BRATTLEBORO — The Brattleboro Chapter of the Osher Life-Long Learning Institute will present a six-part lecture - The Arctic: Past, Present, Future.
The series will be presented by James Jordan, Jean Kayira, and Alesia Maltz over six consecutive Monday mornings, Oct. 1 through Nov. 5, at the New England Youth Theater, 100 Flat St., from 10 a.m. to noon.
According to a news release, this lecture series will review environmental and cultural dimensions of the Arctic in the contexts of its past, present, and future.
The Arctic is one of the most dynamic and rapidly changing ecosystems on the planet, yet our scientific and social understanding of it is nascent relative to our historical and contemporary focus on the mid-latitudes, especially in the West.
The remoteness and sparseness of its indigenous and colonial human populations have contributed to a lack of awareness among the general public.
Its immense natural resources, influential role in northern hemisphere weather and climate, contested social-cultural and political realities, and aspirations of the eight Arctic countries have recently sharpened the attention of many lower-latitude sectors.
Here is what will be covered in the lectures:
• Oct. 1. The Arctic: Definitions of Geography, Natural Landscapes and the “Arctic” Ecosystem (Jordan). How do/should we define the Arctic? The geographical, climatological, ecological, social, and political definitions and constructs of the Arctic and Subarctic will be examined.
• Oct. 8. Animal-ing and Peopling of the Arctic: End of the Ice Age, Adaptations to a Harsh Land of Plenty - 15,000 to 400 years Before Present (Jordan).
• Oct. 15. Euro-American exploration, resource exploitation, cultural interactions, and environmental impacts and legacies (Jordan).
• Oct. 22. Youth, Elders, and Cultural Continuity: Climate Change Adaptation Research and Praxis in Goose Bay, Labrador (Kayira and Maltz).
• Oct. 29. Latitudes of Change: Arctic Climate and Environment in the 20th and 21st Centuries and Beyond (Jordan)
• November 5. Looking Forward: Circum-Arctic Governance, National and International.
James Jordan, who holds a doctorate in geography, is a core faculty member in the Environmental Studies Department at Antioch University-New England and director of the Field Studies program.
Alesia Maltz, who holds a doctorate in the history and philosophy of science, is a core faculty member in the Environmental Studies Department at AUNE and director of the Interdisciplinary MA Program.
Jean Kayira, who holds a doctorate in environment and sustainability is a core Faculty member in the Environmental Studies Department at AUNE and co-director of the Doctoral program.
OLLI membership fee for all six sessions is $30 for an individual, $50 for a couple. Individual lectures are open to nonmembers for a fee of $6 per lecture.
Established in 2001 by the Bernard Osher Foundation of San Francisco, OLLI is a sponsor and organizer of programs for people age 50 and over who wish to advance their education without tests, papers, or grades. The Brattleboro chapter is one of several in the state, all affiliated with the University of Vermont.