Thoughtful insights, critical analysis, provocative ideas – leading scholars, thinkers and experts address an eclectic range of topics in the University Lecture Series; a brief question and answer period follows each presentation. We are pleased to offer the series in the following locations: Markham, Oakville, and the University of Toronto St. George campus.
Late registrations are welcome. To register, click here or call 416-978-2400.
For the list of speakers and topics, please select your preferred location below.
Check back often for updates.
Join Dr. Sandra Romano Anthony as she helps you explore your body in order to harness its power for your own well-being. Learn to appreciate how the human body works and hear valuable advice and tips on how to achieve and maintain optimum health. The course covers a wide range of topics including nutrition, types of cancer, methods of reducing cancer risk, gastroenterology, maintaining the health of the digestive system, cognitive function, brain health and stress management.
The course is designed to provide participants with an appreciation of one of the most valuable ecosystems in the GTA: the Oak Ridges Moraine. Topics include Moraine geology, hydrology, soils and landmarks, plants and animals. You will learn to identify trees in the winter, study spring growth in the forests, and survey plant diversity in the summer. We will also follow mammals and birds through the winter-spring-summer transition. The course will be held at the Reserve, and expect to get dirty or wet since we will meet regardless of the weather. Course work will be interactive: we invite you to ask lots of questions and to teach your peers what you know.
In collaboration with the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Classes onsite at the Koffler Scientific Reserve in King Township, west of Newmarket. Limited enrolment.
Current Muslim thinkers have tried to present what they regard as Islamic perspectives on controversial matters like modernity, human rights, war and peace, terrorism and feminism. We will study these, and their interpretation by Western non-Muslim writers. In the first part of the course we will gain an introduction to the basics of Islam, with attention to the challenges posed by modernity to traditional Muslim social ideals. The second part will discuss Islam in North America and Islamist politics internationally. The third part will address Islam, gender, and feminism. We will look at areas of overlap between modernist Islamic opinions and Western secular liberal and leftist discourses.
Recommended ReadingsThe recommended, optional readings are meant to introduce selective and relevant literature dealing with the issues under consideration, both from Muslim and non-Muslim perspectives.
John L. Esposito, the Future of Islam (Oxford University Press, 2010). ISBN – 978-0-19-516521-0
Haroon Siddiqui, Being Muslim. (Toronto: Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press. 2006). ISBN -13:978-0-88899-786-9
Fazlur Rahman, Islam & Modernity: Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1984). ISBN 0-226-70284-7 John J. Donohue and John L. Esposito, eds. Islam in Transition: Muslim Perspectives. 2nd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005). ISBN 0-19-503023-0
This course complements Part 1, but both courses can be taken independently. If you are intrigued to discover the inner workings of our complex yet elegant supercomputer – the human brain — this course is for you. How Your Brain Works, Part 2 will concentrate on current ways to restore and maintain brain health, as well as new discoveries, drugs, and procedures. Study the latest work of neuroscientists, psychiatrists and bioengineers, including exciting new discoveries thanks to the twins who share a brain. We are beginning to see how the human brain can change itself. No science background needed.
How should we understand the persisting anticipations of an end to the planet that have been part of Western thinking since early Christian times, and are found also in Judaism and Islam? Join us as we review some of these predictions and relate them to contemporary naturalistic views of our living in the 'end times', especially by environmentalists. Our discussion is timely because a 16th-century physician and seer, Nostradamus, foresaw the end of the planet Earth through collision with a heavenly body in 2012.
Toronto is a vibrant centre for contemporary art. In this course, you will discover what is going on in Toronto's ever expanding art scene. It introduces you to the new art neighbourhoods and the talented people who are contributing to the growth of the local art scene. Don't miss this opportunity to be a part of talks by artists, dealers, and critics currently active in our city.
We will focus on all the current players, making connections with both established and new galleries, each with its own stable of artists. Join us for slide-illustrated discussions that investigate the particular characteristics and mandates of many galleries, institutions, and publications. Gallery owners, artists, and critics will be present to explain their approach and devotion to art. Offered in collaboration with the Canadian Art Foundation, this course places your finger right on the pulse of our impressive art world.
Below is the link to the Facebook page that was created by the instructor to correspond to this course……be sure to “Like” us to receive updates http://www.facebook.com/pages/Conversations-from-the-Toronto-Art-World/187746361276801
Through slide-illustrated discussions, guest speakers and gallery visits, students will acquire the tools needed to access this often intimidating world as a connoisseur or a potential buyer. Subjects will include: an introduction to contemporary art from Canada and abroad, the galleries, art fairs and auction houses that make up the commercial art world, and useful resources to help you research the art and artists that interest you. Buy smart if you are in the market. Or simply enjoy more what you admire. You will learn to find a piece of art that you love, and that is also a worthwhile investment and a fitting addition to your home.
Caravaggio is often considered the greatest painter of the 17th century. Controversial, mercurial, an accused murderer on the run, yet during his short life he revolutionized religious and allegorical painting by his innovative use of realism, light and shadow, violence and sexual ambiguity. We examine his paintings and the way they affected artists such as Rembrandt, Rubens and Velásquez. To this day, crowds gather before his works that express faith in the divine made by a man who “would not make a brushstroke that was not from life.”
Art crime is the third-highest grossing criminal enterprise worldwide, behind drugs and arms trafficking. It brings in $2.6 billion a year. This course will examine the roles of the forgers, thieves, confidence tricksters, auction houses and dealers who thrive in this secret environment. Learn about the secrets of the forgers, and the theft of great works of art from the walls of museums and private homes. Listen to the argument that major auction houses control the art market to their own advantage, and defraud clients and artists.
Religion is the most important issue of the 21st century, according to some commentators. This course examines the development and variety of the major religious traditions of the West: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. We will discuss each religion's history as a guide to its current role in society. We will look at religious tradition from within each faith and ask how their spiritualities lead to action in the world. We will ask what each religion says about fundamental realities like inspiration, modernity, authority, art, science, sexuality, hope and eternity.
(This course was formerly entitled Comparative Religion: Western Traditions)
This course is taught by experienced Faculty members in the Department of Biochemistry in the Faculty of Medicine, at the University of Toronto and is administered through the University's School of Continuing Studies. The content of the course is equivalent to BCH 210H (Biochemistry I) and BCH 311H (Biochemistry II). It is intended for students not already registered in degree programs on the three campuses of the University of Toronto, who require a full credit-equivalent course in Biochemistry as a prerequisite for entrance into professional programs in the Health Sciences. This course is also available to those who are interested in the molecules that make up our cells, tissues, and membranes, control our metabolism, and store and transmit our genetic information. This course will also feature accompanying medical insights into the biochemistry involved in a variety of diseases. The course fulfils a biochemistry course requirement with 54 hours of video lectures and accompanying molecular medical perspectives. This course has short web-based quizzes and concludes with an invigilated exam in your locality. The course will give you an understanding of proteins, the action molecules of the body, how you burn off fat in metabolic paths during running and the science of bioenergetics in marathons, and how your genetic information stored in your DNA makes you what you are and is the genetic tie that binds you, your parents and your children. Although there are no prerequisites for this course, first-year chemistry is recommended to assist your molecular understanding. For more information about this course, click below to visit the course web page or contact the course director (coursedirector.onlinebiochem@utoronto.ca) /
http://www.onlinebiochemistrycourse.com/
Art shows that we may be more alike than different, as visions of spirituality, beauty and power cut across time and place. They reveal the common threads linking us as human beings. Spirituality is the driving force behind the creation of Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling, Tibetan Mandala painting, Notre Dame Cathedral and the Rothko Chapel. Nigerian bronze reliefs, history paintings by Velásquez and projections by contemporary artist Krzysztof Wodiczko reflect the politics of power. Visions of the beautiful include Botticelli's Birth of Venus, ceramic portraits of Mayan nobility and masks from Angola representing female ancestors. You'll leave this course with a deeper understanding of the universal forces underlying the creation of art everywhere, past and present.
Mini-Med School at the University of Toronto is a series of lectures presenting current issues in health science. Five evening presentations with Q & A feature dynamic speakers on topics of interest to us all. Mini-Med School is held in the fall at the St George campus and in the spring at the Mississauga campus. Offered in collaboration with the Office of Continuing Education and Professional Development, Faculty of Medicine.
Among the speakers and topics will be:* Peter Lin, MD, CCFP – Diabetes * Julia Allyne, MD, CCFP, Dip.Sport Med. – Exercise is Medicine: Promoting Activity through Injury Prevention and Early Intervention * José Silveira, BSc, MD, FRCPC – Insomnia: Fascinating Facts and Soporific Solutions
Sponsor: AstraZeneca
This course begins by examining some of the key Pre-Socratic philosophers (Thales, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Democritus) and their unique attempts to grasp the nature of the physical world. Attention then briefly shifts to Socrates' conflicts with the sophistic relativism of Protagoras and others, in preparation for a sustained engagement with the great philosophical systems of Plato and Aristotle. In the final weeks, some of the highlights of medieval philosophy will be explored, including the Christian Platonism of Augustine and the Christian Aristotelianism of Aquinas.
Books Discussed:Primary Texts (in the order we will be studying them):1. The First Philosophers (Oxford) ISBN: 01928245462. Plato, The Last Days of Socrates (Penguin) ISBN: 01404492803. Plato, The Republic (Penguin) ISBN: 01404491404. Aristotle, The Metaphysics (Penguin) ISBN: 01404461925. Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics (Penguin) ISBN: 01404494936. Augustine, Confessions (Oxford) ISBN: 01928337237. Aquinas, Selected Philosophical Writings (Oxford) ISBN: 0192835858
