Coastal Senior College continues its Brown Bag Series on Zoom with an open invitation to both CSC members and, new this fall, to non-members also. Facilitated by CSC instructor and Vice-President Jayne Gordon, this series features four CSC faculty members: an artist, a diplomat, an architect, and a teacher.

All four talks are on Mondays, from noon to 1 p.m. A brief summary of each talk follows:

On September 27, Winslow Myers presents “Walter Murch: A Painter’s Painter.” Murch grew up in Canada, but went to Manhattan and stayed there to become a fine arts painter, commercial illustrator, and teacher at Columbia University, Pratt Institute, and Boston University. He is well known to other artists, but less so to the general public, according to the College, in a news release.

“Both his life and his art are intriguing,” said CSC. “Myers’s new monograph on Murch makes him the ideal presenter for this opic.”

On October 4, Bob Rackmales discusses “Grace Under Pressure: Hazards of the Foreign Service.” The ordeals of Foreign Service Officer John Paton Davies and their contemporary application to the recent treatment of Ambassador Marie Yovanovich will be explored.

“Insight offered by historian Barbara Tuchman’s 1973 analysis of the dilemma underlying high-level persecutions in her 1973 speech ‘Why Policymakers Do Not Listen’ is relevant in 2021 as well,” said CSC. “Rackmales’ 32 years as a career Foreign Service officer speaks to the expertise he brings to this talk.”

On October 25, Arne Aho talks about “Sketching as a Means of Seeing.” The intention of Aho’s talk is to expand one’s definition of “sketching.” Examples of sketches by naturalists, adventurers, architects, and artists will accompany this explanation of distinguishing between looking and seeing, and learning not about how to sketch, but rather why to sketch.

“Aho’s expertise in teaching about architecture and design for more than 40 years promises to make this talk both fascinating and enlightening,” said CSC.

On November 1, Caroline Janover presents “Learning Differences and Islands of Competency.” Both the blessings and the pitfalls of learning differences such as dyslexia and ADHD will be discussed. Janover, who has dyslexia, has spent her professional career in public and private school education. Lecturing nationally on the creative strengths and academic challenges of those who grow up with learning and attentional differences, Janover brings a wealth of experience to this topic, as well as knowledge of the importance of meeting learning challenges with resilience, humor, and hope.

Registration is online at CSC’s website: coastalseniorcollege.org.

All four programs are offered free to active CSC members. Non-members pay a fee of $10 per talk, or $30 for the complete series. Nonmembers are welcome to sign up or become members of Coastal Senior College; CSC yearly membership costs $25. Join and then register for the series at no cost.

Registration is open now. For a complete description of each topic, biographies of the presenters, and registration for membership and the series, visit the Coastal Senior College website.