Columbine United Church, Littleton   

Though humans share 99.9% of their genes, human learning across the planet results in great differences in languages, values, beliefs, and tastes. This course will address how humans--united by nature--still divide and suffer conflict and frustration. It also addresses how humans tap into their inherent strengths, both genetic and learned, to minimize conflict and frustration and to flourish.

Common Humanity is a multidisciplinary course that taps into history, biology, psychology, and anthropology. Participants will explore the basic human forces of instinct, emotion, thought, and habit that determine why individuals and groups succeed and fail.

Participants are asked to bring an open mind and heart to class. Activities to fuel learning include group conversations, short lectures, game-playing, short videos, and surveys. Before each weekly class, a relevant short article or a brief survey activity will be provided.

This class brings the unique history, culture, and traditions of Japan to life! Participants will enter the heart of Japanese culture—past and present. Whether you’re fascinated by art, history, philosophy, or simply seek answers about Japan’s allure, this immersive journey will deliver.

Travel through Japan’s history, explore the traditional arts, and learn about the culture’s perspectives on resilience, beauty, and harmony. Dive into the philosophies and values that shape Japanese thinking. Connect ancient wisdom with contemporary issues to see how they inform pop culture to business etiquette. Encounter Japan’s rich mythology, religious traditions, and folktales that inspired generations and still influence its art, film, and literature today.

Whether you’ve been to Japan and want to expand your knowledge, are considering a future trip, or just want to immerse yourself in another culture, this class is for you. Instruction will consist of lectures and videos, as well as opportunities to engage with the material.

Step into a world of fun and nostalgia as we explore the history of play, toys, and games through the ages. This engaging class traces the timeless joy of play, from ancient dice and spinning tops to Victorian dolls, tin soldiers, and board games, all the way to the rise of electronic toys and video games in the modern era. Along the way, we’ll look at how culture, technology, and history shaped the ways children and adults have played and share personal memories of favorite pastimes. Whether you grew up playing Candy Land, jacks, jump rope, Lionel trains or Barbie dolls, this class offers a chance to revisit cherished moments, learn surprising historical stories behind familiar toys, and discover how play has always been a universal part of human life. Quoting Roy Angel, inventor of Pictionary, “Everyone has their own toy box of memories…Let’s open the lid wide open!”

Great Decisions 2026 is a course on United States foreign policy. Each week, we will focus on a specific topic related to that policy from a U.S. perspective. Other perspectives on that policy topic are valued and encouraged. In addition, each week the class will watch a video, prepared by the Foreign Policy Association, to further define the week’s topic. Students are encouraged to provide their thoughts and opinions on the presented materials and be ready to discuss with and learn from their classmates. Topics included are:

• America and the World: Trump 2.0 Foreign Policy
• Trump Tariffs and the Future of the World Economy
• U.S.-China Relations
• Ruptured Alliances and the Risk of Nuclear Proliferation
• Ukraine and the Future of European Security
• Multilateral Institutions in a Changing World Order
• U.S. Engagement of Africa
• The Future of Human Rights and International Law

Required text: Great Decisions Briefing Book 2026 available from the Foreign Policy Association.

William F. Halsey was, quite possibly, the most popular admiral in U.S. Navy history during World War II. His aggressive risk-taking throughout the war led to U.S. victories at Guadalcanal, Midway (even though he was hospitalized), numerous island landings, and Leyte Gulf, culminating in the Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

Questions surround Halsey’s actions at Leyte Gulf and during Typhoon Cobra, however. Was he lured from a desperate battle by a Japanese decoy fleet? Did he hold too long before releasing his ships to return to the San Bernardino Strait? Did his actions lead to the loss of men and vessels both at Samar and in Typhoon Cobra?

Over the course of eight weeks, we’ll touch on those parts of the Pacific War that drove the U.S. to Leyte Gulf and see how even heroes can make mistakes--mistakes which may be saved by selfless acts of courage and sacrifice by others.

Recommended text: James D. Hornfischer, Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors

This class will be a mind-bending exploration of time travel—from its origins in literature and science to its influence on our understanding of time itself. We will explore physics, technology, philosophy, and art as each relates to time travel and tells the story of the concept's cultural evolution—from H.G. Wells to Doctor Who, from Proust to Woody Allen.

We will take a close look at the porous boundary between science fiction and modern physics, and we will ultimately delve into what it all means in our own moment in time—that is, the world of the instantaneous, with its all-consuming present and vanishing future.

Classes will include lecture, discussion, and presentations from The Great Courses series, “Mysteries of Modern Physics: Time.”

Required text: James Gleick, Time Travel: A History. Recommended additional text: Carlo Rovelli, The Order of Time, (2018).