This seminar will examine current efforts to reassert "Russianness" in Russia. Topics include the Eurasian, Nationalist, and Cosmist movements, and the nostalgia for Stalinism.

The seminar will explore how Americans have thought of themselves as a people and nation in terms of their role in the world both past and present.

Biologists and social scientists generally differ substantially in their perception of what it means to be human: the former typically emphasize the role of biology (not surprisingly), whereas the latter concentrate on culture; sometimes the disparity is so great that each side almost literally denies the significance of the other. Nearly everyone, however, agrees that the species Homo sapiens is unusual – if not unique - among animals, and also that we are in real trouble, in many respects.

This lecture uses the Irish example to illustrate what is involved in creating a tourist product that benefits the host culture, in sharp contrast with places such as Cancún where tourism resulted in "socioeconomic apartheid" and the creation of what some call "Cancún’s Soweto."

Dr. Sims will discuss some of the underlying trends that will be driving the economy for the next few years. Given the vital role of education in the economies of nations as well as regional and community economies, there will be a special focus on how the economy is affecting the funding for education and how education, in turn, affects the growth of the economy.

War has existed since the beginnings of civilization, and probably long before. What is it about human nature that explains this tendency? Why is it that we both pursue war and abhor it? This seminar will integrate strands from philosophy, psychology and evolutionary biology to explore the human propensity for, and horror of, collective violence and consider how this understanding might be used to restrain our tendency to harm one another.

A culture that cannot distinguish between reality and illusion dies. And we are dying now. We will either wake from our state of induced childishness, one where trivia and gossip pass for news and information, one where our goal is not justice but an elusive and unattainable happiness, to confront the stark limitations before us, or we will continue our headlong retreat into fantasy.

As societies face unprecedented demographic shifts, the fields of geriatrics and gerontology will assist in creating the highest quality of life across the lifespan. Despite the growing elderly population, our society fails to grasp the concepts and constructs associated with age and aging. Based on inherent and continued shortages of health practitioners and associated social systems in the US who will bear the responsibility for caring for the majority of the elderly? And yet, other societies look to us for leadership in this field. Specialized and integrated gerontology and geriatric approaches to aging will be presented that address the way we age now and the way we hope to age in the future. Everyone can benefit from a greater awareness of essential aging “truths.”

Chronic diseases now comprise 75% of medical care contacts and costs. They spread faster than communicable diseases and are less responsive to intervention. Disciplines outside medicine can contribute to a viable response.

Water shapes our culture, grows our food, frames our religions, sickens us, heals us and causes our conflicts. We understand that water is a necessity, but is it a human right? This seminar will examine the role of water in both developed and less-developed nations, and pose some critical questions about our stewardship of this essential resource.