All of the summer programs listed below will be held online.  To Register fill out this form online, Click here

Short Summer Seminars

Feminism: Our Stories, Ourselves
How our lived experiences shaped and were shaped by feminism

Wednesdays, July 6, 13, 20, 27 and August 3, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Moderators: Finnegan Alford-Cooper and Bonnie Strickland

REGISTER (limit: 12)

Through storytelling participants will explore the experience of our generation with the feminist movement and its ideals. We will try to answer some key questions. Were our individual decisions driven by personal circumstances or sociohistorical factors or both? Have older women and men paved the way, making tough choices and refusing to “fit in”, so that younger women and men have more opportunities with less social rejection? Over the years what has feminism meant or not meant to us? How can we identify and communicate what we’ve learned, our wisdom, to younger generations? We will reflect on our life experiences and their relevance today. Each participant will share one or more stories (in any manner she/he chooses-write her/his own story, share a short, published story or essay, provide a pictorial presentation, etc.) and provide “advance” questions to all participants.

Sound and Sense: The Poetry of Robert Frost

Mondays and Thursdays, July 11, 14, 18, 21, 25, 2-4 p.m., online
Moderator: Elizabeth Armstrong

REGISTER (limit: 15)

After a review of the technical terms used in all poetry, we will look at and discuss twenty or more of Frost’s poems. How does the “sound’ of a poem contribute to its “sense”? How does our own knowledge and experience shape our understanding? Participants will each be responsible for one to three poems of their own choosing. Any print or online collection of his poetry can be used. The moderator will provide a list of suggested poems and online resources.

An optional meeting will be a visit to the Robert Frost collection at Amherst’s Jones Library.

Opera Arias

August 8, 10 and 12 (MWF), 10 a.m., online
Moderator: Katy van Geel

REGISTER (limit: 16)

Choose your favorite opera aria. Find it, either on youtube.com (to show a video of the aria being sung) or in your computer’s music app.

When it’s your turn to present, give a short synopsis of the plot; explain what’s happening at the time of the aria. Then share your screen. (The moderator will provide instructions on sharing videos or audio tracks over Zoom.)

Sit back, relax and enjoy. We’ll have a short discussion after each aria.

The number of people who sign up will determine how long the seminar sessions last, from one to two hours each.

Summer Programs

Searching the Internet
How to find information for your seminars

June 24, 2 p.m., online
Presenter: Larry Ambs

REGISTER (no limit)

This Zoom workshop will be used to demonstrate various applications and procedures that can be used to improve searches for information on the internet, with a focus on searching for the types of information you might want for an LIR seminar. The workshop will be recorded and made available for later viewing.

Book Discussion Group Open Meeting
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

August 25, 2 p.m.
Moderator: Lise Armstrong

REGISTER (limit: 6)
This will be an open session of the interest group Reading the Classics.