Brown Bags
In addition to taking courses, members have an opportunity to attend a series of nearly 40 mid-day Brown Bag presentations on a broad range of topics. Members will be notified about specific dates and locations of these presentations one month before each event. You may register once you receive notice of the dates from our office.
Please feel free to bring your own brown bag lunch. To see descriptions of presentations for the upcoming months, click on the titles below.
Spring 2012
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Emergency Medicine in Bhutan
Day: Thursday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: February 9, 2012 Location: Hingham Public Library Facilitator: Ben Kerman Description: Bhutan, a small Himalayan country, is the only Vajrayana Buddhist nation in the world. This beautiful land is called "The Last Shangri La" where they measure the GDP by the happiness of the people. This presentation will discuss public health indicators in Bhutan, the Bhutanese Health System, and general qualities of medicine and organizations in the developing world. We will also examine ways to assess value in developing world systems and look at some case presentations.
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One Man Finds His Place: Scenes from a Life in Middle Age
Day: Thursday Time: 11:35 a.m. - 1p.m. Dates: February 16, 2012 Location: McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A, UMass Boston Campus Facilitator: Judah Leblang Description: This brown bag presentation will build on a previous talk given in fall 2011. It will include humorous and more serious stories about aging and dealing with times when life “did not go according to my plans!” Several pieces will be performed from Judah Leblang’s one-man show, Finding my Place: One Man’s Journey through the Middle
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Gay Men Coming Out Stories
Day: Monday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: March 5, 2012 Location: McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A, UMass Boston Campus Facilitator: Ed Ford Description: A panel of gay men from Stonewall LGBT Special Interest Group will talk about their coming out experiences, starting from their earliest awareness of having attractions to men, and the issues and implications of concealment, shame and social reaction to their sexual orientation. They will discuss the gay social and political scene then and how that has changed up to the present time. They will also talk about their current lives and relationships as older gay men.
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Travel to China: From Preparation to Immersion (offered at the Hingham Public Library)
Day: Thursday Time: 11:15 - 12:30 p.m. Dates: March 8, 2012 Location: Hingham Public Library, 66 Leavitt Street, Hingham Facilitator: Richard Ferland Description: For anyone with a curiosity about travel to China or who is considering a trip to China for business or pleasure, the presenter’s extensive experience in China gives him an insider’s view of the culture, values and sights. Through a slide-lecture you will learn about preparing for a trip and what to expect once you are “in-country.” You’ll learn about vital resources, how a tiny bit of the language can go a long way, how to stay in touch via technology, and what to expect while in China.
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A Brief History of Chinese American Immigration to New England
Day: Friday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Dates: March 9, 2012 Location: McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A, UMass Boston Campus Facilitator: Nancy Eng Description: Drawing upon historic photographs and resources from the Chinese Historical Society of New England's collection, this presentation will focus on three groups of Chinese Americans: merchants, students, and laborers who immigrated to the US from 1870 through 1965.
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Introduction to Biomimicry
Day: Monday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Dates: March 12, 2012 Location: McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A, UMass Boston Campus Facilitator: Anamarija Frankic Description: Biomimicry is a new discipline that studies nature’s best ideas and then imitates these designs and professes to solve human problems. Biomimicry asks the question: What would nature do? The goal is to create sustainable products, processes and policies by learning from and listening to nature, the wisdom held in geological and ecological systems that has been evolving over the past 3.8 billion years. Animals, plants and microbes are consummate engineers: They have found what works, what is efficient and most importantly, what is sustainable. In this presentation, participants’ questions will be answered through the class’s interaction with the materials.
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Before Israel: The Jews Who Were ‘Always There.’
Day: Thursday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Dates: March 15, 2012 Location: Healey Library, 11th Floor, Room 0011B, UMass Boston campus Facilitator: Linda Dittmar Description: The very vagueness of this title reflects the complexities of its topic. What does ‘there’ mean and was that land continuously, ‘always,’ inhabited by Jews? If yes, where did they live and how? What was their relationship to their neighbors? How did this community change over time in response to both local conditions and events in the diaspora? This talk will survey that history, with special emphasis on the Jewish population in that land in the 19th into the 20th centuries, when their numbers grew substantially.
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A Fresh Look at the Transsexual/Transgender Phenomenon
Day: Monday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Dates: March 19, 2012 Location: McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A, UMass Boston Campus Facilitator: Dr. Laura Godtfredsen Description: In the wake of legislation enhancing the rights of transsexuals and transgendered people, many are unclear about this phenomenon. Is it psychological or physiological? Is it the result of nature of nurture? And how do these people differ from gays and lesbians? This brown bag will provide a view on this phenomenon that may surprise gays, lesbians, and heterosexuals. How prevalent are male to female and female to male transsexuals in society? The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association has determined that “gender dysphoria is a mental disorder but that homosexuality is not.” Questions and hopefully some answers will follow.
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LGBT Grandparents: A Panel Discussion by Grandparents
Day: Tuesday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Dates: March 20, 2012 Location: McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A, UMass Boston Campus Facilitator: Alice Fisher Description: We are people known to have invented our lives, and now we are doing so as grandparents. Each panelist will tell the story of his or her experience as a grandparent. We will discuss our role models and how we differ from previous generations of grandparents.
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A New View of the Post-Separation Family
Day: Wednesday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Dates: March 21, 2012 Location: McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A, UMass Boston Campus Facilitator: Judy Osborne Description: Parents of one million children in the United States separate each year. This presentation explores how the concept of family has changed over the second half of the 20th century, and gives an introduction to the life of separated parents who live under the radar of media attention. We will look at how families with young children untangled in the 70s, rearranged through the 80s and 90s, and how many separated parents have learned to see each other as kin and become partners again in raising children. We will consider how new language can set the stage for more productive relationships, and for keeping children at the center of the web of family. This program is based on research for the book, Wisdom for Separated Parents: Rearranging Around the Children to Keep Kinship Strong, which tells the stories of straight and gay parents who have found new ways of respecting and looking at each other.
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What Happens in Superior Court and Why Should We Care?
Day: Thursday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Dates: March 22, 2012 Location: McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A, UMass Boston Campus Facilitator: Loretta S. O’Brien Description: The variety of cases that the Superior Court of Massachusetts has jurisdiction over is large and complex. When a person is placed on probation for a Superior Court crime, the dispositions are numerous. The war stories from this Court are both hilarious and poignant.
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AARP: Reaching out with Advocacy, Information & Community Service
Day: Monday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Dates: March 26, 2012 Location: McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A, UMass Boston Campus Facilitator: Kara Cohen Description: AARP is a social change organization, with a membership of 37 million people nationally and 800,000 in Massachusetts. Learn about what the organization offers in terms of volunteer opportunities, publications and advocacy. Volunteers help people maintain their independence and provide the opportunity for people to live their best lives. Information and resources are available on a vast array of topics that address financial security and health. Advocacy work in 2012 will focus on voter education leading up to the November election, and will also engage the country in a conversation about Social Security & Medicare.
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The Life and Legacy of Isabella Stewart Gardner
Day: Tuesday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: March 27, 2012 Location: McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Ryan Lounge, UMass Boston campus Facilitator: Maureen Cotton Description: Isabella Stewart Gardner remains a woman of intrigue in Boston, as she was in her own Victorian time. She was one of the first American women to travel to the Far East, the first great American Art Collector, and the only person to ever wear a head band reading ”Go Sox” to the Boston Symphony Orchestra. A devoted patron of the arts, a philanthropist, and an all-around rabble-rouser, Mrs. Gardner amassed and installed a world-class art collection (the first of its kind in the US) on a relatively modest budget. Come learn about this fearless woman, her accomplishments, and her lasting legacy. Additionally we will use the fortuitous timing to share views on the new entrance to the Gardner Museum and how it effects Mrs. Gardner's legacy. If possible please visit the museum before this talk!
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Philip Hale: Boston’s Consummate Critic
Day: Wednesday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Dates: March 28, 2012 Location: Healey Library, 11th Floor, Room 0011A, UMass Boston campus Facilitator: Jon Ceander Mitchell Description: A century ago, Philip Hale (1854-1934) was recognized as one of America’s greatest music critics. A native of Vermont, he studied law at Yale University and was admitted to the bar in 1880. He studied organ with Dudley Buck before crossing the Atlantic in 1882 for a five-year sojourn featuring organ studies with Carl August Haupt in Berlin, and composition with Alexandre Guilmant in Paris and Josef Rheinberger in Munich. Returning to America, he became music critic for several periodicals, including Boston Home Journal, Boston Post, Boston Journal, the Boston Musical Record and Boston Herald, where he doubled as drama critic. Hale wrote more than 1,000 program notes for the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1901 to 1933, and covered quite a variety of performances, from the BSO, to opera, to Harry Houdini! This presentation explores Hale’s phenomenal 44-year career as a Boston music critic, including excerpts of many of his humorous and often trenchant remarks. We will enjoy some recorded excerpts as well.
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Women & Investing ( offered at the Hingham Public Library)
Day: Thursday Time: 11:35 a.m. - 1p.m. Dates: March 29, 2012 Location: Hingham Public Library, 66 Leavitt Street, Hingham Facilitator: Barbara Case Description: This is an educational program designed for women who require a better understanding of financial terms and approach. This session will give participants an overview of the importance of financial planning in simple language. Topics will include asset classes, asset allocation, risk tolerance and the impact of the economy on investment portfolios.
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First Ladies of the Civil War (offered at the Hingham Public Library)
Day: Tuesday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: April 3, 2012 Location: Hingham Public Library, 66 Leavitt Street, Hingham Facilitator: Gary L. Hylander Description: As a nation, we are marking the sesquicentennial of the outbreak of the War between the States in April, 1861. Join us as we discuss the Civil War experiences of Varina Davis and Mary Lincoln. A supporter of slavery but also a Unionist, Mrs. Davis never felt at ease in the Confederate Capital of Richmond. Mrs. Lincoln, a volatile and sharp-tongued woman, was suspected of being a Confederate sympathizer and viewed as a frontier hayseed by Washington socialites. At the close of the war, Mrs. Davis campaigned to free her husband from prison while Mrs. Lincoln endured the public embarrassment of having her insanity trials spread across the front pages of American newspapers.
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Good Poems with Lunch
Day: Wednesday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m Dates: April 4, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A Facilitator: Bill Valentine and the Good Poems Poets from his Good Poems OLLI course. Description: April is National Poetry Month! The Good Poems Poets will read poems by some of their favorite American poets. They will also read some of their own poetry. Participants will learn how a poem is like a “message hidden in a bottle,” and the session will end with a writing exercise that will allow each participant to craft his or her own poem. Bring a brown bag lunch, some paper, a writing tool, and your love for language. We will enjoy poetry with our lunch.
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Mozambique: Portuguese and African Culture Blend in Southern Africa (the video Conference presentation originates from UMass Boston to Cordage Park, Plymouth and Hingham Public Library)
Day: Thursday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: April 5, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, Healey Library, Lower Level (LL), Presentation Room 3), videoconferenced to Cordage Park, Plymouth and Hingham Public Library) Facilitator: Barry Pell Description: After decades of warfare in the struggle for independence from Portugal and then civil war, Mozambique is now preparing to celebrate 20 years of political stability and economic growth. The country is startlingly beautiful, with stately colonial buildings, a sublime 1,500 mile coastline, remote archipelagos, and fascinating cultures. Mr. Pell visited Mozambique this past winter, covering its length from the capital, Maputo, in the south, to Lago Niassa, hemmed in by the dramatic mountains of the Rift Valley, in the north. With his photography, he will discuss the country’s history and people, and show why tourists are rapidly rediscovering this corner of the African continent.
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A Political Scientist Views the Two-Party System and the 2012 Presidential Election
Day: Monday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: April 9, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Ryan Lounge Facilitator: Charles Cnudde Description: Let's discuss challenges to the two-party system and the 2012 Presidential election, including, among others, the following: the rise of the Tea Party movement, the rise of the Occupy Wall Street movement, the increase in ideology in Congressional log-jams, the growth of the importance of primaries in our elections, the growth of numbers of voters who identify as Independents, and the importance of TV in campaigns.
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A Brief History of the Evolution of Boston Harbor
Day: Wednesday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: April 11, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A Facilitator: Michael H. Cunningham Description: This presentation discusses how Boston Harbor has evolved from Colonial-day America to the present. Emphasis will be on how shipping in particular, and all its supporting elements, have changed (and sometimes remained the same) over the last 200 plus years. The role of harbor pilots, tugs, ship agents, ship chandlers, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Customs will be discussed in detail. Also, how and why ships entered the harbor will be revealed. Lastly, the demise of the harbor as a first-class port of entry will be discussed at length.
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Four Steps to Stress Management
Day: Thursday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: April 12, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A Facilitator: Peg Carpenter Description: This presentation explains four easy strategies to reduce daily stress: diaphragmatic or abdominal breathing: mindfulness and present-moment awareness; visualization; and brief combination techniques. We will try each technique and discuss your questions and ideas.
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What is an Education for Social Justice? (Part 2)
Day: Tuesday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: April 17, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A Facilitator: Marilyn Frankenstein Description: The presenter believes that academic studies should be about getting outraged. In other words, finding out what’s going on and focusing that outrage into actions/reflections that move us, peacefully, but forcefully, in the direction of more justice. From her reflections on 30+ years of teaching quantitative reasoning for social justice, she has developed proposals for ideas she believes should underlie all education, inside or outside particular institutions―ideas that are important in all teaching to make everyone feel included in academic and political life, and to develop a commitment to social justice. Part 1 of this series focused on respecting students’ knowledge, and Part 2 will emphasize teaching (lots of) content knowledge. It is not necessary to have attended Part 1.
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The History and Evolution of Hip Hop Dance
Day: Wednesday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: April 18, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A Facilitator: Sharon Montella Description: This presentation begins with a lecture focusing on Hip Hop dance with a brief discussion of its musical history. Following that is a screening of the short Hip Hop film “The Freshest Kids.” We finish up with a demonstration and teaching of a few, basic Hip Hop steps.
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Exploring Social Media
Day: Thursday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: April 19, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A Facilitator: Anya Weber Description: "Social media" and "social networking" are trendy terms, but what do they really mean? In this presentation, we'll look at several websites that help people connect with friends, family, colleagues, and strangers who share their interests. We'll examine the benefits, and risks of joining Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. How can these websites be useful and fun - not just a time waster? What do you need to know about privacy? What's safe to post online, and what should you keep to yourself? The presentation will offer specific examples of how to get the most from social networking sites. We'll also have time for your questions about making social media work for you.
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When Parents and Families Learn That a Child is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, or Transgender
Day: Monday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: April 23, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A Facilitator: Pam Garramone Description: Given the increasing number of children identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, or transgender, more parents and families than ever before are asked to accept a child’s non-conforming sexual orientation or cross-gender identity. Pam Garramore, M.Ed., executive Director of Greater Boston PFLAG, will talk about coming out and the process of the family acceptance with emphasis on the reactions and struggles of parents and families. Addressed will be emotional and physical safety issues of LGBT youth in schools with emphasis on advocacy and service.
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Reforming Boston Schools, 1930 to the Present (at Hingham Public Library)
Day: Tuesday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: April 24, 2012 Location: Hingham Public Library, 66 Leavitt Street, Hingham Facilitator: Joe Cronin Description: Boston schools in 2006 won the Eli Broad Prize for “Most Improved Urban School System.” But since the 1940s Boston school critics called for drastic changes in governance, staffing, instruction and decision-making, and in each decade the reform focus changed. In the 1960s black parents sought racial integration and teachers won the right to bargain for wages and working conditions. In the 1970s a federal judge ordered desegregation and new laws protected bilingual and handicapped children. In the 1980s corporations asked for school-based management and a compact with employers. In the 1990s Boston got an appointed school board and Controlled Choice. In the new century, foundations and the “feds” called for smaller schools, higher test scores, and charter schools. This presentation is based on the research done for Joe Cronin’s book, Reforming Boston Schools from the 1930s to the Present.
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Practicing Safer Web Browsing
Day: Wednesday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: April 25, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A Facilitator: Ramakrishna Ayyagari Description: Information security and privacy have become one of the main concerns in today’s networked world. As technology defenses improve (anti-virus, anti-spyware etc.) attackers are targeting unaware individuals―referred to as ‘social engineering.’ For example, how unsafe is it to just click on a web link or to install an active-x-control? The goal of this proposed session is to increase awareness into issues of ‘social engineering.’ This is achieved by illustrating demonstrations of some social engineering attacks. Then, we will open the floor for questions.
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Tibet and Nepal: Spiritual People of the Himalayas (the video Conference presentation originates from UMass Boston to Cordage Park, Plymouth and Hingham Public Library)
Day: Thursday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: April 26, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, Healey Library, Lower Level (LL), Presentation Room 3, (videoconferenced to Cordage Park, Plymouth and Hingham Public Library) Facilitator: Barry Pell Description: Tibet and Nepal are lands of ancient history. Nestled adjacent to each other in the Himalayas, they share much in common in the challenges of their topography and the preservation of their national identities squeezed between the enormous powers of China and India. In this presentation, based on the lecturer’s travels across the region, we will explore these remote lands focusing on their natural beauty, unique architecture, and the religions that influence so much of daily life and customs. The talk will also discuss how historic events and the traditional spirituality of the people relate to current political events occurring in both countries.
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Gender Variant: The Process of Family Struggle and Acceptance
Day: Monday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: April 30, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A Facilitator: Melissa MacNish Description: Melissa MacNish, a licensed mental health clinician who specializes in working with transgender and gender variant youth, will address gender identity development and define a variety of different gender identities. Highlighted will be the conflicts and struggles of families following disclosure of a child’s/adolescent’s/young adult’s transgender or gender nonconforming identity, with emphasis on the process of family acceptance. Four themes related to the family adjustment process following disclosure will be discussed including constructing meaning, support, flexibility and stability, and sensitive communication.
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The Aging Eye
Day: Tuesday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: May 1, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A Facilitator: Dr. Ellen Gilman Description: This presentation will be an overview of the most common eye conditions which can accompany aging. We will answer that old question “Why are my arms suddenly short?” and there will be brief discussions of cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration, their symptoms, causes, treatment, and possible prevention.
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Rwandan Genocide Survivors: When Hate Persists, How Will You Coexist?
Day: Thursday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: May 3, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A Facilitator: Adam Mazo Description: Rwandan victims, perpetrators, and bystanders featured in the 40-minute documentary film Coexist face this question every day, as Rwanda’s government releases tens of thousands of prisoners who participated in the 1994 genocide of Tutsi and moderate Hutu. Most released prisoners return to the villages where they once terrorized and slaughtered their neighbors. Join Adam Mazo, the maker of this film, for a viewing and discussion of the Rwandan government’s social experiment of “forced reconciliation” in which killers and survivors are strongly encouraged to meet in workshops, seminars, and healing groups to face each other, and share stories and perspectives. The film explores whether these interactions contribute to peaceful coexistence and begins a process of re-humanization. It also looks at the different responses of victims, from those who see forgiveness as the only way to survive, to those who are unwilling and unable to forgive. Viewers come away asking questions about the role of colonial powers in exacerbating social differences, why people obey authority, and the different definitions of reconciliation.
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The Wonder that was India (offered at Cordage Park, Plymouth)
Day: Friday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: May 4, 2012 Location: 36 Cordage Park Circle in Plymouth, Building #3, Suite #201 Facilitator: Richard Pierce Description: This class is a basic introduction to the oldest major religious tradition of the western world: the religious life emerging from the interactions of the early inhabitants of India, the citizens of Indus, and “our” ancestors, the “Indo-Europeans,” whose lands and language stretched from the Persian Empire to Ireland, “Iran” to “Eireann,” and who are a primary source of our languages, everyday speech, and culture. Richard Pierce is not an expert in ancient India, but he is an admiring and respectful student of its religions - his teacher of India was Ainslee Embree of Columbia University.
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Who Is That 80-Year Old Man Standing On One Leg?
Day: Monday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: May 7, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A Facilitator: Boston Bill Himelhoch Description: Bill has been able to stand on one leg since he went to yoga camp many decades ago—but what about learning a new skill late in life? That is a challenge. In this brown bag presentation, Boston Bill will talk about his personal journey in learning the craft of writing a novel. He will read an excerpt from his novel-in-progress, Forbidden Eroticism in the Broadleaf-Reed Culture.
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What’s Going On? Making Sense of the Presidential Race
Day: Wednesday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: May 9, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Ryan Lounge Facilitator: Paul Watanabe Description: Every four years the nation focuses on the election of “the most powerful person on the planet.” 2012 will determine President Obama’s fate: four more years or a one- term rebuke. This session will provide ample opportunity for participants to ask questions, get some answers from a long-time observer of presidential politics, and to engage in some give and take in the heat of the election battle.
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Sappho's Fire
Day: Monday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Dates: May 14, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204 Facilitator: Shifting Visions Films Education Project Description: Sappho’s Fire, a film, explores lesbian communities and addresses what aging signifies for older lesbians. In the film are stories of women whose family members struggled with their coming out, tales of discrimination, the emergence of lesbian identities during the women’s movement of the early 70’s and general concerns about growing older. Glimpses into the everyday of the various characters (and they are characters) provides a rich landscape of emotion ranging from the drama of child custody struggles to the warmth of acceptance (albeit tacit) as time passed and the times changed. The film-makers have used incite and empathy in crafting a film that offers an understanding of the journey that all of us travel and the ways a woman may, with hope and courage, confront the issues of aging. Alexia Kosmider and Deborah Monuteaux have artfully portrayed the stories of these women in a way that captures the heart of their stories and their enduring spirit.
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Getting Ready to Sell Your Home? The ABCs of Home Staging
Day: Tuesday Time: 11:35 a.m. - 1 p.m. Dates: May 15, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, Healey Library, 11th Floor, Room 0011B Facilitator: Barbara Graceffa Description: Interior decorator Barbara Graceffa offers some sensible tips for selling your home in record time. She’ll offer smart ideas on “curb appeal” and interior spruce-ups so that your home shows well to a wide audience of potential buyers. Many of the tips are inexpensive and some are even free to implement. Q/A will allow you to present your challenges and get sound advice on de-cluttering, decorating, and staging.
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Important Issues Surrounding Estate Planning: You, Your Family and Your Philanthropy
Day: Wednesday Time: 11:35 a.m. - 1 p.m. Dates: May 16, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A Facilitator: Carolyn Flynn Description: This presentation is designed to discuss the basics of estate planning and philanthropic giving. You will learn what documents are essential and why; various ways to provide for your charities (bequests, IRAs, life insurance, gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts); and questions you should be asking yourself as you plan your estate and accomplish your philanthropic goals. This course will also provide you with some sample documents and informational pamphlets.
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The Euro Crisis: What Does It Mean?
Day: Thursday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: May 17, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, Healey Library, 11th Floor, Room 0011B Facilitator: Robert Weiner Description: Seventeen out of 27 European countries are members of the Euro zone of the European Union. The “Euro crisis,” which began with the inability of some of the poorer members of the European Union to pay their external debt, has now spread to core members of the EU, such as Italy, as France and Germany struggle to come up with a solution to the crisis. What does this mean for the future of the European Union, as well as relations between the EU and the US?
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Mother-Talk: Conversations with Mothers of Lesbian Daughters and FTM Transgender Children
Day: Monday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: May 21, 2012 Location: Umass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A Facilitator: Sarah F. Pearlman Description: Sarah Pearlman will read sections and discuss her book Mother Talk: Conversation with Mothers of Lesbian Daughters and FTM Transgender Children to be published by Demeter Press. Based on interviews of 24 mothers, Mother Talk captures what it is like to be the mother of a lesbian daughter, or FTM trans child, taking its readers into the lives of these women as they speak of complexities of the mother-daughter relationship, their experience of coming to terms with gay daughter, or a child who is changing sex— and overcoming shame and self-consciousness in their fierce determination to remain connected.
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Seasonality: What to Eat When
Day: Wednesday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: May 23, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A Facilitator: Genevieve Forde Description: Join us as we highlight spring and early summer fruits and veggies. Learn what to do with some lesser known ingredients, and ways to preserve your harvest.
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Boston's Downtown Movie Palaces (at Hingham Public Library)
Day: Thursday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: May 24, 2012 Location: Hingham Public Library Facilitator: Ron Goodman Description: Part of Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series, Boston’s Downtown Movie Palaces is an illustrated history of the city’s major role in the development of the film industry. It also celebrates the magnificent movie theaters that have drawn people here since the late 1800s. Through more than 200 compelling images and fascinating stories, it takes us back to the glory days of movie going in the city and describes how most of Boston’s great movie palaces and theaters were saved and restored.
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Reforming Boston Schools, 1930 to the Present
Day: Wednesday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: May 30, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204A Facilitator: Joe Cronin Description: Boston schools in 2006 won the Eli Broad Prize for “Most Improved Urban School System.” But since the 1940s Boston school critics called for drastic changes in governance, staffing, instruction and decision-making, and in each decade the reform focus changed. In the 1960s black parents sought racial integration and teachers won the right to bargain for wages and working conditions. In the 1970s a federal judge ordered desegregation and new laws protected bilingual and handicapped children. In the 1980s corporations asked for school-based management and a compact with employers. In the 1990s Boston got an appointed school board and Controlled Choice. In the new century, foundations and the “feds” called for smaller schools, higher test scores, and charter schools. This presentation is based on the research done for Joe Cronin’s book, Reforming Boston Schools from the 1930s to the Present.
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Mary Surrat: Assassin’s Accomplice
Day: Thursday Time: 11:35 a.m.-1 p.m. Dates: May 31, 2012 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Ryan Lounge Facilitator: Gary L. Hylander Description: Mary Surratt remains a little known participant in the plot to murder Abraham Lincoln. A Confederate sympathizer, Surratt ran the boarding house where the conspirators et to plan Lincoln’s assassination. Convicted by a military tribunal of murder, Surratt became the first woman ever to be executed by the Federal government. President Andrew Johnson refused to consider clemency, “after all, “ he said, she was the woman who “kept the nest that hatched the egg.” Join us as we explore the motives, personalities, and events that triggered the greatest manhunt in American history.
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"Promises Fulfilled": Old and New Testament Parallels in Art and Literature
Day: Time: Dates: TO BE ANNOUNCED Location: UMass Boston Campus, specific room will be announced Facilitator: Dr. Chris Harding Description: Many people have heard about the interconnection between the Bible’s Old Testament (OT) and New Testament (NT), but are not clear on the relationship. This introduction is for all (including those with little or no knowledge of the Bible) to Biblical typology, the study of how OT persons and actions prefigure or foreshadow NT persons and actions. The NT itself points out such parallels. The theory derived from roots in Greek literature was at its most influential in the High Middle Ages, remaining popular after the Protestant Reformation. Typology was very frequently expressed in art; many typological pairings are found in sculpture on cathedrals and churches, and other media. Popular works expounding typological couplings were among common books of the late Middle Ages. This presentation considers typology from a literary/artistic rather than a specifically religious point of view. Many Christian scholars have emphasized the importance of the link between these two collections of books; “Ignorance of [Hebrew] Scripture is ignorance of Christ” (St. Jerome); “The New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old is unveiled in the New" (St. Augustine). If you have a Bible, please bring it along!
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Hidden (and Not So Hidden) Venice
Day: Time: Dates: TO BE ANNOUNCED Location: UMass Boston Campus, specific room will be announced Facilitator: Sandra Kohler and Walt Hagenbuch Description: How can you visit Venice without being engulfed in its masses of tourists and in turn becoming one of them? How can you see this extraordinarily beautiful city and its riches without standing for hours on long lines, paying too much for poor quality hotels and restaurants, or never getting deeper into its life than the hordes of day-trippers? With anecdotes, advice and photographs, the presenters will be your guides to experiencing Venice as traveler not tourist, discovering both the world of ordinary Venetians, and the unsung, not overcrowded treasures of art, architecture and music that the city offers.
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The Boston Mob Guide
Day: Time: Dates: TO BE ANNOUNCED Location: UMass Boston Campus (specific room will be announced). Facilitator: Stephanie Schorow and Beverly Ford Description: From gunmen to gangsters, from mob to Mafia, organized crime has left a mark on Boston, reaching back to the beginning of the last century to the recent capture of notorious mobster James “Whitey” Bulger. Two veteran journalists untangle the threads of Boston’s mob history in a multi-media presentation that covers the beginnings of organized crime in the 19th century to the current status of today’s wise guys. Based on their book, The Boston Mob Guide: Hit Men, Hoodlums & Hideouts, published by the History Press, Beverly Ford and Stephanie Schorow discuss the wiles of Whitey Bulger, the murderous rages of Joe “The Animal” Barboza and the double dealings of Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi. Using dramatic photos and diagrams, they travel back to Prohibition with the story of bootlegger Charles “King” Solomon and the murderous standoff between the Irish Gustin Gang and the emerging North End Mafia. They also look at the complicated Irish mob wars of the 1960s and 1970s, which left a trail of bodies in Charlestown and Winter Hill, Somerville. While Boston’s gangsters are undeniably fascinating, Ford and Schorow never glamorize their subjects and never lose sight of the horrendous cost of violence on innocent victims.
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Why Every Adult Should Do Resistance Exercise
Day: Time: Dates: TO BE ANNOUNCED Location: UMass Boston Campus (specific room will be announced). Facilitator: Wayne L. Westcott, Ph.D. Description: Men and women who do not perform regular resistance exercise lose approximately 6 pounds of muscle every decade of adult life. This leads to a 3 percent reduction in resting metabolic rate and a 16 pound per decade increase in body fat. Muscle loss is associated with many health problems, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, arthritis and low back pain. In addition to rebuilding muscle and recharging metabolism, resistance exercise reduces the risk of experiencing these medical conditions. Sensible strength training reduces resting blood pressure, improves blood lipid profiles, increases gastrointestinal transit speed, and enhances all areas of physical function. Learn how to effectively attain these health benefits through a safe and efficient program of resistance training.
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Frederick Law Olmsted & the Massachusetts Legacy
Day: Time: Dates: TO BE ANNOUNCED Location: UMass Boston Campus (specific room will be announced). Facilitator: Alan Banks Description: The firm Frederick Law Olmsted founded over a century ago was involved in over 1,200 landscape architecture projects throughout Massachusetts, ranging from expansive 500-acre public parks to intimate private gardens. One of its greatest achievements is a six-mile "emerald necklace" of ponds, parks, and parkways that winds its way through Boston. The one-hour slide lecture will sample this rich landscape legacy and explore the ideas that shaped some of the most treasured lands in Massachusetts.
