Joy of Learning, October 2023!

Come join us in October for our ever-popular “Joy of Learning” series! We have offered Joy of Learning classes for many years, in April and October. They are taught by educators and other experts on a volunteer basis, for adults and for teens at a high school/college learning level.  Come learn something new and have fun!  All classes are free to the public and are sponsored by the Friends of the Falmouth Public Library. 

We are offering five classes this October; all will meet in person. Here are the titles, see below for descriptions and registration links!

People, Land and Climate Change with Skee Houghton, 4 Mondays, 10/2, 10/9, 10/23 & 10/30, 2-3 pm (does not meet on Indigenous Peoples’ Day 10/16)

Discussion of Station Eleven with Monica Hough (this year’s Falmouth Reads book!) 4 Tuesdays, 10/3, 10/10, 10/17 & 10/24, 4-5 pm

Poetry of Emily Dickinson with David Webb, 4 Wednesdays 10/4, 10/11, 10/18 &10/25, 10:30-noon

 Texture of Memory with Rae Nishi, 4 Wednesdays 10/4, 10/11, 10/18 & 10/25, 3-4 pm

 Written Language, Past and Present with Ryan Budnick, 4 Thursdays, 10/5, 10/12, 10/19 & 10/26 2-3 pm

Registration is required; click the link after the class title below, go to the library’s online event calendar, call the Reference Desk at 508-457-2555 x 7 or email us at info@falmouthpubliclibrary.org. Brochures are also available at the library!

People, Land and Climate Change with Skee Houlton, 4 Mondays, 10/2, 10/9, 10/23 and 10/30, 2-3 pm (does not meet on Indigenous Peoples’ Day 10/16) Register by clicking here!

The primary driver of climate change is carbon dioxide. What adds CO2 to the atmosphere? What removes it?  How has the concentration changed over the last 170 years and longer?  What can we do to slow or reverse the rise in CO2? This course will emphasize the role of land and land use in the global carbon cycle and in the management of future changes in climate. This class will meet in the Hermann Room.

Skee (R.A.) Houghton is senior scientist emeritus at the Woodwell Climate Research Center in Falmouth. He was an active researcher at the Center for 35 years, studying the effects of land-use change on terrestrial carbon storage and climate change. He received a Ph.D. in ecology from Stony Brook University in 1979. He has worked at the Marine Biological Laboratory, at NASA, and has participated in numerous IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) assessments.

Discussion of Station Eleven with Monica Hough (this year’s Falmouth Reads book!) 4 Tuesdays, 10/3, 10/10, 10/17 and 10/24, 4-5 pm Register by clicking here!

This is also this year’s Falmouth Reads title! It depicts life after a devastating pandemic destroys most of the world’s population, and it took on new significance in 2020, reminding readers that “survival is insufficient,” and demonstrating the power of art, relationships, and maintaining humanity in an inhumane world. This discussion-based course will explore the ways in which Mandel uses structure, style and modern pop culture references to support her themes and create deeper meaning. We will investigate her incorporation of allusions ranging from Shakespeare to Sartre to Star Trek, and more. Participants should read the novel before the start of the course, as the non-linear structure plays an important roleit will be available to borrow at the Reference Desk. Limited to 20 participants; this will meet in the Bay Room. Please note that our fiction book club will read her recent book, Sea of Tranquility, for the November meeting-all are welcome!

Monica Hough has been teaching English at Falmouth Academy since 1986. She holds a B.A. in English from Yale University. Station Eleven is part of her ninth-grade English curriculum.

Poetry of Emily Dickinson with David Webb, 4 Wednesdays 10/4, 10/11, 10/18 and 10/25, 10:30-noon. Click here to register!

Emily Dickinson is a candidate for “The greatest American Poet” award.  While many Americans know this about her, very few have actually read much of her poetry.  In spite of her unusually limited life-style — she had modest schooling, lived at home with her family in Amherst, Massachusetts, travelled very little, never married or really had a partner– she enjoyed a rich and lively intellectual and spiritual life.  She wrote about 1775 poems, most of these secretly, and she published just seven, all anonymously.  As she said to her would-be publisher and mentor Thomas Wentworth Higginson, “If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.” David has chosen 32 poems for this offering, eight per session, and hopes that a few friends of the Falmouth Library will choose to read, wrestle with, and discuss these poems with him. Limited to 20 participants; this will meet in the Bay Room.

David has taught Joy of Learning classes in October on short story writers, since 2016.  David is a 1964 graduate of Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School, 1968 from Wesleyan, and he holds two advanced degrees from Columbia University.  He spent his entire career at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, CT, where he taught English, mathematics, and Architectural Design and did college counseling.  He is now retired and lives with his wife in Cotuit.

Texture of Memory with Rae Nishi, 4 Wednesdays 10/4, 10/11, 10/18 and 10/25, 3-4 pm. Click here to register!

This course will cover how memories are formed, what happens when these processes are damaged, and how memories shape our identities, culture and history. This class will meet in the Hermann Room.

Rae is a retired neuroscientist with a PhD in Biology, and resides in Falmouth year-round. Prior to retirement, she was Director of Education at the Marine Biological Laboratory, and prior to that, she was a tenured full professor in the Neurological Sciences Department at the University of Vermont.

Written Language, Past and Present with Ryan Budnick, 4 Thursdays, 10/5, 10/12, 10/19 and 10/26 2-3 pm. Click here to register!

Writing is one of the most widespread and influential technologies in the world (that you are using right now!), and has taken many forms across space and time. This course covers the history of writing systems, from ancient Cuneiform and the recently deciphered Mayan through to modern spelling reform movements. Different types of writing systems are surveyed, demonstrating how the particular system used by a community may be the result of a combination of historical accident, political expression, and functional need. This class will meet in the Hermann Room.

Ryan Budnick has a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics from Princeton University and recently completed his Ph.D. in Linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania. While his research focuses on the formal modeling of language acquisition, he has a deep interest in bringing accessible linguistics education to general audiences. 

Climate Film Series: Chasing Coral

 

Join us on Tuesday July 18 at 6:00pm in the Hermann Meeting Room for a screening of the 2017 documentary film Chasing Coral. Come learn more about how a team of divers, photographers, and scientists set out to film the elusive process of coral bleaching – happening at an unprecedented rate around the world – and explore what organizations are now doing to help corals become more resilient. All are welcome and you may bring popcorn and covered drinks if you wish. A brief discussion will follow the film showing.  Please register.

This screening is co-sponsored by FalCAN, the Falmouth Climate Action Network. FalCAN’s mission is to “Initiate and collaborate in activities that our community can take in response to the climate emergency through education, sharing of best practices, and advocacy of impactful policies.”  

 

Kiss The Ground: Climate Film Screening

Join us on Tuesday April 4 at 6:30pm in the Hermann Meeting Room for a screening of the 2021 documentary film Kiss the Ground. Narrated by Woody Harrelson, this full-length (85 minutes) documentary sheds light on a “new, old approach” to farming called regenerative agriculture, a practice with the extraordinary ability to balance our climate and feed the world.

This film will be shown at 6:30pm on Tuesday March 4th in the Hermann Room; all are welcome and you may bring popcorn and covered drinks if you wish. Please register.

 

This screening is co-sponsored by FalCAN, the Falmouth Climate Action Network. FalCAN’s mission is to “Initiate and collaborate in activities that our community can take in response to the climate emergency through education, sharing of best practices, and advocacy of impactful policies.”  They can be reached at falmouthcan@gmail.com .

Cape Cod Archaeology: Past, Present, and Future

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, we invite you to join us for a lecture about the archaeology of Cape Cod. There are two options to attend: join us in person, in the Hermann Meeting Room at 6:30pm on Wednesday November 16, or use a Zoom link that will be provided upon registration to attend virtually from home.

Above and below-ground archaeological artifacts and features provide a partial view into the 12,000-year human history of Cape Cod. Archaeologist Holly Herbster will discuss what sites on the Cape can tell us, how archaeological study has changed, and how the field fits into other ways of knowing about the past. 

Holly Herbster is a Senior Archaeologist/Principal Investigator at the Public Archeology Laboratory, Inc. Over the past 25 years she has directed more than 200 projects in southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, and Martha’s Vineyard, ranging from primary background research to large-scale archaeological excavations. She has collaborated extensively with Native American groups in Massachusetts and her research focus includes documentary and ethnohistoric studies, especially those related to seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Nipmuc and Wampanoag communities. She is a co-author of the book Historical Archaeology and Indigenous Collaboration: Discovering Histories That Have Futures which was the Society for American Archaeology’s 2021 scholarly book award winner. 

Library Lectures for CREW Climate Prep Week

This year the Falmouth Public Library will be participating in CREW’s Climate Preparedness Week (Sept. 26-30) with two lectures: one via Zoom, and one in person.

Tuesday September 27, 6-7pm (Zoom)
The Planet’s Health and Yours: Facing the Invisible Impacts of Climate Change
Richard Delaney, Executive Director of the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative (CCCC)
Register to receive the Zoom Link.

This webinar will provide an overview of climate change impacts we see, experience, and know on Cape, including economic, environmental justice, physical and mental health, and ecosystem impacts. Delaney will also discuss what you can do and share information about the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative.

This program is co-sponsored by CLAMS libraries: Aquinnah Public Library, Brewster Ladies’ Library, Centerville Public Library, Eastham Public Library, Falmouth Public Library, Eldredge Public Library, Mashpee Public Library, Provincetown Public Library, Sturgis Library, Truro Public Library, Provincetown, Wellfleet Public Library, Yarmouth Town Libraries, Yarmouth Port Library.

Wednesday, September 28, 6:30-8pm, Hermann Meeting Room
Climate Crisis: How Do I Live With This?
Dr. Heather Goldstone, Woodwell Climate Research Center
Please register to attend this in-person talk.

Humanity faces an unprecedented situation; greenhouse gas levels and global temperatures are higher than they have been at any time in human history. Increasingly severe heat waves, droughts, floods, and fires are impacting communities around the world, and coastal communities like Cape Cod face additional threats from sea level rise and ocean warming and acidification. Confronting this reality can be difficult, but understanding both the risks and opportunities before us can be a source of determination and optimism. And some of our most powerful solutions lie in connecting with nature and community. 

Dr. Heather Goldstone oversees Woodwell Climate Research Center’s communications activities, bringing the rich stories of Woodwell scientists to diverse public audiences. She has extensive experience as both a scientist and a journalist, and she is passionate about melding data and narrative in climate change stories that build awareness and inspire action.