Starting in August
When It’s Your Turn to Lead the Meeting (In Person Only)
This workshop will focus on learning and practicing techniques for leading meetings to elicit full participation; guiding discussions that result in clarity of purpose and action; teaching members how to make decisions by consensus; and identifying sustainable solutions to complex problems. Participants will learn and apply methodologies for guiding a focused conversation, practice tips for engaging participants, and discover decision-making tools.
Presenter: Cindy Anson, Chair, Osher Institute Advisory Board, Boise State University
Date and time: Fri., Aug. 12, 10:00 a.m.-noon
Cost: Included with membership
Urban Wildlife: How Animals Have Learned to Live Among Us
Urban wildlife is nothing new. Humans have co-evolved with wildlife and domesticated some species in the process. For example, predators like wolves were domesticated to help hunt, and ungulates like horses and caribou were domesticated for food and transportation. Join us as we look into the secret world of wild animals living among us and their ability to adapt to humans to enhance their survival.
Presenter: Steve Nadeau, author and retired biologist, Idaho Fish and Game
Date and time: Mon., Aug. 15, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Cost: Included with membership
Energy Transitions and You
This course will address challenges and opportunities presented by transitioning from fossil fuels to a carbon-free economy. We will explore typical energy technologies, such as wind, solar, and hydro, and how they work together. We also will move the discussion beyond electricity, which is only about 40% of our country’s energy usage.
Presenter: Dr. John Gardner, Professor Emeritus of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Boise State University
Dates and times: Tue., Aug. 16, 23, and 30, 10:00 a.m.-noon
Cost: $35
Business is Changing: Where Are the Future Opportunities? (In Person Only)
Businesses operate in a constantly evolving environment, and now is a time of particularly dynamic change. How are the businesses of the future likely to adapt? In this workshop, we will engage in interactive, hands-on activities to identify some current trends and try to predict what’s coming.
Presenter: Dr. Kirk Smith, Chair, Marketing Department, Boise State University
Date and time: Tue., Aug. 16, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Cost: Included with membership
Capacity: 45
Plastics and What We Can Do About Them
In this lecture, we will learn why we have plastics; what options existed before plastics; where plastics come from and what they’re made of; and the problems that plastics create. We also will discuss the efforts underway at Boise State to develop solutions to these problems.
Presenter: Dr. Scott Phillips, Professor, Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering, Boise State University
Date and time: Wed., Aug. 17, 10:00 a.m.-noon
Cost: Included with membership
The Life and Art of Pablo Neruda
The works of the great Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, winner of the 1971 Nobel Prize for literature, have been translated into dozens of languages and have influenced poets, playwrights, and musicians all over the world. He is as famous for his turbulent life as he is for his poetry, serving as a politician and diplomat before and after the Pinochet coup d’état. We will examine his life, his poetry, his influence, and several of his most famous poems in detail.
Presenter: Clyde Moneyhun, Professor of Creative Writing, Boise State University
Date and time: Wed., Aug. 17, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Cost: Included with membership
Drawing and Sketching Basics (In Person Only)
This course is designed for students who enjoy pencil drawing and sketching. We will review basic drawing techniques from value scale (light to dark) to simple still-life setups and nature scenes, such as flowers and foliage. Participants may bring a small favorite object to draw. Materials for the course will be provided, and sketch books are recommended but not required.
Presenter: Gizella O’Neil, artist
Dates and times: Thu., Aug. 18 and 25, 10:00 a.m.-noon
Cost: $30
Capacity: 25
The Architecture of Arizona’s Valley of the Sun (Livestream/Recorded Only)
Arizona’s “Valley of the Sun,” a name coined in a 1930s Phoenix advertising campaign, is the backdrop for the stunning designs of some of the Southwest’s most talented architects. Stylish mid-century buildings, lovely bungalows, contemporary towers, early skyscrapers filmed by Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Lloyd Wright’s late desert designs, and Paolo Soleri’s “arcology” are all part of this virtual tour. Participants will discover the architectural landscape of this unique desert region.
Presenter: Pam VanderPloeg, researcher and curator, Architecture GR
Dates and times: Thu., Aug. 18 and 25, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Cost: $25
An Osher Special Event: Offshore Outposts—Living at Remote Lighthouses (Livestream/Recorded Only)
Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state. Many are on remote islands and reefs that once snagged ships before they were marked. In this lecture, researcher Ric Mixter will share interviews with lighthouse keepers, discuss his visits to the most remote lighthouses in the U.S., and examine the explosion that killed a lighthouse keeper through the eyes of a survivor.
Presenter: Ric Mixter, author and PBS producer
Date and time: Mon., Aug. 22, 10:00 a.m.-noon
Cost: $25
Native American Music as Engaged Resistance (Livestream/Recorded Only)
The influence of Native Americans on American popular music has been enormous, yet largely overlooked. Indigenous musicians have helped create and develop multiple musical genres, including jazz, the most “American” musical genre of all. For tribal people traditionally, song is a fundamental expression of spirituality, and it has become a form of aesthetic and political activism addressing important contemporary issues from broken treaties to oil pipelines to violence against Indigenous women. We will explore the historical significance of music to tribal people, the impact of compulsory boarding school education, and contributions to jazz, rock, and hip hop.
Presenter: Dr. Janis Johnson, Clinical Associate Professor of English and Director of Africana Studies Program, University of Idaho
Date and time: Mon., Aug. 22, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Cost: Included with membership
Introduction to Craft Beer: Production and Operations
This lecture will provide a brief overview of the craft beer industry, including brewing processes, onsite operations, offsite sales, marketing, and industry economies.
Presenter: Dan Jordan, Co-Owner, White Dog Brewing Co.
Date and time: Tue., Aug. 23, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Cost: Included with membership
Cosmology 101
This course will give a layman’s explanation of what astronomy and physics have discovered about the beginning, evolution, and eventual fate of the universe. We will learn the meaning of many buzzwords in science literature, such as red shift, background microwave radiation, and inflation theory.
Presenter: Paul Nelson, retired Senior Engineer, DRAM Research and Development, Micron Technology
Dates and times: Wed., Aug. 24 and 31, 10:00 a.m.-noon
Cost: $25
Boise’s Climate Action Initiatives
Following the establishment of a goal to be carbon neutral by 2050, the city of Boise is leading the way for climate action in Idaho. This lecture will provide information on Boise’s climate and clean energy goals and initiatives.
Presenter: Steve Hubble, Climate Action Manager, City of Boise
Date and time: Wed., Aug. 24, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Cost: Included with membership
Advancements in Arthroplasty
This lecture will provide new information about advancements in joint replacement, including robotic technology, opioid reduction strategies, development and application of same-day discharge surgeries, implant design, and accelerated recovery.
Presenter: S. Bradley Daines, MD, Joint Replacement Specialist and Co-Founder, The Idaho Clinic
Date and time: Fri., Aug. 26, 10:00 a.m.-noon
Cost: Included with membership
Deep History of Population Growth in the Snake River Plain
Population growth and climate change are two of the greatest challenges facing the Snake River Plain. This lecture will focus on a 15,000-year record of adaptations to these challenges in the Snake River Plain that provides important lessons. We also will discuss a need for increased engagement with the Indigenous societies who have successfully adapted to these challenges for millennia.
Presenter: Dr. Erick Robinson, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, and Director, Center for Applied Archaeological Science, Boise State University
Date and time: Mon., Aug. 29, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Cost: Included with membership
Media Bias and Why Facts Matter
This lecture will look at perceived media bias and why facts matter in a democracy. We will explore how journalists gather facts, source stories, and present the facts in an objective manner. Then we will examine the notion of expertise, media literacy, and the spread of disinformation and misinformation in the current social media climate.
Presenter: Scott McIntosh, Opinion Editor, Idaho Statesman
Date and time: Tue., Aug. 30, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Cost: Included with membership
The Stone House in the Cañon
Between 1885 and 1889, Arthur DeWint Foote and his wife, Mary Hallock Foote, designed, constructed, and lived in a home in the rugged Boise River Canyon. We will learn about the homesite and examine archival research on the original structure. Nicknamed the “House in the Cañon,” our study will offer a glimpse into the early pioneer spirit of this couple and highlight the achievements of both individuals.
Presenter: Dr. Stacey Guill, author
Date and time: Wed., Aug. 31, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Cost: Included with membership