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Climate change dominates headlines with dire warnings, yet discussions often fragment into specific topics like electric vehicles, renewable energy, extreme weather events, and climate refugees. It’s hard to connect the dots to see the full picture. How do all these stories – all these pieces fit together?

This 8-week guest speaker series brings together leading researchers and subject matter experts to provide a fuller and clearer view of what is, perhaps, humanity's greatest and most consequential challenge.

Each presenter offers a nuanced perspective on a key aspect of climate change. Collectively they’ll provide an integrated up-to-date understanding of this complex issue already, and perhaps inexorably, impacting Colorado, the nation, and the world.

The series will help us understand: (1) what we’re likely facing, (2) what some of the realistic goals are, (3) some of the options to achieve these goals, (4) the keys and barriers to success that we should consider.

Through this course, students will encounter the cinema of Martin Scorsese, arguably one of the most important living film directors. Beginning with his breakthrough work, "Taxi Driver" (1976), and progressing through his widely recognized masterworks Raging Bull (1980) and Goodfellas (1990), the course will culminate with a look at his modern output: The Irishman (2019) and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023). Over the course of this survey, students will be exposed to the influences, inspirations, and challenges behind Scorsese's work. We'll learn about the films' production, their critical and popular reception, and ultimately, their importance to cinema history.

Unlock the power of color in your art by diving into the essentials of color theory. Whether you're new to this fascinating world or just want to brush up on your skills, understanding the color wheel, complementary colors, and the psychological effects of colors is key to creating impactful art. This course offers a fun and engaging journey into color theory and its practical applications in painting. You'll learn how to choose and use colors systematically, bridging the gap between creativity and science. By mastering these principles, you'll add depth, variety, and allure to your artwork. As you work with acrylics or watercolors, the advantages of knowing color theory will become clear, taking your artistic journey to exciting new heights. Join us and discover how to make your paintings more vibrant and dynamic!

Anti-Asian violence: A modern-day occurrence? Not at all. Fear, hatred, and racism toward the Chinese and Japanese began in the mid 1800’s culminating with the incarceration of over 125,000 Japanese at the beginning of WWII, two thirds of whom were US citizens. From the perspective of a third generation Japanese American (Sansei), we will discuss the how, when and why racism landed Americans in what is more accurately described as prison camps, and what we can do to countermand the effect of anti-Asian violence and racism in America today. With the continuing immigration and border crisis, we will see how the incarceration of the Japanese in WWII can repeat itself today and why we should be ever vigilant that this NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN.

“Bogie” the name conjures an immediate picture of the classic tough guy with a heart of gold. Classic quotes such as “Play It Again, Sam” and “You’re Good. You’re awfully Good.” bring to life some of the most outstanding dramas from the Golden Days of Hollywood. Again, we return to watch Humphrey Bogart in eight more movies that showed the range of his talents. Bogart plays returning veteran, escaped convict, hotel visitor, gold seeker, a down-and-out scriptwriter, corporate executive, and a crusading newspaper editor. Again, we will have a short discussion before and after the movie to discuss the stars, the plot, and what made this movie successful (or not).

These movies are “A” movies and will run long. Our class will start at 12:30 to accommodate the length of the movie plus our serial of the week.

Political division is not unique to the current time period. In fact, the biggest political division culminated in the secession of a total of 11 states from the United States in 1860-1861. This secession directly led to the Civil War that continued until 1865.

This course will cover the issue of slavery, which was first introduced in 1619. By the time the US Constitution was written and adopted, slavery was a divisive issue in the new country. As time went on, the United States developed differently in the northern and southern states. By the 1850’s (only 62 years after adopting the constitution), slavery was the dominant political issue in the United States.

This course will cover how slavery affected US politics in the various time periods from 1619 to 1860 and how the issue of slavery gradually became more and more divisive.

In this class we will investigate the skills necessary for responsible decision making. We will look at 10 different strategies we employ to avoid making the important decisions that affect our lives. We will investigate how our current understanding of justice and guilt handcuffs our abilities to make free and open decisions. Kaufmann will provide us with a guide to develop a new integrity / morality based on a set of virtues that he feels will replace our current fascination with justice and equality. We will then take the Kaufmann model and integrate it with some of the challenges presented by a few modern feminists and develop a working model for a 21st century worldview.