We use cookies on this site to enhance your experience.
By selecting “Accept” and continuing to use this website, you consent to the use of cookies.
The Laurier Lifelong Learning lecture series is open to everyone.
Upcoming offerings are listed below. Be the first to know about new and upcoming offerings by signing up for our email list.
- Location: All lectures are held at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex Community Pavillion.
- Price: Thursday 90-minute lectures are $16 + HST.
Fall 2025 Lectures
Register for Fall 2025 courses on our registration website.
Reach out to lifelonglearning@wlu.ca with any hopes, dreams, or topics of interest!
Interested in teaching? Apply to lead a LLL lecture!
Speakers denoted with an asterisk (*) are part of the Faculty of Arts at Laurier, which celebrates its 100-year anniversary throughout 2025. Learn more about the Arts centenary here.
Thursday, Oct. 2 (1:30 - 3 p.m)
Course Description
What are the practical, philosophical, and ethical aspects of planning a funeral? Why would you begin to plan your own funeral before you die? How do you ask your loved one to express their funeral wishes? This presentation will provide information and ideas about funeral planning in general and it will encourage you to reflect on some of the deeper issues having to do with mortality, meaning of life, personal legacy, and the importance of ritual for both individuals and communities. Believe it or not, good humour and joy will be among the undertakers for this presentation.
Instructor Bio
Matthew Bailey-Dick has worked as an educator in both academic and non-academic settings, a home renovator, a hospice volunteer, and a funeral presider. Currently he works as a Mennonite pastor. For his doctoral degree he looked into the connections between adult education, death education, and hope.Thursday, Oct. 9 (1:30 - 3 p.m)
Course Description
History necessarily begins with the advent of writing. With writing, kings of 2000 BC and later could aggrandize themselves for posterity, leaving behind a record of their accomplishments and conquests. Yet, before writing, humans used new media (communication technologies that were new at the time) to serve human needs that came before that of the needs of kings to extend their legacies past their lifetimes: tallies to track patterns in things like moon cycles or menstrual cycles; clay tokens in envelopes to seal interpersonal contracts once the advent of farming meant the advent of wealth disparities, trade, and waged work; and the beginnings of bureaucracy were demanded in early empires to track data for taxation, army conscription, and rationing of food via the beginnings of writing technologies: technologies like woven quipu and other counting technologies. This talk will take attendees through new communications media in pre-historic times, pre-dating the many forms of new media yet to come over the next few millennia.
Instructor Bio
Jade L. Miller, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Chair of the Communication Studies Department at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. She received her PhD in Communications from the University of Southern California, and her BA in Art History from New York University. Before Laurier, she held a two year Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities at Tulane University. She works on the political economy of creative production, global media flows, and media industries. Her research program seeks to conceptualize the shape of media production and distribution networks in an increasingly networked age, focusing on shifting relationships of power and place. Her largest project has been her 2016 book Nollywood Central (BFI), on informality and organization in the Nigerian movie industry known as Nollywood, and she regularly teaches the Media History introductory class in Laurier's Communication Studies undergraduate major.
Thursday, Oct. 16 (1:30 - 3 p.m)
Course Description
As part of the ‘quantified self’ movement, self-tracking has become a dominant practice within contemporary health and fitness. GPS-based watches and other wearables from companies including Garmin, Apple and Fitbit pair with hundreds of self-tracking apps and enable users to upload, display and analyze their activity data. There are clear benefits to the use of self-tracking in health and fitness including increased motivation, enhanced goal-setting, and personal accountability. There are also areas of concern such as privacy violations, peer-pressure, and feelings of inadequacy. This lecture offers a critical examination of self-tracking, with a specific focus on the quantification of health and fitness. What is at stake when we translate walking into steps, when we assign scores to our sleep, and when we perceive our activities in terms of speed, distance and calories burned?
Instructor Bio
Dr. Jonathan Finn is Professor of Communication Studies at Wilfrid Laurier. He is the author of Beyond the Finish Line: Images, Evidence, and the History of the Photo-Finish (McGill-Queen’s, 2020) and Capturing the Criminal Image: From Mugshot to Surveillance Society (Minnesota, 2009) and editor of Visual Communication and Culture: Images in Action (Oxford 2012). His current research project is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and is an examination of self-tracking in health and fitness with a focus on endurance sport.Thursday, Oct. 23 (1:30 - 3 p.m)
Course Description
Forty years have passed since Mikhail Gorbachev rose to power in the Soviet Union. Within five short years the USSR was shockingly in the dustbin of history and the Cold War (seemingly) over. This talk revisits the tumultuous events of March 1985. Who was Gorbachev before his ascent to power that year? Was the USSR that he inherited doomed from the start, or did he misjudge both his power and his ability to save the Soviet state through radical reform? Indeed, what was Gorbachev’s agenda in the first place? This talk focuses on these questions, though Ronald Reagan and even Vladimir Putin may make cameo appearances.
Instructor Bio
Leonard G. Friesen was a professor of History at WLU from 1994 until his retirement in July of 2025. The author of numerous books and articles on various aspects of Imperial Russian and Soviet history, Friesen lived with his family in the USSR under Gorbachev. He has travelled to the USSR and its successor states some 30 times over the decades. Friesen will be no stranger to many in LALL.Thursday, Oct. 30 (1:30 - 3 p.m)
Course Description
This lecture dives into the extraordinary effects of music on the brain and psyche, uncovering how sound can spark brain activity, shift emotional states, and enhance cognitive function. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, it explores music's potential as a therapeutic tool for mental health, neurological conditions, and emotional well-being. From stress relief and mood elevation to cognitive healing, the lecture taps into groundbreaking research from neuroscience, psychology, and music therapy, shedding light on music’s profound ability to transform both mind and body.
Instructor Bio
Heidi Ahonen, PhD, Registered Psychotherapist, Accredited Music Therapist, Professor of Music Therapy and Co-ordinator of PhD Programme (Music Therapy & Community Music), Wilfrid Laurier University.
Thursday, Nov. 13 (1:30 - 3 p.m)
Course Description
The Trojan War is one of the most famous events from Greek history but also one that still has so many mysteries and a fair share of controversy associated with it. Did Troy actually exist? If so, was a large war fought there at the end of the Bronze Age that led to the site's destruction? What is the evidence for all of this and how does it help us understand this volatile and mysterious period of time? This talk will examine the myth and the reality of Troy and the war that defined it.
Instructor Bio
Dr. Scott Gallimore is an Associate Professor in the Department of Archaeology & Heritage Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. He conducts archaeological research in Greece with interests in the Greek world under Roman rule, economic history, and the archaeology of disasters.
Thursday, Nov. 20 (1:30 - 3 p.m)
Course Description
For as long as human beings have gathered in communities, surveillance has been part of the arrangement. Whether it was through mechanisms like the church, peer-to-peer systems of informants, or social institutions that converted citizenship into fragments of data, the way in which we have organized ourselves has been tied to a process of watching and evaluating. It is easy to think that the conversion of every aspect of our contemporary lives into data is a consequence of the digital environment, but the historical roots run deeper than that. This talk will address an admittedly complex question: Are we compelled to become objects of surveillance? And is this a good thing or a bad thing?
Instructor Bio
Jeff Heydon is author of Visibility and Control: Images and Certainty in Governing (Lexington, 2021), and teaches in the Communication Studies department at Wilfrid Laurier University.
Thursday, Nov. 27 (1:30 - 3 p.m)
Course Description
Climate warming at high latitudes is occurring at rates that are 4x faster than the global average. This is resulting in widespread and rapid changes in our northern forests. Notably, wildfires are becoming larger, more frequent, and more severe with marked implications for the recovery of forests and the people and wildlife that rely on them. Layered on these fire related changes are changes in the pests and pathogens that can further undermine ecosystem resilience and alter forest recovery trajectories. In this lecture, I will discuss these various changes and what this means for the face of Canada’s boreal forests.
Instructor Bio
Dr. Jennifer Baltzer is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Forests and Global Change at Wilfrid Laurier University. She has been leading an extensive boreal forest research program throughout Northwestern Canada for 15 years. Her interdisciplinary program examines the impacts of climate warming, including permafrost thaw, wildfire regimes, and biome shifts, on the distribution and function of high latitude boreal forests and its implications for northern communities. Within Canada, she works closely with the Government of the Northwest Territories and Yukon Territorial Government. Dr. Baltzer plays leadership roles in NASA’s Arctic Boreal Vulnerability campaign, the Smithsonian Institute’s Forest Global Earth Observatory Network, and the Canada First Research Excellence Fund Program Global Water Futures.
Thursday, Dec. 4 (1:30 - 3 p.m)
Course Description
This talk traces the long arc—from the Luddites of Nottingham to Frederick Taylor and Henry Ford—showing how we spent the 20th century standardizing work so we could fit people to machines. Today, AI flips the script: routine cognitive tasks are easier to automate than many embodied ones. We’ll explore: why skilled trades, customer service, care, and live performance, as key examples, still require significant human presence; how human–machine complements work in practice, and; what people and organizations can do now to reclaim what’s distinctively human while putting smart tools to work.
Instructor Bio
Bruce Arai is a professor in the Leadership Program at Laurier and a former senior academic administrator who helped build the Brantford campus into a major presence in the city. He is also the founder of Trade Smart College in Hamilton, Ontario, a career college focused on skilled trades, employer‑aligned curricula, professionalism, and paid internships that provide students with significant work experience before graduation. All of his work at the college and the university centers on a core idea of privileging student success over institutional prestige by preparing people for high‑demand, human‑centered work where judgment and craft still matter.
Thursday, Dec. 11 (1:30 - 3 p.m)
Course Description
Many of us are familiar with a bygone era in film where musicals were as popular as Marvel superhero movies today. Many don't realize the genre relied heavily on European artists to create the visual style that made the musical irresistible to audiences. This lecture will look at some of these artists and their unique contributions.
Instructor Bio
Mark Terry is a Professor in the Departments of English and Film and Communications Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. His innovative work in remediating the documentary film has opened doors to the United Nations for underrepresented communities worldwide. This work has been recognized by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television with its Humanitarian Award; by Queen Elizabeth II with her Diamond Jubilee Medal; and by the National Communications Association in Washington with their J. Robert Cox Award for Environmental Communication, marking the first time a Canadian has won this award in the association's 110-year history.
Winter 2026 Lectures
Register for Winter 2026 courses on our registration website.
Reach out to lifelonglearning@wlu.ca with any hopes, dreams, or topics of interest!
Interested in teaching? Apply to lead a LLL lecture!
Thursday, Jan. 22 (1:30 - 3 p.m)
Course Description
In early 2020, the onset of COVID-19 posed a challenge for International Olympic Committee officials and Japanese organizers tasked to deliver the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. While the managing parties thought it was possible to proceed on schedule in February and early March, the realities of the ravages of COVID-19 soon sunk in, while athletes decried their training circumstances and ability to prepare and perform in July and August, and voiced concern for their personal health and the risks entailed in a mass gathering. Dr. Wenn/Stephen (you choose) will detail the path to postponement and the efforts required to ramp up for the Games in 2021, while also charting the fascinating Tokyo 2020 journey of Canada's gold medal-decathlete, Damian Warner.
Instructor Bio
Stephen Wenn is in his 33rd year as a member of Laurier's Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education having also served terms as its Chair and Undergraduate Advisor. He obtained his BA (1982) and MA (1986) degrees at Western University, and then completed his PhD (1993) in Exercise and Sport Science at the Pennsylvania State University while focusing on the IOC's embrace of commercial revenue from the television industry. Stephen is a co- or lead author of four books on Olympic history: A Games Changer: The International Olympic Committee, Tokyo 2020, and COVID-19 (2025); The Gold in the Rings: The People and Events that Transformed the Olympic Games (2020); Tarnished Rings: The International Olympic Committee and the Salt Lake City Bid Scandal (2011, rev.ed. 2022); and, Selling the Five Rings: The International Olympic Committee and the Rise of Olympic Commercialism (2002, rev.ed., 2004). He is a past-President of the North American Society for Sport History (2007-2009). Recently, Stephen entered the world of podcasting in an attempt to make sense of his lifelong dedication to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Thursday, Oct. 9 (1:30 - 3 p.m)
Course Description
This lecture will explore how and why bodysnatching became such a phenomenon that Victorians policed their graveyards and kept watch over dead bodies. Starting with the “Murder Act” of 1753, exploring the underside of the Victorian medical body trade, and concluding with the infamous Burke and Hare serial killers, when grave robbing shifted to actual murders.
Instructor Bio
Amy Milne-Smith is Associate Professor of History at Laurier.
Thursday, Feb. 5 (1:30 - 3 p.m)
Course Description
Please join us for an afternoon filled with fashion and the stories they carry. Enjoy this feast for the eyes and ears as we journey back in time through a curated collection of pieces from the late 19th century to present day. Discover how fashion trends repeat themselves and how they are a reflection of the times.
Instructor Bio
Always interested in the art of ‘dressing up’, Rachel Kaufman Behling opened Auburn Vintage Clothiers in 2014. A degree in English Literature from the University of Guelph led her into the world of theatre which is where she has been involved for more than 20 years as actor, producer, director, playwright and wardrobe. Rachel sits on the board of the Fashion History Museum and the Grand Philharmonic Choir.
Thursday, Feb. 12 (1:30 - 3 p.m)
Course Description
Have you ever heard of a Manitoba farmer named James Freer? You're not alone; most people haven't.
This lecture will shine a light on this little-known hero in Canadian history. He is not only "Canada's first filmmaker", but he single-handedly was responsible for stimulation a wave of immigration that saw millions from the UK and 750,000 from Ukraine come to Canada at the turn of the 20th Century. He also introduced film as a communications tool for governments creating an early model for the National Film Board of Canada and for other governments around the world. He did all this while bailing hay and raising eight children.
Instructor Bio
Mark Terry, PhD, is a Faculty member of the Department of English and Film at Wilfrid Laurier University. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and the Explorers Club. His innovative work in film has been recognized by Queen Elizabeth II with her Diamond Jubilee Medal; by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television with their Humanitarian Award; and by the Explorers Club with their highest honour, the Stefansson Medal.
Thursday, Feb. 19 (1:30 - 3 p.m)
Course Description
In the immediate aftermath of World War II, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) shipped thousands of horses and cattle from the United States to Europe as humanitarian aid for countries devastated by Nazi occupation; Poland received more animals than any other country. The animals were cared for on their trans-Atlantic voyages by men recruited by the Church of the Brethren. Known as "seagoing cowboys", they ensured the safe delivery of livestock that would help stimulate agricultural recovery and relieve hunger. This lecture will explore the many overlapping aspects of this little-known history, revealing how the animal aid shaped postwar reconstruction and reflected emerging Cold War tensions.
Instructor Bio
Eva Plach is Associate Professor of History at Wilfrid Laurier University and chair of the History Department. A specialist in the history of Poland, she teaches courses in modern European history and the history of the Holocaust and leads field courses to Poland that explore memory, trauma, and the legacies of World War II. Her research weaves social, cultural, and political histories to examine how ordinary people and institutions responded to crisis.
Thursday, Feb. 26 (1:30 - 3 p.m)
Course Description
From the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries, Europe was the scene of an extraordinary and unique historical phenomenon: the Witch Craze. In massive hunts and trials, state and religious authorities prosecuted and executed thousands of people, most of them women, for witchcraft. In this talk, you will learn who the witches were, why and how they were hunted, and what happened during a witch trial.
Instructor Bio
Darryl Dee is an Associate Professor of History at Wilfrid Laurier University. He is a specialist on the history of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe.
Thursday, Mar. 5 (1:30 - 3 p.m)
Course Description
Artist activism might well be as old as art itself. Artists observe and often critique what they don’t like about the societies in which they live, and the distance from critique to protest can be quite short. This presentation will take a closer look at present-day Germany where artists have felt compelled to use their art, and their positions as artists, to resist an anti-democratic shift in the country’s political culture. After briefly exploring the influence of art on the development of a national memory culture after the Third Reich, our attention will turn to more recent artist activism addressing the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment, the surge in popularity of the nationalist Alternative für Deutschland (= Alternative for Germany) party, and the controversy surrounding Germany’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas. Specific artistic interventions in the public discourse on Germany’s democratic stability will be examined with a view to answering a key question: does artist activism provide an effective defense of German democracy?
Instructor Bio
Prof. James Skidmore is the Chair of the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies and Director of the Waterloo Centre for German Studies, a privately endowed research institute at the University of Waterloo. He always enjoys sharing his ideas with Laurier Lifelong Learners.
Thursday, Mar. 12 (1:30 - 3 p.m)
Course Description
This lecture will unpack country music’s roots in blues and folk, and trace its musical branches that span across the 20th and 21st centuries. These include whole new genres (bluegrass, rockabilly), subgenres (string band, honky-tonk), hybrids (Western swing, folk-rock), reactionary movements (Outlaw country, alt-country), neo-traditionist movements (old-time, Americana), and cross-overs (Dolly Parton, Shania Twain, Taylor Swift). We will also consider production aesthetics like the Nashville Sound, and country’s influence on instruments like the steel guitar.
Instructor Bio
Brent Hagerman teaches “Guitars, Hooks and Beats: Music since 1950” in the Faculty of Music, performs on guitar and mandolin in bands ranging from Irish Trad (Mighty Kin) to bluegrass (The Never Willbillies), and firmly agrees with that great 20th century philosopher, Bruce Springsteen, that “you can change someone’s life in three minutes with the right song.”
Thursday, Mar. 19 (1:30 - 3 p.m)
Course Description
Scrabble, Chess, Euchre, hockey, baseball, World of Warcraft, escape rooms… What do these activities all have in common? Well, we refer to all of them as games. But what is it that makes them games as opposed to other activities such as doing our taxes or building a fence for the backyard? In other words, can we give a definition that covers all the different activities that we refer to when use the word game?
The late Bernard Suits, who taught philosophy at the University of Waterloo from 1966 to 1994, proposed an influential definition of games in his book The Grasshopper: Games, Life, and Utopia. He also provided arguments for why games are an important part of what philosophers from Aristotle to the present day have called “the good life.” His book, as well as his other writings on games and sports have given rise to a multitude of responses. Philosophers of games, philosophers of sport, and others who study games have proposed alternative accounts both of what games are and what their value is.
In this lecture we examine the question of what makes an activity a game and will look at what Suits and other philosophers have said about the value of games. All the philosophers we will discuss believe that games are good for us, but they disagree about how games make our lives better. Based on their work, I will offer up some reasons for why playing games helps us to live well.
Instructor Bio
Dr. Gary Foster is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Wilfrid Laurier. He is the author of Alienation and Identity in Romantic Love (Lexington Books, 2024) and editor of Desire, Love, and Identity: Philosophy of Sex and Love (Oxford University Press, 2017). Additionally, he has published numerous articles in scholarly journals dealing with the relationship between love and personal identity. Recently, he has switched his research (and teaching) focus to the philosophy of sport and games. His 2024 article “VAR and Flow in Soccer (Football): Changes to the Fan Experience,” was published in the journal Sport, Ethics and Philosophy.