What next?

I’m not sure anyone thought we’d be entering week nine of stay-at-home orders, but then again, I don’t think that most of us had imagined a pandemic would shut the world down. Sure, these things happen in big-budget horror or sci-fi films, but not in real life. Until March 2020. The resilience we exhibited then is now being stretched thin. Things that we were once looking forward to are now in the rearview mirror without ever having happened. If they did happen, they appeared through a webcam with the bonus of being able to see up some of the fellow participants’ noses. There are highs and lows, for sure. Some moments, I think, “I got this!” and other moments I’m devastated by a calendar alert for a hair appointment that, like many things has been cancelled until further notice. I have perspective to know that a missed hair appointment is hardly the worst thing in the world. In light of the suffering that many are experiencing, it isn’t even close. We all want a return to some sort of normalcy that allows us to be genuinely disappointed by a missed hair appointment. We want to firmly believe we know what day it is! Having lost track, a news article popped up on my cell phone screen. I truly thought it must be April Fool’s Day, even though it had come and gone. But, alas, word of Murder Hornets arriving in the U.S. was real—whether or not, we truly need to take cover. I was about to shout out, “Fake news!” But instead, I shrugged, “What’s next?”

Stay safe and healthy,

Tracy Jacobs

Don and Lyn Brock have been spending lots of time with their dog, Bramwell.

Frank Margolis has been creating sculptures made from recycled materials. Kachina, Robot, and LKB Sheep

Each week we will have a new lecture for you to view. For some lectures, we will have additional resources that will enhance your experience and we will also have some discussion groups that will require signing up ahead of time. The beauty of these on-demand lectures is that you can view them when you want.

Modernity: Science Dominates with John Spears

This lecture is only available to view through May 28.

This is a lecture from a recently designed course on modernity, defined as 1750 to the present. Here we have "Science Dominates," a survey of developments in geology as a guide to some of the characteristics of modern science, with additional considerations of developments in biology, physics, public health and anthropology, emphasizing Thomas Kuhn's concept of paradigm shift. VIEW LECTURE

John Spears received his Ph.D. in European history from Johns Hopkins University in 1978 and taught sporadically over his varied career, which included working for 20 years as a consultant at Towson University’s Regional Economic Studies Institute. But with retirement came the opportunity of re-firing his passion for history, especially with the “big history” of the world now becoming more popular in the 21st century.

More lectures

• Casablanca (1942) and the Films it Influenced with Peter Lev

• The Rise of Benny Goodman with Seth Kibel

• Holocaust Remembrance: Connecting Memory and Responsibility with Jon Aaron