CLIR classes are offered in two formats: single classes (one 90-minute class) and multi-week classes (two or more classes scheduled in successive weeks). To attend these classes, you can become a CLIR member by registering - note that there is a $30 registration fee per session. 
  • Spring session is April-June
  • Fall session is September-December
  • Winter session is January-March
All classes will be held at the Vernon Cottage on the Mansfield Depot Campus at the University of Connecticut. Please email CLIR@uconn.edu if you have any questions.  

Cancellations

Notice of class cancelations will be posted to the website Home page; please be sure to check the website prior to attending class. In case of bad weather, CLIR follows either UConn or Mansfield Public Schools policy, announced on local radio and TV stations: If they cancel, we cancel; If they have a late opening, we cancel morning class; If they have early closing, we cancel afternoon class.
Please email clir@uconn.edu if you would like a PDF version of the Class Flyer for the current session.

Memoir Group

Thursdays mornings, 10:15 to 11:45, April 7 to June 11

Write your memoirs to share in class. These can be short, unrelated pieces or part of a larger work. New members are welcome.
Facilitator: Cathy Belanger

Spring Classes

April

Uncovering a Connecticut Treasure:  the UConn Biodiversity Collections

Hear from four collection managers about a jewel of the University of Connecticut’s Biodiversity Collections. Gain insight into our facility and the special specimens cared for in the preserved collections (Herbarium, Invertebrates, and Vertebrates) and the living collections in the Botanical Conservatory.  Learn about the diversity of specimen types we care for and how we make them accessible for research, education, and outreach. Katrina Menard, Erin Kuprewicz, Sarah Taylor, and Meghan Moriarity, Biodiversity Collections, UConn April 7, 1:15 to 2:45   _________________________________________________________________ 

Three Revolutions in Concord, Massachusetts (1635, 1775, and 1830):  Why There?

The Atlantic’s special issue for November 2025 titled “The Unfinished Revolution” features a co-authored essay titled “Why Concord” by Robert Gross and Robert Thorson. It challenges the conventional historical and cultural explanations for why Concord played such a key role in colonial settlement, the American Revolution, and our nation’s intellectual independence.  Using slides and readings, Thorson will invoke the alternative, deeper explanations of geology. Robert Thorson, Professor of Earth Sciences, UConn April 8, 1:15 to 2:45   __________________________________________________________________________

What is a Disaster?

Floods and earthquakes, wars and famines, engineering failures—these frightening events seem to redefine modern life.  We call them "disasters,” But what makes a disaster different from other periods of time? In a freewheeling conversation, two leading scholars in the field of disaster studies will consider such events in Connecticut, Argentina and elsewhere, thinking out loud together about why some kinds of bad news are considered disasters while others are not, and what difference it makes. Andy Horowitz, Connecticut State Historian and History Dept., UConn Mark Healy, History Dept., UConn   April 9th, 1:15 to 2:45 __________________________________________________________________

Light Pulses and Their Effect on Music and the Brain

The speaker will describe a non-invasive digital therapeutic, Synchrony Gamma (SynG) that works by synchronizing specialized light pulses with familiar music to rhythmically stimulate the brain.  He will update us on his research showing that the therapy improves memory and preserves cognition in patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment and early stage Alzheimer’s Disease, Edward Large, Department of Psychology and Department of Physics, UConn   April 21, 1:15 to 2:45 __________________________________________________________________________

Wetland Restoration in the 21st Century:  Panacea or Band-aid?

Wetland ecosystems have been misunderstood and maligned for millennia, but increasingly humanity realizes the many benefits wetlands provide us, leading to ambitious global initiatives to restore lost wetland habitat.  The speaker, who teaches several wetland courses and conducts research on wetland restoration, will discuss opportunities and challenges associated with the wetland’s restoration movement. Beth Lawrence, Dept. of Natural Resources and the Environment   April 22, 1:15 to 2:45   __________________________________________________________________________

What We Really Need for a Space Round Trip: A Gas Station

Imagine you are on an interplanetary road trip and suddenly you run out of gas—or worse oxygen for humans to travel and live in space, we need technologies that provide life-saving resources beyond earth. The following topics are covered in this talk:  Introduction to cryogenics and why it matters to space exploration; how extremely cold liquids behave and a liquid nitrogen demonstration; and solving the challenges of space cryogenics and research done at UConn. Bhushan Patil, Senior graduate student, School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, UConn   April 28, 1:15 to 2:45   ___________________________________________________________________________

How a Tiny Mountain Mammal Helps Us Understand a Warming Planet

As climates warm, cold-adapted mountain species such as pikas, marmots, and wood rats are being pushed into increasingly challenging conditions.  This presentation will show how observational data and ecological models can be combined to understand how these species respond to climate change. It will also explore what these patterns mean for population persistence and extinction risk across western North America Billman, Peter, PhD candidate, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UConn  

April 30th, 1:15 to 2:45

May

A Site of Conscience:  The “Haunting” Legacy of the Mansfield Training School

The Mansfield Training School Memorial and Museum Project explores the 133 year history of Mansfield Training School while also focusing on its ties to the University of Connecticut.  Based on three years, and ongoing archival and collaborative work with UConn students and community members, this restorative inquiry and justice initiative aims to excavate the institutionalization of disabled lives and to educate community members about MTS’s history while promoting community and institutional accountability.  The project poses the central question:  what are the obligations of institutions and communities to address the legacies of disability institutionalization through mutual restorative inquiry.  This interactive program will offer highlights from the MTS timeline, share the traveling exhibit poster boards, and explore more specifically some of the MTS-UConn cross-institutional connections. Brenda Brueggemann, Department of English, UConn May 5th, 1:15 to 2:45 ___________________________________________________

It’s Different Everyday:  Daily; Photographs for Horsebarn Hill

The speaker will share why Horsebarn Hill is special to him through the lens of his camera at different times of the days and season.  These include images of Jacobson Barn, bobcats, coyotes, local and rare birds, sunrise/sunset, moonrise/moonset, Northern lights, meteor showers, and his constant companion, his chocolate Labrador retriever, Acadia. Milton Levin, Department of Pathobiology, UConn May 12th, 1:15 to 2:45 ___________________________________________________

*** Canceled Class***

More than a Game: How Sports Excite, Divide, and Unite

Sports are more than entertainment, despite their seemingly trivial nature, they serve as powerful vehicles of socialization, group cohesion, and meaning for millions of people worldwide. Like religion, sports are rich in rituals and traditions, imbued with symbolism and governed by strict orthodoxy.  And like politics, they feature charismatic leaders, flag-waving crowds and moral outrage directed at out-groups. But unlike those other domains, sports offer an ideal context to study those processes, preciously because they lack any inherent moral imperatives. Combining the speaker’s personal experience and empirical evidence from his own research, he argues that sports fan-ship triggers some of our deep-seated evolved tendencies: our need to belong, to cooperate, to compete, to be part of something bigger than ourselves, and ultimately to find meaning.  As such, sports offer a window into the human psyche, allowing us to peer into religion, politics, and other meaningful but divisive areas. As the scientific study of fan-ship reveals, sports are much more than a game. Dimitris Xgalatas, Department of Anthropology, UConn. May 13th, 1:15 to 2:45 __________________________________________________________

Lessons from Building a Regional Food System in Eastern Connecticut

A reflection on a small Connecticut-based nonprofit organization’s attempt to scale the community-based food systems work to a regional level through a U.S. Department of Agriculture Regional Food Systems Partnership grant.  Organized around five lessons learned, it addresses the challenges faced when building regional network across diverse communities and geographies. Clements, Sydney, Departments of Political Science, Geography, and Philosophy, ECSU May 19th , 1:15 to 2:45 __________________________________________________________________

The Art of Dressage

Dressage is the foundation of all the equestrian arts.  It focuses on harmony, balance, and beauty.  It is an elegant dance featuring horse and writer and is a passion for both the amateur equestrian and the professional riding in the highest level in the Olympics. The speaker has ridden dressage for over three decades for over three decades and has prepared a fun and informative presentation about this ancient art of horsemanship. Helen Scanlon, Author and Equestrian Artist May 21st, 1:15 to 2:45 ___________________________________________________________________

A Lifespan Approach to Studying Love, Romance, and Relationships

This talk will discuss the speaker’s research, examining age differences in love, romance, and beliefs about close relationships across the lifespan. The speaker uses a social constructionist approach which contends that we learn our ideas about love from society’s expectations of us. These expectations may differ across ages and generations.  Most of the literature on love and romance has been conducted using college student samples. Using a lifespan perspective highlights the importance of age and can lead to more meaningful discussions of love and relationships. Jennifer Leszcznyisnki, Department of Psychological Sciences, ECSU May 28, 1:15 to 2:45 _________________________________________________________________

June

Homo Homini Lupus:  the Philosophy of Schopenhauer

“A man becomes a philosopher,” observed Arthur Schopenhauer (1778-1860), “by reason of a certain perplexity, from which he seeks to free himself.”  Contemplating the world, Schopenhauer was struck by the fact that much in nature and human life is positively terrible; and, also, people in general are not particularly admirable.  Indeed, both the record of history and the experience of everyday life, more often than not, lead one to the conclusion that “man is wolf to man” (homo homini lupus). In short, Schopenhauer was perplexed by the hellish character of the human condition.  He thought that the world as we know must surely be a cruel mistake.  What evidence do we have that the God of Christianity is merciful and loving?  Schopenhauer’s pessimist philosophy is a salutary rejoinder to all optimistic viewpoints.   Schopenhauer invites us to think through the harrowing questions posed by our existence. We cannot turn away from his answers because they make us uncomfortable.  In short, we have to take seriously the idea that metaphysical evil is both real and everlasting. Jerry Phillips, Department of English, UConn Friday mornings of June 5 and June 12, from 10:15 to 11:45 ____________________________________________________________________________________