Fun options available for lifelong learners

September 28, 2012

The Academy for Lifelong Learning, supported through Western Washington University, provides mature adults with a diverse spectrum of academic and cultural programming and offers many enriching academic programs in fall 2012.

Academy for Lifelong Learning is inspired by the belief that “a curious mind never retires.”

Programs include traditional liberal arts and sciences topics with an emphasis on interdisciplinary exploration. Class sessions will utilize formats that encourage discussion and exchange of knowledge. Day-long excursions will engage participants in the arts, sciences or other academic and cultural topics while exploring an interesting new place. Lifelong Learning courses are geared towards “fun” learning, and do not follow the traditional exam/homework format.

The length of each program can vary from one day to six weeks. Upcoming courses include:

  • Persuasion and Social Influence (four sessions): Friends, family, politicians and institutions including corporations, media and the government attempt to influence our thoughts, attitudes and behaviors daily. Join this class to learn how to identify and examine the different ways we can be persuaded through strong logical arguments and, more commonly, through weak but superficially attractive sound bites. Classes are 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturdays Oct. 13-Nov. 10 at Western's Library Presentation Room. Registration deadline: Oct. 6.
  • Radio on the Range: a Western Workshop (four sessions): Between 1930 and 1960 "The Western" made its thematic debut in movies, radio and television. This course examines how these influenced our culture then as well as today. Examples include "Gunsmoke" and "Death Valley Days." Classes are 2-4 p.m. Thursdays Oct. 11-Nov. 1 at Garden Street Methodist Church. Registration deadline: Oct. 4.
  • Third Reich: Conquest and Chaos (five sessions): Join Western Washington University history professor emeritus Louis Truschel in revisiting the rise of Hitler's Third Reich out of the post-WWI era. Discuss how the economic reforms and ideologies led to WWII and the destruction of much of Europe. Classes are 1-3 p.m. Tuesdays Oct. 16-Nov. 13 at Bellingham Cruise Terminal. Registration deadline: Oct. 9.
  • Outside the Mainstream: from Psychology to Parapsychology (four sessions): This course will examine the interface between those processes that are accepted as scientific and those that are not. Participants will study how the prevalent topic of anti-science impacts our culture, decision-making and pocketbooks. Classes are 10 a.m.-noon Wednesdays Oct. 24-Nov.14 at The Willows. Registration deadline: Oct. 9.
  • Let's Clown Around with Improv (two sessions): Alyse "ZigZag" Axford will show participants how to use improv in daily life. Participants will have the opportunity to learn the art of improv in a nurturing environment. Learn what makes people laugh; participants need only bring their imaginations and a playful mind. Classes are 2-4 p.m. Mondays, Oct. 15-22 at First Congregational Church. Registration deadline: Oct. 8.

Upcoming excursions include:

  • Ramayana at ACT and Pike Place Market: Ramayana, one of the most beloved epics of South and Southeast Asia, tells the story of Rama, a young hero on a quest to rescue his beautiful wife from an evil king. Like all great stories, it delivers riveting entertainment while posing questions about the human condition. Ramayana is staged with vivid costumes, fantastic sets and mythic environments. Excursion is 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25. Registration deadline: Oct. 10
  • King Tut at the Pacific Science Center: Step into history's most treasured stories in “Tutankhamun: the Golden King and the Great Pharaohs” at Pacific Science Center in Seattle. The exhibit features more than 100 objects from King Tut's tomb as well as artifacts from ancient sites representing more than 2,000 years of ancient Egyptian history. This is a rare opportunity to take in an exhibit that was last viewed in Seattle 37 years ago. Excursion is 7:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 12. Registration deadline: Oct. 11
  • While A.L.L. membership is encouraged, it is not required. Fee rates apply for all courses and excursions and vary depending on membership and length of program. Membership benefits include a 20 to 25 percent discount on program fees, discounted admission to Western’s Performing Arts Center events, privilege at Western’s Wilson Library, a voice in A.L.L. management and program production and much more.

For more information or to read about the many other A.L.L. offerings, visit http://www.wwu.edu/all or call (360) 650-3717.