Course Schedule
Please note that the PayPal/Add to Cart button will be removed two business days before the first class of a seminar. This allows for an accurate count and time to forward any class information to the registrants. Please plan to register before then to be sure to receive any information from the Presenter or VISTAS office.
Paddling into a Natural Balance
Monday, January 5 | 9:30 a.m. – 12 noon
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $20; non-member price: $30
Presented by Chuck Graham
Join Chuck Graham—author, photographer, and guide—for an inspiring talk about the recovery of the flora and fauna of the Channel Islands. Chuck has been kayaking around the four northern islands (Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel) for thirty years and has led kayak tours there for nearly as long. During that time, he has also photographed and written about the recovery of island foxes and seabirds, the reintroduction of bald eagles, and the eradication of non-native plants and animals. Early on, he found that the best way to document this recovery would be from his kayak, because many island locations are not accessible on foot or by larger boats. Kayaking has afforded him the opportunity to experience the recovery of the island ecosystem; his skill as a photographer brings his experiences to all of us.
Not Just a Pretty Place: The Science Behind the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
Wednesday, January 7 | 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden 1212 Mission Canyon Road, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $20; non-member price: $30
Presented by Steve Windhager
Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Pritzlaff Conservation Center at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden to learn about the genetic analysis, botanical research, rare plant conservation, and ecological restoration work being done by the Garden both locally and around the state. The tour will include the genetics and botany labs, the rare plant seed bank, and the herbarium. This is a reprise of two earlier VISTAS events— fascinating tours of the Botanic Garden’s essential plant labs—both of which quickly sold out. As before, this tour is limited to 15 participants and may involve walking on uneven surfaces and/or some stair-climbing.
A Conversation with Mohsen Mahdawi
Friday, January 9 | 9:30 a.m. – 12 noon
SBCC’s Schott Campus Auditorium 310 W. Padre Street (parking lot entrance on Bath St. between Padre and Los Olivos)
VISTAS member price: $20; non-member price $30
Presented by David Bisno and Mohsen Mahdawi
Mohsen Madawi was born and raised in a Palestinian refugee camp on the West Bank. Several friends and family members were killed by Israeli Defense Forces when he was young, but as a way out of grief and rage, Mohsen heeded his uncle’s words: “Education is your only way, and hope is the path moving forward.” He became a university student in Ramallah before escaping over the wall in 2014, first into Israel and then on to the U.S., where he met David Bisno in New Hampshire. After auditing courses at Dartmouth and attending Lehigh U. on a full scholarship, Mohsen moved to New York to attend Columbia, where he was elected president of the Student Palestinian Union, applied for U.S. citizenship, and embraced Buddhism. After the events of October 2023 in Gaza, Mohsen spoke out on the Columbia campus in support of Middle Eastern peace, Palestinian rights, and Israeli security. Last April, at a U.S. citizenship interview in Vermont, Mohsen was handcuffed and taken away by ICE agents and spent 16 days in detention. He is now a grad student at Columbia while awaiting a pending case before the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, which will determine whether his (and all of our) First Amendment rights to free speech will prevail. Come join us to learn more about this extraordinary young man’s life, struggles, and goals.
The Impressionist Revolution: Monet to Matisse
Monday, January 12 | 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $20; non-member price: $30
Presented by Lori Windsor Mohr
The first Impressionist exhibition was held in 1874, two years after the horror and violence of the Franco-Prussian War. The war and its aftermath not only became a defining moment for France, but also had a tremendous impact on the rise of a new kind of painting that would change the course of art history. This presentation is offered in conjunction with the SBMA blockbuster exhibition The Impressionist Revolution: Monet to Matisse from the Dallas Museum of Art, which explores the rebellious origins of the independent artist collective known as the Impressionists and the revolutionary course they charted for generations to follow. As a complement to The Impressionist Revolution, a concurrent exhibition is shown in a separate gallery: Encore: 19th C. French Art from the SBMA Collection. Join us for a closer look at the volatile political, cultural, and social context in France that opened the door for a new kind of art that still resonates 150 years later.
The Two Tragedies of Wounded Knee: The Historic Plight of Native Americans
Wednesdays, January 14 and 21 | 9:30 a.m. – 12 noon
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $30; non-member price: $45
Presented by Tom Parker
In the mid-19th century, legions of white settlers pushed westward, invading far-reaching lands upon which Native Americans had peacefully lived for centuries. Part 1 of Tom’s presentation will expose a history of conflicts, broken promises, and disillusionments, including tragic stories of Native Americans losing their land, lives, and liberty to the invaders of their homelands. Tom’s discussion will include the unprovoked attack in January 1891, when countless leaders and members of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Nation were massacred in the village of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota
In part 2, Tom will move eighty-two years later to February 1973, when members of the newly formed American Indian Movement (AIM) forcibly re-occupied the village of Wounded Knee and violence again erupted at Pine Ridge. Tom was sent to Wounded Knee along with other FBI agents to help to resolve this incident, and he will tell of his own experiences there.
Public Housing in Santa Barbara
Thursday, January 22 | 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $20; non-member price: $30
Presented by Pat Wheatley and Rob L. Fredericks
This important class will provide an overview of the history of public housing in the United States and affordable housing policy at the national and state levels as well as at the local level in Santa Barbara. Discussion will include federal and state budget cuts that will have a negative impact on low- and very low–income families and individuals in our community. Additionally, we will discuss the need for affordable housing in our community and the role and challenges of the Santa Barbara City Housing Authority and other key partners in developing affordable housing. Current housing projects in Santa Barbara will be discussed.
Can Congress Regain Its Strength… to Become an Equal Partner with the Presidency and Supreme Court?
Mondays, Jan. 26, Feb. 2, 9, and 16 | 9:30 a.m. – 12 noon
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $50; non-member price: $75
Presented by Ted Anagnoson
Everyone agrees that Congress is weak compared with the Presidency and Supreme Court. This is a course on Congress itself, starting with the members, the history of congressional power, committees, leadership, rules, voting—the works. Why is Congress weaker than it has been in the past? Remarkably, we will find that it is weaker in part because Congress has weakened itself. What can be done to strengthen Congress and make it an equal partner with the Presidency and Supreme Court? Congress has neglected the power of the purse, enabling the current executive to move money around in ways that previous presidents never thought possible. And Congress’s war powers need to be reasserted. Internally, the filibuster has become a major obstacle to the majority’s ability to implement their program. Can the filibuster be partially reformed? Congress can also influence the judicial branch. Writing new laws on judicial ethics and judicial structures could enhance Congress’s role.
The Demon That Dethroned Dynasties: The Turbulent History of Smallpox and the Political Backstory of Its Eradication
Wednesdays, January 28 and February 4 | 9:30 a.m. – 12 noon
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $30; non-member price: $45
Presented by Bee Bloeser
Smallpox killed at a terrifying rate. It helped shape world history as it influenced the fate of nations, including our own. This course focuses primarily on this dramatic legacy and the complex preeradication backstory rather than the eradication effort itself. We’ll examine the impact of smallpox on colonial America and the American Revolution after reviewing its shuffling of dynasties around the world. We’ll trace ancient attempts at control, the rise of early inoculation, and the development of the first vaccine. We’ll explore the politics that delayed—and ultimately launched—the campaign that eradicated the disease. We’ll also highlight the campaign’s challenges and lessons learned.
We’ll conclude with a brief look at potential future risk and safeguards meant to prevent virus samples, officially held only in Atlanta and Russia, from escaping high-security laboratories.
Grand Bargain: The Inside Story of Detroit’s Dramatic Journey from Bankruptcy to Rebirth
Thursday, February 5 | 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $20; non-member price: $30
Presented by Gerald E. Rosen
The city of Detroit’s decades-long downward spiral landed in bankruptcy court on July 18, 2013. Recession, decaying infrastructure, crime, and competition from foreign automakers had hollowed out the city’s economic core. Indeed, Detroit was in such bad shape that Michigan’s governor appointed an emergency manager to take over the city. But even that was not enough to turn it around. By the summer of 2013, Detroit was flat broke. What would happen to a city that had no money and no realistic prospect for raising any? Detroit had only one sizable asset: a collection of masterpieces held by the city-owned Detroit Institute of Arts. And now the city’s creditors wanted to “monetize” the art by putting it on the auction block. Pundits around the world were writing Detroit’s obituary—and liquidation of the art threatened to become the exclamation point at the end. In his book Grand Bargain, Gerald E. Rosen tells the inside story of how Detroit was rescued and Detroit’s retirees were saved from taking devastating cuts to their pensions.
California Earthquakes and Plate Tectonics
Wednesdays, February 11 and 18 | 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $30; non-member price: $45
Presented by Ralph Archuleta
First session: Plate tectonics—a changing planet. The earth’s surface is in perpetual motion. It is not a single entity but a collection of fragments (plates) that jostle against one another as they slide over a molten mantle below. The result is an ever-changing landscape of mountain chains like the Andes or Himalaya, seas such as the Gulf of California, and chains of islands such as Hawaii.
Second session: California earthquakes—a focus on Santa Barbara. The boundary between the North American and Pacific Plates cuts through California—its most obvious feature being the San Andreas fault. Some of the most hazardous faults lie miles below the south coast and reach the surface in the Santa Barbara Channel. These faults can produce earthquakes similar in magnitude to the 1994 Northridge and 1971 San Fernando quakes and threaten the South Coast.
Standing on the Precipice: What’s Happening to America?
Fridays, Feb. 20, 27, Mar. 6, 13 | 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Fe Bland Forum Auditorium, S.B. City College, West Campus, 721 Cliff Drive, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $50; non-member price $75
Presented by David Bisno with Randall Balmer
Three years ago, David asked VISTAS students “Why the Allure of Fascism?” Since then he has intrigued us with “Whose Land Is It, Anyway?” and “Two Peoples, One Land,” about the history of the Holy Land. This winter he is asking us: “Is our country at a precipice?” or “Have we already fallen from the precipice?” Joined by Dartmouth College Professor of Religion Randall Balmer, David will weave together Sinclair Lewis’s 1935 tale It Can’t Happen Here, Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, and America’s embrace of authoritarianism. Some of us may be thrilled with developments in Washington; others of us may be in profound dismay. Do we understand il-liberal democracies? White Christian nationalism? Populist philosophies? Why is it happening here? Are we, the “elites,” the problem? Come join us for provocative, spirited presentations and discussions.
American Poison: A Deadly Invention and the Woman Who Battled for Environmental Justice
Monday, February 23 | 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Online via Zoom.
There is no charge for this Zoom presentation. Those enrolled will be emailed a link ahead of the presentation
Presented by Daniel Stone
All VISTAS members are invited to join this special event, a Zoom meeting of our Monday Nonfiction Book Club, free of charge. To enroll, simply notify our business manager. In this session, national bestselling author and two-time VISTAS presenter Daniel Stone will tell the inspiring story of Alice Hamilton, the unsung woman who sparked the modern environmental justice movement. Hamilton was the Erin Brockovich of the 1920s and the first female professor at Harvard. In his book American Poison, Stone paints a vivid portrait of Hamilton’s crusade. In this VISTAS session, he will trace her journey from shop rooms to Capitol offices as she took on the powerful auto industry.
The Carrizo Plain: Where the Mountains Meet the Grasslands
Monday, March 2 | 9:30 a.m. – 12 noon
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $20; non-member price: $30
Presented by Chuck Graham
Come take a visual journey with writer/photographer Chuck Graham into the Carrizo Plain National Monument, the last of California’s historic grasslands. This is a unique landscape that requires one to slow down, observe, and listen to what the grasslands want to reveal. Chuck has spent 20 years writing about and photographing the flora and fauna of the Plain and its surrounding mountain ranges, the Caliente to the west and the Temblors to the east. The Carrizo Plain gets a lot of attention due to its spectacular wildflower blooms, but its appeal is not just about the flowers. The Carrizo Plain is a wild place like no other. Its sweeping grasslands also support an array of wildlife hidden within seasonal arroyos, badlands, sandstone, and alkali loam. There are more endangered species in the Carrizo Plain than anywhere else in California.
Women Who Dared, Series Two
Wednesdays, March 4, 11, and 18 | 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $40; non-member price: $60
Coordinated by Laurie Guitteau
Last March we introduced a new series of VISTAS talks, titled “Women Who Dared,” intended to highlight women who ignored the traditions of their time and contributed significantly to their world, always against tremendous challenges. In this second series, another team of copresenters (Peggy Perhac, Suzanne Croft, Jill Breedon, Barbara Levi, Barbara Lindemann, and Kate Feldstein) will cover six such women. Victoria Woodhull Martin, the first woman to run for US president, in 1872, fought many of the same battles that women still fight today. Julia Morgan was one of the first female engineering majors at Berkeley, the first female graduate of École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, and the first licensed woman architect in California. Mary Anning was an 18th-century English fossil collector whose findings contributed to knowledge of prehistoric life. Lise Meitner rose to prominence among European physicists and was on the verge of her biggest discovery—nuclear fission—when, as a Jew, she was forced to flee Nazi Germany. Margaret Sanger was a nurse who devoted her life to making contraceptives available to all women. Katharine Dexter McCormick, in the 1890s, became the second woman to attend MIT. She went on to be an advocate for women’s rights and for those with mental illness.
The Voyages of Captain Cook
Mondays, March 9 and 16 | 9:30 a.m. – 12 noon
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $30; non-member price $45
Presented by David DeSelm
In the year 1769, a British seaman named James Cook and a team of astronomers with telescopes, sextants, and chronometers measured a rare astronomical event called a “Transit of Venus” from the remote island of Tahiti. These measurements would be used by experts in the British Royal Society to calculate the distance from the Earth to the Sun—a fervent goal for astronomers of the time. Almost 200 years later, 20th c. astronomers, using radar and spacecraft, concluded that the calculations from Cook’s observations in 1769 were 98.2% accurate! Upon leaving Tahiti, Cook abruptly changed course and sailed his ship on a secret mission for the British Admiralty. This spawned two more clandestine expeditions, to opposite ends of the world. This course will trace the voyages of exploration by Captain Cook in the late 18th century—the oceans he traversed, the lands he visited and peoples he met, the challenges he encountered … and the price he paid.
→ SPECIAL EVENT!
By George: The Life and Music of George Gershwin
Tuesday, March 10, 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Weinman Hall, Music Academy of the West 1070 Fairway Road, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $20; non-member price: $30
Presented by Daniel Weiser
In this lecture-recital, pianist Daniel Weiser will explore the tragically short, but incredibly productive, life of America’s greatest composer. The son of Russian immigrants, Gershwin grew up in the rough streets of New York where he soaked up the melting pot of sounds. Combining elements of “Jewish” music with the “Blues” and “Ragtime,” Gershwin helped produce the brash new “Jazz” and “Broadway” sound that made New York City the new mecca for musical culture in the 1920s and 30s. He also travelled seamlessly between the “classical” and “popular” worlds to reveal the continuum of these idioms. Dr. Weiser will play much of Gershwin’s concert music,including “Rhapsody in Blue,” “American in Paris,” and his “Preludes,” as well as many of the iconic songs he wrote with his brother, Ira.
Gertrude Stein: Paris, Modernism, and a Family Connection
Wednesdays, March 25 and April 1 | 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $30; non-member price $45
Presented by Nick Stein
Step into the legendary Paris salon of Gertrude Stein, where modern art was born and literary revolutionaries gathered. VISTAS presenter Nicholas Stein brings an extraordinary personal perspective to this story—his grandparents were Gertrude’s favorite first cousins. Through family insights and cultural history, Nick will illuminate the woman who became one of the 20th century’s most influential figures. He’ll show how Gertrude’s radical experiments with language transformed literature, how her salon became the creative epicenter for Picasso, Hemingway, Matisse, and countless others, and why her fearless approach to art and life still resonates today. No background in modernist literature is needed for this presentation—just curiosity about a brilliant, unconventional woman who changed how we think about words, art, and creativity itself.
Music and Politics in the Early Soviet Union
Wednesdays, April 8, 15, and 22 | 9:30 a.m. – 12 noon
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $40; non-member price $60
Presented by Derek Katz
This course will trace the fraught relationships between music and Soviet cultural policies from the 1917 Revolution to the Second World War. We will start with the clashes between proletarian musicians and modernist composers during the relatively tolerant New Economic Policy of the 1920s while also briefly dipping into popular music and jazz of that era. We will discuss the thorny concept of Socialist Realism in the 1930s after the establishment of the Union of Composers in 1932, and conclude with the promotion of nationalist music for both Russians and national minorities as war approached. Famous musicians like Shostakovich and Prokofiev will make appearances, but we will also listen to music by lesser-known Soviet composers such as Alexander Mosolov, Vladimir Deshevov, Nikolai Myaskovsky, and Vissarion Shebalin.
Gotta Dance: The Hollywood Musical
Tuesdays, April 14, 21, and 28 | 9:30 a.m. – 12 noon
Weinman Hall, Music Academy of the West 1070 Fairway Road, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $40; non-member price: $60
Presented by Bob Weinman
Most of Bob’s classes on the Hollywood musical have focused on the singers, so it is time to devote a class to DANCING! Of course at the top of any list of great Hollywood dancers are Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. Indeed, it was Kelly in “Singin’ in the Rain” who coined the phrase “Gotta dance!” But there were so many more, both individuals and dance teams, and this presentation will once again cover a lot of territory. Everyone enjoyed the sing-alongs that were featured in Bob’s previous classes. We admit it will be challenging for us to continue the tradition with dance-alongs … but I'm sure many of you “gotta dance,” so we’ll see!
Birds: Keys to Flight
Wednesday, April 29 | 9:30 a.m. – 12 noon
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $20; non-member price: $30
Presented by Steve Johnson
Birds have brought joy and wonder to humans for thousands of years. What makes them so special? They have the same general body structure and senses and internal organs as humans, yet they can fly and we can’t. This is because nearly everything about bird physiology and anatomy has been optimized through evolution to permit flight. Birds have fine-tuned their bones and muscles, breathing, digestion and metabolism, body temperature, and reproduction so that they can take to the air. This class will focus on all the fascinating differences between birds and humans that allow them to delight us. It will include short video clips and show-and-tell specimens. Come to this class to learn what goes on beneath the feathers—it’s surprising and amazing!
Please note: This class is a reprise of the VISTAS presentation Steve gave in November 2024.
A Century of African-American Music: Cultural Appreciation or Cultural Appropriation?
Wednesdays, May 6, 13, 20, 27, June 3 | 9:30 a.m. – 12 noon
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $50; non-member price: $75
Presented by Norm Cohen
The contributions of African-Americans to our national music are unmistakable, though nevertheless contentious. Through recordings and pictorial documents we will explore the history and development of this music from the 1860s to the 1960s. We’ll listen to many genres, including spirituals, gospel and other religious music, ragtime and jazz, work songs and children’s songs, rhythm ‘n’ blues, and soul, as well as the African-American contribution to classical music. We’ll consider the phenomenon of musical interchange between black and white cultures and the important question of cultural appropriation.
How Dictionaries Reflect Culture and Politics
Monday, May 11 9:30 | a.m. – 12 noon
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $20; non-member price: $30
Presented by Ed Finegan
By no means “harmless drudges,” dictionary makers hold cultural, political, and religious views, and their dictionaries embody such views, often to the chagrin of dictionary users. A California lexical vigilante was arrested in 2022 for hate-fueled threats of violence to Merriam-Webster’s staff for definitions of words related to gender identity. Others are exercised over definitions of words like “insurrection” and “emoluments.” Noah Webster’s original 1828 dictionary is published today by a Christian organization agreeing with the bornagain lexicographer’s religious and political views. By contrast, the third edition of Merriam-Webster’s unabridged dictionary was seen as so linguistically liberal that a rival publishing house tried buying the company, intending to suppress “the Third” and replace it with a conservative dictionary. This presentation discusses dictionaries not as sources of practical information about meaning, spelling, and pronunciation, but as works harboring political, religious, and socio-cultural values.
Current Events Explained
Thursdays, May 21 and 28 | 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $30; non-member price: $45
Presented by Jack Friedlander
Participants will gain fresh insights and perspectives about current events. Topics will include recent Supreme Court decisions; how the MAGA movement was conceived and the six factions that form its base; analyses of foreign policy developments; how Stablecoins may change the banking system; why higher education is under attack; strategies to increase the supply of affordable housing; whether tariffs are achieving their intended goals; critiques of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and Medicaid and ideas for making them less costly; the changing media landscape; new approaches to providing foreign aid; and recent developments.
For information on Vistas book clubs, please click here.