- Civil Rights, Then and Now - Nat Fenton
- DNA, Genes, and Genetic Engineering - Michael Wiles
- Hooking and Stripping: A Course for Beginners - Judith Burger-Gossart
- Introduction to Opera: Part 3 - Robert Gallon
- Joy of Boats - Ben Emory
- Maine Political Leaders (1919-2018) and the Movements They Embraced - Michael Hastings
- Novels of Patrick O'Brian - Ward MacKenzie
- Open Studio: Surface and Shape - Liz Cutler
- Tai Chi for Health - Andrea Lepcio
Winter 2019
Classes:
- Becoming a Better Photographer - Robert Thayer
- Beginning Italian - Level 1 - Hank Schmeltzer
- Bicycle Repair - Bob Shields and Eben Shook
- Bird Carving with a Knife - Steven Valleau
- Eat Bread and Salt and Speak the Truth: Russian Stories and Essays - Seth Singleton
- Introduction to Wine - Scott Worcester
- Island and Acadian Passages, Part II: Conservation to Resilience - Jack Russell
- Lessons from Indigenous Cultures for Mankind Today - Richard Parker
- Myth, Psyche, and Us - William Bigelow
- Shakespeare: Fun and Adventures with Prince Hal and Falstaff - Ann Caswell