Encore programs are presented on Zoom each Friday. The first presentation begins at 10 a.m. and the second at 11 a.m. The link will be sent to all members; no registration required. The programs are open to the public, and non members may contact the FCLIR office to request the link.
CALENDAR
September 29
| Marshall Ash | The Mythology of Daedalus and Icarus | In writing “The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man,” one material James Joyce used is the myth of Daedalus and Icarus. I present that myth here. This myth connects to the myths of Theseus and a host of surrounding figures. |
| Rachel Borson | Ratatouille | Ratatouille, an animated film, was one of the most enjoyable Pixar films. Thematically, the film is a rich source to discuss the human condition. The culinary aspects of the film were (Chef’s kiss) fabulous and fun to speak about, as was the wonderful music. Short clips are interwoven with analysis. |
October 6
| Jane Holloway | A Mother’s Mystery Years – Elizabeth, alcohol and the 1930s | After growing up in a strict German immigrant family in a small town, what would it have been like for Elizabeth, a single woman in her twenties, to live and work in the big city of Minneapolis during the 1930s? How might the economic crisis of the Great Depression, the repeal of Prohibition, the portrayal of women in the movies, closed-body automobiles (the “Devil Wagons”), and her family genetics contribute to Elizabeth’s growing dependence on alcohol which started during this decade? |
| Ilene Rosenfeld | Sears and Department Stores | Department Stores opened as early as 1825. In New York City they started downtown, then moved up to the “Ladies’ Mile” and above 34th Street and onto Fifth Avenue. Sears Roebuck began as a catalog mailed across the country, especially to rural areas. Between 1908 and 1940 Sears catalogs included Kit Houses in over 40 architectural designs, and Sears shipped all parts (as many as 30,000) by rail needed to build a house. Sears homes still stand in neighborhoods today…built to last. |
October 13
| Bonnie Strickland | Witness in Atlanta | From 1962 till 1973, I was a faculty member at Emory University in Atlanta. I became involved in the Civil Rights movement, which was the preeminent social movement at that time. This presentation is some coverage of my experiences in civil rights activities in Atlanta during the sixties. |
| Naomi Yanis | Alternatives to GDP | In our society economic measurements, especially GDP, dominate the debate. What IS GDP, and why do economists increasingly believe it is important to do more to measure the economic well-being of the families who make up the economy than what GDP measures. What might we replace GDP with? |
October 20
| Nancy Eddy | Macchu Picchu and other sites in Peru | Using lidar, radiocarbon dating, accelerator mass spectrometry, DNA testing, computer-aided reconstruction along with traditional excavation on several different sites in Peru has provided new information on the Nazca lines, Machu Picchu, Moche sites and others. |
| Richard Nicoll | Wooden Houses in Japan | The wooden houses in Japan are the unique style of original Japanese housing. The wooden construction involves a high skill of joinery. |
October 27
| Seren Derin | Ankara Days – Fall 1973 to Summer 1980 | This piece is a significant period in my personal story. It is about my life during 1973 to 1980, when me, my husband and daughter lived in Ankara, Turkey. |
| Brian Sabel | What’s Beyond the Périphérique? Algerian Immigration and the Banlieues of Paris. | Paris is known for Notre Dame, the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower. Algerian immigrants, who often work in the city, live outside the city concentrated in densely populated social housing projects. This presentation focuses on the history of French immigration policies and the use of social housing to control the lives of French Algerians. |
November 3
| Rutherford Platt | Climate Change and Migration | Human-related climate change is now the foremost threat to humanity and biological systems since the invention of nuclear weapons. As droughts, extreme heat, floods, wildfires, disease, and habitat loss proliferate, the human and non-human populations of ravaged areas seek to survive by migrating to supposedly more habitable locales. Like shipwreck survivors desperately clinging to an overloaded life raft, climate migrants face hostility from the occupants of “the raft” who fear for their own survival. The talk frames the crisis but offers no easy answers. |
| Tryna Hope | Talking about Death | My “Writing to Remember” piece discusses my feelings about death following the death of a close friend, 92 years old, who stopped nutrition and hydration in order to die. It includes how my friend and her partner (86) got from the decision through the death, and the importance of community. |
November 10
| Darcy Johnson | Underground Railroad | This presentation focuses on the routes of the Underground Railroad and some of the people who served as “conductors” for the railroad. Additionally, a part of the presentation reflects on songs the people used to assist with directions for enslaved people seeking freedom using video clips. |
| David LaPlante | Repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act | The Glass-Steagall Act, passed during the Great Depression in response to bank failures, separated commercial banks from investment banks. The Act was repealed in 1999. The presentation describes the crises that gave rise to the Act and its demise, as financial companies and their political influence grew in the 1980s and 1990s. |
