MCLL Summer Lecture Program
Wonderful Wednesdays
鈫�听Scroll down for lecture details听鈫�
The summer term only includes lectures, which are offered in-person and online. These lectures are听presented by MCLL members, other lifelong learners and guest lecturers. The fee is $10 per lecture, and does not include MCLL membership benefits.听
Summer registration opens June 19 at 09:00 am
Term duration: July 2 鈥� August 20, 2025
鈿狅笍听Important
To register for a lecture you'll need your 51吃瓜网Athena login name and password, so keep them handy. If you forget or don't yet have them, get them now at the .
Useful Links
Useful Notes
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Maximum in-person attendance is 16 unless otherwise specified.
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Registration closes at midnight two days before the lecture date.听The Zoom link for online lectures will be sent to attendees the previous day.
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In case of technical problems, an emergency, or an illness, a听refund is available听through your Athena account until one day after the lecture.
MCLL Summer 2025 Workshops and Lectures |
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MCLL Workshops
YCLML 897 The Art(s) of Nonfiction (in person)
Time: Wednesday, July 2, 1:00 p.m.
Presenter: Maxine Ruvinsky
Attendance: In person
Room: 225
Nonfiction: the only genre of writing defined by what it is NOT. Long considered a lesser form of literature, nonfiction writing has finally come into its own. This workshop addresses the methods and strategies employed by writers to produce first-class (read: creative) work. The workshop will be group intensive, with participants reading from their work, a method more common to fiction writing workshops. Bottom line: all writing is creative.
YCLML 898 Journaling for Joy and Mindfulness (in person)
Time: Wednesday, July 16, 10:00 a.m.
Presenter: Manon Wascher听
Attendance: In person
Room: 225
According to research, journal-writing is an extraordinary wellness tool. In this workshop, therapist Manon Wascher shares several journaling exercises centered on cultivating joy and mindfulness. A workbook is provided; participants are encouraged to explore these aspects of self in private writing.
YCLML 899 Enjoying Our Time with the Elderly (in person)
Time: Wednesday, July 23, 1:00 p.m.
Presenter: Grace Rostig听
Attendance: In person
Room: 225
My presentation/interactive workshop will focus on ways in which we, as spouses, lovers, friends, children of the elderly, can bring joy, meaning and compassion to the daily lives or weekly visits with the elderly people we love. It will begin with suggestions based on an approach I have honed over 15 years of education and work with the elderly, coupled with 40 years of spiritual practice and exploration. Equally important, I will encourage participants to share their experiences. The workshop will also include a few one-minute periods of meditation. In this , watch the magical Naomi Feil interact with Gladys Wilson, an elderly woman suffering from dementia.
MCLL Lectures
YCLML 900 Own Your Story, Change Your Life (in person)
Time: Wednesday, July 2, 10:00 a.m.
Presenter: Robert Paris
Attendance: In person
Room: 225
The lecturer will present new knowledge of the brain focused on research that concludes that the majority of us are unaware of our authentic personal stories. The lecturer will demonstrate the power of storytelling by telling his own genuine narrative and guide the group to become comfortable telling their own genuine stories. The lecturer will then relate the power of personal storytelling to self-leadership and fulfilment.
YCLML 901 The Lotbini猫res in the First World War (in person)
Time: Wednesday, July 2, 1:00 p.m.
Presenter: Jean-Pierre Raymond听
Attendance: In person
Room: 241
This lecture will narrate the contribution of 16 descendants of the King's Engineers, French Canadians who were also generals, some during WWI. Many were also descendants of the chief engineer of Canada, Gaspart-Joseph Chaussegros L茅ry, the engineer in charge of the construction of Quebec's ramparts. This lecture will explore these contributions along with a narration about Michel Chartier de Lotbini猫re. to read more.
YCLML 902 How Science Works (online)
Time: Wednesday, July 9, 10:00 a.m.
Presenter: Tim Skene听
Attendance: Online
Science has brought countless benefits to our everyday lives. It encompasses a vast range of disciplines, from the structure of molecules to human physiology and behaviour. We read about scientific activity in the media, but don鈥檛 appreciate what鈥檚 behind the scenes. This presentation will show what makes a scientist, and how their work is done and communicated to the public and other scientists. It will cover some examples as well as its problems. A brief : Why Science is For Me, shows why understanding science is important for all of us.
YCLML 903 Fiddler on the Roof and Sholem Aleichem (in person)
Time: Wednesday, July 9, 1:00 p.m.
Presenter: Paul Kuai-Yu Leong听
Attendance: In person
Room: 241
The popular Fiddler on the Roof (1964 musical/1971 film) is mainly based on the book Tevye the Dairyman by Solomon Rabinovich. His pen name, Sholem Aleichem, means 'peace be upon you鈥� in Hebrew'. This lecture focuses on the author's works. His popularity was such that he has been called 'The Yiddish Mark Twain鈥�. For more information, click here or Google-search Sholem Aleichem, the Yiddish Mark Twain.
YCLML 904 Unraveling Almod贸var: A Filmic Exploration (in person)
Time: Wednesday, July 9, 1:00 p.m.
Presenter: Alicia Zlatar & Patricia Hinojosa
Attendance: In person
Room: 225
This lecture offers an engaging introduction to the early career of renowned Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almod贸var, presented through a visually rich PowerPoint and slide presentation. Participants will explore key elements of his cinematic style, recurring themes, and the cultural influences that shape his work. The session will also spotlight Pain and Glory, a deeply personal film that draws parallels with Almod贸var鈥檚 own life experiences.
YCLML 905 Can AI Chatbots Help Lifelong Learners? (online)
Time: Wednesday, July 16, 10:00 a.m.
Presenters: Romano De Santis & Giovanna De Santis
Attendance: Online
AI chatbots are here to stay. How can they help lifelong learners carry out activities that they love to indulge in? Activities such as writing, structuring knowledge exchanges, learning foreign languages, staying informed, creating visual art, and similar activities. The premise is that you will not know the answer unless you try. The presenter did try and will report on the good, the bad and the ugly of what he found out.
YCLML 906 Celebrate Canadian Singers! (in person)
Time: Wednesday, July 16, 1:00 p.m.
Presenter: Suzanne Charlton听
Attendance: In person
Room: 241
Canadiana includes great world class singers! From Paul Anka to Diana Krall 鈥ightfoot to K D Lang 鈥ubl茅 to Joni Mitchell.and more great singing!
YCLML 907 Unraveling Almod贸var: From Spain to the US - New Actors, Familiar Drama and Art (in person)听
Time: Wednesday, July 16, 1:00 p.m.
Presenter: Alicia Zlatar & Patricia Hinojosa听
Attendance: In person
Room: 225
A cinematic journey through Almod贸var鈥檚 latest work (The Room Next Door), exploring how language, identity, and geography shape his evolving storytelling across cultures. We will explore how his deeply personal style translates across borders, and what remains uniquely, unmistakably Almod贸var.
YCLML 908 Creative Writing with an AI Chatbot (online)
Time: Wednesday, July 23, 10:00 a.m.
Presenters: Romano De Santis & Giovanna De Santis听
Attendance: Online
After a life centered on technical and scientific endeavors, I recently developed a passion for creative writing. Particularly in crafting short non-fiction family stories and composing sonnets (in several languages). In this new creative area of interest, I have replaced the traditional writer鈥檚 toolbox鈥攄ictionaries, thesauruses, rhyme manuals, poetry anthologies, and similar resources鈥攚ith the assistance of an AI chatbot. I have found this experience not only exciting, but also deeply enriching and personally most rewarding. The idea of the lecture is to share my journey and show how this approach might open creative doors for equally minded and motivated others.
YCLML 909听 脡crire pour faire tourner les pages (online)
Time: Wednesday, July 23, 10:00 a.m.
Presenter: Anne-Marie Hubert听
Attendance: Online
En fran莽ais avec participation dans les deux langues officielles听
Techniques d鈥櫭ヽriture pour captiver les lecteurs d猫s les premi猫res lignes, incluant l鈥檌ntroduction, les personnages (m锚me s鈥檌l s鈥檃git de vous-m锚me!), la cr茅ation de liens 茅motionnels avec le lecteur, ma卯triser la tension et le rythme, ainsi que la prose. La s茅ance comprendra des exemples concrets. The lecture will be in French, but questions in English will be answered.
YCLML 910 Dame Vera Lynn and Marlene Dietrich (in person)
Time: Wednesday, July 23, 1:00 p.m.
Presenter: Paul Kuai-Yu Leong
Attendance: In person
Room: 241
Dame Vera Lynn and Marlene Dietrich were enchanting singers known as the "WWII (Allied) Forces Sweethearts". Their songs We'll Meet Again, The White Cliffs of Dover, and Lili Marleen uplifted the spirits and hopes of the fighters and strengthened a resilient mood, despite the harsh reality of war. It was said that Winston Churchill didn't (alone) beat the Nazis, but those two singers sang them to defeat as well.
YCLML 911 Travels in South America (in person)
Time: Wednesday, July 30, 10:00 a.m.
Presenter: Tony Frayne & H茅l猫ne Robillard-Frayne听
Attendance: In person
Room: 225
Our presentation will show photos of Peru in 1972 and of Chile in January earlier this year. Two neighbouring countries but with very different cultures and landscapes. The photos include Cuzco and Machu Picchu in Peru, and Valparaiso and the The Road to the End of the World, (Torr茅 del Peine) in Chile.
YCLML 912 America鈥檚 Robber Barons (online)
Time: Wednesday, July 30, 1:00 p.m.
Presenter: Barry Lane听
Attendance: Online
The years between the end of the Civil War and the early 20th century became known as the Gilded Age because the country was glittering on the surface but problematic underneath. In this period, the U.S. became an economic powerhouse with its railroads and its steel, oil and banking industries, and the 鈥渃aptains of industry鈥� - Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan, Vanderbilt and the like - amassed vast wealth while many citizens crowded into tenements and worked in factories under dangerous conditions.
YCLML 913 Joan Didion (online)
Time: Wednesday, July 30, 1:00 p.m.
Presenter: Marna Murray听
Attendance: Online
Didion chronicled the world as she saw it from the middle of the 20th century forward. Her insights provided in essays, novels, and screenplays, articulate the idealized vision we have and offers us a different reality. Her poignant Year of Magical Thinking on the illness of her daughter and death of her husband helps many to understand the complexities of grief.
YCLML 914 The Franck Report and the Fate of Hiroshima (in person)
Time: Wednesday, August 6, 10:00 a.m.
Presenter: Lewis Cattarini听
Attendance: In person
Room: 225
How did a group of American scientists in June 1945 try to prevent the nuclear bombing of Japan? This lecture examines the diplomacy behind the Franck Report, including the involvement of Szilard versus Oppenheimer.
YCLML 915 Charles Aznavour: From Paris to the World (online)
Time: Wednesday, August 6, 10:00 a.m.
Presenter: Frank Nicholson, Nadine Ozkan, & Elisabeth Robino听
Attendance: Online
Born in Paris to Armenian refugees in 1924, Charles Aznavour went on the stage at age nine. After earning a reputation as a singer and songwriter in Montreal, Aznavour launched a career lasting seventy years, in which he wrote or co-wrote 1,000 songs, sang in several languages, visited 90 countries, sold 180 million records and became an international star. Lecture attendees will watch and discuss videos of Aznavour singing five of his classics first in English and then in French, and then five other songs sung in French accompanied by English lyrics onscreen.
YCLML 916 Is Translation Possible? (online)
Time: Wednesday, August 6, 1:00 p.m.
Presenter: Iryna Malynovska听
Attendance: Online
By posing such a provocative question, I invite the audience to reflect on the challenges that people face when trying to communicate their ideas to others. If reaching mutual understanding between people is never easy, then these difficulties increase tenfold when it comes to communication between people who speak different languages. We will try to understand the reasons for such difficulties and the ways of overcoming them. Examples from political, mass media and literary discourses will be considered.
YCLML 917 Nostalgia and Us (in person)
Time: Wednesday, August 13, 10:00 a.m.
Presenter: Eduardo Cabrera听
Attendance: In person
Room: 225
Nostalgia may be one of the deepest feelings socially shared and dearly celebrated. This sometimes-overwhelming longing for the past, for our common history, for our personal memories or for an idealized long-gone era, can shape our identity, influencing our behaviour. This lecture is an invitation to immerse ourselves through the diverse ways and mechanisms used in art to evoke the past and its regrettable absence.
YCLML 918 Canadians Fighting Over Malta 1940-45 (in person)
Time: Wednesday, August 13, 1:00 p.m.
Presenter: Andr茅 Berdais
Attendance: In person
Room: 225
Malta was the most heavily bombed location during the Second World War. Twenty-five percent of the aviators on the island were Canadians. They flew fighter planes against Axis attacks on the tiny Mediterranean island and used reconnaissance and bomber aircraft to stop supply convoys to German and Italian armies in North Africa. Their actions and sacrifices directly contributed to Allied victories at the Battle of El Alamein, the invasion of Sicily and the liberation of Italy. If Malta had fallen, the war in Europe would likely have had a different ending.
YCLML 919 An introduction to Chinese Language (in person)
Time: Wednesday, August 20, 10:00 a.m.
Presenter: Doug Woolidge听
Attendance: In person
Room: 225
After looking at a map of China and learning about regional dialects, we will focus on the sounds of Mandarin, and the way that Chinese characters are written and classified. Finally, we will look at aspects of Chinese language that might interest those with a casual interest as well as people who are considering learning Chinese.
YCLML 920 Old Master Art Works in the MMFA (in person)
Time: Wednesday, August 20, 1:00 p.m.
Presenter: Laurie Nixon听
Attendance: In person
Room: 225
In this lecture, I will go over the iconography, the historical context, the original location and the original function of several of the art works, from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, in the permanent collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
