Director’s College: Dolmens and Standing Rocks of New England
- Apr
- 18
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of large and unusual megalithic structures deep in the forests of New England, New York and New Jersey. Join Geoffrey Whittum to explore the ways these standing rocks and dolmens may represent the work of ancient civilizations. While walking the woods of New England and Middle Atlantic states, presenter Geoffrey […]
read moreDirector’s College: The Amistad Uprising and Farmington, 1841
- Apr
- 11
From March through November 1841, Farmington, Connecticut was home to the African Mendi captives who had rebelled and overtaken the slave-ship, La Amistad. Historical interpreter Kim A. Silva will shine a light on Farmington’s surprising role in the aftermath of the uprising through theater, imagery, and American Sign Language. Farmington 1841 – When the righteous abolitionist […]
read moreDirector’s College: It Really Happened in Connecticut
- Oct
- 14
Wednesday, November 8 7:00 PM Main Library Witchcraft trials, a serial murderer who inspired a popular movie, and a bizarre vagabond who has fascinated people for 150 years are three amazing yet true stories from the state’s past that independent historian Diana Ross McCain will recount in her talk. McCain draws the tales from her […]
read moreDirector’s College: Underwater Photography with Richard Ladisky
- Sep
- 10
Wednesday, October 11 7:00 PM Main Library Let photographer Richard Ladisky take you on an underwater journey with his incredible pictures of ocean life! This presentation will focus on his expedition to the remote Tubbataha Reef, located 90 miles off Palawan Island in the Philippines. Richard began scuba diving for lobsters and wrecks in New […]
read moreDirector’s College: Farmington Servant Culture in the Early 20th Century
- Aug
- 17
Wednesday, September 6 7:00 PM Main Library Join us for an illustrated lecture about the structure and manners of domestic service in wealthy private homes in early 20th-century Farmington. The focus will be 1910 at Hill-Stead and Oldgate, where presenter David Hopkinsons’ grandparents served as personal maid and butler. David Hopkinson, PhD, lives in Williamsburg Virginia, where […]
read moreDirector’s College – Paleoanthropology 101: Primates, Fossils, and More
- Apr
- 27
Wednesday, May 24 6:30 PM Main Library Join CCSU’s Dr. Thomas Rein to get a primer in primates, the fossil record, and more! See primates in action, examine fossils, and get a peek into the fascinating world of paleoanthropology. Tom Rein is a biological anthropologist and assistant professor at Central Connecticut State University. He received […]
read moreDirector’s College: Connecticut Women & War
- Feb
- 18
Wednesday, March 8 7:00 PM Main Library Women have been involved in military conflicts from the beginning of time; some as warriors, some as spies and others who made the munitions or simply called for peace. Connecticut women are among the finest and bravest who have stood for their cause – sometimes defying gender norms, […]
read moreDirector’s College – Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camps in the Adirondacks: Their History & Lore
- Jan
- 21
Wednesday, February 22 7:00 PM Main Library The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a public works program that operated from 1933 to 1942, as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. It targeted young men and veterans in relief families who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression, providing unskilled manual labor related to […]
read moreDirector’s College: Dvorak, The Happy Soul
- Oct
- 17
Wednesday, November 9, 2016 7:00 PM Main Library Antonín Dvorak was the happiest and least neurotic of the Romantics. He was barely literate and hardly a deep thinker (locomotives were his chief passion outside of music). The cheery Czech was greatly influenced by his native folk culture which inspired him to write a plethora of […]
read moreDirector’s College: The Beatles and The Rolling Stones
- Sep
- 26
Thursday, October 27, 2016 7:00 PM Main Library Ask anybody to name two English rock bands from the 1960s and the response will likely be The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. But despite often being portrayed as rivals in the media, the two groups were actually quite friendly towards each other, both socially and musically. […]
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