Course Descriptions: Spring 2022

More information on most courses, including schedule and recommended readings, can be found online as indicated at the end of each description.

Four courses will be presented online. Learn more about equipment you’ll need for online learning in those courses.

All courses begin the week of March 28.

Richard Collman: The Pipe Organ – King of Instruments

8 Mondays (March 28 – May 16), 9:30-11:30

St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 418 Sumner St. East, Northfield

Enrollment Limit: 15(for organ crawls, class will meet at St. Peter’s and carpool to organ locations)

Mozart called the pipe organ “the king of instruments.” Welcome to a musical instrument that can soothe you or assault you, a musical machine where you may hear the wonderful Wanamaker Department Store organ in concert while shopping for shirts or socks in Philadelphia, or perhaps become aware of organ sounds at a baseball stadium, a carousel, a concert hall, and most of all a church! What is there about the pipe organ that has held our imagination since Roman times? Come…explore with me this “deus ex machina” that remains alive and well in all shapes and sizes.

For further information click here

Richard Collman is a retired minister-musician whose career has involved the pipe organ for over 50 years.  He has served in leadership roles for all ages in the American Guild of Organists, teaches organ, plays recitals, has taught numerous and varied CVEC courses over the last decade, and in 2007 founded the Northfield Noontime Organ Recitals which have continued every summer (except for COVID) since then.  rkcollman@msn.com

John Robison:  Key Modern U.S. Supreme Court Decisions

(Repeat of course taught Spring 2021)

8 Mondays (March 28 – May 16), 9:30-11:30

Village on the Cannon Community Room

Enrollment limit: 15

Most people are aware of the results of important U.S. Supreme Court decisions, but few non-lawyers understand how and why the Court reached those conclusions. The primary purpose of this course is to explain and discuss the legal reasoning and analysis behind those cases. Was the Court right? In the process, we will address the role of the Court in our government and our society.

We will also address three continuing themes: Should the issue in this case be resolved by the Court or by the legislature? Does this opinion follow the law, or just reflect the desired outcome of the Justice who wrote it? Is the Constitution alive or dead?

For further information click here

John Robison was a business lawyer for 41 years, spending most of that time in Madison, Wisconsin.  He followed U.S. Supreme Court decisions during that time as a hobby.  johnrobison3123@gmail.com


Sam Temple:  A Beautiful Dream—Historic Figures of Early Faribault

(Repeat of course taught Spring 2021)

8 Mondays (March 28 – May 16), 1:30-3:30

Rice County Historical Society, Faribault

Enrollment limit: 15

“When I think of the early days of this place and then look around, it seems to be a beautiful dream.” -Alexander Faribault, 1882

In the year 1855, the community of Faribault was platted in the Minnesota Territory. For enigmatic part-Dakota trader Alexander Faribault, the dream he built in that year would be put to the test. In a journey that spans the 19th century–the Dakota genocide, the heroism of everyday people, and the formation of a State–this course will examine how suffering, triumph, growth, and love shaped our community. Classes will consist of lectures, guided discussions, and video screenings.

For further information, click here

Sam Temple currently works as Station Manager for Northfield Public Broadcasting and owns/operates Steamboat Media Company, LLC. He previously taught for the Elder Collegium with Logan Ledman, with whom he produces documentaries. Sam is a local theatrical performer and director; he also serves on the Faribault Heritage Preservation Commission and the Planning Commission.  1855faribault@gmail.com

Matt Rohn:  U.S. Environmental History

8 Tuesdays (March 29 – May 17), 9:30-11:30

Online via Zoom

Enrollment limit: 15

This course explores the complex, fluid, and sometimes conflicting relationship between the natural environment and various peoples who have been living on the lands presently known as the United States from a historical perspective. We will inquire into how beliefs, policies, and actions have shaped the environment in significant ways for better and for worse. The course loosely follows a chronological thread in exploring key contributors over time that help explain how the U.S. came to be “nature’s nation” while also one of the worst polluting nations for a time and the most serious, per capita contributor to the existential threat climate change poses.

For further information, click here

Matt Rohn recently retired as a Professor at St. Olaf College, where he taught Environmental Humanities, Art History, American Studies, and American Race and Ethnic Studies. He earned a B.A in Art History at George Washington University and a M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. He is currently an environmental activist deeply involved in helping Northfield realize its Climate Action Plan and pressing the state and Xcel Energy to meet their stated goals and set new ones called for by climate scientists.  rohn@stolaf.edu


Daniel Sullivan and Mary Savina: Explaining Riddles of Culture and Culture “Collapse” With a View Toward Our Future

(Repeat of course taught by Sullivan in Fall 2021, enhanced by Savina additions)

8 Tuesdays (March 29 – May 17), 1:30-3:30

Village on the Cannon Community Room

Enrollment limit: 15

In the late 1960s and early 1970s a sub-field within anthropology called cultural ecology, which continues to the present, began to coalesce.  One claim and insight of so-called cultural ecologists that we will examine in detail was that a great many practices and rituals in “primitive” and even pretty advanced societies—e.g. Hindus holding cows sacred in India, pig slaughter in New Guinea, forbidding the eating of pork, competitive feasting among Northwest North American Coast native peoples, warfare among small, isolated groups —have their origins in the practical necessities of life and are related to the economic and competitive success, even survival, of the societies in which they were found. 

We will, in addition, examine the role of periods of significant climate warming in the so-called “collapse” of major cultures such as the Maya and the natives who inhabited the pueblo in New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon, made possible by remarkable advances in archeology over the past four decades.  At the end, we will ask what insights our study of these early cultures provide regarding the likely survival of our culture in the face of global warming

For further information, click here

Daniel Sullivan is a sociologist and President Emeritus of St. Lawrence University.  He has a B.S. in mathematics with a minor in English from St. Lawrence University and a Ph.D. in sociology from Columbia University. dsullivan@stlawu.edu

Mary Savina is the Charles L. Denison Professor of Geology, Emerita at Carleton.  Her B.A. is from Carleton, her Ph.D. from UC Berkeley.  Her research and teaching has included a focus on landscape evolution and archeology, including field work in Greece, and it has led her to learn a great deal about how archeology has brought major new insights to the understanding of the rise and fall of societies.  ; msavina@carleton.edu

Steve Soderlind:  Justice and Prosperity

8 Wednesdays (March 30 – May 18)

9:30-11:30

Village on the Cannon Community Room

Enrollment limit: 15

This course will explore the intersection of justice and prosperity in America through the lenses of history, social philosophy, and political economy. We will encounter difficult terrain as we ask:  Should justice vie with liberty in shaping our notion of prosperity?  Can a blossoming of justice save America from political polarization and paralysis?  Can workable social goals arise via constitutional processes to reshape the nation’s view of success?  Is it the case that prosperity matches best with minimal or timid government? Focusing on rights, ideology, industrialization, and constitutional government, we will reflect on America’s socio-economic development. Our review will reference venerable ideas about justice and prosperity from Plato, Aquinas, Smith, Malthus, Mill, Marx, Veblen, Friedman, and Rawls, among others. Various images of justice will come into play as we assess vexing issues like inheritance, poverty, discrimination, education, environmental deterioration, and globalization – not to mention global warming and epidemics of Covid, obesity, addiction, and confusion.

For further information, click here

Steve Soderlind taught economics at St. Olaf College for over forty years, specializing in urban and regional economics, social choice, and the history of economic thought. He also led international travel studies and taught across the curriculum in statistics, great works, and the history of science. soderlin@stolaf.edu


Joel Weisberg:  Modern Scientific Cosmology

(Repeat of course taught Spring 2021)

8 Wednesdays (March 30 – May 18), 1:30-3:30

Online via Zoom

Enrollment limit: 15

Cosmology is the investigation of the past, present, and future history of the universe and of its general nature.  Virtually all cultures throughout history have attempted to wrestle with cosmological questions, such as the origin of the universe.  In the last hundred years, however, we have managed to perform key observations of the nature of the universe.  Now, a cosmology must not conflict with these observations if it is to be considered scientifically viable.  This development marks a watershed moment, which can be called the era of Modern Scientific Cosmology.

For further information, click here

Joel Weisberg is Stark Professor of Physics and Astronomy and the Natural Sciences, Emeritus, at Carleton College.  He taught astronomy, cosmology, physics, and science and society courses at Carleton for 35 years.  He and his students used radio telescopes across the world to study pulsars, the interstellar medium, and general relativity.  jweisber@carleton.edu

 Brian F. O’Donnell:  Psychoactive Drugs, the Mind and Society

8 Thursdays (March 31 – May 19), 9:30-11:30

Online via Zoom

Enrollment limit: 15

Psychoactive drugs can alter perception, thinking, mood, energy level and motor control.  The population of the United States consumes a vast spectrum of psychoactive drugs, both legal and illicit, recreational and medicinal, including depressants, stimulants, anti-depressants, sleep agents, psychedelics, analgesics, and cannabinoids.  This course will examine several psychoactive drugs, how they affect the individual, and their role in (or prohibition by) society.   Topics addressed will include psychological and biological effects, phenomenological experiences, religious perspectives, social and criminal policy, medicinal uses, addictions and addiction treatment.  Classes will be oriented toward discussion of issues and readings rather than presentations. 

For further information, click here

Brian O’Donnell is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University.  He has a B.A. in Literature from Oberlin College and his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from SUNY Stony Brook.  He has investigated the psychology and biology of psychotic disorders and psychoactive drugs for several decades, supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation and Indiana University.  bodonnel2@gmail.com


John Matthews: “Who Do You Say That I (Jesus) Am?”

8 Thursdays (March 31 – May 19), 1:30-3:30

Village on the Cannon Community Room

Enrollment limit: 15

It can be argued that Jesus of Nazareth is the most widely known person in all of human history. While billions of people—over the centuries—have experienced something of God’s presence in Jesus, billions of others have regarded him as just one more compassionate and caring human being.  Jesus appears to have presciently understood something of this ambiguity when asking St. Peter, “Who do you say that I am?”  That is the question this class will engage.

For further information, click here

John Matthews is a retired ELCA pastor who also teaches in the religion department of Augsburg University. John studied at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem and was a founding member (1990) of the ELCA’s Consultative Panel for Lutheran-Jewish Relations. John and his wife, Patty, live in Apple Valley, Minnesota.  johnwaltermatt@gmail.com

Gary Wagenbach: Oceans, Climate, and Corals – Connections and Perspectives for Minnesotans

(Update of a course taught Fall 2020)

8 Fridays (April 1 – May 20), 9:30-11:30

Online via Zoom

Enrollment limit: 15

“Coral reefs face disaster from climate change . . .”  is a recent headline from the Washington Post.  Coral reefs are among the most complex and productive biological systems on the planet, and a proverbial “canary in a coal mine.”  We will explore what’s behind the Post headline and make connections with global warming.  What is the status of reefs in the Pacific, and the Caribbean?  How do glaciers in Antarctica relate?  People living among reefs have considerable impact.  Fish play a key role in promoting reef health. Weather, climate, disease, and how much CO2 are stored in the ocean affect both the health of reefs and us in Minnesota.  Modeling and resulting forecasting provide a look into the future of reefs and weather and climate in Minnesota. We will also explore how to talk about climate change, warming, and the “crisis” before us.

For further information, click here

Gary Wagenbach taught biology and environmental studies at Carleton College, and studied lakes, marine biology, and coral reefs. Teaching took him to Bermuda, West Coast marine stations, and both New Zealand and Australia.  He also has taught and participated in several CVEC courses.  Gary grew up in Wisconsin and studied at the University of Wisconsin, University of Washington, and MBL Woods Hole, MA, learning from lakes, rivers, and marine habitats in the Atlantic and Pacific.  gwagenba@gmail.com


Sam Temple:  Walt Disney—An Examination of an American Storyteller

8 Fridays (April 1 – May 20), 1:30-3:30

Rice County Historical Society, Faribault

Enrollment limit: 15

Modern American culture has become inextricably linked to the intellectual property and brand awareness of one corporation: The Walt Disney Company. The eponymous man behind the brand has been mythologized and, in turn, demonized following his 1966 death. A deeper understanding of the story of this man can lead us to better understand the American identity, and the stories we tell ourselves to understand our culture. Sam Temple is proud to present the critical discussion, empathic biography, and passionate examination of the fascinating life of Walt Disney. Classes will consist of lectures, guided discussions, and video screenings in class.

For further information, click here

Sam Temple currently works as Station Manager for Northfield Public Broadcasting and owns/operates Steamboat Media Company, LLC. He previously taught for the Elder Collegium with Logan Ledman, with whom he produces documentaries. Sam is a local theatrical performer and director; he also serves on the Faribault Heritage Preservation Commission and the Planning Commission.  1855faribault@gmail.com

Randall Ferguson:  Military Music of the American Revolutionary and Civil Wars

(Repeat of course taught Winter, 2019)

8 Fridays (April 1 – May 20), 1:30-3:30

Village on the Cannon Community Room

Enrollment limit: 15

Revolutionary War soldiers’ campfire songs, chronicling the events of specific battles, were later accepted and used as historical documents.  Church hymns reflected the patriot spirit. William Billings’ hymn, Chester, claimed “…New England’s God forever reigns.”  In both the Revolutionary and Civil wars, battlefield signals were given by fife and drum to relay the orders to the troops. On the Union side alone, there were over 40,000 boy musicians under the age of 18, 300 under the age of 14, and 25 under the age of 10. It is believed that similar numbers existed on the Confederate side. The Civil War was often referred to as “The Boys War.” These boys provided a crucial service to the war effort. In a very short time, they went from being a child to a hardened adult in a child’s body. Lincoln supported brass bands on the battlefield to boost the morale of the troops. In addition, they gave the soldiers a false sense of security.

Through government documents, photographs, newspaper stories, diaries and recordings, the history and role of military music in early America will be explored, not only as to its direct involvement in the wars, but how it affected the future of American music. 

For further information, click here

Randall Ferguson taught classes from 1985-2005 in world ethnomusicology and music history through the Department of Continuing Studies in the Graduate School of Hamline University. In 2014, he retired after 38 years as choral and instrumental music instructor in the Farmington school district. He presently is Vice President of the Vintage Band Festival board, and a professional classical and flamenco guitarist who regularly presents recitals on antique and modern guitars dating from 1785, 1835, and 1850 to present. rferguson@charter.net