Coe College celebrates 30th year of Thursday Forum with eclectic lineup of speakers
Coe invites all who are looking to expand their knowledge to attend its 2018-2019 Thursday Forum series. This is the thirtieth anniversary season of the program. In thirty years, thousands of community members have attended and more than 150 people have presented at Thursday Forum.
This year’s forum series begins with an exploration of brain health; weaves participants through books, plays, art and urbanism; travels to Catalonia; and concludes with the stories and music of big band leaders who dominated the swing era.
Thursday Forum lectures are held in Kesler Lecture Hall in Hickok Hall on the Coe campus. Each session begins with coffee and pastries from 8:45-9:15 a.m., followed by the class until 11:30 a.m. Each series concludes with an optional luncheon on the final Thursday. Please join us for the following events:
- Maintaining Cognitive Brain Health Through the Ages: Assistant Professor of Psychology Renee Penalver opens the Thursday Forum on September 6 with a four-week series that will introduce the study of aging and cognition while engaging participants with interactive cognitive activities. The public is invited to attend a free Thursday Forum thirtieth anniversary celebration on September 6 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Hickok Hall.
- Tragedy and Heroism: Three Historical Novels of Leon Uris: Beginning October 4, B.D. Silliman Professor of Physics Steve Feller will begin a four-week forum that guides participants through an examination of three of American author Leon Uris’s best-selling novels: “Mila 18,” “Exodus” and “Armageddon.”
- From Icon to Virtual Space: Shifting Understandings of Pictorial Beauty From the Ancients to the Renaissance: Howard Hall Professor of Philosophy Jeffrey Hoover will guide participants through a four-week forum starting November 1 on the traditions of pictorial art from Ancient Greece to Renaissance Europe and what they tell us about shifting aesthetic philosophies and varying ideas of beauty.
- Reviving the Plays of Early 20th Century Black Women Playwrights: Assistant Professor of Theatre Deanna L. Downes will hold a special presentation on December 6 to introduce participants to the lives and works of less-well-known African American women playwrights of the early 20th century, including Alice Dunbar Nelson and Mary Powell Burrill.
- A New European State? Catalonia Past and Present: William P. and Gayle S. Whipple Associate Professor of Spanish Mònica Fuertes-Arboix will explore Catalonia on January 17 and 24. This two-week forum will be an introduction to the rich history and culture of Catalonia as well as an overview of the headline-making events of today’s Catalan independence movement.
- Women in the Hebrew Bible: Joseph E. McCabe Associate Professor of Religion Meira Z. Kensky will examine representations of women in the Hebrew Bible. This four-week forum begins on February 7 and will explore how the stories about women in the Hebrew Bible were written to explore issues related to the nation of Israel and to highlight how women are portrayed.
- Urbanism to Save Us All. How Cities are Reshaping our Social and Physical Lives: On March 7 Joan and Abbott Lipsky Professor of Political Science Bruce Nesmith and Assistant Professor of Stead Department of Business Administration and Economics Drew Westberg use four forums to explore the broad challenges facing today’s cities.
- The Count, The Duke, The King and Glenn: Music of the Big Band and Swing Era: In the final four-week forum beginning April 4, Alma A. Turechek Professor of Music William Carson will highlight the stories and music of four fantastic big band leaders who dominated the swing era: Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman (“the King of Swing”) and Iowa’s own Glenn Miller.
Admission is $35 for a four-week course or $12 per week. The closing luncheon costs an additional $10. Payment can be made in person on Thursday mornings by cash or personal check. Credit card payments can be processed online only. For more information about paying by credit card or directly from your checking account, or to order gift certificates, call 319.399.8523 or visit www.coe.edu/thursday-forum.
Coe values its location and relationship with the Cedar Rapids community. Established in 1851, Coe has a national reputation for academic excellence enhanced by a student-centered, highly supportive campus environment. Our success in offering superb academics and exciting co-curricular activities stems in large part from our location in a thriving urban setting that promotes student growth and success. As such, we welcome the community to participate in this event.