Arlington Community Education

Dante Alighieri, the father of the Italian language, wrote The Divine Comedy, a magnificent poem consisting of 14,233 hendecasyllabic verses in a form of his own invention, terza rima (aba, bcb, cdc…). La Divina Commedia profoundly influenced not only the Italian language and literature, but the entire Western culture, from Botticelli, Blake, and Dalí, to Milton, T. S. Eliot, and Beckett, among others. The last grand work of the Middle Ages, it was also a harbinger of the Renaissance and Humanism. We will examine Dante’s “Inferno,” the first canticle of The Divine Comedy, through the historical and literary point of view and enjoy reading select passages in Italian and English. Recommended for purchase and used in class is Robert M. Torrance’s Dante’s Inferno, A New Translation in Terza Rima, Xlibris, 2011. Photo: Dante shown holding a copy of the Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to Hell, the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory and the city of Florence, with the spheres of Heaven above, in Domenico di Michelino’s 1465 fresco. Source: Wikipedia

Music is a human universal. From vocal songs or simple clapping to string orchestras playing Beethoven, from all-night drumming to quiet lullabies, every culture has some form of musical expression—and usually more than one. But what is music? Why do we do it? And why don’t our closest animal relatives, chimpanzees or other apes, seem to do it, too? This survey of the comparative study of music within an evolutionary and cultural framework will draw on recent research in cognitive motor science, behavioral biology, anthropology, and even philosophy. We will discuss the surprising similarities between the rhythmic abilities of humans and birds; the possible relationship between music and language; and the role of music in social life.

Air source heat pumps are widely recommended as a good way to stop heating our homes with fossil fuels—and they are also very good air conditioners. Before picking an installer, there’s plenty to learn including the difference between ducted and ductless (aka mini-split) systems, when you might want to combine the two, how to size a system correctly, and how to operate them for maximum comfort and efficiency. Get all of your questions answered from Arlington homeowners who have switched to air source heat pumps and experienced them through cold winters and hot summers. All proceeds from these events go toward the ACE Scholarship fund to help make our classes accessible to all Arlington youth.

Explore the world of Kabbalah, the ancient mystical tradition of Judaism. We will examine the creative ways in which Kabbalists saw the world: their views of an androgynous God, the central role of humanity in expediting redemption, the daring sexual symbolism of the Tree of Life, and the role of meditation and prayer in repairing the world. We will also look at the substantial influence Kabbalah exercised on Renaissance thought, Christian theology, and Western esotericism. The lecture will conclude with a short glance at Kabbalah’s contemporary revival.

Arlington can benefit from adopting a cross-cultural perspective and employing international cooperation when it comes to reducing waste. Hear about a project that connects AHS students with kids in Vietnam to reflect on the effects of ocean plastic pollution. Another project is inspired by work being done in Japan and Thailand to calculate the emissions benefits of recycling rather than incinerating potentially recyclable materials. We’ll also talk about Arlington’s waste characterization study and what we hope to find out about our waste/diversion behavior. All proceeds from this event go towards the ACE Scholarship fund to help make our classes more accessible to all Arlington youth.

How do religion and medicine overlap? How does religion influence people’s ideas about what is healthy and when to get treatment? What are the religious and spiritual roots of many alternative medicine practices and other spiritual approaches to health and wellness? Examine important topics related to religion, health, medicine, and morality in the United States. We will focus on current issues such as abortion, vaccines, alternative medicine, and medical freedom, by learning about their histories and thinking about different religious traditions.

Learn about the basic tenets of Critical Race Theory in this four-session course. Explore the impact of the work of a few of its founding scholars, including Derrick Bell, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Gloria Ladson-Billings. We will engage in a case study of an earlier media controversy. Then we will examine the ongoing tension between the concepts of race consciousness and color blindness, and how these concepts illuminate or hinder the ongoing American dialogue about race