Courses

SIUE offers programs designed for a lifetime of learning and personal growth. Expert presenters provide insight on a range of topics covering history, culture, art, current events, health and nutrition. Membership for the semester is $40 per person, per semester and includes entry to all sessions and trips, unless otherwise noted.


January 31, 2024 to May 1, 2024
Join us as we take some time to catch up with one another, welcome new members, and discuss Lifelong Learning Institute updates for the semester. Staff from the Office of Online Services and Educational Outreach will also attend to discuss what is new in the world of educational outreach.


This course contains no sessions
Click here to submit a question or be notified about the next scheduled program.
"Nuked" recounts the long-term effects of radiological exposure in St. Louis--the city that refined uranium for the first self-sustaining nuclear reaction and the first atomic bomb. Unfortunately, government officials deposited the waste on open land next to the airport, creating a public health crisis that continues today.


This course contains no sessions
Click here to submit a question or be notified about the next scheduled program.
Leveraging artificial intelligence to save yourself time, generate new ideas, and learn about new topics might be easier than you think! Using free chatbots, I will demonstrate how carefully-written prompts provide high-quality information that can make our lives better.


This course contains no sessions
Click here to submit a question or be notified about the next scheduled program.
Death and donation are two topics that most of us would rather not think about. By registering for organ and tissue donation today, you can save your loved ones from a difficult decision in the future. This choice can also bring healing to the people you leave behind, who will know that you helped others through the gift of donation.


This course contains no sessions
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In the decades after the Civil War, public monuments to prominent Germans and German-Americans began to punctuate the urban spaces of St. Louis, Missouri. One of the grandest of these monuments celebrates Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (1778-1852), the "father" of modern gymnastics.


This course contains no sessions
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Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and cognitive decline become more common as we age into our 60s, 70s, and 80s, plus. Are there medications and supplements available that can slow or prevent memory loss as we get older? We will discuss products on the market and the potential benefits and risks these products may have.


This course contains no sessions
Click here to submit a question or be notified about the next scheduled program.
Join us for a short introduction to the history of Palestine and Palestinians in the context of the 2023 Israeli war on Gaza.


This course contains no sessions
Click here to submit a question or be notified about the next scheduled program.
Ever wondered about quantum physics? Join us for an introduction to quantum physics for non-physicists. Dr. Jack Glassman will lead a high-level discussion on the discipline.


This course contains no sessions
Click here to submit a question or be notified about the next scheduled program.
Ireland has a rich and lengthy literary tradition with much contributed by Joyce, Yeats, O'Casey, and others. However rich the tradition, it has neglected the work created by female Irish writers. This presentation examines the tradition of Irish women writers and analyzes them from cultural and historical contexts.


This course contains no sessions
Click here to submit a question or be notified about the next scheduled program.
The higher education environment in the United States and Illinois has changed dramatically in recent years. These changes and the challenges are not always well reported and understood. This presentation will take a look at those challenges and discuss the strategies the SIU System will need to embrace to thrive in the future.


This course contains no sessions
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Every day, the (FAA) provides air traffic service to more than 45,000 flights and 2.9 million airline passengers across more than 29 million square miles that make up the U.S. national airspace system (NAS). This will be a brief presentation of how that is accomplished with personnel and equipment.


This course contains no sessions
Click here to submit a question or be notified about the next scheduled program.
Theatrical rituals drew Native Americans from hundreds of miles away to ancient Cahokia. Some stayed as immigrants, while others were adopted and went home as Cahokians. Stories gave meaning to all these rituals, and storytelling itself was the most important of these rituals.


This course contains no sessions
Click here to submit a question or be notified about the next scheduled program.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is prevalent in every aspect of technology we use - even our "regular" non-Tesla cars have AI, but what is AI exactly? How does it work and is it really intelligent? In this talk, we will review what drives AI behind-the-scenes.


This course contains no sessions
Click here to submit a question or be notified about the next scheduled program.
Since the recent release of the movie about Robert Oppenheimer, interest in him has greatly increased. Oppenheimer was an extraordinarily complex and brilliant man who drove the development of the atomic weapons that profoundly shaped the flow of history.


This course contains no sessions
Click here to submit a question or be notified about the next scheduled program.
This presentation will look at the strategies and challenges of producing food today. Issues that affect food production, including population growth, rising affluence, demand for organic products, concern over GMOs, and sustainability, will be discussed.


Wednesday, April 10, 2024, Maple/Dogwood Room, Morris University Center
Join us for an inspirational talk by Babatope Falohun, Fulbright FLTA (Yorübá), as he shares his personal journey as an international scholar. He will discuss the challenges and rewards of living and studying in a different country, offering insights into his experience.


Wednesday, April 10, 2024, Maple/Dogwood Room, Morris University Center
This program will review the regulations governing direct to consumer advertising of prescription and non-prescription medications, tips for consumers on how to interpret these ads, and how to best approach your healthcare team with questions consumers may have.


Wednesday, April 17, 2024, Founders Hall 2207, SIUE Campus
Join us for a talk led by Jason Stratman, Assistant Librarian at the Missouri History Museum, to learn about some of the fascinating stories of the 1904 World's Fair through visitors' eyes, courtesy of objects from the Missouri Historical Society Collections.


Wednesday, April 24, 2024, Founders Hall 2207, SIUE Campus
Growth, unemployment, inflation, interest rates, the Fed, the national debt, antitrust, environment, housing, health care....Whatever is at the top of the economic issues we are facing when we meet, we'll dissect it. Join us for a timely conversation about the United States economy.


Wednesday, April 24, 2024, Founders Hall 2207, SIUE Campus
Join us at the Environmental Resources Training Center (ERTC) on campus for a presentation about drinking water and wastewater treatment and regulations. We will learn more about the training facility and tour the drinking water and wastewater pilot plants.


Wednesday, May 1, 2024, Environmental Resources Training Center (ERTC)
Join us as we tour the Wastewater Treatment Plant on the SIUE campus. We will tour the plant and learn more about process control testing on wastewater and drinking water in the laboratory.


Wednesday, May 1, 2024, Environmental Resources Training Center (ERTC)
Using highly expensive satellites to find Tupperware in the woods (don't worry there is no stinky moldy food inside). OK, not only the woods but using GPS coordinates to find hidden caches. Use caches to get outside, explore new areas you are visiting, and make new friends.


Wednesday, April 17, 2024, Founders Hall 2207, SIUE Campus