The Academy for Lifelong Learning (ALL) at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) always offers diverse courses, discussions, and events that explore fascinating topics, teach you something new, or simply make you think. The organization’s 2014 Spring Semester, which runs from April through June, is no exception. This season’s roster features topics ranging from Lincoln’s speeches and climate change to science and religion, boating, and the history of newspapers.
ALL’s Spring Social kicks off the season on April 10 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at the Van Lennep Auditorium in the Steamship Gallery on the CBMM campus in St. Michaels, Md. Everyone interested in learning and meeting new people is welcome.
The following courses begin in April:
Stan Martin will lead Climate Change: Is it Real?, Tuesdays, April 15 and 22, 11:00 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. This course, a sequel to the ALL class presented two years ago, attempts to clear any remaining doubts about the threat of climate change to our planet.
Led by instructor Jerry Friedman, Boating Essentials for the First Mate, will be offered on Tuesdays, April 15-May 6 from 9:00-10:30 a.m. Geared for the often less-knowledgeable first mate, the course’s topics include reading charts, plotting courses, anchoring, knot tying, maneuvering, what to do if the captain becomes disabled, and more.
In European History: From City-State to Nation-State, Bob Springer will trace the development of government from the Greek city-states to the modern nation-state, including the different forms of government and the influence of religion, economic pressures, ethnic differences, and different political and social theories. Mondays, April 21-May 19, 1:00-2:30 p.m.
Scientists often think of religion as nothing more than out-of-date ways of thinking about the world; religious believers think of science as the enemy of truth. Is either side right? Or is the debate missing the realities of both science and religion? In When Science Meets Religion, Sam Barnett will explore the sometimes checkered history of this relationship. Mondays, April 28-May 19, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
In Lincoln: His Greatest Speeches, John Ford and Robert Lonergan will examine four speeches, which express Lincoln’s evolving grasp of our young republic’s monumental problems before and during the Civil War, as well as his efforts to garner support for his solutions. Wednesdays, April 23-May 14 from 1:30-3:00 p.m.
Stephen A. Goldman will explore seven centuries of world history through historical newspapers from the 15th century to now in Extra! Extra! Read all About It! Participants will learn about the evolution of the newspaper from its early written form to the contemporary format. Wednesdays, April 23-May 7, 11:00-noon.
In Genesis 1-11: The Real Story Behind the Story, Rabbi Peter E. Hyman and Bishop Joel Marcus Johnson will explore the chapters as literature, as well as explaining their importance to the emerging Israelite people as a theological statement that set them apart from the other cultures of their time. Wednesdays, from April 23-May 14, 10:30 a.m.-noon.
ALL’s Sheldon Goldgeier Lecture Series hosts authors with links to our community. This season Dr. Fran White, author of Family Secrets: A Journey of Good and Evil, will discuss the development of racism in society in The Pain of Racism, on Monday, April 14 from 10:00-11:00 a.m. Other single-session events in April include Mike Henry’s A Real Field Trip:/Easton Newman Field at the Easton Airport on April 14 from 10:00 a.m.-noon, and a tour of the Marine Engineers Benevolent Association (MEBA) training facility, Tuesday, April 29, 10:00 a.m.-noon, followed by lunch.
Classes beginning in May and June include: Could the Civil War Have Been Prevented? with Larry Denton; Mathematics: The Human Journey from the Concrete to the Abstract with Ron Lesher; Digital Photography for Beginners; Intermediate Digital Photography with Wilson Wyatt, Kate Mann, and Robert Lippson; King Coal Conquers the Chesapeake: Changing the Balance of the Bay with Philip Hesser; Book Club: A Reliable Wife with Margot Miller and Esty Collet; The Artist’s Way with Diane Thomas Mitchell; Intermediate Digital Photography with Wilson Wyatt and Kate Mann; A Case for Integrating Native Plants in Traditional Gardens with Julie Lowe; and another visit to Easton/Newman Field with Mike Henry.
Affiliated with the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Md., the Academy for Lifelong Learning is a non-profit, volunteer-run organization committed to exploring ideas, exchanging knowledge and sharing experiences. To learn more about these programs, to obtain a catalog for the full Spring Semester or to register for courses, please call 410-745-4941 or go to https://www.cbmm.org/all.
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