History & Culture   

America has been defined by maps, investing knowledge with meaning by translating information into visual forms. Maps capture what people know, what they thought they knew, what they hoped for, and what they feared. Maps offer unrivaled windows into five centuries of our past. We will have lectures, discussion, and three trips to the Osher Map Library to see original maps illustrated in the course text book by Susan Schulten, A History of America in 100 Maps (2018).

New in-person course. Format includes lecture and discussion.

REQUIRED BOOK: A History of America in 100 Maps, Susan Schulten, ISBN 9780226458618

In 1900, many well informed people — Indian as well as settler — expected that distinctive Indian cultures were on the verge of disappearance, never to return. Given what was then known and knowable, a sensible expectation. The subsequent century and a quarter, however, has decisively falsified this expectation. Our course treats this falsification. Of what, now, do distinctive Indian identities consist? How, historically, have they emerged? How do they cohabit with settler culture? Regarding these Indian identities, what might the future hold?

New in-person course. Format includes lecture and discussion.

SUGGESTED BOOKS: Brothers on Three: A True Story of Family, Resistance, and Hope on a Reservation in Montana, Abe Streep, ISBN 9781250210678)

Thanks to intrepid individual investigators and the gradually evolving state of modern archaeology, today we’re able to hear ancient echoes from other, earlier civilizations otherwise long lost to time and collective memory, leading to new understandings that expand our perspective on the ancient world. We’ll look at six case studies: Schliemann at Troy (1870); Evans at Knossos (1900); Carter at King Tut’s Tomb (1923); the Gnostic Gospels at Nag Hammadi (1945); the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran (1947); and Connolly’s Reinterpretation of the Parthenon Frieze (2014).

New remote course. Format includes lecture.

When we think of the High Renaissance, we think of words like “genius, enlightened, and magnificent.” In this class we will look beyond the bright sheen of exceptionalism to consider the reality of life in Florence, including conflicts between the Medici and other powerful factions, the friction between humanism and conservative Christianity, the struggle of artists and architects to find commissions and establish reputations, and the contrast between male and female patrons. We will discuss Lorenzo the Magnificent and his family, the rival Pazzi Family, Savonarola, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Machiavelli, and various other artists, writers, and popes. This course is a follow up to “The Stormy Start of the Italian Renaissance,” but that course is not a prerequisite to this class.

New course offering an in-person section on Wednesdays and a remote section on Thursdays. Format includes lecture and discussion.

When we think of the High Renaissance, we think of words like “genius, enlightened, and magnificent.” In this class we will look beyond the bright sheen of exceptionalism to consider the reality of life in Florence, including conflicts between the Medici and other powerful factions, the friction between humanism and conservative Christianity, the struggle of artists and architects to find commissions and establish reputations, and the contrast between male and female patrons. We will discuss Lorenzo the Magnificent and his family, the rival Pazzi Family, Savonarola, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Machiavelli, and various other artists, writers, and popes. This course is a follow up to “The Stormy Start of the Italian Renaissance,” but that course is not a prerequisite to this class.

New course offering an in-person section on Wednesdays and a remote section on Thursdays. Format includes lecture and discussion.

In preparation for the 2026 Camden Conference, this course examines elections and parliaments in Iran and Tunisia. Iran has been rocked recently by violent demonstrations against repressive government policies — but a newly-elected President promises reform. The Arab Spring uprisings began in Tunisia with hopes of a democracy replacing a dictatorship. However, a recently popularly-elected president has moved in an antidemocratic direction. We will explore these two cases of elections and their effectiveness in realizing democracy.
New remote course. Format includes lecture and discussion.

Explore the history and culture of Maine. Several non-political topics will be examined in a fashion that emphasizes hands-on experiences and off-campus activities. At least one class session will be devoted to exploring several fascinating online databases pertaining to Maine history. Several classes will feature guest experts and/or artists. Several classes will be scheduled for local museums and historical societies. Students will independently explore a topic of their choice and report to the class. Format includes lecture, discussion, and hands-on.

In 1899 the City of Deering became part of Portland. Originally a suburb of Portland, it was created as a town in 1871 from what was originally a part of Westbrook. It contained several prominent villages including Woodford’s Corner, Morrill’s Corner, and Stroudwater. In this series of six walking tours off the Portland peninsula we will explore the history of a few of these Deering neighborhoods and learn about some of their interesting residents.

New in-person course. Format includes lecture and movement.

No, not THAT “ADDAMS” family! For nearly 200 years, this family made incredibly diverse contributions to American life: two presidents and their remarkable first ladies, a Secretary of State, a congressman, a very significant ambassador to England during our Civil War, a pioneer female photographer, and two historians and pundits (one of whom may have been the 19th century’s greatest). We will examine seven lives from this remarkable clan.

Repeat remote workshop. Format includes lecture, discussion, and film.

This class will take a topical approach, exploring the many facets of the people of Maine. Topics will include population, migration, folk and popular culture, language and ethnicity, agriculture and industry, resources, and economics. As in his other classes, David will utilize his background in geography and history using charts, statistics, maps, articles, videos, and voluntary student input for a lively and entertaining analysis of the many unique aspects of the people of the State of Maine.

Repeat in-person course. Format includes lecture, discussion, and film.

Would you like to know more about where your food comes from? Are you aware of the opportunities and challenges faced by Maine’s farmers over the years? Agriculture has always played an integral role in Maine life. This class will explore why some agricultural enterprises have failed, while others have prospered. There will be a lot of focus on history of Maine agriculture and lessons learned that may impact our food system in the future. Also, we will discuss many of the new emerging agricultural initiatives, and challenges confronting today’s farms, and their impact.

Repeat in-person course. Format includes lecture, discussion, and film.

Granted, we didn’t fight in Vietnam for 30 years. But we were involved ever since WWII. We even had an ally by the name of Ho Chi Minh in opposing the Japanese. But when the hot war ended and the Cold War began, we turned a deaf ear on Ho’s pleas for support in uniting Vietnam. Instead, we helped the French reclaim their colony. This course examines our country’s involvement in Vietnam, the toll it took on our youth, but also our psyche, our sense of ourself, and our place in the world.

New remote course. Format includes lecture, discussion, and film.

This walking tour will explore the history of three churches on State Street: the former St. Dominic’s (now the Maine Irish Heritage Center), the State Street Church, and the Cathedral Church of St. Luke’s. Located within a few blocks of each other, their congregations — Catholic, Congregationalist, and Protestant — were representative of the different ethnic and socio-economic groups of Portland. We’ll also divert off State Street to the second oldest house of worship on the peninsula. Built in 1828 as the Second Methodist Church it became Unitarian, then Presbyterian, and now the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. New in-person workshop. Format includes lecture and movement.

This course will examine the profound effects of the Supreme Court of the United States on the lives of all people. It will examine the workings of the court by examining representative cases. We will discuss efforts to reform the court and the chances for improvement. Repeat in-person course with new content. Format includes lecture and discussion.

Independence from Great Britain may have first been proclaimed in Philadelphia in 1776, but it was not won there! “Glorious Cause,” part two of our course on the American Revolution, explores what happens next through the unique lens of a novel — The Glorious Cause by bestselling author Jeff Shaara. It’s a saga of how thirteen colonies became a nation — a conflict that ranged from the British Parliament to the Palace of Versailles to the colonial battlefields of North America. The outcome was never obvious; the colonists were outmanned and outfought by the British army yet managed to triumph in the end.

Repeat in-person course. Format includes lecture and discussion.

REQUIRED BOOK: The Glorious Cause: A Novel of the American Revolution, Jeff Schaara, ISBN 9780345427588

This workshop will discuss the history of the Second Amendment. In addition, we will discuss recent Supreme Court interpretations of the Second Amendment and the ongoing litigation to apply these interpretations to modern day gun regulations. The ability/inability of states to address gun violence based on recent judicial rulings will be a part of the workshop discussion.  Formats include lecture.