Senior Resources AssociationElder LearnersAn Association of Life Long Learning

Fall 2017 Lectures and Course

Become a Member

Membership entitles you to discounts off both the price of attendance for the Elder Learners Lectures and the fees for the Learning Unlimited courses.

Saturday morning lectures begin at 9:45 a.m. with mid-morning refreshments and a light-lunch follows each lecture.

Learning Unlimited courses are normally held over four Saturday mornings, 9:30 am to12:00 noon.

Anyone can join regardless of age. Come and enjoy the fellowship and stimulating topics on lecture day and enrol in a course. A further advantage of membership is your invitation to join in the fun of the coach tours and visit interesting locations in the company of friends.

Saint Mary’s University and Elder Learners are committed to programs for lifelong learning and striving to become more aware of the heritage, culture and tradition of not only Nova Scotia but also of Canada and the world.

Inclement WeatherFor the most up-to-date information please call the Saint Mary’s University Cancellation/Closure Hotline at (902) 491-6264 or check the Saint Mary’s website: www.smu.ca.

If the university is closed due to poor weather conditions then Elder Learners is automatically canceled.

Lectures and course fees are non-refundable in the event of a cancellation due to inclement weather or illness of guest speaker.

We are committed to programs for lifelong learning. We strive to deliver programs that raise awareness of the heritage, culture and tradition of not only Nova Scotia but also of Canada and the world.

We have sponsored over 130 lectures. Our fall and winter lectures are held on Saturday mornings with a wide-range of topics, most of which are submitted by our members. You will find yourself immersed in many of our fascinating lectures with well-informed presenters who make their stories come alive.

Elder Learners continues their initiative to offering a program of short courses on Saturday mornings in the fall and spring. Diverse topics and instructors from all professions make these courses unique.

Past lectures have encompassed: – The Ghosts of Deadman’s Island – Titanic – Fraud Prevention – The Four Citadels – Historical Dynamics of Clothing – Nova Scotia’s Role in the War of 1812

Previous courses have included: – Music Appreciation– Art and Medicine– Genealogy – Journal Writing – Meditation and Spirituality – Markets and Ethics– The Canadian Constitution

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. Albert Einstein

Executive 2017-2018President: Mary-Jane O’HalloranPast President: Carmen MoirVice-President: Linda MacDonaldTreasurer: Carol BrysonSecretary: Davena Davis

Members at LargeKen Adams Grace BeureeLois BlockBessie HarrisNoelle Murphy

Contact Elder Learners Continuing Education Saint Mary’s University 923 Robie Street Halifax NS B3H 3C3

Phone: 902-420-5492E-mail: conted@smu.caWeb: conted.smu.ca

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Empire of Deception

Dean Jobb

Saturday, September 23, 2017McNally Theater, 9:45 am - 12:00pm

Lou Keyte was the talk of 1920s Nova Scotia. Charming and generous, the America millionaire entertained lavishly at Halifax hotels and at his secluded lodge near present-day Kejimkujik park. There was just one problem -- Keyte’s real name was Leo Koretz, and he was wanted in Chicago for defrauding investors in one of the most brazen swindles in history.

Dean Jobb will explore how this forgotten master of the Ponzi scheme ended up in Nova Scotia and the historical detective work involved in bringing his story to life.

Dean Jobb is an author and journalism professor at the University of King’s College, where he is on the faculty of the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction program. Empire of Deception, his book on Koretz’s swindle and his escape to Nova Scotia, was a finalist for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction, won the Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Award and was the Chicago Writers Association’s Book of the Year.

The Future of Forests in Nova Scotia - Lessons from the Land

Robert Bancroft

Saturday, October 28, 2017Sobey Theater, 9:45 am - 12:00pm

In the twenty five years leading up to 2014, 42% of the operable forests in Nova Scotia have been clearcut. Clearcuts are the quickest way for companies to make short-term profits. Clearcut-ting results in long-term degradation of forest soils, waterways and diminishing prospects for regenerating forests.

For decades the forest industry, with govern-ment assistance and the public purse, has been converting complex Acadian forests to bore-al-style, simplified forests for fiber production. No valid scientific rationale for doing this exists. Corporate greed is involved.

Successive provincial governments of all polit-ical stripes have failed to manage public lands in the public interest. Harvests are now reoccur-ring in 20–55 year cycles. Many Acadian forest trees can live for centuries.

Bob’s talk will be illustrated with satellite imag-es. Wildlife populations and nature are rapidly deteriorating as these forests are flattened.

Bob Bancroft first worked summers at the Maritime Forest Research Centre in Fredericton as a UNB student. As the regional biologist in eastern NS, he quickly realized that forest managers and single-minded harvesters were rapidly altering forest habitats to the determent of many wildlife species. A former President of the NS Federation of Anglers and Hunters and current President of Nature NS, Bob lives with his wife, landscape artist Alice Reed, on 56 acres of former farmland beside Pomquet Harbour, where he has been restoring healthy forest for 42 years.

Russia’s Hermitage Museum - History and Art Collection

Natalia Kutovenko

Saturday, November 25, 2017McNally Theater, 9:45 am - 12:00pm

This lecture will be dedicated to the Hermitage Museum and focus on it’s collection and the history of the buildings. The Hermitage Museum is home to one of the largest universal collections in the world, ranking along with the Louvre, British Museum and Metropolitan Museum. The Hermitage’s oldest exhibits date back over 30 thousand years and it has one of the best collections in the world when it comes to West European paintings and sculptures.

Natalia Kutovenko has vast work experience and knowledge about the famous Hermitage Museum. She worked there as a guide at the “Intourist” company before coming to Canada in 2002. She was the Head of the Department of Foreign Languages at the International Banking Institute in St. Petersburg and the Assistant Manager in Foreign Affairs of the Library of the Academy of Sciences. In Canada, Natalia worked as an Assistant Professor and Instructor in the Department of Russian Studies at Dalhousie University. She is presently working as an interpreter in the courts and for ISANS, and teaching Russian Language and Literature at the Russian School in Halifax.

Women who made a difference through the centuries

Dr. Michael Collins

Saturdays, Oct. 21, Nov. 4,18 and Dec. 2 Location: TBA, 9:30am - 12pm

This course will mostly cover women of

importance from the United Kingdom with

some information on those in Canada.

Week 1: Politics and Power

Week 2: War and Opportunity

Week 3: Arts and Crafts

Week 4: Science and Technology

Michael Collins’ first career was in the

oil industry and he lived in a number of

countries. He obtained a B.A. and Ph.D

from the University of East Anglia, Norwich,

England, in Economic and Social History

concentrating on Europe and the Soviet

Union. He retired back to Canada in 2006 and

has been teaching part-time at Acadia and

Mount Saint Vincent universities and recently

for Elder Learners and SCANS.

COURSE