Fall Welcome Back Luncheon

Register Now for Fall Welcome Back Luncheon

Price: $15
Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Location: Eykamp 252, Ridgway University Center

Biblical Archaeology: Separating “Fact” from “Fiction”

Register Now for Biblical Archaeology: Separating “Fact” from “Fiction”

Price: $60
Time: 9:00 – 10:30 a.m.
Location: Room 203, University Library
Instructor: Dr. Jennie Ebeling

In this course, we will explore the early history of archaeological research in the Near East and Egypt in the nineteenth century, the origins of the Biblical Archaeology movement in the early twentieth century, and the current state of archaeological research in Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories. By focusing on the reception history of selected archaeological discoveries from the past 150 years, we will examine how various stakeholders (archaeologists, community members, politicians, members of faith communities, etc.) have used archaeology to advance their agendas while often ignoring the value of these discoveries for reconstructing how real people lived in “biblical times.”

Required materials for the course: Eric H. Cline. Biblical Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2009 (required). Other readings provided as PDFs. 

Dr. Jennie Ebeling is a Professor of Archaeology in UE’s Department of Archaeology and Anthropology and a specialist in the archaeology and history of southwest Asia (Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories) during the Bronze and Iron Ages (the period of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament). A former Fulbright Scholar, she has been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Lady Davis Trust to support research in Israel and Jordan. Ebeling’s research interests include ancient food and drink technology, women in Canaan in ancient Israel, and religion and cult in the Bronze and Iron Age Levant. With partner Norma Franklin (University of Haifa), she directed the Jezreel Expedition in Israel co-sponsored by UE 2012-2018 that included the participation of some fifty UE students and alumni as well as UE faculty, administrators, and members of the Evansville community. Her publications include Women’s Lives in Biblical Times (T&T Clark, 2010) and five co-edited volumes, and she has monographs forthcoming with Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press.

Women’s Writing: How to Tell the Stories of Gender-Based Violence

Register Now for Women’s Writing: How to Tell the Stories of Gender-Based Violence

Price: $60
Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Location: Room 203, University Library
Instructor: Dr. Sara Petrosillo

In this course, we will discuss women’s writing through the lens of gender-based violence. We will begin by watching one of the highest grossing Italian films of all time: There’s Still Tomorrow, written, directed by, and starring the searing feminist comedian Paola Cortellesi and released in 2023. Set in post-World War II Rome, and shot in the domestic, tragic, and theatrical black and white style of Federico Fellini, this film was such a cultural phenomenon that it was screened in the Italian Senate to move politicians into action against domestic violence. Discussion of the film will guide us towards the aims of the course: understanding the artistic, political, domestic, and gendered implications of violence against women in storytelling. We will then turn to an award-winning memoir from the same year, Women We Buried, Women We Burned, by Guggenheim Fellow Rachel Louise Snyder, an American journalist and foreign correspondent who has devoted her career to telling the stories of victims of gender-based violence. We will read and discuss the book in light of the course objectives to prepare students of the CLUE class for an exciting opportunity in November: meeting the author on campus and attending her lecture together.

Required materials for the course: Women We Buried, Women We Burned, by Rachel Louise Snyder, ISBN 978-1-63557-912-3

Suggested reading: No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us, by Rachel Louise Snyder, ISBN 9781635570977

Dr. Sara Petrosillo received her BA in English and Italian Literature from Colby College, and her PhD in English from the University of California, Davis. Her scholarship focuses on medieval literature and feminism and her first book is about the cultural influence of falconry on medieval reading practices, Hawking Women: Falconry, Gender, and Control in Medieval Literary Culture (2023). She is currently working on a book about gender in Marie de France’s Lays and a book about the language of women’s reproductive health. She teaches British Literature, World Classics, Renaissance, the Romantics, and medieval literature. She also directs and teaches classes in the Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies program. She received UE’s Exemplary Teacher Award in 2021.

Chair Yoga

Register Now for Chair Yoga

Price: $60
Time: 1:30 – 3:00 p.m.
Location: To be determined
Instructor: Anita Powell

Chair Yoga is designed for people of all ages and is especially beneficial for those with mobility limitations that make getting up and down from the floor difficult. This class will include standing and seated poses only. Variations will be taught so that everyone can access their own unique practice. Participants can expect to engage muscles in ways that improve both strength and flexibility. Posture or alignment, and the connection between movement and breath will foster feelings of peace of mind and relaxation. Each weekly session will last 45–60 minutes, followed by up to 30 minutes for questions, individualized guidance, and additional pose demonstrations.

Materials needed for each class meeting:

• A thin yoga mat
• Two yoga blocks
• Water in a closed container
• Comfortable (but not too loose) clothing

Anita Powell is a 2-hour Certified Yoga Instructor with 12 years of experience teaching yoga classes. She has taught through area yoga studios and is currently teaching three yoga classes per week (including Chair Yoga) at the Princeton, IN YMCA. Ms. Powell spent her professional career teaching Fine Art in every grade between Kindergarten and Graduate School. Her MFA and BFA are both in Ceramics. She is originally from Nebraska. She now lives near Elberfeld, IN.

Adrift with a Bengal Tiger: What Our Stories Tell Us About Survival

Register Now for Adrift with a Bengal Tiger: What Our Stories Tell Us About Survival

Price: $60
Time: 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Location: Room 203, University Library
Instructor: Dr. Holly Skillman

What does it mean to survive the unthinkable? Yann Martel’s beloved novel Life of Pi offers one of literature’s most compelling answers, and a psychological lens makes it richer still.

In this course, we will read and discuss Life of Pi together, exploring what Martel’s story reveals about the human capacity for resilience, meaning-making, and survival in the face of profound loss and trauma. Each session pairs close reading with psychological insight, drawing on research in trauma, narrative, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to keep going.

No background in psychology or literature is required, only curiosity, a willingness to read, and perhaps a few of your own stories about surviving the unexpected. Participants are encouraged to bring their questions, reactions, and life experience to the conversation.

Required materials for the course: Life of Pi by Yann Martel (any edition). Participants are encouraged to read the novel in full before or alongside the course. Paperback editions are widely available and inexpensive; no specific edition is required.

Note: Short supplementary excerpts drawn from psychology and related fields will be provided by the instructor at no cost.

Dr. Holly Skillman is a social and international psychologist at the University of Evansville. Her research centers on how people perceive, and make meaning of, traumatic experiences. She has spent her career at the intersection of psychology and the human story, which is exactly where this course lives.

Women and American Politics

Register Now for Women and American Politics

Price: $60
Time: 9:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Location: Room 203, University Library
Instructor: Dr. Robert Dion

This course examines the expanding involvement of women in American political life. It begins with a brief overview of the first and second waves in feminist activism in American history and leads to a broader discussion of social movement tactics and strategies. The participation of women in contemporary American politics is then explored through an examination of the role of gender in political socialization, turnout, partisanship and voting behavior – taken together, these make up the celebrated “gender gap” in modern politics. The challenges and opportunities for women in the electoral arena are explored next through the study of women as candidates for public office. The distinctive contributions of women in elective office are examined next, and this leads to an in-depth discussion of selected public policy issues of particular concern to women.

Required materials for the course: To be announced

Dr. Robert Dion firmly believes that citizens need to understand and be involved in the political system. He has taught American politics courses at the University of Evansville since 2001. Before he came to the University of Evansville, he taught at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and at Wabash College. Outside the classroom, Professor Dion serves as the chairperson of the local civil rights commission and on the boards of several organizations. He is regularly quoted in news stories about political developments in Indiana or in the United States, and he has appeared frequently on radio and television news programs, including several French-language broadcast outlets.

The Origins of Totalitarianism

Register Now for The Origins of Totalitarianism

Price: $60
Time: 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Location: Room 203, University Library
Instructor: Dr. Casey Harison

This is class will delve into Hannah Arendt’s classic The Origins of Totalitarianism, published in 1951 in the aftermath of the Second World War and the Holocaust. Arendt (1906-75) personally experienced some of the trauma she described, but in this book, she writes as a political thinker trying to grasp the history behind fascism and Stalinism, and the characteristically totalitarian states they produced in the twentieth century. Our class will take its cue from Arendt, reviewing the rise of fascism in Italy and Eastern Europe, Nazism in Germany and the Stalinist system that emerged in the Soviet Union in the late 1920s. The Origins of Totalitarianism—relevant again today, and recently republished—is a long, complex book. Students are not expected to read all of it, though I’ll set aside time each week for us to discuss assigned chapters. I will provide Power Point presentations to illustrate the history.

Required materials for the course: The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt (Penguin, 2017)

Dr. Casey Harison has a PhD in history from the University of Iowa (1993) and taught in the history department at the University of Southern Indiana from 1992 to 2021, before retiring as a full professor. He has published books and articles in French and Atlantic history and taught a variety of courses in modern European and World history. In addition, he has offered several courses for the CLUE program since 2024. View Dr. Harison's scholarship, along with a link to his CV.

AI for the Real World: A Practical Guide for Lifelong Learners

Register Now for AI for the Real World: A Practical Guide for Lifelong Learners

Price: $60
Time: 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.
Location: Room 203, University Library
Instructor: Wes Luttrell

Artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic idea. It already shapes how people search, write, plan, learn, create, and communicate. AI can feel confusing, intimidating, or overhyped; this course makes it understandable, useful, and approachable. Over five weeks, participants will learn to use AI as a practical everyday tool. Each class focuses on one core principle, then demonstrates it through real-life examples participants can repeat on their own. We will cover everyday use around the house, better prompting, travel planning, information on the go, hobbies, creative projects, and a personal prompt library. The course will primarily use ChatGPT because it is widely available, beginner-friendly, and useful across many everyday situations. A free account is sufficient to participate. Those who want to use AI more after the course may explore a paid version,

though none is required. The tone of the course is practical, hands-on, and beginner-friendly, and participants need no technical background. The goal isn’t to turn participants into technology experts, but to help them become confident, thoughtful, and capable everyday users of AI.

Required materials for the course: Participants should bring a smartphone, tablet, or laptop to each session. The course will primarily use ChatGPT in a web browser or mobile app. A free account is sufficient for participation. No paid subscription is required. Participants who expect to use AI frequently after the course may wish to consider a paid ChatGPT plan, but that is optional and not necessary for the class.

Wes Luttrell is an Evansville-based consultant and facilitator with the T.A. Dickel Group, specializing in AI adoption, leadership development, and organizational strategy. He has led AI workshops across southern Indiana and has earned professional AI certifications from Google, Anthropic, and Johns Hopkins University. He is the co-author of Mission Freed: A Practical Introduction to AI for Catholic Parishes and is passionate about helping people use technology in ways that support human judgment, creativity, and learning in everyday life.

Painting with the Masters-Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Register Now for Painting with the Masters-Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Price: $60
Date: October 21-November 11 (only four classes)
Time: 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Location: Room 122, Koch Center for Engineering and Science
Instructor: Michelle Vezina Peterlin

In this course, we will be studying the history of Toulouse Le-Trec's work in both paintings and commercial art. We will break down his creative techniques and try to recreate them.

Required materials for the course:

• either 12x9 or 11x14 inch canvas, board or paper
• assorted acrylic paints
• assorted paint brushes
• a small container for water
• 1 roll of toilet paper
• 1 pencil and a good eraser
• something to use for a pallet (either an old plate or disposable foam plate)
• Students have the option of working with alcohol markers and paper

Michelle Vezina Peterlin is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where she studied under legendary painters John Grillo and Leonard Gongora and received a degree in painting. She was born and raised in Gardner, Massachusetts. Currently, she resides with her husband in Evansville, IN. She has been a professional artist for over 30 years and currently exhibits her work throughout the United States.