Public Affairs, Current Events, and Politics   

This course explores the potential and limitations of AI technology, examining its promises, challenges, and potential for enormous societal impact.

We'll start with a layperson's explanation of neural networks and how companies have leveraged them into commercial AI applications. With that understanding, we'll consider AI optimistically, discussing its enormous capabilities and promises for uplifting humanity. We’ll also evaluate AI pessimistically, reflecting upon the track records of internet-powered corporations and the history of dangerous social fads to assess how AI will soon amplify their power.

This balanced background will allow us to ask a crucial question: how should civilization manage AI to serve the common good, not just its creators?

Moreover, AI is emerging amid vehement competing notions of justice and fairness in America. Can this technology help us clarify viewpoints, reveal common ground, and reveal a path to peace between our warring factions?

After framing educational dilemmas in light of political, social, economic, and educational history, this course will critically examine a variety of contemporary policy-related issues, including standardized testing, tracking, charter schools, school vouchers, teacher unions, disciplinary techniques, covid policies, and critical race theory. The primary purpose of the course is to encourage participants to develop more factually sound and logically coherent positions on key educational dilemmas and policies. The class will consist of both lecture and discussion, and relevant articles will be provided for additional reading.

Recommended Books:  Sarah Mondale and Sarah Patton, School, the Story of American Public Education; David Berliner, 50 Myths and Lies That Threaten America's Public Schools

We will discuss the prior week’s news in the first hour. In the second hour a topic that is current will be determined by the facilitators and articles will be sent out for that discussion. The facilitators of this class express a progressive point of view on American politics. They welcome conservative or other points of view and encourage discussion as part of our learning experience.

We will discuss the prior week’s news in the first hour. In the second hour a topic that is current will be determined by the facilitators and articles will be sent out for that discussion.

The facilitators of this class express a progressive point of view on American politics, especially during this election year. They welcome conservative or other points of view and encourage discussion as part of our learning experience.

What if you were assigned to a national panel tasked with making recommendations on a number of the most important issues of our time including: immigration, free speech on campus, policing, national leadership, election reform and mass shootings? Each week in this course class members will review multiple proposals on a critical topic and deliberate on the strengths and weaknesses of each "solution". The class will then try to create a recommendation selecting one or a synthesis of these alternatives. Critical but open minds will be an asset to this work.

This course centers on the book of the same name by Heather Cox Richardson and examines the political, cultural, and social forces that shaped the evolution of democracy in America, as well as the pressures currently trying to push democracy in a different direction. Democracy is a process always at risk. We will explore the disparate forces that drive the ebb and flow of American politics and the power-seeking bad actors always attempting to derail the process. Beginning with discussions of the historical events trying to undermine democracy, such as Nixon’s Southern Strategy, we then turn to recent threats such as January 6 and the Big Lie. The class concludes by examining how we might reclaim our democracy from forces pulling in different directions such as Project 2025.

Class members are expected to read the book, examine their own concepts of democracy, and participate in thoughtful and lively discussions.

Required: DEMOCRACY AWAKENING: Notes on the State of America, by Heather Cox Richardson

Class does not meet on January 20th

Democracy is a system of governance of a community of people who will bear the consequences of decisions taken. Historically and increasingly today all over the world democracy has experienced multiple challenges. This course will delve into the considerable attempts at undermining the democratic ethic because people are not sufficiently capable and responsible to govern themselves. We will then present for consideration, innovative as well as classical arguments in favor of a more inclusive and resilient form of democracy. In the first hour, we will present material.

In the second hour, we will open the class to discussion with the goal of identifying some constructive and useful conclusions.

The spring Documentary Film class will cover a wide variety of films. Each will be shown in class and be followed by a discussion of the film. Class members are expected to stay for the discussion. The Facilitator likes to remain flexible as to what movies to show due to availability, the arrival of new films, or events that would make a film topical.

Great Decisions is a program of the Foreign Policy Association, which is new each year. High-quality educational materials are prepared and provided to discussion groups in cities and universities throughout the United States. On each topic, there will be a chapter describing the current issues around the selected topic and a video of background information and relevant interviews with world leaders and scholars.

Required Book: Great Decisions 2025 Briefing Book, available from the Foreign Policy Association. Registered members, please order

There are 4 lectures that clarify Israel's view of the current conflict.. The first will look at where we get our information and the challenges of being a sophisticated consumer of the news. There are few unbiased media sources including the ones most prominent in the US. Examples of the media's bias will be discussed. The second session will deal with the issues around the so-called Two State Solution. While highly desirable, it is a very complicated issue. Attendees will get a clear understanding of these issues. The third session will outline the factors that make the US-Israel partnership “Iron Clad”. The partnership has two components-the military & the civilian. This session will focus on the considerable benefits the US gets from her relationship with Israel. The last session will deal with the refugees, both Arab & Jewish, created as a result of war. Why after 75 years has this problem not been solved? Questions & comments are encouraged throughout the lecture series.

Recommended: A Peace to End all Peace Fromkin,  Israel: A simple guide to the most misunderstood country on earth. Tishby,  Israel Alone. Levy

The end of World War II was also the end of the Industrial Age and the beginning of the Digital Age. This shift to a service economy, driven by automation, has led us down the path to the next new wiz-bang tool – Artificial Intelligence (AI). With its insatiable demand for data and energy, and its eerie ability to answer complex questions at lightning-fast speed, it portends a far different future. The transition to a digital world has only accelerated, creating new bobbles and destroying old ways. This series is about that transition, where it came from, who it affects and what might the future look like. The class will include a condensed history of innovation, an update on where we are today and an expanded discussion of what the future might look like. We will meet in person and a short article on each week’s topic will be provided the week before.

This class will be a discussion of criminal law topics including but not limited to: insanity, sentence, homicide, death penalty, sex offender treatment, juvenile justice, policing, prison,self defense etc. The class will help pick topics.

This class will feature one to three videos per class, followed by discussion of the subject(s) featured in each video. The films will be primarily documentaries and TED Talks focused on issues of importance and current interest (usually). These topics are guaranteed to be wide-ranging.

The class facilitator will choose the videos, though class members can recommend others for consideration. So come to this class in order to be entertained, enlightened, ready to offer your opinion on various matters, and enjoy the company of like-minded people. And by all means, bring your sense of humor.