YCLML 001 - MCLL Lectures

Presenters: Romano DeSantis & Giovanna DeSantis

This lecture reflects on a personal creative journey that began about eighteen months ago, when one of the presenters, having never imagined writing poetry, started composing English sonnets. Through selected examples, the talk explores what these sonnets are about, why they came into being and why writing them has become a source of joy and positive addiction. It also highlights the cognitive, emotional and social benefits of this creative practice, including the constructive use of modern tools.  

Presenter: Lingheng (Jessica) He

This lecture aims to introduce the gender and marriage culture of historical China to a Western audience and to address some stereotypes arising from the cultural gap. Though constructed on a so-called “patriarchal” framework, traditional Chinese marriage institutions operated in a resilient way, leaving space for individuals to exert agency, and continued to shape marital life and relationships in modern China.  

Presenters: Anthony Frayne & Helène Robillard Frayne

Although we have visited Morocco three times before, my wife and I still love to return, often seeing it from a different angle. It makes an ideal destination: exotic, spectacular scenery, great food, an excellent climate and welcoming people. Please come and discover this wonderful country with us.

Presenters: Paulette Breau

The Klondike Gold Rush of 1896–1899 was one of the most dramatic episodes in North American history. Beginning with the discovery of gold on Bonanza Creek, it drew an estimated 100,000 prospectors northward, braving treacherous trails, brutal winters and staggering hardships. While only a fraction struck it rich, the event transformed the Yukon, turning Dawson City into a bustling frontier town and bringing in violent conflict, RCMP law enforcement and commercial development.

Presenter: Afef Salem

We will explore hue, tint, tone and shade — and look for their manifestations in nature on a slow, mindful walk through Parc Angrignon. Bring your camera or smartphone if you would like to keep a record of your hunt!

Presenter: Tim Ewbank 

Until the advent of portable cameras in the 1850s, Africa was known only through explorers’ travelogues, engravings of paintings, fanciful fiction and legend. Photography offered a way to dramatically change that. The talk will examine who the early photographers were, what they did and did not photograph, how they publicized their work and what impact it had on the Victorian image of Africa. The backdrop is the expansion of the British Empire, with examples drawn mainly from southern Africa.  

Presenters: Dale Bonnycastle & Debra Fisher

Hearing loss affects at least one in three adults over 60, yet it remains widely misunderstood and frequently unaddressed. This presentation explores the nature of hearing loss, its impact on daily communication and social engagement, and why early recognition matters. Attendees will also learn about available support services, current hearing technology and practical strategies to improve communication — for themselves and those around them.

Presenters: Mitch Allen

Many ancient fakes have been uncovered over the years, from the Shroud of Turin, Jesus’s alleged burial cloth, to the Piltdown Man, the “missing link” between apes and humans. Dr. Allen, a retired archaeologist, will answer such questions as: Is acquiring money the only motive for faking? How long has the practice been going on? Can faking fool the experts? How are fakes spotted? What happens if a museum discovers one in its collection? A series of cases — some not widely known — will be covered.  

Presenters: Alison Burch

In our world of inflationary media, we face insidious threats of disinformation and “alternative facts.” Cervantes was there 400 years ahead. When the printing press led to media saturation — propaganda as well as mass-produced fiction — in Spain’s Golden Age, he exposed techniques for manipulating a narrative and the risks of acting on unverified information. If you thought Don Quixote mainly tackled windmills, come explore passages in which the humour, foresight and psychological reach of this first modern novel shine!

Presenter: Nancy Boudreau

Color influences our perception because the brain uses colors to interpret space, mood, temperature, depth, and meaning. Different colors can change how we emotionally and physically experience an environment. Our reactions to color are shaped by both biology and culture.  For example, blue is often associated with trust and stability in many western cultures, which is why many companies use it in logos and user interface. So, color does more than decorate our surroundings — it actively shapes emotion, behavior, focus, and spatial awareness. Come and discover how colors can change the perception of your surroundings.

Presenter: Frank Nicholson

This talk explores the discrimination, disenfranchisement, segregation and violent repression of African Americans in the U.S. South from the end of Reconstruction in 1877 until the civil rights legislation of the 1960s. Frank describes how state laws and social customs enforced strict separation of Whites and Blacks in transportation, schools, housing, libraries, theatres and washrooms. He explores the thinking behind the system, the impact on African Americans and the struggle that finally brought the era to an end.

Presenter: Robert Paris

This two-hour interactive workshop is designed to explore the emotional and health benefits of laughter in a world that often feels dark and negative. Participants will engage in fun exercises, watch humorous clips. They will experience group laughter through shared stories, videos, and games and will discover tools to bring more humor into everyday life. The aim is for participants to leave feeling uplifted, connected, and empowered.  

Presenter: Christopher Klein

Klein will recount the Fenian Raids of 1866–71, when Irish-American veterans of the Civil War crossed the border to strike at Britain through its Canadian colonies. He will cover the Fenians’ motives and organization, the Canadian and British military responses, and the position of the United States. He will walk us through the major engagement at Ridgeway, Ontario, touch on the lesser clashes in Quebec and Manitoba, and show how the Fenian threat strengthened support for Canadian Confederation.  

Presenter: Craig Webb

Learn how to cultivate, remember, harvest and act on your nighttime dreams for surprising practical benefits — including inspired creativity, emotional and physical healing, learning new skills, personal growth, and making important life choices. The lecturer is an experienced dream analyst and author. 

Presenter: Bonnie Taylor

Richly illustrated with PowerPoint images, this presentation explores the interplay of art, politics and religion in Spanish art, tracing the history of traditional Spanish painting as the root of modern Spanish art. Over 500 years, four artists are featured: El Greco, Diego Velázquez, Francisco Goya and Pablo Picasso, with brief coverage of Joan Miró and Salvador Dalí. The format is one hour of presentation followed by 30 minutes of discussion.  

Organizers: Denis Habib and Claire Booth

“2tonnes" is an immersive, educational workshop that helps you to identify solutions to combat climate change and take concrete action. It lasts 4 hours with two consecutive 2-hour sessions on the same day. Before the workshop, you will receive instructions for completing an online questionnaire to calculate your current carbon footprint. We will then explore the future as a team using an interactive platform, learning how to reach 2 tons eq. CO2 per person by 2050. https://en.2tonnes.org/

Organizers: Denis Habib and Claire Booth 

“2tonnes" is an immersive, educational workshop that helps you to identify solutions to combat climate change and take concrete action. It lasts 4 hours with two consecutive 2-hour sessions on the same day. Before the workshop, you will receive instructions for completing an online questionnaire to calculate your current carbon footprint. We will then explore the future as a team using an interactive platform, learning how to reach 2 tons eq. CO2 per person by 2050. https://en.2tonnes.org/ 

Presenter: Michael Allen

In the early years of the Second World War, a British commando unit was formed from Jewish refugees who had escaped Nazi persecution. Known as X Troop, these young men—many of whom had lost family members in the Holocaust—were highly trained in interrogation, sabotage, and close combat. Fluent in German, they played critical roles in the D-Day landings, the Italian campaign, and post-war denazification. This presentation tells the story of one of the war’s most extraordinary special forces units.

Presenter: Julie Sullivan

An introduction to genealogy. Topics covered include: why genealogy, how to start your research, how to store your findings, sources of information, and what to do when you run into a brick wall.   

Presenter: Maria Ezahr 

Learn how to use Excel as a simple, practical tool to manage your personal budget. This session will walk through organizing everyday expenses, building a clear spending table, and using basic features such as sorting, formulas, and pivot tables to understand where your money goes. No advanced Excel experience required — just a willingness to learn and bring your own examples. Participants are encouraged to bring their laptops (if possible), as the workshop will include some hands-on activities.   

Presenter: Angella Lambrou

Follow the extraordinary history of Sangorski and Sutcliffe, the most celebrated bookbinders of Edwardian England, and their commission to create what was called “the greatest modern binding in the world”—a jewelled binding of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.  

Presenter: Harald von Cramon

Between the 10th and 13th centuries, European temperatures reached unusually high levels, resulting in better harvests and significant population growth. At the same time, many new inventions emerged that significantly improved people’s lives.   

Presenter: John Felvinci

This lecture will describe the ribosome, the cell’s molecular machine responsible for manufacturing the proteins essential to life. Ribosomes assemble proteins by linking amino acids in a precise sequence determined by the genetic code on DNA. This process has been active since the earliest stages of life on Earth. Ribosome functions will be presented through clear, accessible visual representations. 

Presenter: Claude Rivard

Dr. Rivard, who has spoken to us on this topic twice before, will bring us up to date on the status of medical assistance in dying in Canada and Quebec. He will remind us how MAiD became legal across Canada in 2016 following a Supreme Court decision and lengthy parliamentary debates, with Quebec having enacted its own legislation the year before. He will then address how widely MAiD is practised today, before focusing on advance requests—legal only in Quebec—and the debate over MAiD for patients with mental illness.  

Presenter: Sam Brand

Carbon taxes and other market-based solutions — such as cap-and-trade schemes under the Kyoto Protocol — have been used to address growing greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Different approaches have distinct pros and cons. This presentation explains the basic types of solutions (taxes, offset credits, and trading schemes) and reviews their effectiveness, efficiency, costs, and benefits.  

Presenters: Brian Webber and Ron Foyer

A referendum is central to the Parti Québécois platform for the October 5 election, and Alberta holds a referendum on October 19. In a joint session with the Calgary Association for Lifelong Learning (CALL), MCLL members will learn first-hand about the driving forces behind Alberta’s moves on sovereignty. We will then share with our CALL colleagues lessons learned from Quebec’s previous referendum experiences and the prospects for a future one.  

Presenter: Susan van Gelder

Who was Susanna? In this story from the Bible, she was a virtuous woman who nonetheless faced a #MeToo moment as depicted by artists through the ages. This lecture will relate the story: in the visual arts she was initially represented as the virtuous woman of the Book of Daniel, but her image slowly evolved. In musical depictions she remained true to the original story. We'll take a tour of both arts through the ages.   

Presenter: Georgia Remond

Throughout human history, people have relied on rituals to mark important life transitions. In death, a prescribed way of laying a loved one to rest provided structure and comfort. This lecture explores rituals from keening to contemporary approaches to interring ashes and opens a conversation on the importance of preserving old rituals — or creating new ones — to help process grief and loss.  

Presenter: Nandita Bajaj

The myth of human exceptionalism casts humans as separate from and superior to the rest of life. It keeps us from appreciating the incredible beauty and complexity of other beings and their cultures and justifies their exploitation. The lecturer will cover the historical roots of this myth, its contemporary practices and norms, a window into the rich world of other species, and pathways that allow us to co-flourish. The lecturer has interviewed leading animal behavior experts and scientists on her podcast OVERSHOOT. 

Presenters: Harry Belsey

In April 1931, bilingual Australian Sefton Delmer became the first English-language journalist to interview Adolf Hitler. In 1940, Delmer was recruited by the British Political Warfare Executive to organize "black propaganda" radio broadcasts to Germany as part of a psychological warfare campaign. He set up several radio stations that, despite their coarseness and explicit content, became very popular in Germany and, by combining facts with disinformation, succeeded in undermining support for the Nazi regime.  

Presenter: Robin Fisher

In 1964, two First Nations residents of the Nanaimo area were convicted under provincial game laws for hunting deer out of season. They appealed, citing a treaty signed by a British governor in 1854 guaranteeing Indigenous hunting rights. The court ruled in their favour, opening the door to further such decisions across Canada. This story is of current relevance given the controversy over the status of UNDRIP, the United Nations declaration on Indigenous rights, in British Columbia.  

Presenter: Maxine Ruvinsky

This participatory lecture explores techniques and exercises designed to enhance your writing style, including the practice of modelling—often called the royal road to style. Following a brief introductory presentation, participants will engage in modelling exercises drawn from the lecture. 

Presenters: Dale Bonnycastle and Debra Fisher

Hearing loss becomes more common with age and often develops so gradually that it goes unrecognized. Because hearing changes are widely misunderstood, this session highlights early signs to watch for and the impact hearing loss can have on communication and social connection. It also provides practical guidance on what to do when hearing begins to decline, including when to seek assessment, what technology options are available, and how to adopt effective communication strategies.   

Presenter: Peter Atkinson

This talk focuses on James Cook’s 1768–71 voyage of discovery on HMS Endeavour, while also covering his earlier role in the Seven Years’ War and his two later Pacific voyages before his death at the hands of Hawaiian warriors in 1778. Originally a coal carrier, the Endeavour was purchased by the Royal Navy for exploration, later served as a transport in the American Revolutionary War, and was finally scuttled as a prison ship in Newport, Rhode Island, to block French entry.  

Presenter: Peter Berry 

At the start of the 16th century, the Aztec Empire under Moctezuma II dominated central Mexico. Within a remarkably short time it had been conquered by Spanish conquistadors and their Indigenous allies. The victors would go on to lay the foundations of what would become modern Mexico.   

Presenters: Cherie Gregor and Leslie Nash 

Long-distance walking offers a powerful blend of physical fitness, mental stimulation and personal growth. This lecture explores village-to-village walking and how it improves health, reduces stress and strengthens emotional resilience. Participants gain practical skills and valuable experiential learning while discovering how travelling on foot can help build friendships, community and a sense of accomplishment. The lecture offers an easy path to wellness, confidence, mindfulness and a deeper connection with the world.   

Presenter: Jean-Pierre Raymond

Born in Quebec City, Michel Chartier de Lotbinière was involved in the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years’ War (at Fort Carillon, now known as Fort Ticonderoga), and the American Revolutionary War. He also played a role in the negotiation of the Quebec Act. Short YouTube videos filmed in 2014 at Pointe-à-Callière are available by searching either under the presenter’s name or the character’s name.  

Presenter: Robert Tittler

Picturing the Tudors I: The Courtly Portrait. The first of three talks on Tudor era portraiture, this session explores how such images served the political and dynastic interests of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. The Tudors came to rule not by inheritance but by conquest, requiring an imagery that legitimized their claims. Henry VIII's break from Rome also required an imagery to justify royal dominance over the Church. Both rulers used portraiture to stabilize their rule. 

Presenter: Maxine Ruvinsky

This participatory lecture explores the psychology behind writers’ block and introduces practical techniques to overcome the “stuck” feeling that every writer experiences from time to time. 

Presenter: Alana Gowdy

Often considered one of England’s most effective kings, Henry V was a warrior, a scholar, and a shrewd politician.  Unfortunately, Shakespeare's dramatic portrayal has provided centuries of misleading information.  This lecture will reveal the reality of Henry's youth as he prepared to inherit a country which was at war with its neighbours and itself.

Presenter: Lewis Cattarini

Have we been misled by the ultra-dry realism of existential philosophy to the detriment of not recognizing values? The lecturer will read excerpts from his philosophical book, Beyond Sartre and Sterility, which was first published in abbreviated form forty years ago. There will also be passages from influential work by other past thinkers. 

Presenter: John Felvinci

In 1274 BCE, a battle was fought between the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II and the Hittite King Muwatalli II at Kadesh. The battle — a strategic stalemate — is described in detail in Egyptian temple inscriptions, including at the Ramesseum memorial temple. It involved armies with thousands of chariots on both sides. We will examine the challenges of training and supplying such vast numbers of horses. After the war, the oldest known peace treaty was signed and records of it have survived to this day. 

Presenter: Jonathan Meakins

The lecture will outline the origin of horses, their migrations, domestication and early role in society. Following description of various inventions (saddles, stirrups, etc.), their importance in war, farming, transport and society in general will be illustrated with maps, drawings, images in art and photography with appropriate descriptions. The speaker will show how the significance of horses has evolved.  

Presenter: Alan Freeland

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the global balance of power. This presentation explores how AI is transforming economies, research, warfare, governance and everyday life, while driving competition between nations for technological sovereignty. Using examples from the United States, China, Europe, India and Russia, it examines which countries are best positioned to benefit from AI, the risks involved and how this new technology may redefine prosperity, security and international influence in the years ahead.  

Presenter: Jeff Sidel 

An in-depth analysis of the November 2026 U.S. midterm election results and what they mean going forward.   

Presenter: Michael Moore 

An in-depth report on the state of AI since my previous lecture on June 5th. One hundred and sixty days on, the most recent advances, achievements, successes and disappointments will be reviewed from an industry perspective. Specific instances of the most successful achievements and their relevance to everyday life will be showcased.  

Presenter: Jeff Sidel 

An in-depth analysis of the November 2026 U.S. midterm election results and what they mean going forward.