Fall Welcome Back Luncheon

Register Now for Fall Welcome Back Luncheon

Price: $14
Date: Thursday, September 11, 2025
Time: 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Location: Eykamp 252, Ridgway University Center

Exploring UE's Archives

Register Now for Exploring UE's Archives

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

This course will explore several collections related to UE’s history in the library’s archives. Each week, we will examine a different collection, discussing its history and context, and looking at the items themselves. Collections may include:

• Moores Hill Collection: contains many items related to UE’s origins as Moores Hill College before it moved to Evansville in 1917. The Moores Hill collection includes items such as photographs, programs from extracurricular activities, letters and postcards, clothing, yearbooks, and more.
• Karl K. Knecht Collection: 3,400 cartoons by the longtime Evansville Courier Knecht published cartoons both locally and nationally, often commenting on political and current events.
• Plane Crash Collection: materials related to the Dec 13, 1977 plane crash including photographs, news releases, various memorial and anniversary materials, and other files.
• Mary Ross Ellingson Collection: Ellingson was a professor of archaeology at UE (1963-1974). Collection includes photographs, correspondence, articles, and Ellingson’s dissertation.
• Photograph Collection: several thousand photographs documenting institutional history, including Moore’s Hill College and Evansville College.

Materials/readings: (all optional)

• Kaiser, Alan. Archaeology, Sexism, and Scandal: the long-suppressed story of one woman’s discoveries and the man who stole credit for them. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2023.
• MacLeod, James. The Cartoons of Evansville’s Karl Kae Knecht: half a century of artistic activism. Charleston, S.C.: The History Press, 2017.

Dr. Strandberg serves as Director of University Libraries and Assistant Director of Online Learning at the University of Evansville (UE). She began her academic career as a faculty member in Music History, both at Wabash College and UE. Her research and publications have focused on violinists in Paris in the mid nineteenth century, as well as pedagogical issues including hands-on learning, local history, student writing, and inclusivity. She lives in Evansville with her wife and stepson, along with their dog and two cats.

Paris and Its History since 1750

Register Now for Paris and Its History since 1750

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

This course reviews the history of one of the great cities of the world, beginning with the years just ahead of the French Revolution and finishing near the present. The first class meeting will offer a quick overview of the era under consideration. Subsequent classes will focus on People, Places, Politics and Art—among these (to name a few): Georges Danton, Victor Hugo, Sophie Baker, Edith Piaf, Henri de Saint-Simon, Simone de Beauvoir and Albert Camus; Notre-Dame Cathedral, Luxembourg Palace and Gardens, Seine River, Eiffel Tower; and historical episodes including the Terror of 1793-94, the Commune of 1871, the German Occupation during the Second World War—and much more. Material will be presented via PowerPoint slides.

Materials/Readings:

• Harison, Casey. Paris in Modern Times: From the Old Regime to the Present Day: Bloomsbury, 2020.

Dr. 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 2022, before retiring as a full professor. He has published books and articles in French and Atlantic history and has taught a variety of courses in modern (seventeenth century and later) European and World History, including a course on the topic of this proposed class. He has also taught two CLUE classes (Fall 2024 and Spring 2025). His scholarship, along with a link to full CV, can be found here: Academia.edu.

Artificial Intelligence in Everyday Life

Register Now for Artificial Intelligence in Everyday Life

Price: $60
Time: 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Location: Room 203, University Library
Instructor: Jared Turney

This course is designed to be a real-life application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for everyone. The concept of the course is that the session objectives and content within the course will be created using AI based on the student's desired learning. It will begin with an overview of the tools (Copilot, ChatGPT, Gemini, and more) and big-picture application topics, but the session outcomes will be fluid based on the interests and needs of the students.

Course Objectives (created using ChatGPT, as the session objectives will be):

1. Introduce foundational AI tools such as Copilot, ChatGPT, Gemini, and others, including their capabilities and appropriate use cases.
2. Demonstrate real-life applications of AI across various personal, educational, and professional contexts.
3. Empower students to co-create course content by leveraging AI tools in alignment with their individual learning goals and interests.
4. Foster adaptive learning experiences through fluid, student-driven outcomes that evolve based on participant needs.
5. Develop critical thinking and digital literacy related to the ethical, creative, and practical use of AI in everyday problem-solving.

Materials/Readings:

• Book: To be announced

Articles/Videos:

• Here’s How People are Actually Using AI - MIT Technology Review
• When AI Becomes a Part of our Everyday Life – Harvard Business Review
• The Ethical Dilemma of AI – TED Talk by Zeynep Tufekci

Websites:

• OpenAI Help Center -For documentation, tips, and best practices using ChatGPT.
• Elements of AI - Free course designed to introduce the basics of AI in a human-friendly way.
• github.com/copilot - GitHub Copilot Documentation
• deepmind.google/technologies/gemini - Gemini (Google AI)

Jared Turney is Assistant Professor in the School of Education and Lilly Grant Coordinator for Science of Reading Implementation, earned both his BS in Elementary Education and MEd in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern Indiana. He comes to the University of Evansville after more than 15 years in the K-12 school setting. During his time in K-12 education, Mr. Turney worked extensively with Title I elementary schools in both the public and charter school settings. Jared served in many different capacities throughout his tenure in K-12 schools including Principal at Caze Elementary School, Assistant Principal, Academic Coach, Master Teacher, Mentor Teacher, and teacher.

Painting with the Masters: Gustav Klimt Part 2

Register Now for Painting with the Masters: Gustav Klimt Part 2

Price: $60
Date: September 17, 24, October 1, 8
Time: 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Location: Room 122, Koch Center for Engineering and Science
Instructor: Michelle Peterlin

In this class we will talk about Klimt's handling of landscape compositions and how science and the new field of psychology influenced his work.

There will be four classes (September 17 and 24, and October 1 and 8), and each is two hours long. We will work on just one painting for the entire course.

Materials:

• 9 x 11 canvas
• an assortment of acrylic paints & brushes
• a small water container
• one roll of toilet paper
• a pencil

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.

Women’s Writing: Marie de France’s Lays and the Question of Gender and Art

Register Now for Women’s Writing: Marie de France’s Lays and the Question of Gender and Art

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

In this course, we will learn about one of the most influential and famous women writers from the medieval period: Marie de France. Almost nothing is known about her identity, but she was so beloved and famous that she was known around the 12^th century English court as “Dame Marie”—no last name. Her “lays” featured noble characters of all genders, animal transformations (including a werewolf story!), and magical objects. These short, rhymed stories were performed live, read silently, copied, and recopied. In critiquing the court’s affinity for fictional plots, one contemporary (male) poet laments, her rhymes “are not in the least true. For these she is much praised, and her rhyme is loved everywhere; for counts, barons, and knights greatly admire it, and hold it dear. And they love her writing so much, and take such pleasure in it, that they have it read, and often copied. These Lays are wont to please ladies, who listen to them with delight, for they are after their own hearts.” In this course, we will read her lays and discuss the relationship between gender and the creation and reception of art— for example, to what degree does the gender of the author affect our interpretation of stories? Participants will also be encouraged to share their own experiences of considering “women’s fiction” vs. just “fiction” (by men).

Materials/Readings:

• The Lais of Marie de France: Text and Translation, Translated by: Claire M. Waters, ISBN: 9781554810826

Dr. 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.

Henry’s Wives

Register Now for Henry’s Wives

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

We’ll take a look into the lives of the wives of Henry VIII of England: how their youth shaped them, how they impacted Henry’s life, England’s throne, and altered the course of English history. 

Materials/Readings:

Recommended by the instructor, in this order (take your pick):

1. Weir, Alison. The Six Wives of Henry VIII (978-0802136831). An in-depth look at the lives of Henry’s wives which delves deep into the history of the era and provides exquisite detail into their public and private lives. A very lengthy read.
2. Malvern, Gladys. The Six Wives of Henry VIII (978-1504030212). A brief historical look at the wives of Henry VIII; hits the historical high points.
3. Fatal Throne: the Wives of Henry VIII Tell All (978-1984830333). A novel told from Henry’s wives’ points of view. Authors: M. T. Anderson, Candace Fleming, Stephanie Hemphill, Lisa Ann Sandell, Jennifer Donnelly, Linda Sue Park, Deborah Hopkinson. A fantastic read which features historical details but lacks accuracy.

Danielle Williams is the Technical Services Librarian at the University of Evansville Libraries, and an amateur historian.

Music Recording and Production

Register Now for Music Recording and Production

Price: $60
Time: 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Location: To be determined
Instructor: Charles du Preez

This hands-on course will equip students with the skills to record and produce music. Class time will be divided between lectures, hands-on activities, and listening exercises. Class will culminate in students recording/producing one song, at minimum. Students will explore the process of transforming a musical idea into a finished production while gaining an understanding of sound theory, synthesis, microphones, and the history of music recording and production. Class activities will include listening to a variety of genres—jazz, rock, classical, pop, experimental, and electronic—while analyzing and appreciating key studio recording and production techniques.

Materials/Readings:

• Huber, David Miles and Robert E. Runstein. Modern Recording Techniques, 9th ed. NY: Focal Press, 2017.
• Owsinski, Bobby. The Music Producer’s Handbook, 2nd ed. WI: Hal Leonard Books, 2016.
• Other readings to supplement

Charles du Preez, a bass clarinetist from rural Nebraska, is Assistant Professor of Clarinet and Creative Technologies at the University of Evansville. He holds a BA in English from Nebraska Wesleyan University, an MFA in Music Performance from CalArts, and a DMA from the University of Arizona, where his research focused on electroacoustic music analysis. An active performer, he has appeared with orchestras and festivals across the U.S., Mexico, and Colombia, including the Evansville Philharmonic, Tucson Symphony, and International Clarinet Association events. Beyond classical music, he plays in local jazz, polka, and Civil War-era bands, teaches at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and enjoys triathlon training, yoga, and outdoor adventures.