• Week 1 June 29-July 3
Kids!
Grandparents, moms and dads want to know how to raise healthy and happy children. Society asks what effect early intervention has on overcoming the consequences of poverty, poor education, and ill health. Does a community that provides assets for children really have less crime and more safety? Are little boys really different from little girls? Since Preschool was an early Chautauqua innovation that allowed parents to pursue their interest in lifelong learning, we will partner with Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization behind Sesame Street in the United States and around the world. This leader in early childhood education is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. We will learn the latest about kids and take a walk down Sesame Street via Chautauqua’s brick walk!
• Week 2 July 6-10
Explore Our World With National Geographic
This week Chautauqua Institution is joining together with National Geographic to create a special celebration of our world. Today’s top explorers, filmmakers, scientists, and photographers join us with compelling reports from the front lines of exploration so that we might gain a better understanding about the state of our planet, its inhabitants and precious resources, and our shared history – empowering us to make choices that will contribute to a vibrant, diverse and sustainable future. Listening to the stories and participating in activities, we’ll join the adventure.
• Week 3 July 13-17
State of Mind
This week will examine our current “state of mind” by exploring the inner workings of our most complicated organ, the brain, with a discussion of the techniques and current research findings related to mental health disorders and brain injury. How are people with mental health issues understood and treated by society? How is new research expanding our understanding of the causes and treatments available for autism, depression, bi-polar disorder, ADD/ADHD, and post traumatic stress disorder? What are the unique challenges associated with diagnosing and treating children? What is the best condition of a healthy mind and brain, and how do we get there?.
• Week 4 July 20-24
The Ethics of Capitalism
With the fall of Communism many believe the unifying principle left to the global community is capitalism. During this week we will explore economic theory, business and investment experience, situational ethics and social justice. Adam Smith posited that this system operates in the best interests of the larger society. In the face of dramatic business scandals, the growing gap between rich and poor, and worker displacement and resultant community social issues, we must ask: How can capitalism make us more just? What are the motives and boundaries of governmental intervention? What are the obligations to those left un-served by the bounty of the marketplace? Is greed an inevitable outcome of the rewards of the system as well as a dysfunction to the efficient operating of the system.
• Week 5 July 27-31
What Makes Us Moral? An Abrahamic Perspective
Is what makes us moral also what makes us human? Science now posits that morality and empathy are deep within our genes. Science tells us that empathy plays a measurable role in morality development, but that empathy has its boundaries and limitations. Can empathy be stretched to encompass the “other,” not as “other” but as “us?” Is this the role of religion: to stretch us to encompass the stranger? What do the Abrahamic traditions tell us about the theology of the “other?” What is the role of culture in morality? How does morality differ as it is affected by cultural perspectives, rituals and traditions? This week will consider what is hard-wired as well as what we create in the humanizing process..
• Week 6 August 3-7
Richard Brown and Friends: Movies 101
For more than 35 years, Professor Richard Brown’s famous “Movies 101” class at New York University has delighted, informed, and entertained movie fans with in-depth conversations with the industry’s biggest stars and most celebrated directors. Professor Brown empowers audiences to decide for themselves about movies, and will bring films and their stars, directors, and/or producers to discuss the history and craft of film, the changes experienced by new technology, and the future of this art form central to American culture and identity.
• Week 7 August 10-14
Imagine…
Creativity is the new buzz in the marketplace, and is now being cited as a critical element of leadership. This week, we will ask, “What’s new?” and learn how to tap into our innate creativity. We’ll focus on the creative spark, its origins and applications. We’ll review the physiological and genetic aspects of creativity, and see examples of creativity in science, business, leadership, humanities, arts, and religion.
• Week 8 August 17-21
CUBA: Enigma and Neighbor
A change of leadership in both Cuba and the U.S. offers an opportunity to examine this long-troubled relationship. In this week we will engage Cuban nationals, U.S. policy-makers, historians, academics, and religious leaders in an effort to understand the present situation, past tensions and future possibilities.
• Week 9 August 24-28
The History of Liberty
In this week we will explore the roots of liberty and examine the historical expressions of this grand idea. During the week, in partnership with Colonial Williamsburg, we will examine the vision of our nation’s founders and their linkage of liberty to democracy — and our progress in reaching that vision. In cooperation with the visiting Colonial Williamsburg actors we will consider the nation builders’ conversations and debates, and our speakers will discuss what new understandings of liberty and democracy lie before us.
