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.
The Fish Reef Project
Wednesday: January 15, 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 Chris Goldblatt
The Fish Reef Project is converting empty seafloor into thriving new biogenic marine ecosystems that will provide living, breeding, and feeding grounds for large numbers of marine mammals, sea birds, turtles, fish, lobster, abalone, scallops, marine algae, coral, and more. The Fish Reefs will reduce fishing pressure on natural reefs while helping to restore and enhance damaged reef systems. Locally, the Fish Reef Project is working to restore 220 lost acres to the historic Goleta kelp beds, which were wiped out in the 1980s by El Nino events. In this class, Chris will tell of various projects he has worked on in Mexico, Papua New Guinea, and Africa as well as in California. Join us for an inspiring account of environmental conservation and restoration.
Jazz in Paris
Tuesday: January 21, 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Valle Verde Theater 900 Calle De Los Amigos, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $20; non-member price $30
Presented by Darroch Greer
“Jazz in Paris” is a presentation filled with music, photos, and film tracing the development of jazz by mostly African Americans in the City of Light. Originally produced for Smithsonian Associates, this talk focuses on the vibrant French arts and culture of the belle epoque, the evolution of jazz in New York and later in Paris, the African Americans who made Paris their home, and how Josephine Baker, Sidney Bechet, Eugene Bullard, and Ada (“Bricktop”) Smith transformed Parisian culture. We’ll learn how the European tours of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong in the ’30s transformed their careers, and how a gypsy guitar-playing genius finally made jazz French. We’ll see how WWII upended the music scene and how jazz musicians survived. At war’s end, jazz once again buoyed the spirits of the French, and prominent jazz musicians continued to come to Paris. Today, jazz in Paris is as vibrant as it’s ever been.
Songs of the Great Depression
Wednesdays: January 22, 29, February 5, 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 Norm Cohen
People who lived through the Great Depression of 1929–41 mostly remember times of widespread economic hardship. Many Americans lost jobs and/or homes, not to mention lives. If anything good came out of that difficult era, it was the songs, some of which struggled to put on a cheerful front, while other pieces acknowledged the tribulations of too many Americans. In these sessions we’ll listen to a sampling of the songs that were composed during the Depression decade and tried, in various ways, to deal with reality. The selections will be drawn from mainstream popular music (e.g., “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?,” “We’re In the Money”) as well as from the genres of folk (“Cotton Mill Colic”), country (or “hillbilly”—“No Depression in Heaven”), blues (“Hard Times Blues”), and calypso (“Poor But Ambitious”) music.
Will the Center Hold? Part I (of II)
Mondays: February 10 and 17, 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price for EACH of two parts: $30; non-member price: $45
Presented by Stan Roden
The central theme of these two separate courses (NOTE: participants may enroll in either Part I or Part II, or both) will be to examine and discuss pending or recently decided major legal cases involving constitutional rights, civil and human rights, and the environment. The course will begin with two premises: (a) Few people understand the enormous power of “common law judges,” and (b) Many people believe that the US legal system is beyond their comprehension, which it is not. These classes will pinpoint cases in the trial and appellate courts (mostly federal, but states also) and examine the judicial decision-making process and approaches used by the judges and justices on a variety of legal challenges, with special emphasis on core constitutional and environmental issues.
The Liberté Project
Three Films on Democracy in the “Sister Republics,” France and the U.S.
Tuesday: February 18, 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Valle Verde Theater 900 Calle De Los Amigos, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $20; non-member price: $30
Presented by Darroch Greer
Founded on French ideas from the Enlightenment, America’s radical experiment in representative government during and after the American Revolution changed the trajectory of the Western World away from hereditary monarchies and despotism to rule by consent of the people. Inspired by America, France followed quickly with its revolution. This presentation will be an illustrated talk on three films Humanus Documentary Films Foundation has in production on the birth of, development of, and challenges to democracy in France and America. It is told in a parallel story of how the Liberté Project came together. The three films show essentially the American Revolution through French eyes, the end of the French Revolution through American eyes, and the cultural give and take between France and America over democracy in the 20th century.
The Duality of Genius and Struggle: George Ellery Hale
Wednesday: February 26, 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 Sam Hale
“Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood.” This quote is an encapsulation of George Ellery Hale’s incredible life and monumental achievements. The five astronomical telescopes he built beginning in 1897 were the largest in the world for almost one hundred years. While living in Pasadena just after the turn of the 20th century, he turned what was a community school into what became the California Institute of Technology. At the same time, he was the driving inspiration for the creation of the Huntington Library. While serving on the Planning Commission, he was a major force for the creation of the city’s elegant civic center. As we’ll learn in this talk, Hale accomplished all this and more while suffering from debilitating emotional issues. This presentation will include a screening of the PBS Nova film “The Journey to Palomar.”
True Tales of Soviet Spies I Have Known
(Part Two of the Series “The FBI—Past, Present, and Future”)
Thursday: February 27, 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 Tom Parker
Almost since its inception, protecting America’s national security and its top secret technologies and weaponry from foreign adversaries has been a top priority of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Unfortunately, there have always been “enemies within” who have sold out to those seeking to destroy the U.S. In this presentation, Tom will share some of his own adventures in this clandestine realm, which he hopes will bring to life the goals, techniques, and capabilities of our foreign enemies. Through his personal experiences, Tom’s presentation will give you a look “under the covers” into how Soviet spies turned a few FBI and CIA agents into traitors. Tom’s hope is to continue to educate the American citizenry on how vulnerable we are to such espionage in an open democracy, and how each of us can help protect ourselves and our country against spies like the ones he has known.
Women Who Dared
Mondays: March 3, 10, and 17, 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
Women Who Dared is a new course intended to highlight women who ignored the traditions of their culture and era and contributed significantly to their world, always against tremendous challenges. In this inaugural series, a team of co-presenters (Barbara Lindemann, Lois Kaplan, George Frakes, Jill Breedon, Laurie Guitteau, and Barbara Greenleaf) will cover six such women.
Born a slave in 1862, Ida B. Wells, a journalist, was dedicated to full civil rights for Black people and the vote for all women. Frances Perkins, who served under FDR as the first woman cabinet secretary, was a driving force behind the New Deal, helping to create the modern middle class. Gertrude Bell, known as the Queen of the Desert, was an archaeologist, explorer, cartographer, and political attaché for the British Empire at the dawn of the twentieth century. Margaret Fuller, a taboo-breaking Transcendentalist, was the author of the first major work of American feminism as well as America’s first female war correspondent. Simone Veil, a Holocaust survivor and politician dedicated to women’s rights, was the first woman to serve as president of the European Parliament. Rachel Carson inspired the environmental movement, which is now more important than ever.
Research on the Fishes of the So. Cal. Oil/Gas Platforms
Or What I Did on My Fall Vacations
Wednesday: March 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 Milton Love
Dr. Milton Love will discuss the results of his more than 30 years of surveys of the fish and invertebrate populations associated with the oil/gas platforms and natural reefs throughout the Southern California Bight. He will talk specifically about oil platform fauna and discuss the questions surrounding the decommissioning of the platforms and what might happen next. Whether you are emotionally prepared or not, Dr. Love will discuss some of his lab’s findings on the role that California oil and gas may (or may not)play as a habitat for fishes. And finally, Dr. Love looks forward to your sharp and pointed questions, and will feel bereft if there are none.
Two Peoples, One Land: The History and Complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Fridays: March 7, 14, and 21, 2025, 1:00 – 3:30 p.m
Fe Bland Forum Auditorium, SBCC West Campus 721 Cliff Drive, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $40; non-member price: $60
Presented by David Bisno
With the Middle East in continuing turmoil, we'll try to understand the problem from all perspectives during three intensive Friday afternoons. David will again, as he did last winter, lead us through the history and conflicts of the Holy Land—now with important revisions, additions, and updates, including the present truce with hostage and prisoner return. Without advocacy but with even-handed care and scholarship, David will help us understand the competing claims and why a solution is so difficult. This talk, with remarkable illustrations, will take us from Abraham to Herzl, from Arafat to Netanyahu ... and up to Donald Trump and Marco Rubio.
We’ll consider many important questions. Whose land is it, anyway? Whose land has it been? What does the Bible have to do with it? Who are the indigenous people? Who has the “Right of Return”? Why Israel? Why Palestine? Why the Jews? Why the Muslims? What do Christians have to do with it? What are the myths under which we’ve been living? Why have there been so many campus protests? Is there a solution? If so, what might it look like?
Take a deep breath. We’re all going to learn a lot.
Our Moon—What Would We Do Without It?
Wednesday: March 12, 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 Peter Beuret
A total eclipse of the moon will begin on March 13. This class is a reprise of the presentation Peter Beuret gave before the Nov. 2022 eclipse. In this class, we’ll discuss the physical influence of our moon on our planet. There are larger moons out there, so why is ours the most influential moon in the solar system? What would happen if the moon disappeared tonight and didn’t come back? What if we’d never had a moon at all? Next, we will look at the influence of the moon on us as human beings—the mystical, spiritual, practical, and inspirational influences of our moon, with a bit of special attention to Jules Verne, who wrote about a journey to the moon just a hundred years before the real thing. Finally, we’ll discuss how we observe our moon—what we see and what other people and cultures see (the Man in the Moon, the Woman in the Moon, the Rabbit in the Moon). Does the moon appear upside down in Australia? How and why do eclipses happen? We’ll also review the timetable for the March 13 eclipse.
Art, Science, and Medicine
Wednesday: March 26, 9:30 a.m. – 12 noon
NEW LOCATION: Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $20; non-member price: $30
Presented by Dr. Fima Lifshitz
Did you ever wonder how art, science, and medicine interact? This presentation is geared to foster appreciation of art as a complement to scientific and medical knowledge. Dr. Lifshitz has utilized his medical expertise to learn about art and the artists he was fortunate to meet while teaching in medical schools throughout the world. The practices of art, science, and medicine all require specialized knowledge as well as substantial creative inspiration, along with passion for the work. Artists, scientists, and physicians draw stimulation from each other and all focus on observation, visualization, perception, and experimentation. Moreover, art magnifies the joy of life experienced by artists, scientists and physicians. Thus, art can play a complementary role in scientific discovery and medical research.
From Marine Corps Barracks to Nanofabrication Laboratories:
A Physical History of the UCSB Campus
Friday: March 28, 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 Dennis Whelan
This presentation will trace the physical development of the current campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara. We’ll start with a brief history of the site, which was occupied by the Chumash peoples for thousands of years, then we’ll quickly review the Spanish/ Mexican/Californio eras, and finally we’ll address the agricultural and military developments of the Mesa and Goleta Valley. These uses left an imprint that led to the development of what was to become UCSB, now internationally acknowledged as one of America’s top universities. It’s also world-renowned for its beautiful oceanfront campus. UCSB’s buildings and landscape will be examined through the history of campus planning in the US as well as the numerous Master Plans that have guided UCSB’s development up to the present.
Dealing with Dementia
Wednesday: April 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 Joe Wheatley
Dementia—how is it diagnosed and what are some types of dementia? How do the effects of various forms of memory loss, confusion, lack of judgement, and loss of executive functions impact the family? While the family is trying to accept the diagnosis, what can and should be done to prepare for the future? We will look at the major forms of dementia and discuss some of the mental and behavioral aspects of each. How can you, as a partner or family member, begin the very long journey of providing care for your loved one while managing the new day-to-day life changes that are going to take place? We will discuss tools and resources to help you along the way.
Laughter and Humor: The Best Medicine
Friday: April 4, 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 Allou Guthmiller
Join Allou Guthmiller for an engaging, interactive afternoon where we explore the healing power of laughter. Through personal stories, group activities, and practical tools, you’ll discover how humor can reduce everyday stressors, deepen connections, and add joy to your life. Allou will share her experiences using laughter to build relationships, foster positive environments, and navigate life’s challenges gracefully. Together, we’ll learn how humor not only uplifts our spirits but also strengthens resilience as we age. Don’t miss out on this fun, insightful event that promises to leave you energized, empowered, and ready to bring more laughter into your daily routine.
Smallpox from Ramses V to the Final Case
POSTPONED
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $30; non-member price: $45
Presented by Bee Bloeser
Smallpox has been referred to as humankind's most feared disease, and its eradication was an achievement many experts declared to be impossible. This course will look at the fascinating history of the disease, the dynasties it dethroned, its role in America's War of Independence and beyond, attempts to control it through the ages, and finally the discovery of an effective vaccine. Then, after a look at the political backstory, we'll home in on the USAID-funded CDC vaccination teams sent to West Africa in the first phase of the global campaign. We'll learn about one public health family's experiences in war-torn Nigeria and then in Equatorial Guinea, which was then suffering under the brutal regime of a President-turned-dictator. We will have a look at WHO and the campaign's triumphant conclusion. We'll also acknowledge post-eradication concerns.
The Book of Genesis—History, Tradition, and Myth
DATES CHANGED: Wednesdays: April 9, 16, 23, and 30, 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Valle Verde Theater 900 Calle De Los Amigos, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $50; non-member price: $75
Presented by Norm Cohen
The stories told in the book of Genesis have had a lasting impact on three of the world’s great religions. The characters presented—Adam and Eve; Cain and Abel; Abraham and Sarah; Isaac and Rebecca; Jacob and his two wives, 12 sons, and one daughter—are among the best-known in Western literature and have influenced story-tellers, poets, theologians, and philosophers for over two millennia. The events described—the Creation of the World, and so-called Fall from Grace, the Tower of Babel, the Great Flood of Noah—are a fundamental part of our cultural inheritance. Where did these stories originate? Who put them in the form that we now have? What did they mean to their original audiences more than 25 centuries ago? This series of presentations will examine—and, hopefully, answer—these questions and more.
Driving the Mafia Out of Vegas: The True Story Behind the Movie Casino (Part Three of the Series “The FBI—Past, Present, and Future”)
Thursday, April 24, 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 Tom Parker
Since the days of Al Capone, the Italian Mafia had a foothold in Las Vegas through casino construction financed with mob money. In the 1940s, Jewish organized crime figures such as Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky arrived in “glitter gulch” to obtain, through deadly force, a share of the “skim” from those gambling operations. By the 1970s, the mafia was so entrenched in the Vegas casinos that the Feds could no longer ignore their presence. In the late 1970s, the FBI and the IRS increased their investigative staffing levels to counter the mob’s heretofore unreachable spoils. The story of these investigations, the evidence the FBI collected, and the Federal court convictions they obtained were accurately portrayed in the movie “Casino.” To date, no investigation of the Mafia has been more successful in the history of the FBI and American law enforcement than this one.
Gilbert and Sullivan
Wednesdays: May 7, 14, and 21, 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
In this three-meeting presentation, my object all sublime will be to polish up the handle of the big front door. You will find out that things are seldom what they seem and you will learn the scientific names of beings animalculous and how the punishment will fit the crime, since I, of course, have got a little list. Here’s a first-rate opportunity to learn the why and wherefore as we give three cheers and one cheer more for William Schwenk Gilbert and Arthur Seymour Sullivan. Will any of your favorite songs be left out? Never! Well, hardly ever!
Will the Center Hold? Part II (of II)
POSTPONED
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price for EACH of two parts: $30; non-member price: $45
Presented by Stan Roden
The central theme of these two separate courses (NOTE: participants may enroll in either Part I or Part II, or both) will be to examine and discuss pending or recently decided major legal cases involving constitutional rights, civil and human rights, and the environment. The course will begin with two premises: (a) Few people understand the enormous power of “common law judges,” and (b) Many people believe that the US legal system is beyond their comprehension, which it is not. These classes will pinpoint cases in the trial and appellate courts (mostly federal, but states also) and examine the judicial decision-making process and approaches used by the judges and justices on a variety of legal challenges, with special emphasis on core constitutional and environmental issues.
Art and Spirituality in Japan and China: Works from the Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Thursday, May 22, 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Bethany Congregational Church 556 N. Hope Avenue, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $20; non-member price $30
Presented by Sarajum Quazi
Discover how rulers have used these pieces to inspire faith and comfort in their people. Explore the transformation of the Demon Oni in Japanese folklore, the legacy of Prince Shōtoku as a champion of Buddhism, and the fierce yet humble protectors, the Heads of Ni-O. Learn about the tragic love story of Emperor Xuanzong and Consort Yang Guifei and its impact on East Asian culture. Delve into the art and fashion of the Tang dynasty and meet the wise Lohan, a custodian of Buddha's teachings. Conclude with the serene presence of Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, and reflect on its profound significance.
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