Social Sciences   

Who will control the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate in the last two years of President Trump’s administration? That will be the major topic of this course. We’ll also discuss some major state governor races, certainly including Oregon and California. Election laws, campaign spending and developing issues will also be topics for classes. All viewpoints will be welcome. No background information is essential for participants, only an interest in our country.

Who will control the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate in the last two years of President Trump’s administration? That will be the major topic of this course. We’ll also discuss some major state governor races, certainly including Oregon and California. Election laws, campaign spending and developing issues will also be topics for classes. All viewpoints will be welcome. No background information is essential for participants, only an interest in our country.

Have you wondered why our economy works very well for a tiny elite and is increasingly difficult for most of us? Did you know Canada had a very successful and very different economic system from 1938 to 1973? That success story was abruptly cut short. Many highly credentialed economists have contrarian views, including Jeffrey Sachs, Herman Daly, Michael Hudson and Richard Werner. And you may also be concerned about why we have war after war. Globally, we have as many as 100 conflicts at once! Many retired military leaders openly criticize the permanent war agendas, and yet our leaders do not listen. We will call upon retired military officers Scott Ritter, Karen Kwiatkowsky, Douglas Macgregor and others to explain why these endless wars happen. The class will use a lecture format, with the third session open.

Where does government money come from — and where does it go? This six-class course challenges the most common myth in economic life: that the federal government runs like a household budget. Starting from first principles, we will explore what fiat currency actually is, how money is created, and what separates a currency issuer (the federal government) from a currency user (everyone else). We will unpack the national “debt,” inflation, sectoral balances and the role of taxes in funding federal spending. Along the way we’ll screen “Finding the Money,” Stephanie Kelton’s documentary on modern monetary theory. No economics background is required — just curiosity and a willingness to question what you’ve been told. 

Hot News & Cool Views is an open discussion forum to explore and discuss each week’s breaking news, from Oregon to around the globe. All views and opinions are not only welcome but essential for lively discussion in the group. We cover a wide range of topics, including politics, climate change, technology and medicine. An agenda with articles to read will be sent to you prior to each class. Students are encouraged to send in topics and news articles to add to each week’s agenda. Please join us for a sizzling hot journey around the world with our fast, fun and sometimes controversial class, whose success is largely a product of the wisdom, knowledge and experience of our great group. Many people take our class again because it’s better than a strong cup of coffee to get your week going! 

Hot News & Cool Views is an open discussion forum to explore and discuss each week’s breaking news, from Oregon to around the globe. All views and opinions are not only welcome but essential for lively discussion in the group. We cover a wide range of topics, including politics, climate change, technology and medicine. An agenda with articles to read will be sent to you prior to each class. Students are encouraged to send in topics and news articles to add to each week’s agenda. Please join us for a sizzling hot journey around the world with our fast, fun and sometimes controversial class, whose success is largely a product of the wisdom, knowledge and experience of our great group. Many people take our class again because it’s better than a strong cup of coffee to get your week going! 

We are awash in information, and a growing share of it is engineered to deceive, distract or inflame. This eight-week course offers a practical tool kit for recognizing flawed reasoning, identifying disinformation and thinking more clearly in daily life. We will work through the cognitive biases that make all of us vulnerable, the logical fallacies that appear in news and political speech, the tactics behind modern disinformation campaigns and the new challenge of AI-generated content. Each 60- to 90-minute session blends short lectures with group discussion and hands-on analysis of real examples drawn from across the political spectrum. No prior background is required — bring curiosity, examples from your own week and a willingness to examine your own thinking alongside others.

This course will introduce students to the concept of political theology using the Gospel of Mark as an example of standing in the breach between temple and court collusion while exercising nonviolent resistance toward authoritarian power. Americans have been taught that church and state should be separate, but religion and politics have experienced a lover’s quarrel throughout history. We will look at Pope Leo XIV as an example. While the course has a Christian biblical slant, it will be of general interest. All viewpoints are welcome. The instructor will facilitate class discussion of five or six pages of assigned readings from his unpublished manuscript during each class. Students are encouraged to bring personal experience to bear. Seating will model a class oval.

You remember what a real conversation feels like — the kind where someone looks you in the eye, loses track of time and says something they couldn’t have texted. You’ve felt that disappearing. So have the people you love. This six-week course uses MIT researcher Dr. Sherry Turkle’s landmark book “Reclaiming Conversation” to name what’s being lost and to practice getting it back. Not by giving up your phone. By understanding what screens can and can’t give us and learning small, specific moves that restore depth to the relationships that matter most. Each session combines brief readings, paired conversation practice and private reflection. No preaching. No technology shaming. Just six weeks of honest, skilled, senior-to-senior exploration of the most human thing we do: talk to each other.

NOTE: Required reading: “Reclaiming Conversation” by Sherry Turkle; any edition is acceptable. Participants’ basic knowledge and use of digital communication tools and devices is required. Expect weekly readings and discussions. 

As organized religion has rapidly declined in the last 50 years, the Baha’i community has experienced an 800% increase in growth. We will explore the dramatic shifts in the under- reported contemporary story of the decline in organized religion and what insights the Baha’i faith is offering and modeling as a catalyst for religion to become a cooperative, constructive agent for social change and global community. Reasons for the decline in organized religion will be examined from the perspective of former congregants, members, academics and the Baha’i community model. There will be ample time for discussion prompted by a sequence of sequential framing questions. The class will use a Keynote format and recorded guest lectures by pundits, such as David Brooks.

We are experiencing challenges to our democracy that we have not had since the Civil War. Unfortunately, many of us can no longer identify the constitutional issues that are being threatened. The purpose of this class is to identify the current developments that present a direct challenge to our democracy and why they do. We will be looking at current events but the prism through which we will study these events is the U.S. Constitution. 

We are experiencing challenges to our democracy that we have not had since the Civil War. Unfortunately, many of us can no longer identify the constitutional issues that are being threatened. The purpose of this class is to identify the current developments that present a direct challenge to our democracy and why they do. We will be looking at current events but the prism through which we will study these events is the U.S. Constitution. 

Join the Godfather for an offer you can’t refuse on improving your communication skills! About 45 minutes of “The Godfather” will be shown in the first session and referenced in the following sessions. Vito Corleone is the world’s foremost expert on clear messaging. The resulting discussion will center on managing the principles of people, place, perspective, power, peerage and preparation. The instructor has experience in using these principles to improve communication, and he will use them to direct discussions. There will be some directed homework.