Welcome to Live & Learn Bethesda's Fall classes. As we continue to observe the Covid-19 restrictions, all of our Fall classes will be presented online using the Zoom video conferencing platform. We will not mail a Fall catalog but you can view or print the catalog from our Website or clicking the Fall Catalog.
All classes will be advertised using this Constant Contact email marketing system. Please be sure to check your emails from Constant Contact for Live & Learn Bethesda class updates. We will be sending weekly emails that will provide information about upcoming classes. As more classes become available, we will include them in our weekly emails. The available upcoming classes are listed below and can be viewed on our Calendar page.
Class Registration
The first step is to click the Class link below for each of the classes that you want to attend or click Register to go the RezClick registration page and sign up for classes. Once you have registered for classes you will receive an acknowledgment email from RezClick.
One day prior to each class that you have signed up for you will receive an email with the link to join the Zoom webinar. You can join the webinar with your PC/Mac/Tablet/Smartphone.
If you have any questions about signing up for classes please send them to info@liveandlearnbethesda.org or call 301-740-6150.
All classes will be advertised using this Constant Contact email marketing system. Please be sure to check your emails from Constant Contact for Live & Learn Bethesda class updates. We will be sending weekly emails that will provide information about upcoming classes. As more classes become available, we will include them in our weekly emails. The available upcoming classes are listed below and can be viewed on our Calendar page.
Class Registration
The first step is to click the Class link below for each of the classes that you want to attend or click Register to go the RezClick registration page and sign up for classes. Once you have registered for classes you will receive an acknowledgment email from RezClick.
One day prior to each class that you have signed up for you will receive an email with the link to join the Zoom webinar. You can join the webinar with your PC/Mac/Tablet/Smartphone.
If you have any questions about signing up for classes please send them to info@liveandlearnbethesda.org or call 301-740-6150.
The Mysteries of Teotihuacan
The ruins of Teotihuacan, now just a short drive from Mexico City, were built by one of the most powerful and mysterious peoples in the history of Mesoamerica. This lecture will provide an overview of the development of Mesoamerican civilization, the rise of Teotihuacan and construction of its monuments during the first five centuries of our era, and a detailed analysis of the surviving pyramids and artwork that have come to light over the past century.
Justin Jacobs, PhD, Professor and Historian, Author
The ruins of Teotihuacan, now just a short drive from Mexico City, were built by one of the most powerful and mysterious peoples in the history of Mesoamerica. This lecture will provide an overview of the development of Mesoamerican civilization, the rise of Teotihuacan and construction of its monuments during the first five centuries of our era, and a detailed analysis of the surviving pyramids and artwork that have come to light over the past century.
Justin Jacobs, PhD, Professor and Historian, Author
Wednesday 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM Oct 28
1 Session $15 Class 1543
Food Fight: A History of American Dining
Covid 19 has left the food and restaurant industry in crisis. Broken supply chains, produce left to rot in the fields, meat shortages, empty grocery store shelves and limits on the number of items you can purchase. But this is not the first time that the United States has been through a crisis that saw scores of restaurants close, nor the first time we've been through food shortages and rationing. Many predict that the Covid crisis will forever change the way we live and work, but if history is any guide it will also likely change the way we eat. Join Dr. Allen Pietrobon, an award-winning professor of Global Affairs, as we explore the evolution of the U.S. restaurant and food industry through the first half of the 20th century while it struggled to adapt to multiple crises that reshaped not just where Americans dined out but also what they were able to cook at home. What lessons does this moment in history have for what our post-Covid dining landscape might look like?
Dr. Allen Pietrobon, Professor, Author, Lecturer
Thursday 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM Oct 29
1 Session $15 Class 1571
"If You Ask Me" - A Selection from Eleanor Roosevelt's Advice Column
"Advice columnist" is not a role that is usually listed under Eleanor Roosevelt's long list of achievements, but for over 20 years she wrote a popular write-in column, first for Ladies Home Journal an then McCall's magazine. Once upon a time in America, ordinary people turned to Roosevelt for advice, and as these columns attest, she repaid their trust with responses that are downright startling to read today because of how seriously she took even their most mundane problems. In this lecture Roosevelt scholar Mary Jo Binker will discuss a selection of those columns which has been published her book titled "If You Ask Me".
Mary Jo Binker, Roosevelt Scholar, Author
Wednesday 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM Nov 4
1 Session $15 Class 1577
The 2020 Election
The discussion will focus on the political outcome of the 2020 election, particularly for the White House and the Senate. Whether or not Donald Trump continues in office and whether or not the Republicans maintain control of the Senate will determine the political, economic, and social standing of the United States. There will be an assessment of both domestic and foreign policies that will depend on the election outcomes. The future of the Supreme Court is certainly at stake. Regardless of the outcome of the election, it is reasonable to suggest that there hasn't been a more important election in the United States over the past 150 years.
Melvin Goodman, Retired CIA and State Department Analyst, Author
Thursday 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM Nov 5
1 Session $20 Class 1552
Jewish Wagons West - Part I
The Jews were very much among the original settlers who went to the American West. Who were they? What propelled them to make the hazardous journey? What were some of their experiences? Stories of the Wild West, the experimental agricultural communities, the birth of the blue jeans, the key role played by the city of San Francisco, and the formerly hidden contributions of the conversos; among other Westward tales. Join Author, Journalist, Lecturer Andrée Aelion Brooks in this two part lecture and discussion.
Andrée Aelion Brooks, Author, Journalist, Lecturer
Monday 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM Nov 9
1 Session $15 Class 1575
The Changing Face of Television: YouTube, Binge-ing, Streaming and Beyond
Watching television used to be a fairly simple enterprise-you turned on the set, selected one of 500 channels, and enjoyed your program. Now, television is changing in front of our eyes. More and more viewers are cancelling cable television, preferring to watch new online-only channels like Netflix or Disney +. An entire generation of younger viewers has given up on the TV set altogether, and instead watch programs on their laptop or their phones. And tens of thousands of kids and teenagers have started their own TV networks on YouTube, bypassing NBC, ABC, and CBS altogether. This presentation will look at these startling developments and explain why the old days of simply "watching TV" are fast disappearing.
Brian Rose, Professor of Film and TV History
Tuesday 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM Nov 10
1 Session $15 Class 1549
Fire! The Inside Story of the Boston Massacre
By March 1770, the people of Boston had lived almost a year and a half under British military occupation. Tensions, resentments, and open threats of violence issued by both civilians and soldiers had long since become a fact of life. The town was a powder-keg-and on Monday, March 5, it exploded. Around 8pm, a sentry posted outside the Town Hall on King Street challenged a young wigmaker's apprentice over an unpaid bill. The humiliated apprentice called in reinforcements and soon the sentry was being pelted by stones and snowballs thrown by the 100 townspeople now surrounding him. Then a squad of burly redcoat guardsmen arrived and in the chaos someone yelled 'Fire!' Shots rang out. When the smoke from the soldiers' muskets cleared, five local men lay dead and dying on the snowbound street. Over the following days and weeks, soldiers and civilians tried to figure out what had happened. Just as importantly, they began trying to assign meaning to this tragic event, and to give it a name. The official British report called it an 'unhappy disturbance,' but Boston leaders took to calling it the 'horrid massacre.' In this program, historian Richard Bell explores the 1770 Boston Massacre from all its many sides. Drawing on the latest scholarship, Bell argues that the real history of the 'affray on King Street' is far more fascinating than even Paul Revere's famous engraving of it has led us to believe.
Richard Bell, PhD, Professor of History, Author
Thursday 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM Nov 12
1 Session $15 Class 1546
Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel Ceiling
When Michelangelo signed the contract with Pope Julius II in 1508 to paint the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, little did he know the turmoil that awaited him. Never before had such a large-scale painting been attempted on a ceiling - and by a sculptor no less! After 4 and ½ years of physical strain, personal conflict with the pope, and an endless demand for inspiration, Michelangelo covered nearly 9,000 sq. ft. of ceiling with some of the most beautiful and sublime figures in history. This webinar presentation will examine the artistic importance of the ceiling, as well the human drama behind its creation.
Rocky Ruggiero, PhD, Professor of Art and Architectural History
Thursday 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM Nov 12
1 Session $15 Class 1583
Jewish Wagons West - Part II
The Jews were very much among the original settlers who went to the American West. Who were they? What propelled them to make the hazardous journey? What were some of their experiences? Stories of the Wild West, the experimental agricultural communities, the birth of the blue jeans, the key role played by the city of San Francisco, and the formerly hidden contributions of the conversos; among other Westward tales. Join Author, Journalist, Lecturer Andrée Aelion Brooks in this two part lecture and discussion.
Andrée Aelion Brooks, Author, Journalist, Lecturer
Monday 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM Nov 16
1 Session $15 Class 1576
Ovid and Titian: The Mythologies for Philip II of Spain
An exhibit that opened and closed in three days last spring brought together six masterpieces for the first time in 450 years. Based on stories from Ovid's Metamorphoses, the pictures can be appreciated virtually as a high point of the interpretation of ancient mythology in Renaissance Italy.
Nora Hamerman, PhD, Art Historian, Author
Tuesday 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM Nov 17
1 Session $15 Class 1566
Sex in the Broadway Musical - Part II
Many musicals have used sex to drive the plot but believe it or not it was often hidden or in many cases unwelcomed. In some musicals it was downright bad taste as with "Pal Joey" but yet "Oklahoma" had a girl who "caint say no". The topic has had many variations in appeal from the giggles, such as Miss Adelaide in "Guys and Dolls" to downright obsessive behavior in full view as in "Hamilton". Let's explore the naughtiness and the fun that has been decades of sex in the Broadway musical with Our Musical Theatre expert Steve Friedman Zooming us in.
Steve Friedman, Trained Classical Tenor, Broadway Musical Lecturer
Thursday 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM Nov 19
1 Session $15 Class 1555
www.liveandlearnbethesda.org
4805 Edgemoor Lane, Second Floor, Bethesda, MD 20814
301-740-6150
1 Session $15 Class 1543
Food Fight: A History of American Dining
Covid 19 has left the food and restaurant industry in crisis. Broken supply chains, produce left to rot in the fields, meat shortages, empty grocery store shelves and limits on the number of items you can purchase. But this is not the first time that the United States has been through a crisis that saw scores of restaurants close, nor the first time we've been through food shortages and rationing. Many predict that the Covid crisis will forever change the way we live and work, but if history is any guide it will also likely change the way we eat. Join Dr. Allen Pietrobon, an award-winning professor of Global Affairs, as we explore the evolution of the U.S. restaurant and food industry through the first half of the 20th century while it struggled to adapt to multiple crises that reshaped not just where Americans dined out but also what they were able to cook at home. What lessons does this moment in history have for what our post-Covid dining landscape might look like?
Dr. Allen Pietrobon, Professor, Author, Lecturer
Thursday 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM Oct 29
1 Session $15 Class 1571
"If You Ask Me" - A Selection from Eleanor Roosevelt's Advice Column
"Advice columnist" is not a role that is usually listed under Eleanor Roosevelt's long list of achievements, but for over 20 years she wrote a popular write-in column, first for Ladies Home Journal an then McCall's magazine. Once upon a time in America, ordinary people turned to Roosevelt for advice, and as these columns attest, she repaid their trust with responses that are downright startling to read today because of how seriously she took even their most mundane problems. In this lecture Roosevelt scholar Mary Jo Binker will discuss a selection of those columns which has been published her book titled "If You Ask Me".
Mary Jo Binker, Roosevelt Scholar, Author
Wednesday 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM Nov 4
1 Session $15 Class 1577
The 2020 Election
The discussion will focus on the political outcome of the 2020 election, particularly for the White House and the Senate. Whether or not Donald Trump continues in office and whether or not the Republicans maintain control of the Senate will determine the political, economic, and social standing of the United States. There will be an assessment of both domestic and foreign policies that will depend on the election outcomes. The future of the Supreme Court is certainly at stake. Regardless of the outcome of the election, it is reasonable to suggest that there hasn't been a more important election in the United States over the past 150 years.
Melvin Goodman, Retired CIA and State Department Analyst, Author
Thursday 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM Nov 5
1 Session $20 Class 1552
Jewish Wagons West - Part I
The Jews were very much among the original settlers who went to the American West. Who were they? What propelled them to make the hazardous journey? What were some of their experiences? Stories of the Wild West, the experimental agricultural communities, the birth of the blue jeans, the key role played by the city of San Francisco, and the formerly hidden contributions of the conversos; among other Westward tales. Join Author, Journalist, Lecturer Andrée Aelion Brooks in this two part lecture and discussion.
Andrée Aelion Brooks, Author, Journalist, Lecturer
Monday 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM Nov 9
1 Session $15 Class 1575
The Changing Face of Television: YouTube, Binge-ing, Streaming and Beyond
Watching television used to be a fairly simple enterprise-you turned on the set, selected one of 500 channels, and enjoyed your program. Now, television is changing in front of our eyes. More and more viewers are cancelling cable television, preferring to watch new online-only channels like Netflix or Disney +. An entire generation of younger viewers has given up on the TV set altogether, and instead watch programs on their laptop or their phones. And tens of thousands of kids and teenagers have started their own TV networks on YouTube, bypassing NBC, ABC, and CBS altogether. This presentation will look at these startling developments and explain why the old days of simply "watching TV" are fast disappearing.
Brian Rose, Professor of Film and TV History
Tuesday 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM Nov 10
1 Session $15 Class 1549
Fire! The Inside Story of the Boston Massacre
By March 1770, the people of Boston had lived almost a year and a half under British military occupation. Tensions, resentments, and open threats of violence issued by both civilians and soldiers had long since become a fact of life. The town was a powder-keg-and on Monday, March 5, it exploded. Around 8pm, a sentry posted outside the Town Hall on King Street challenged a young wigmaker's apprentice over an unpaid bill. The humiliated apprentice called in reinforcements and soon the sentry was being pelted by stones and snowballs thrown by the 100 townspeople now surrounding him. Then a squad of burly redcoat guardsmen arrived and in the chaos someone yelled 'Fire!' Shots rang out. When the smoke from the soldiers' muskets cleared, five local men lay dead and dying on the snowbound street. Over the following days and weeks, soldiers and civilians tried to figure out what had happened. Just as importantly, they began trying to assign meaning to this tragic event, and to give it a name. The official British report called it an 'unhappy disturbance,' but Boston leaders took to calling it the 'horrid massacre.' In this program, historian Richard Bell explores the 1770 Boston Massacre from all its many sides. Drawing on the latest scholarship, Bell argues that the real history of the 'affray on King Street' is far more fascinating than even Paul Revere's famous engraving of it has led us to believe.
Richard Bell, PhD, Professor of History, Author
Thursday 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM Nov 12
1 Session $15 Class 1546
Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel Ceiling
When Michelangelo signed the contract with Pope Julius II in 1508 to paint the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, little did he know the turmoil that awaited him. Never before had such a large-scale painting been attempted on a ceiling - and by a sculptor no less! After 4 and ½ years of physical strain, personal conflict with the pope, and an endless demand for inspiration, Michelangelo covered nearly 9,000 sq. ft. of ceiling with some of the most beautiful and sublime figures in history. This webinar presentation will examine the artistic importance of the ceiling, as well the human drama behind its creation.
Rocky Ruggiero, PhD, Professor of Art and Architectural History
Thursday 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM Nov 12
1 Session $15 Class 1583
Jewish Wagons West - Part II
The Jews were very much among the original settlers who went to the American West. Who were they? What propelled them to make the hazardous journey? What were some of their experiences? Stories of the Wild West, the experimental agricultural communities, the birth of the blue jeans, the key role played by the city of San Francisco, and the formerly hidden contributions of the conversos; among other Westward tales. Join Author, Journalist, Lecturer Andrée Aelion Brooks in this two part lecture and discussion.
Andrée Aelion Brooks, Author, Journalist, Lecturer
Monday 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM Nov 16
1 Session $15 Class 1576
Ovid and Titian: The Mythologies for Philip II of Spain
An exhibit that opened and closed in three days last spring brought together six masterpieces for the first time in 450 years. Based on stories from Ovid's Metamorphoses, the pictures can be appreciated virtually as a high point of the interpretation of ancient mythology in Renaissance Italy.
Nora Hamerman, PhD, Art Historian, Author
Tuesday 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM Nov 17
1 Session $15 Class 1566
Sex in the Broadway Musical - Part II
Many musicals have used sex to drive the plot but believe it or not it was often hidden or in many cases unwelcomed. In some musicals it was downright bad taste as with "Pal Joey" but yet "Oklahoma" had a girl who "caint say no". The topic has had many variations in appeal from the giggles, such as Miss Adelaide in "Guys and Dolls" to downright obsessive behavior in full view as in "Hamilton". Let's explore the naughtiness and the fun that has been decades of sex in the Broadway musical with Our Musical Theatre expert Steve Friedman Zooming us in.
Steve Friedman, Trained Classical Tenor, Broadway Musical Lecturer
Thursday 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM Nov 19
1 Session $15 Class 1555
www.liveandlearnbethesda.org
4805 Edgemoor Lane, Second Floor, Bethesda, MD 20814
301-740-6150
