Thursday   

In AD 476, the Roman Empire fell, not with a bang, but with a whimper. At its height it had spanned 1.9 million square miles and endured for more than 500 years, yet its end came as the culmination of a long, slow decline. What ultimately caused it? Could anything have saved it? This course examines the complex web of causes behind the fall of the Western Roman Empire, from political dysfunction and the rise of Christianity to a collapsed economy, lead poisoning, and even climate change.

Robert Redford, who passed away in 2025, left an enduring mark on Hollywood across a seven-decade career as actor, director, activist, and founder of the Sundance Film Institute. This course celebrates his early star-making work and the fascinating complexity beneath his "golden boy" persona — the smug, self-assured skier in Downhill Racer (1969), the idealistic gubernatorial scion running for a California Senate seat in The Candidate (1972), and the carefree apolitical foil to Barbra Streisand's passionate political idealist in The Way We Were (1973).

Join Western Spirit Museum’s Chief Curator, Andrew Patrick Nelson, for an insider’s look at the museum’s newest blockbuster exhibition, Still in the Saddle: A New History of the Hollywood Western. This special class combines a curator’s talk with a guided tour of the exhibition. Dr. Nelson will discuss the origins and development of the exhibition, introduce its key themes and arguments, and explore how Western films of the 1960s to 1990s reflected changing ideas about heroism, violence, nostalgia, American identity, and the mythology of the West. He'll then lead participants through the galleries, offering behind-the-scenes insights into selected objects, images, and interpretive choices. Part film history, part museum tour, this class offers a deeper look at one of Hollywood’s most iconic genres during one of its most fascinating and misunderstood periods.

Space elevators are amongst the most promising space infrastructure concepts on the drawing boards today. Think of a space elevator as a vertical railroad into the cosmos. A tether stretching from Earth to an anchor point (counterweight) 60,000 miles in space, with elevator cars traveling up and down carrying cargo and passengers. Dr. Peter Swan, President of the International Space Elevator Consortium, will introduce you to this remarkable concept, covering its history, design, mechanics, potential benefits, future plans, and the obstacles still to overcome. Just as interstate highways and transcontinental railroads once transformed life on Earth, the space elevator may define the green superhighway to our future in space.

Few topics generate more heat in American politics today than immigration, yet few are more deeply rooted in the nation's history. This four-part lecture series examines how US immigration policy has evolved in response to dramatic shifts in American society. We'll give particular attention to the landmark immigration laws of the 1920s, Lyndon Johnson's transformative Immigration Act of 1965, and the most recent developments in policy and challenges along the US border. Whether you follow the news closely or are looking for deeper historical context, this series offers an essential framework for understanding one of today's most urgent debates.

Born in Sinuiju, Korea, in 1937, Kim Chong Hak began as an abstract painter before boldly charting his own course. Rejecting the Western-style abstraction he saw as a response to national melancholy, he settled in Gangwon Province in the late 1970s, home of Mount Seorak, the highest peak in the Taebaek mountain range, and developed a vivid, unabashedly expressive style all his own. Kim Chong Hak: Painter of Seoraksan presents works spanning his long career, offering a rare look at an aspect of Korean art from the late 20th century that is little known outside South Korea. Led by Phoenix Art Museum Docents, join us for a lecture-style presentation and in-gallery exploration of this remarkable artist's world.

Cole Porter wrote the music and lyrics for over 30 musicals, and his wit, melodic genius, and rich harmonies have made his songs a perennial favorite among jazz performers. Join Dr. Jeffrey Libman for an exploration of how jazz masters have interpreted classics like "So in Love," "Night and Day," and "I Get a Kick Out of You." Whether you're a lifelong jazz aficionado or simply curious about the music, this class offers an engaging mix of active listening to exemplary recordings and guided discussion. No instruments required, just open ears and an open mind!

Join award-winning Arizona travel writer and author Roger Naylor, often called "the dean of Arizona travel writers", for an entertaining journey across the state's most scenic hikes and most memorable local eats. Inspired by his book Arizona Boots and Burgers, Naylor brings his trademark blend of outdoor adventure, storytelling, humor, and Arizona history to guide you from Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon to Sedona, Prescott, Tucson, the White Mountains, and beyond. Discover beloved trails paired with nearby, locally owned restaurants serving regional specialties: Sonoran hot dogs, barbecue, Indian tacos, cheese crisps, and classic burgers, with vegetarian options, too. A class filled with fascinating facts, travel insights, and vivid stories from decades of loving this remarkable state.

Join Nicole Armstrong-Best, Director of the S'edav Va'aki Museum, and discover the remarkable ingenuity of the Ancestral O'odham who built and inhabited extensive villages in the Phoenix basin. You will learn about the engineered large-scale irrigation systems that supported intensive agriculture and connected communities across a vast network of trade and communication. We will discuss the importance of collaboration between S'edav Va'aki's descendant communities and Museum staff in preserving cultural connections and archaeological heritage. We will end by taking a guided tour of the outdoor interpretive trail with the City Archaeologist.

Two-party dominance is one of the defining features of modern politics in Britain and the United States alike. But can a third party break through? This talk examines one of history's most dramatic examples: the displacement of the Liberal Party by the Labour Party in the 1910s and 1920s, exploring the circumstances and historical forces that made such a seismic shift possible. We'll then turn to the present day, asking whether the strains on Britain's political duopoly since 2010 echo the fault lines of a century ago and what those lessons might reveal about where British politics is headed next.

Few authors are as quotable, or as consistently underestimated, as Dorothy Parker. Her caustic wit and succinct wisdom have secured her status as a literary powerhouse who moved seamlessly between essays and poetry, fiction and observation, sharp social commentary and deep personal feeling. Yet Parker herself worried that audiences were too dazzled by her "calisthenics with words" to grasp the deeper truths behind her cultural observations. This class gives Parker's life and literature the thoughtful, close reading they deserve. We'll sketch her character and intentions through her own words, then discuss a selection of her most notable work. All readings provided.

This class, led by Kathe Anderson, community scientist and conservation educator, combines an indoor presentation with an outdoor birding experience. We'll explore the surprising story of turkeys, from what's really behind the familiar Butterball label to how Wild Turkeys came back from the brink of extinction. Along the way, we'll cover their distinctive features (the wattle, snood, and beard), plus habitat, diet, and breeding behavior. Then we'll head outside to see what shows up in the area, possibly a turkey cousin, the Gambel's Quail. Bring your binoculars!

Every life is a story worth telling and yours is no exception. Autobiography transforms lived experience into a written self-portrait, and this class will guide you every step of the way. You'll learn what makes autobiography distinct from other forms of creative writing, how to tap into the memorable events that have shaped you, and how to deepen your understanding of the person you've become. Drawing on years of teaching and research in autobiography and adult learning, Irene Karpiak, Emerita Professor at the University of Oklahoma, will introduce a clear framework for life writing that is both enjoyable and deeply rewarding.

From forged wills to counterfeit coins, fake oracles to fraudulent relics, the ancient world was awash in deception and the Greeks and Romans knew it all too well. This class explores some of antiquity's most brazen frauds: the forgers who faked famous authors' works, the merchants who passed off cheap imitations as priceless goods, and the politicians who manipulated documents to rewrite history. What do these fakes reveal about ancient values, anxieties, and desires? The impulse to deceive, and to be deceived, is as old as civilization itself.

How can we travel back in time to observe the earliest stages of cancer? Cancer develops over years as cells in our bodies evolve, accumulating changes and competing with one another, yet much of this process unfolds out of sight, limiting our understanding of how cancers arise, progress, and respond to treatment. By reading the record left behind in our cells' genetic material, scientists are building statistical "time machines" that reveal events that could never be observed directly. In this course, we'll explore how present-day biological data can reconstruct the evolutionary history of cells as they progress toward cancer, what these methods are already teaching us, and how ongoing advances may transform our ability to understand and treat cancer in the years ahead. Please note: parking is not included in the cost of class.

This event will feature a special presentation by Kathleen Dixon, exploring how cultures use food to celebrate the season, share traditions, and bring people together through warmth, memory, and celebration. We will share highlights of the spring semester classes and events. Light refreshments will be served, and you’ll have the opportunity to mingle with fellow learners, friends, faculty, and staff in a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Spring catalogs will be available to take home!