Fall 2023 Programs
Term 1:
August 27 - October 7
Nature
Thursdays, August 31 – October 5 (six weeks)
4:15 – 5:30 pm
Lecture/Discussion
This course is limited to 20 participants.
Who doesn't like sitting under a tree on a beautiful summer morning? From buds and leaves to acorns, branches, and bark, this course will expand your appreciation of the trees around you and show you how their features can help you put a name to what you see. Among the fascinating things you'll learn are why a tree with a trunk that's 50% hollow can still be considered perfectly healthy, why the maximum height any tree can attain is a little over 400 feet, and why botanists technically classify walnuts and peaches as the same type of fruit (a drupe). Several class sessions will include walks around the Washington College campus to observe some of its many wonderful specimen trees.
Participants who already own a guidebook on trees are encouraged to bring it to class. For those looking to purchase one, three recommended books that will be briefly discussed in the first class are the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Trees -- Eastern Region (ISBN 978-0394507606), the National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Trees of North America (ISBN 978-1402738753), and The Sibley Guide to Trees (ISBN 978-0375415197).
JEFF COOMER is a Washington College graduate who retired to Chestertown after a career as a technology executive for a global Fortune 500 company. A certified Master Naturalist and former Virginia Tree Steward, he currently serves on the Chestertown Tree Committee and volunteers at Adkins Arboretum.
Humanities
Jim Maddox
Tuesdays, September 5 – October 10 (six weeks)
4:15 – 5:30 pm
Lecture/Discussion
This course is limited to 12 participants and will be held in a location that is not fully accessible.
I have been collecting American Indian Pueblo pottery for more years than I care to specify. For many years, I collected from all the pueblos, but about 5 years ago, I narrowed my collecting to four pueblos: Acoma, Kewa (formerly called Santo Domingo) and Zuni in New Mexico and Hopi, in Arizona. At all these pueblos, pottery-making is a centuries-old tradition. I have only the scantest collection of what is called "prehistoric" Indian pottery (a very problematic term). Almost all my pottery derives from the period after the arrival of the railroads in New Mexico and Arizona, roughly 1880. With the railroads came tourists, and the vast majority of Indian pottery over the last century and a half was made for sale to tourists. Much, indeed most, Indian pottery from 1880 until well into the twentieth century is continuous with the pottery that the Indians were making before the arrival of the Americans en masse. But the pottery has long since almost completely lost its connection with any actual use that the Indians make of it in their daily lives. Most collectors of Indian pottery regard it as closely related to the lives of the people who made it, but the collectors must (or should) realize that it is also made as "art." The longer I have collected, the more slippery has become, for me, the relations among the Indians, the pottery they make, and the predominantly white audience who admire and collect it.
Is Indian pottery beautiful? Well, of course it is, almost all of us might be inclined to say. But what constitutes its beauty? These are hard questions, to which I am not sure that I will always have good answers. But as we move from pueblo to pueblo, we will try to identify the characteristics of the pottery of each, and if we are brave enough, we may also try to say why and how the pottery appeals to us.
JIM MADDOX was a professor of English at the George Washington University and at Middlebury College's summer graduate school, the Bread Loaf School of English, where I taught and then became director for almost 25 years. One fine day around 1985, I came upon a beautiful Acoma pot at an antiques show in Washington and bought it. I still remember taking it home and setting it atop a bookcase and noticing how beautiful its orange, black, and white design appeared against the blue wall behind it. My path from this initial interest to serious collecting was steep and passionate. I visited the land of the pueblos in New Mexico and Arizona many, many times, visited the great museums, especially in Santa Fe, and became familiar with many dealers in Indian pottery, again especially in Santa Fe, which is ground zero for pottery collectors. I also became deeply interested in the history of the pueblo peoples, a history strongly shadowed by the Indians' contact with the descendants of Europeans, first the Spanish, then the Americans. Like it or not, Indian pottery simply cannot be discussed without considering the history of the Indians and the whites. We will gain some relief from learning (or at least so I will argue) how the appearance of the Spanish and the Americans had, arguably, fewer negative effects upon the pueblo Indians than upon any other tribes. But, in truth, that will be scant relief.
Fine and Performing Arts
Bob Miller
Mondays, September 11 – October 2 (four weeks)
4:15 – 5:45 pm, Virtual Course via Zoom
Lecture/Discussion
This course is limited to 10 participants and will meet for 90 minutes.
Want to learn how to use that fancy camera you have? Want to learn how to take pictures you will be proud to hang on your wall? A SLR ( Single lens reflex) camera is fully adjustable in aperture and shutter speeds and accepts interchangeable lenses. This class is appropriate for beginner and intermediate skill levels but will be aimed at beginners. The main emphasis will be getting students off the automatic mode to begin using the more creative options of aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual modes. We will also discuss exposure in detail and learn to use the digital camera’s histogram ( graph) to produce perfectly exposed photographs We will also be looking at composition in detail so students will be able to design their photographs in a more artistic way. Assignments will be given at the end of each class, and we will do a compositional critique at the beginning of each subsequent class. Students should bring their DSLR cameras and manuals to class.
BOB MILLER is a retired science teacher with a 45+ year passion for photography. He does all kinds of photography but has recently specialized in nature photography. He has taken his camera all over the world, including to Africa, Iceland, the Arctic, Australia, Europe, and our United States. He has won many awards and was named Digital Photographer of the Year by the Arundel Camera Club. His photographs have been published in Save the Bay, Backyard Gardens, and several times in the fine art photography magazine B&W. Bob enjoys teaching and loves to share his love for photography with others.
Humanities/Health and Wellness
Jerry Webster
Wednesdays, September 13 – October 4 (four weeks)
5:15 – 6:45 pm, Virtual Course via Zoom
Lecture/Discussion
This course is limited to 20 participants.
Joan Halifax’s 2008 work, Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death, springs from decades of her work with the dying, caregivers, and counselors. Halifax is willing to stand on the edge of our experience and bear witness to all that transpires even in the most difficult of times. Her Buddhist ecumenical approach provides great benefit to people of all traditions. She has led the Upaya (Skillful Means) Zen Center in Santa Fe since 1990, a center involved with close Buddhist study and transformative social action. In order to explore Halifax’s teachings more deeply within the context from which these teachings arose for her, we will use meditative practices and exercises in class that she describes in Being with Dying. You will need to have the book to fully participate in the class.
JERRY WEBSTER, Ph. D., (Curriculum and Instruction, University of Maryland) has taught numerous courses in literature for the University of Maryland and in multiculturalism for Montgomery County Public Schools (MD). He taught English full-time in public school systems for forty years. He served as the Shastri, or head teacher, for the Shambhala Buddhist Center in Washington, D.C., for 10 years until he retired in 2020. He teaches ongoing programs for the Johns Hopkins Odyssey Program, the D.C. Politics & Prose Bookstore, Frederick Community College, and Washington College’s Academy of Lifelong Learning. This will be the third work he has taught by Joan Halifax.
Fine and Performing Arts
Sarah Saltus
Mondays, September 11 – October 2 (four weeks)
4:15 – 5:30 pm
Demonstration and Practice
This course is limited to 16 participants.
Everyone can learn how to draw, professionals and beginners alike. Working with graphite, the exercises in this course will explore how to find the lights and darks, the tone to create three-dimensional pieces that "spin off the page!” Following the techniques used by botanical artists, you’ll discover how to render your subjects with realistic detail and life-like depth.
This course includes homework as the best way to absorb the material is to practice and employ it. A required materials fee of $14 will be collected by the instructor at the first class.
SARAH SALTUS majored in theatre at Skidmore College, and while never a household name, she got to sing on Broadway, play the villain on soaps, and make a lot of commercials. She received her certificates in Botanical Art and Natural Science Illustration at The New York Botanical Garden where she then taught Drawing, Colored Pencil, and Watercolor for eight years. Her teaching credits also include Connecticut College Arboretum, several Garden Clubs of America, Wooster School Community Art Center, the Harvey School in Katonah, NY, and EYE in Greenwich, CT. Since moving to Maryland from Connecticut, she has been teaching at Washington College's WC-ALL program, the Academy of Arts in Easton, and for an international online art school, the Winslow Art Center. Her work has appeared at the Tang Museum in Saratoga Springs, the Mariposa Museum in Peterborough, NH, GALLERY YELLOW in Cross River, NY, the ESC at the Yale Peabody Museum, juried exhibits at the Highstead Arboretum, the Frelinghysen Arboretum, the Mark Twain Library, Ridgefield Guild of Artists, the Wilton Library, the City Lights Gallery in Bridgeport, CT, “Art in the Country” for the Easton Arts Council, Front Street Gallery in Patterson, NY, Connecticut Audubon in Pomfret, CT, the international juried show, “the 5 B’s”, at the Wayne Art Center in Wayne, PA, the Natural Science show at the Spectrum Art Gallery in Centrebrook, CT, the annual juried art show at the Slater Art Museum, the Boston Flower Show, and the “Rivers, Textile and Dye Plants” NESBA show at the Brush Art Gallery in Lowell, MA.
Sarah is a member of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators.
Health and Wellness, Entertainment
Susan Coomer, Susan Houston, Suzzanne Kastendike, and Kate Mason
Wednesdays, September 6 – September 27 (four weeks)
4:15 – 5:30 pm
Demonstration and Practice
This course is limited to 12 participants.
Mahjong is a popular tile-based game developed in China in the 19th century that combines elements of strategy, skill, and chance. It can be played by two, three, or four people and is a great way to maintain brain health while engaging in a fun social activity. In fact, multiple studies have shown that playing mahjong slows the normal cognitive decline of aging by improving memory, concentration, and patience.
In this course, you’ll learn the basic rules and strategies for playing mahjong and then put them into practice by playing games under the guidance of the instructors.
SUSAN COOMER, SUSAN HOUSTON, SUZZANNE KASTENDIKE, and KATE MASON are Chestertown residents who have thoroughly enjoyed playing mahjong together every week for two years.
Health and Wellness
Thursdays, September 7 – October 5 (five weeks)
6:00 – 7:15 pm
Demonstration and Practice
This course is limited to 16 participants.
Come learn how to play the fastest growing sport in America — pickleball! In this course, we’ll discuss the health and social benefits of pickleball, learn different strategies of play, and then develop our skills by practicing and playing games. No prior sports experience is required. Simply bring a good attitude and a willingness to try something new – but be careful. pickleball is addicting!
MAC FRANKLIN has been playing pickleball for 3.5 years. It has changed his life physically and mentally for the better, and he is looking forward to the opportunity to grow the sport and show the amazing impact it can have on everyone. As the captain of his local country club's pickleball team, Franklin has experience coordinating pickleball events and ensuring that they run smoothly. The sport is something he believes brings positive energy into people's lives and enhances their overall health.
Math, Science, and Technology
Satinder Sidhu
Thursdays, September 7 – October 12 (six weeks)
4:15 – 5:15 pm
Lecture/Discussion
Numbers have probably not ever had such a sway over human experience as they do in the present epoch. A good many of these numbers result from simple enumeration of discrete entities, events, interactions, and transactions. Population sizes, incomes, sports scores, and the like, require little more than keeping a count of the relevant items.
Most other numbers come from some act of measurement — some quite simple and obvious, others less so. All measurements involve comparison of the unknown to some standard unit for that type of quantity or property. The history and evolution of units — for length, mass, time, electric current, luminous intensity, and temperature — are an important part of the story of measurement.
The other is the evolution of the techniques and procedures employed to obtain rapid, precise, and accurate results. Advances in measurement techniques have also resulted in the gradual substitution of particular physical artefacts as exemplars of units with the results of fundamental physical experiments, chiefly because of the universality and repeatability of the latter. State of the art in each of these areas will be considered and discussed, particularly in applications spanning vast ranges of magnitude of the quantity.
SATINDER SIDHU retired in 2015 after over a quarter century as one-half of the physics department at Washington College. He had started professional life with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the pioneer campus of India’s hyper-competitive institutes of technology. After seven years in a multinational electronics conglomerate, he turned to physics for the greater intellectual stimulation of fundamental science. After planting a foot in each of these two closely related disciplines with the help of a PhD in physics, he assiduously shrank from anything that felt even remotely like engineering. A five-year flirtation with particle accelerator physics at a U.S. national lab more-or-less fell into this category. Teaching across the full spectrum of undergraduate physics (plus some astronomy) did help him avoid the overspecialization he has always dreaded.
Humanities
Tuesdays, September 5 – September 26 (four weeks)
4:15 – 5:30 pm
Lecture/Discussion
Between 1850 and 1869, the Vice Presidency was occupied by several very interesting men. Two of them became President and changed history. Two could have changed history had they become President. This exercise in history will review the lives and careers of Millard Fillmore, John C. Breckinridge, Hannibal Hamlin, and Andrew Johnson.
RAYMOND VERGNE is a retired cardiologist and educator with wide-ranging interests in the humanities and fine arts.
Math, Science, and Technology
Larry Vetter
Tuesdays, September 5 – October 10 (six weeks)
4:15 – 5:30 pm
Lecture/Discussion
This course will cover the following topics:
Week One: History — why and when the industry developed from "Silent Spring" to Love Canal in Buffalo, with a discussion of safety, OSHA training, regulation and PPE levels A, B, C, and D.
Week Two: Petroleum — definition of what petroleum is and a discussion of surface spills, sun surface losses, storage tanks, clean out, maintenance and safety measures.
Week Three: Indoor Air Quality — biological discussion of fungal and bacterial impact, airborne VOCs, semi-VOCs, particulates, metals, and current standards.
Week Four: Hazardous Materials — field response, lab packs, and disposal, with a discussion of loss clean up and routine maintenance and disposal methodologies.
Week Five: Ocean and Water-Borne Spills — the equipment and success rates, with a discussion of EXXON Valdez, BP Oil gulf spill, Casco Bay loss, wetlands, and wildlife remediation.
Week Six: Miscellaneous Topics — blood borne pathogens, radon, chlorinated solvents, potable water, Chernobyl, and a course recap.
LARRY VETTER is a retired environmental scientist with thirty years of experience in the environmental remedial field. He has been involved in hazardous spill response, contaminated soil and water remediation, hazardous waste management, indoor air quality, etc. The course will take you through a number of different remedial technologies and will be peppered with lots of actual on-site stories.
Health and Wellness
Deborah Reid
Saturdays, September 9 and September 16
Sundays, September 10 and September 17
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Demonstration and Practice
This course is limited to 10 participants.
Reiki is a Japanese-based energy healing method that allows self-healing to occur physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. It works through using the electromagnetic energy that is all around and within us. But most importantly, it works through empathy and helps grow your own empathy for yourself and others. Reiki can relieve acute and chronic pain, improve circulation, reduce blood pressure, relieve fever, and speed up wound or injury healing times. Reiki can also reduce stress and provide relief from emotional pain such as grieving, anxiety, and depression while improving mental and emotional clarity.
The first degree of Reiki attunement forms the foundation of your practice by clearing your own energetic system so that Reiki can more easily flow through you. During this four-session class you will learn about the history and origins of Reiki, the basics of the human chakra/energetic system, and how to give Reiki to yourself and others. Following completion of this class with attendance at all 4 sessions, you will receive a certificate of completion as a First-Degree Usui Reiki Ryôhô Provider.
DEBORAH (‘DEB’) REID is a Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a Reiki Master who has been in the medical field and working with energy therapy for over 20 years. After working as a Biochemist, she received a Master's Degree in Nursing from Pace University in 2000 and has worked in Hospice, Family Practice, and Emergency Medicine. While in nursing school, she was trained in Therapeutic Touch and went on to receive training in Usui Reiki Ryôhô and completed her Master level training in 2010. As of December of 2014, she is now a Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner. One of her passions about health and wellness is the concept that our bodies are communicating what they need through symptoms and we just need to learn how to listen. Her goal is to help others find and realize their personal path to wellness through a combination of allopathic and alternative medicine.
Deb lives in Chestertown Maryland with her dog, Clementine, who keeps her busy with walks and snuggle time. She likes to spend her free time outdoors camping, hiking, and canoeing. She also enjoys dancing, quilting and nature photography.
Arts and Crafts
Barbara O. Kreamer
Wednesdays, August 30 – October 4 (six weeks)
4:15 – 5:15 pm
Demonstration and Practice
This course is limited to 22 participants.
Join in initiating The Yarn and Floss Society at the Academy of Lifelong Learning! We’ll try various forms of needlework in this course. Introductory lessons on knitting, embroidery, needlepoint, crocheting, cross stitching, and creative mending will launch the participants into a range of needlecrafts.
The instructor will provide specific information on the materials needed for this course prior to the first class. Necessary equipment will include a crochet hook and a pair of knitting needles in any size, embroidery and tapestry needles, and a hoop. Fibers such as yarn, canvas, and embroidery floss as well as a garment in need of revival are basic. In the sixth class each participant will present a masterwork and a design or selection of a future project.
BARBARA OSBORN KREAMER, of Aberdeen, MD (BA Washington College ‘70, MLA the Johns Hopkins University ‘75, University of Maryland School of Law ’89), has taught high school English and college writing, and practiced law and legislated at the county and state levels.
When her eight-year-old brother pulled the cap on his head into various shapes, Barbara realized that her pre-Christmas knitting was worthwhile. Her grandmother took the time not only to teach her how to knit but also how to embroider and do needlepoint. Cross stitch came along with Girl Scouts. She added crochet when her grandmother-in-law slowed the hook down so she could follow the loops. The wonders of the internet revealed creative possibilities for mending.
When she was getting ready to run for office, Barbara brought her needlepoint along while she observed the County Council. She found that if she packed bamboo needles, her knitting could pass through the metal detectors at the Courthouse. When her granddaughter drew fashion designs, Barbara knitted them into doll clothes. Sharing in the creation was the most fun of all.
Health and Wellness
Saturdays, September 9 – October 7 (five weeks)
2:00 – 3:15 pm
Lecture/Discussion and Demonstration and Practice
This course is limited to 10 participants.
In this course we will explore the history of chickens, as well as discuss in depth the significance of chickens culturally and industrially. In particular, we will talk about the recent increase in backyard chickens, and their impact on the environment as it relates to permaculture. Permaculture is a set of design principles focused on sustainable systems that are reliable and do not harm other living beings. Chickens are a good example of how permaculture can be used to solve multiple challenges all at once! This course will be held outside at the campus garden, and we will interact with chickens and learn how to care for them, as well as ways to make chickens more accessible!
JO PERKINS is a Washington College student studying Environmental Science and Museum, Field and Community Education. As the President of the Campus Garden Club, Jo is a permaculture intern of two years, and established the College’s very own campus flock of chickens. Under the mentorship of Shane Brill, Jo has developed a passion for sustainable living, and loves sharing their excitement with others.
Health and Wellness
Fridays, September 8 – October 7 (six weeks)
11:45 am – 1:00 pm
Demonstration and Practice
This course is limited to 10 participants.
Learn how to make local and seasonal ingredients as deeply nourishing as possible in a fusion of ancient human wisdom and modern technology. Make your own probiotics with sauerkraut and root and rhizome ferments. Discover how to forage for delicious and nourishing wild foods in your own backyard and test for food safety and sensitivities to plants. Improve the digestibility and immunoregulatory benefits of dairy by making kefir and yogurt. Get to know beneficial fats for human health that support energy production and cell membrane composition while making dressings and mayonnaise from scratch. Sprout seeds to reduce antinutrients and make your own fresh almond milk. And master the detoxification of potatoes to improve flavor and nourishment.
SHANE BRILL (Lifelong Learning Coordinator) is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner who helps individuals address chronic health concerns through targeted food and lifestyle education. With a passion for ecological literacy, his work focuses on the intersection of human vitality and environmental resilience.
Humanities
Mickey Terrone
Wednesdays, September 6 – October 11 (six weeks)
4:15 – 5:30 pm
Lecture/Discussion
Part 1 of this course (Women in the Civil War) will review the factors that thrust women into a social and economic revolution necessitated by the massive numbers of male volunteers and draftees in military service during the war. We’ll consider how women supported the war efforts of both sides and discuss numerous women whose leadership contributions were significant in this process.
Part 2 of the course (The Border South) will take a close look at how the Border South states (Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, Delaware, and Missouri) significantly impacted the strategic, tactical, and political management of the conflict for both sides.
MICKEY TERRONE is a lifelong student of the American Civil War who has taught Civil War courses at Washington College’s Academy of Lifelong Learning, Anne Arundel Community College, and the Chesapeake Forum in Easton. He is a long-time member, officer, and past president of the Civil War Round Table of Washington, DC. He maintains a home library of 500 Civil War books and tapes. He lived in Georgia for over a decade and has traveled extensively throughout the South.
Term 2:
October 15 - December 2
Math, Science, and Technology
Fernando Segade
Mondays, October 16 – November 27 (six weeks)
No class on November 20 for Thanksgiving
4:15 – 5:15 pm
Lecture/Discussion
By the mid-20th century two discoveries came together and opened the new research field of modern molecular genetics: the laws of genetic inheritance explaining how some traits are passed through generations as discrete units; and that those units (the genes) are encoded in a molecule (DNA) present in every cell and capable of duplicating itself. For the first time ever, we may be able to change our genetic endowment, our genome, to cure or even eliminate crippling inborn diseases. But should we? Are there ethical and moral implications that should prevent the use of molecular gene tools? Are “designer babies” just around the corner? This course will explore the current discoveries in genetics to try to expand our understanding of the incoming debate in the following six sessions:
1. Inheritance and Genetics. Introduction to the history of genetics.
2. How Genes Work. How genetic information is decoded from DNA and is used to produce a body trait.
3. The Human Genome. How sequencing the human genome was the milestone of the past century and allowed us to glimpse at how well (and how badly) the genome is built.
4. Ancestry and Forensics. How errors in DNA duplication (mutations) are used in DNA genealogy and in forensics.
5. Gene Therapy and “Designer Babies”. Genetic therapy wants to correct errors in an individual’s DNA by “editing” the code of the appropriate gene. New genome-editing tools may allow this re-coding to be passed to the next generation so to eventually eliminate a genetic defect from the whole human species.
6. Ethical implications. “Designer babies” are for now banned due to medical and ethical considerations. What are the moral implications for parents, societies, and the human species?
FERNANDO SEGADE is a semi-retired molecular biologist and adjunct instructor in Biology at Washington College. Dr. Segade has worked on the genetics of complex diseases and developed genetically modified animals and cellular models of human genetic diseases at Washington University in St. Louis and Wake Forest University.
Math, Science, and Technology/Health and Wellness
Tuesdays, October 17 – November 14 (five weeks)
4:15 – 5:15 pm
Lecture/Discussion
How does our brain keep us alive and motivate us to behave in ways that are healthy (and sometimes not so healthy)? In this course, we will discuss some of the functions of your brain that are less obvious. No prior knowledge of neuroscience or science in general is necessary or expected. The topics covered will be:
Habits and the Brain: Habits help us to deal with the thousands of decisions of everyday life, but we all have struggled to rid ourselves of a bad habit. We will consider how habits influence our daily behavior and then how to rid ourselves of unwanted habits.
Reward, Addiction, and the Brain: Our brain is designed to motivate us to behave in ways that are constructive, but unfortunately, motivational mechanisms can become hijacked and lead to addictions. In this discussion, we will consider how addictions occur, whether all addictions are bad and why addictive behaviors are so resistant to treatment.
The Brain and Internal Regulation: We will examine how our brain regulates the internal environment and consider topics such as anorexia and obesity, food aversions, supertasters, and drugs that control appetite.
Sleep, Dreams, Seasonal Cycles, and the Brain: We spend a third of our lives asleep. Why do we sleep, what happens when we sleep, and why might sleep be elusive for some? Do dreams have special meanings? What are circadian rhythms and why are they important? We will consider the problem of sleep insufficiency.
The Sexual Brain: Our ideas about what it means to be male or female may be in flux. How is biological sex determined? What is the difference between biological sex and gender identity? Is sexual orientation a matter of biology or choice? What does it mean to be intersexed or trans? What is the evolutionary basis of attraction?
GEORGE SPILICH is a behavioral neuroscientist and emeritus professor at Washington College. His research focused on the biological basis of higher order cognitive processes such as memory, attention, and language, and their disruption by damage and disease.
Social Sciences
Patricia Kirby
Thursdays, October 19 – November 9 (four weeks)
4:15 – 5:30 pm
Lecture/Discussion
This course is limited to 20 participants.
Who doesn't want to know about sensational criminal cases, the who done it and why?
This class will begin with a thorough discussion and explanation of the techniques
used by law enforcement when profiling and analyzing murders. From there, we will
select three notorious cases, and use our class periods to determine the psycho-social
aspects of the crime and the persons involved. No textbook required, but strong intellectual
curiosity is a must.
PATRICIA KIRBY began her law enforcement career as a police officer. Armed with a graduate degree, she worked the streets of Baltimore as a street cop and homicide detective. Her career continued into the FBI, first as an agent and then as an FBI profiler. Her doctoral research includes original interviews with male and female serial killers, who chose occupations that provided access to large pools of victims.
Social Sciences/Current Events
Mark Schulman
Fridays, October 20 – November 3 (three weeks)
10:00 – 11:15 am, Virtual Course via Zoom
Lecture/Discussion
This course is limited to 30 participants.
American democracy is under threat according to the latest polling. How divided are we? These sessions will examine the extent of the divide, the underlying causes over time, what public opinion tells us about the threats our democracy faces, and the political impact of our deep partisan polarization. This also includes the uptick in political violence, the rise of hate crimes, and even some loose talk about the possibility of another civil war. What role has the media, particularly social media, played in weakening democracy's fabric? Are we maybe less disunified than the media and polls would have us believe, or not? All readings will be from free open-source non-partisan materials found online. A reading list will be distributed.
MARK SCHULMAN, Ph.D., is an award-winning pollster and policy analyst. He has worked extensively with major news organizations tracking public opinion, political campaigns, analyzing election results, and probing policy issues. He served as Time magazine’s pollster for almost ten years. He also served on the ABC News Election Decision Desk for many years. Schulman was 2002-2003 President of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR). He co-founded one the nation's largest public opinion/survey research firms, SRBI, now part of Abt Associates.
Humanities
Wendy Costa
Wednesdays, October 18 – November 15 (five weeks)
4:15 – 5:30 pm
Lecture/Discussion
Alexis de Tocqueville was a French nobleman who visited the United States in 1830 and wrote a long book about his observations. The book Democracy in America has been in print ever since and has generated countless discussions about change and continuity in American history. This course, through lecture and discussion, will present a snapshot of the country as it was almost 200 years ago and then analyze the author’s comments.
While not required, students are encouraged to read an unabridged version of Democracy in America.
WENDY COSTA has taught three previous WC-ALL courses. She presented a community lecture about Alexis de Tocqueville in Fresno, CA as part of a National Endowment for the Humanities series.
Math, Science, and Technology
Tuesdays, October 17 – November 7 (four weeks)
4:15 – 5:30 pm
Demonstration and Practice
This course is limited to 15 participants.
Many people think that Microsoft Excel is a tool that is only used by businesses. However, it can also be a powerful tool for anyone to use in their daily lives. This class will provide the students with a basic knowledge of Excel functions, templates, and computations. We will also use this knowledge to create spreadsheets to help you do things like manage your money, project your taxes, keep track of your family’s activities/commitments, plan trips, etc.
This class will include exercises using Excel, so students are strongly encouraged (but not required) to bring a personal laptop loaded with Excel.
PAT POOLE worked in the IT department for a large, multi-national corporation for 30 years. During that time she used many different technologies and applications to support her user community, including Microsoft Excel. Because Excel was extensively used by the different organizations she supported, she became proficient at understanding how Excel could be used to tackle a host of requirements. She continues to personally use Excel to make it easier to make sense of the data all of us are faced with in our daily lives.
Social Sciences
Mondays, October 16 – November 6 (four weeks)
4:15 – 5:30 pm
Lecture/Discussion
This course is limited to 20 participants.
This course explores the diverse effects of social relationships on our bodies (physical
health), hearts (mental health), and minds (thinking). We will identify a wide array
of social relations that sustain and inspire us. We will also delve into social isolation
and dysfunction that harm our well-being and common sense. Throughout the course,
we will discuss our personal experiences and life lessons in light of insights from
behavioral science. The classes will be a balanced mix of lecture and discussion.
There are no required readings although the Surgeon General's report on the Epidemic of Isolation is recommended and will be provided as a free download.
The course will begin with a backdrop of the Upswing and Decline of community in the US from 1900-2000. Our current epidemic of social isolation will be charted, including the divergences among demographic groups in 2000-2023. Effects of the shifting social systems on health, including our bodies and brains, will be explored. In this context we will visit the evolutionary origins of society. The roles of social stressors on the emotional life and loneliness of adolescents and adults will be discussed. Further, we address how diverse social contexts impact our mental competencies and accomplishments. Last, we will assess the promise and hazards of the Surgeon General’s proposals for nation-wide community building.
JOHN GUTHRIE has been intrigued by psychology throughout his life. After undergraduate school, he received a doctorate in Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois, emphasizing learning and motivation. He served as a faculty member at the University of Maryland College Park for 23 years, specializing in motivation and engagement among children, adolescents, and adults.
Consciousness Studies
David LaMotte
Wednesdays, October 18 – November 29 (six weeks)
No class on November 22 for Thanksgiving
4:15 – 5:30 pm
Lecture/Discussion and Video
The Near-Death Experience (NDE) phenomenon has been with us for thousands of years. That specific term was coined for us by psychiatrist Raymond Moody in his Life After Life book in 1975. Most of us by now are familiar with the term and some of the stories, but what the research of the last 50 years into this phenomenon now tells us about life and death, consciousness and the brain, and reality itself, should shift our view of each other, of much that we have been taught, of our scientific models, and perhaps of our religious beliefs. How do these findings help us deal with our own mortality, approaching the end of life and the death of loved ones? Perhaps more, how do these strikingly consistent experiences inform us about the very purpose and value of life?
I plan to present video clips of near-death experiencers telling their stories, then summarize the consistent features we hear and discuss their implications. Nothing is more powerful than firsthand experiencer descriptions. These will be reviewed in light of the now considerable research of thousands of accounts. I'll present some brain-mind models now being increasingly embraced in light of this and related research and show how materialist scientific models are no longer sufficient given this and similar phenomenon, as well as discoveries in quantum physics.
DAVID LAMOTTE is the retired president of the LaMotte Chemical Products Company and has been interested in near-death experience and the considerable implications it has for mankind since he first attended a conference on the subject in 2003 with his father, an Episcopal Priest of the same name who taught courses on this subject for WC-ALL for several years in the early 2000's. David leads a local NDE study group that has been meeting monthly since 2006.
Fine and Performing Arts
Beverly Hall Smith
Thursdays, October 19 – November 16 (five weeks)
4:15 – 5:30 pm
Lecture/Discussion
The French Academy of Art, established by Louis XIV in 1648, set the standard for European and American art until the end of the reign of Napoleon III in 1870. With the approval of the French government, prominent artists changed the accepted style from Baroque to Rococo, from Neo-Classicism to Romanticism, and from Realism to Barbizon. These works were and are displayed in the Louvre. Among the academy artists discussed will be LeBrun, Champaigne, Boucher, Fragonard, Bougereau, David, Delacroix, Ingres, Gros, and Courbet. These changes in style and subject matter follow the history of the period which involves the dramatic changes brought on by the whims of the government, the industrial revolution, the French Revolution, and the subsequent chaos in France. We will discuss the paintings and painters against this dramatic background.
No previous art history knowledge is necessary. Everyone is welcome to come, question, comment on, and view some of the world's greatest art.
BEVERLY HALL SMITH is a retired professor of art history and has been teaching courses at WC-ALL and the Institute for Adult Learning since moving to Chestertown in 2014. She also writes a weekly column in the Chestertown Spy titled “Looking at the Masters” that appears each Thursday. Also an artist, she sometimes shows her work at River Arts and paints sets for the Garfield Theater.
Math, Science, and Technology
Dennis Herrmann
Mondays, October 16 – November 27 (six weeks)
No class on November 20 for Thanksgiving
6:30 – 8:00 pm
Lecture/Discussion
This course is limited to 30 participants and will be held at the Kent County High School Planetarium in Worton, MD, which is fully accessible. It will also include some outdoor viewing.
This course is a practical guide for those who wish to know more about the night-time sky as seen from their own backyard. Constellations from every season will be learned and identified, and basics about the celestial sphere and stars will be presented. How to identify planets and explain Moon phases and basic motions of heavenly bodies will be studied. Telescopes will be used to observe the Moon and planets, and the planetarium instrument will be used to present the stars in every season of the year.
DENNIS HERRMANN developed a life-long interest in astronomy at an early age and got his first telescope at the age of 12. Through his 43 years of teaching at Kent County High School he taught Astronomy and Earth/Space Science and coached track and field and cross country. He led and participated in numerous workshops on astronomy at the Air and Space Museum (DC), the Maryland Science Center, and the Mid-Atlantic Planetarium Society. He loves sharing and explaining the night sky to increase understanding and enjoyment of it to folks of all ages.
Health and Wellness
Deborah Reid
Sundays, October 29-November 19
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Demonstration and Practice
This course is limited to 10 participants.
Reiki is a Japanese-based energy healing method that allows self-healing to occur physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. It works through using the electromagnetic energy that is all around and within us. But most importantly, it works through empathy and helps grow your own empathy for yourself and others. Reiki can relieve acute and chronic pain, improve circulation, reduce blood pressure, relieve fever, and speed up wound or injury healing times. Reiki can also reduce stress and provide relief from emotional pain such as grieving, anxiety, and depression while improving mental and emotional clarity.
The first degree of Reiki attunement forms the foundation of your practice by clearing your own energetic system so that Reiki can more easily flow through you. During this four-session class you will learn about the history and origins of Reiki, the basics of the human chakra/energetic system, and how to give Reiki to yourself and others. Following completion of this class with attendance at all 4 sessions, you will receive a certificate of completion as a First-Degree Usui Reiki Ryôhô Provider.
DEBORAH (‘DEB’) REID is a Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a Reiki Master who has been in the medical field and working with energy therapy for over 20 years. After working as a Biochemist, she received a Master's Degree in Nursing from Pace University in 2000 and has worked in Hospice, Family Practice, and Emergency Medicine. While in nursing school, she was trained in Therapeutic Touch and went on to receive training in Usui Reiki Ryôhô and completed her Master level training in 2010. As of December of 2014, she is now a Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner. One of her passions about health and wellness is the concept that our bodies are communicating what they need through symptoms and we just need to learn how to listen. Her goal is to help others find and realize their personal path to wellness through a combination of allopathic and alternative medicine.
Deb lives in Chestertown Maryland with her dog, Clementine, who keeps her busy with walks and snuggle time. She likes to spend her free time outdoors camping, hiking, and canoeing. She also enjoys dancing, quilting and nature photography.
Math, Science, and Technology
Warren Case
Fridays, October 20 – November 10 (four weeks)
4:15 – 5:15 pm
Lecture/Discussion
Students will learn all about space exploration – from its origins and history up to the present day and future trends. We’ll discuss the manned space programs from Mercury to Apollo to the International Space Station. The course will also cover the variety of unmanned satellites, their uses, and how they impact our daily lives and our perspective on our place in the universe. It will present space exploration’s greatest achievements and the toughest challenges encountered along the way. It will describe the rise of space debris and chronicle the rise of space tourism (and when it will become more widely available). The students will be introduced to the locations and roles of the NASA Centers, including practical information if they’d like to visit them in person. They will learn where to go see a launch close-up and when/where to look to see the International Space Station fly over Chestertown. No knowledge of technical concepts is assumed or required. No textbooks or materials are required.
WARREN CASE became fascinated with astronomy and space exploration after watching Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Since then, he has wished to share this excitement with others. His first job after high school was to give planetarium lectures at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, followed by working at the Goddard Visitor Center. He spent the bulk of his career supporting the Space Shuttle’s Spacelab missions (14 years) and the Earth Observing System missions (20+ years). In these roles, he principally served as a liaison between the Goddard operations teams and the outside interfaces (primarily the scientific community). In 2020, he transferred to NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC and began coordinating the operations of approximately 20 earth science missions, some of which are hosted on the International Space Station (ISS) while others are free-flying satellites.
Social Sciences
Bruce Riedel
Tuesdays, October 17 – November 14 (five weeks)
4:15 – 5:15 pm
Lecture/Discussion
On October 6, 1973, Egypt and Syria surprised Israel with military strikes across the Suez Canal and the Golan Heights. Israeli and American intelligence had been completely surprised despite warnings from the region and a remarkable spy in Cairo. At one point the Israelis prepared their nuclear arsenal. As the United States airlifted military equipment to Israel to replace destroyed weapons King Faysal of Saudi Arabia imposed an oil embargo on the United States. Oil prices quadrupled, creating a global recession. When the war was at its peak the Soviet Union threatened to intervene, creating a crisis with Washington. This course will look back fifty years to this seminal moment. It will assess the intelligence failure before the war, the military campaign, the oil weapon, and the aftermath and results of the war.
BRUCE RIEDEL is a Senior Fellow of the Brookings Institution, and Director of its Project on Intelligence. He is the author of eight books and has taught at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies. He retired in 2006 after 30 years’ service in the Central Intelligence Agency. Bruce has been posted to the Middle East and Europe and served eight years in the White House on the staff of the National Security Council; he was awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Career medal. In 2009 President Obama asked him to undertake a review of American policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan. Bruce was educated at Brown University (BA), Harvard University (MA), and the Royal College of Defense Studies in London. He and his wife live in Chestertown, MD.
Social Sciences
Donna Van Dusen
Thursdays, October 19 – November 9 (four weeks)
4:15 – 5:30 pm
Lecture/Discussion
This course is limited to 20 participants.
With advanced age comes the opportunity for extended personal growth. Participants will explore the social, cultural, physical, and psychological challenges of aging as well as practices for enhancing creativity and well-being in later life. Topics include identity, life transitions, ageism, spirituality, and wisdom.
DONNA VAN DUSEN is Professor Emerita at Regis University. Upon retirement after 35 years in higher education, she continued her academic interest in identity and life transitions, focusing this time on the experience of older individuals.
Humanities/Social Sciences
Kathryn Lee
Wednesdays, October 18 – November 15 (five weeks)
4:15 – 5:30 pm
Lecture/Discussion and Video
This course is limited to 25 participants.
This course will look at the first two women on the U. S. Supreme Court, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. When President Ronald Reagan nominated Arizona Court of Appeals Judge O’Connor to the Court in 1981, he fulfilled his campaign promise to nominate the first woman to the Court. When Justice Byron White stepped down in 1993, President Bill Clinton nominated D. C. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The Senate unanimously confirmed Judge O’Connor; the confirmation vote for Judge Ginsburg was 96-3. Obviously, a different era than the present one where we have witnessed bruising confirmation battles. Justice O’Connor retired from the Court in 2005; Justice Ginsburg died of cancer in 2020.
We will look at the personal backgrounds of the two justices, their paths to the Court, and the confirmation process for each one. The jurisprudence of each justice will be examined and key votes and opinions. Regarding Justice O’Connor we will look at some key cases such as Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan (1982), Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), Bush v. Gore (2000), and Grutter v. Bollinger (2003). For Justice Ginsburg, we will look at U.S. v. Virginia (1996), Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (2007), Shelby County v. Holder (2013), and Burwell v. Hobby Lobby (2014), among others.
Along the way, we will ask questions that political scientists ask about women in politics: what difference does it make to have women on the Supreme Court? What challenges do women face to reach the highest court in the ? In the end, does representation matter?
There will be handouts for some class sessions, e.g., excerpts from opinions. There are no required texts, although a bibliography will be distributed.
KATHRYN LEE was a political science professor for 38 years before retiring in 2022. She moved to Chestertown in July 2022 from Spokane, Washington and is professor emerita of political science at Whitworth University. She also taught at Eastern University in St. Davids, PA, and Seattle Pacific University. Her undergraduate degree is from Wake Forest and her Ph.D. is from Johns Hopkins. During graduate school, she would escape to the Eastern Shore. Her first experience with eating blue crabs was at Hopkins. In graduate school, her major subfield in political science was public law; however, over the decades, she taught various courses related to American political institutions and law. Along the way, she also earned a law degree at Temple, thinking she might leave teaching, but then decided teaching is what she genuinely loved. She had summer positions at the Department of Justice in the Equal Education Opportunities Section and the Executive Office for Immigration Review, in the San Diego immigration court. She also clerked for one year for the late Justice Charles Z. Smith of the Washington State Supreme Court. She taught Women in American Politics for many years and has a passionate interest in constitutional issues related to gender equality and women's representation on the bench, especially in the U. S. Supreme Court. Kathryn's father was an economics professor and served in the Nixon and Ford administrations, so she comes by her interest in things political honestly.
Humanities
Katie Aiken Ritter
Thursdays, November 2 – November 16 (three weeks)
4:15 – 5:30 pm
Lecture/Discussion
VIKINGS! Simply say the word, and a flood of mostly negative images arises: ax-wielding brutes sporting long braids and horned helmets. Raiders, rapists, pillagers, destroyers of civilization. But is this fair to the people it characterizes — and if not, is it really important, a thousand years after the era?
In fact, it does matter. By digging a little deeper into the lives and culture of this heterogenous group lumped together as Vikings, we’ll not only gain a richer appreciation of their legacy, we’ll also see how their culture engaged with similar issues as we do: innovation, law, religious conflict, and shrinking resources. As we consider who Vikings were (and weren’t) we’ll engage in some reflection of how historical bias can shape our views in unhelpful ways. In a world of Holocaust deniers, getting the facts right on history offers an important discipline.
And yes . . . we’ll speak of dragons.
KATIE AIKEN RITTER is a graduate of Swarthmore College (and proud to have three family members who attended Washington College). Following a long career in IT, Katie experienced an unsettling epiphany directing her to write about Viking-era people.
She traveled to Iceland for primary research and enjoyed a brief stint as a crew member on the replica longship Draken Harald Hårfagre. She’s the author of The Norse Adventure Series (available on Amazon or via your local library/bookstore), four deeply researched novels set in Iceland during the Viking era. Katie is a member of the Eastern Shore Writers Association, the Historical Novel Society, and leads writing workshops.