YCLML 001 - MCLL Lectures

Organizer:  Alain Lessard 
Time: to be determined by participants 
Attendance: to be determined by participants (one-on-one partnership) 

If you want to improve your conversation skills in French, MCLL will assign you a partner from a French-language community organization for seniors who want to improve their English. The two partners will arrange between themselves when and how they will meet (in person or otherwise) for one hour of conversation per week, alternating between French and English. Many participants enjoy this activity because, in addition to practicing a second language, they find it interesting to converse with people from a different background.

Presenter: Susan van Gelder

The Orkney Islands, located off the northern coast of Scotland, are a treasure trove of history, myths and surprises. Let’s pass some time together by a virtual peat fire as we learn about their history going back from the stone age through the Vikings to the present. Visit the sites. Listen to stories from the islands. Find out why this is a unique and magical place.  

Presenter: Iryna Malynovska 

Living beings perceive the world around us primarily through sensory interaction. Eyes, ears, nose, and skin create their own images, and together - a relatively holistic picture of the world. Humans have another powerful channel for perceiving reality, language, which can either enrich sensory perception or distort it. This lecture discusses how language influences human mind and behavior, and how people recognize and avoid language manipulation.

Presenter: Wolfgang Schneider

The Eastern Mediterranean at the end of the Late Bronze Age was the first globalized world. Major powers like Egypt, the Hittites, and Assyria were at war but also traded with each other, concluded peace treaties, and asked for mutual assistance. They exchanged diplomatic correspondence and arranged marriages between the elites, but their world collapsed catastrophically within 50 years around 1200 BCE. Most major cities were destroyed, populations declined, and even the art of writing was lost in Greece. We will look at how their world was connected, possible reasons for the collapse, and may even see parallels to today’s world.  

Presenters: Frank Nicholson & Alan Freeland

Calling all MCLL moderators, presenters and lecturers! This interactive workshop will provide step-by-step, hands-on training on how to install and use free AI tools such as ChatGPT and other chatbots for brainstorming and refining ideas, digging up information; and sprucing up grammar and style. No technical expertise needed! The workshop will wind up with a presentation/Q&A segment briefly explaining other AI tools you may want to try in future. 

Presenter: Harald von Cramon 

This lecture presents a short history of this land from its first settlement by man until today. We will explore its history, people, political development, nature parks and notable personalities. 

Presenter: Gordon Burr

This presentation will cover the history of the McGill Observatory. It will feature the online DRAW weather project which rescues data hidden in the analogue registers for climate scientists and its journey to become a participatory archive for individuals. The presenter teaches in the School of Information Studies where he regularly uses DRAW as an example of a participatory archive. DRAW website https://draw.geog.mcgill.ca/  

Presenter: Lawrence MacDonald 

Lawrence MacDonald will discuss his book, Am I Too Old to Save the Planet? A Boomer's Guide to Climate Action.  Packed with practical advice, the book invites fellow boomers to join the growing global movement to save a livable planet. This highly interactive online event will focus on the crucial role of Canadian boomers. Lawrence lives in Arlington, Virginia, and worked in communications for the World Bank, the World Resources Institute and the Center for Global Development, and as a journalist in China.  

Presenters: Romano De Santis & Giovanna De Santis 

It has been shown that a variety of hands-on visual creative activities can be carried out using readily available, easy-to-use, free Apps. These activities include making drawings, paintings, picture editing, word art, clip art, popular art (e.g., in the style of Warhol or Jeff Koons), abstract art (Mondrian, Rothko, and similar) and fine art. They can be carried out online or offline, with participants working on their own or interactively within a group, at the same or at a different time. The objective is to learn, create, share, inspire and get inspired. For the joy of it!  

Presenter: Barbara Karasek

It is often hard to like or appreciate what we don't understand. After a brief introduction to the elements and vocabulary of visual art, together, we will carefully examine a painting (not abstract!) by Canadian artist Alex Colville. The objective is to gain not only an understanding and appreciation of this work but also the tools to make sense of and appreciate art. Participants may wish to visit the MMFA afterwards to see the original . . . and try out their new set of tools on other works! 

Presenter: Paul Kuai-Yu Leong

Fritz Haber's fertilizing work won him the 1918 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the title 'The Man Who Saved Billions'. Yet he was also called 'The Man Who Killed Millions' -and 'The Father of Chemical Warfare' for actively weaponizing poisonous gases in WWI. Born Jewish but converted to Lutheranism, Haber was a German-nationalist - yet he was forced into exile by Hitler. (His relatives were gassed in the Holocaust by a byproduct of his invention.) A sad ending of a complex mind This is a special lecture for the International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27).  

Presenter: Tim Ewbank

A retired I.T. professional and fellow later life learner, Tim Ewbank will be speaking to us from Cambridge, England. He will bring us up to date with what has been happening with social media. Topics covered will include the shifting concentration of ownership in the sector; the failure of self-moderation and the resulting calls for government regulation; and the increasing polarization of politics and the violence triggered by misinformation. Tim will wind up by offering some predictions of what we can expect in the years ahead.   

Presenter: Elizabeth Moes

You are watching a film, and the camera lingers on the image of a damaged wall.  In the art gallery, you are wondering why the artist has painted a melted clock. The poem starts talking about a foggy city, but the words change to the movement of a cat. What is going on?  Symbolism, that's what! Some symbols are easy to understand, because we have been told what they mean, but others seem completely obscure. Wouldn't you love a way to decipher them? This lecture will provide you with that very key.  I will demonstrate that symbols are merely images that start out as comparisons and then morph into one image that stands for both, or many ideas. (But don't confuse them with signs, which are what they say they are!)  This lecture that will take you from the shallow end of comparison to the deep end of abstraction. Come for the mystery; stay for the wisdom!   

Presenter: Bassima Rafeah

This lecture will cover the history of the Arabian region. It will also explore the evolution of the Arabic language spoken in over 22 countries in multiple dialects.  

Presenters: Romano De Santis & Giovanna De Santis

This presentation offers an account of my personal experiences as an MCLL lifelong learner, Zoom host and moderator using AI chatbots, and how these tools have enhanced my learning hosting and teaching processes. The focus will be on specific examples and benefits that I have personally observed. Topics I will touch on: Brainstorming and ideation, Role-playing, Tutoring and guidance, Research assistance. The idea of sharing my experiences is to inspire and make it easy for other MCLL senior lifelong learners and moderators to explore the potential of AI chatbots and consider how they might themselves benefit from incorporating these tools into their own learning and teaching practices. 

Presenter: Suzanne Charlton  

Spend a delightful afternoon listening to the great torch singers of the 30s and 40s from Piaf to Ella to Billie Holiday and others, to name a few! Explore their rich cultural and musical contribution to the genre of popular music of the 20th century.  

This lecture is brought to you by the Cummings Centre

Presenter: Jacob Shoshan 

Jacob Shoshan takes us on his fascinating tour of some of the most bizarre oddities practiced in Japan and of the history of the Jews and their debt of gratitude to the Japanese. Swimming in ramen soup! Legally marrying a virtual robot wife! Taking tea with snakes and porcupines! We learn about some of the strangest customs in this gorgeous land of cherry blossoms and elegant temples, and about how over the decades Japanese citizens befriended and assisted Jews and developed their own love of Israel. An incredible tour that only Jacob could lead, with his vast knowledge and humorous style. 

Presenter: Wayne Larsen 

This illustrated lecture will describe the life, art, painting technique, and travels of James Wilson Morrice, Canada's first modern artist. It’s based on my book Painter of Light and Shadow (Dundurn, 2008). In a colourful, itinerate life cut short by alcoholism, Morrice was Canada's first modern artist. He embraced Post-Impressionism when it was shunned and renounced his Golden Square Mile upbringing in favour of a squalid studio in Belle-Epoch Paris, where he rubbed elbows with the artistic and literary elite of the period. https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/james-wilson-morrice-montreals-original-bohemian  

Presenter: Kent Roach 

Professor Kent Roach, author of Wrongfully Convicted: Guilty Pleas, Imagined Crimes and What Canada Must Do to Safeguard Justice, will look back on the history of wrongful convictions in Canada. He will focus on some of the lesser-known cases drawing on the Canadian Registry of Wrongful Convictions (www.wrongfulconvictions.ca) which he co-founded. He will lay out ways he believes we can avoid such tragedies in future. These include improvements to policing, forensic and eye-witness standards and procedures, and the establishment of independent bodies to review wrongful conviction claims and systemic issues within the criminal justice system.  

Presenter: Cheryl Charron

Journaling, as proprioceptive writing, (1976, Trichter et al) is a method of structured personal journaling. It is designed for self-reflection, growth, and insight within a reflective and relaxed environment. Participants will learn about the theory and the principles within this technique via examples. They will then experience this practice themselves while producing their own versions. We ask that you please bring unlined paper and a pen to the workshop. For this journaling style, the use of a tablet or computer is not recommended. See this YouTube video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBewfRFNYaw. 

Presenter: Frank Nicholson

Huey Long rapidly ascended the political ladder in Louisiana during the early 20th century. He was elected as public service commissioner in 1918, governor in 1928 and U.S. senator in 1930 and then emerged as a potential candidate for President of the United States. Along the way, Kingfish, as he became known, vastly expanded the public services citizens received from the state’s government, while he step-by-step centralized all power in his hands until taken out by a bullet in 1935. 

Presenter: Barry Lane 

After the American Revolution, 100,000 British loyalists fled from the thirteen colonies. Over half ended up in eastern Canada, establishing a way of life based on the traditional values and customs they held dear. Their views on community life are at the root of present-day Canadian attitudes on such issues as government health care, high taxation rates and tight gun controls. The talk will include the turbulent life of Benedict Arnold, known as both the "Hannibal of North America” and the "American Judas."  

Presenters: Max Beer & Deena Dlusy-Apel

Max Beer and Deena Dlusy-Apel are renowned documentary filmmakers. This session will feature one of their documentary films on Jewish life in Canada. After viewing the film about the reception of Jewish survivors arriving in Montreal after World War II, they will welcome questions and answers.    

Presenter: Lewis Cattarini 

The probing mind of Job is reflected in Lev Shestov, the Russian Jewish philosopher who defended Dostoyevsky by exposing the contest between Athens and Jerusalem or the rational and the transcendent. This lecture examines how both men understood the nature of faith. 

Presenter: Marna Murray

Didion chronicled the world as she saw it from the middle of the 20th century forward. Her insights provided in essays, novels, and screenplays, articulate the idealized vision we have and offers us a different reality. Her poignant Year of Magical Thinking on the illness of her daughter and death of her husband helps many to understand the complexities of grief.

Presenters: Howard King & Linda Sidel 

This is non-threatening. There will be a Power Point Presentation, some videos and a demonstration on some fun ways to stop an aggressor. Your participation is voluntary, but in the past, everyone participated. Be prepared to be surprised at what you can do. 

Presenter: Paul Kuai-Yu Leong

Known as Mother Cabrini, a go-getter who founded in Italy the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart to serve people in need. Her major feat started in 1889 at NYC, and now has expanded globally in 67 cities. Come to discuss why she is revered as the Saint of Immigrants, the first U.S. citizen canonized by the Catholic Church in 1946 - and why annually on the first Monday of October - in the U.S. Colorado State - is the Frances Xavier Cabrini Day (repealing Columbus Day). This is an International Women's Day (March 8) special lecture.  

Presenter: Jacques Lalanne 

This lecture will explore the concept of fasting as an ancient therapy re-discovered in today’s world. Participants will enjoy a lively discussion led by an experienced practitioner. 

Presenter: Wolfgang Schneider

For most people, fungi are mushrooms, some edible, some toxic, some even magic. However, there’s much more to fungi than mushrooms as most of their biomass is underground. Fungi are the world’s great decomposers, but they are also the soil’s communicators that form the “wood wide web”. They live in symbiosis with the roots of most plants, and some help us making beer and wine. But they can also be parasites worthy of a horror movie that can turn ants into zombies or kill crops. We will explore some of these amazing creatures, inspired by Merlin Sheldrake’s book Entangled World. 

This lecture is brought to you by the Cummings Centre

Presenter: Micaela Pavoncello 

Roman Jews, having come directly from Eretz Israel in 161 BCE, make up one of the largest and most culturally significant Jewish communities outside of Israel. Only 16,000 strong, they comprise the oldest continuous community in Rome, a community surrounded by a Christian society, while weathering the Inquisition and persecutions, the Ghetto and the extermination camps of the Nazis. Our guide, Micaela, will take us to the Synagogue in Ostia Antica, to the Coliseum and Roman Forum. We will visit the Jewish Museum and Jewish Catacombs, testaments to the strength and persistence of Jewish traditions and values.