Honey bees, local mosquitoes, upcoming plays, radical Islam and the Horowitz piano are some of the topics in the fall lineup of free Thursday lectures at Fort Lewis College.
The FLC Life-long Learning series begins at 7 p.m. Sept. 10, in 130 Noble Hall. Every Thursday thereafter, before Thanksgiving, a different topic will be discussed. Co-sponsored by the Office of the President and the Professional Associates, the series is a free town-gown collaboration modeled on life-long learning programs across the country.
“Answering Your Questions about Autism” will launch a community discussion about Temple Grandin’s book Thinking in Pictures: A Life with Autism. Grandin’s book is this year’s selection for the college’s annual Common Reading Experience. Grandin will speak on campus Sept. 30 at Whalen Gymnasium. Check the college website for details.
The Sept. 10 presentation will focus on the complexities of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Given by Marcy Lawrence and Andrea Bogle, two local professionals who lead programs for exceptional students, the evening will launch a semester of related presentations about autism.
Each Life-long Learning program lasts about one hour with 30 minutes for questions and discussion. The fall program continues with:
Sept. 17: “La Plata County Mosquitoes: Philosophy and Practices of Abatement,” by Joe Kuefler, manager, Animas Mosquito Control district.
Sept. 24: “New Caledonia: Scotland’s Failed Colony in Panama, 1698-1700,” by Julie Orr, Ph.D., University of Dundee, Scotland.
Oct. 1: “Theatrically Speaking: The Fort Lewis College Fall Theatre Season,” by Dennis Elkins, chairman of the FLC Theatre Department; Felicia Lansbury Meyer, senior lecturer; and student actors who will perform scenes from “A Girl’s Guide to Coffee” and “Spring Awakening.”
Oct. 8: “Undertaking: History, Humor, Current Trends and Options,” by Ryan Phelps of Hood Mortuary.
Oct. 15: “The Roots of Radical Islam,” by Dennis Aronson, former Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan and teacher in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.
Oct. 22: “NAGPRA at 25: A Personal and Professional History of the Quest for Repatriation,” by Joe Watkins (Choctaw), supervisory anthropologist, American Indian liaison officer for the National Park Service, Washington, D.C.
Oct. 29: “The Buzz about Bees,” by Bill Collins, FLC Department of Chemistry.
Nov. 5: “Mabel Ganson Evans Dodge Sterne Luhan: Utopian Dreams and Taos Realities,” by Judith Reynolds, art historian and arts journalist.
Nov. 12: “Cancer Below the Belt,” a panel discussion, with Dr. James Burpee, urologist at San Juan Regional Medical Center; Dr. Jonathon Clark, radiation oncologist at Mercy Regional Medical Center; and Cissy Anderson, wife of a prostate cancer survivor.
Nov. 19: “The Horowitz Piano,” by Lisa Campi Walters, professor of piano, FLC Music Department. This lecture-demonstration will be given in Roshong Recital Hall in Jones Hall.
All programs are free and open to the public.
