Expand your mind with the ACE Scholarium lecture series

Arlington Community Education (ACE) is proud to partner with Scholarium on this special series of classes. Scholarium is a collaborative non-profit organization that provides academics with opportunities to introduce their ideas to new audiences outside the formal university setting.

"What a pleasure to be in the room with such brains, and depth of knowledge, and curiosity, and affability! It was akin to a college-level course, and a delight. One of the most interesting classes I've ever taken (like, ever, through that ivy league education and all). Thanks!" enthused a student from Connor Wood's winter class, A Natural History of Music.

Discovering the Dead Sea Scrolls with Scott Chase
4 Tuesdays, May 2–23 | 7:00–8:30 pm | Arlington High School | $175
The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered between 1946 and 1950 in remote caves high above the Judean Desert, have been called one of the most important—and controversial—archaeological finds of all time. Come learn about this vast collection of lost and rediscovered Jewish literature; the mysterious community that produced it; and what it can teach us about the Bible, daily life in Israel under Roman rule, and the history of Jewish belief, practice, and prayer.

Scott Chase is a doctoral student at Boston University specializing in Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean. His research focuses on the history, literature and material culture of Judaism in Greco-Roman antiquity. Scott has participated in five seasons of excavations in Northern Israel, giving him a unique perspective on the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Evolution, Culture & What Makes Us Human with Connor Wood
4 Thursdays, May 4–June 1 | 7:00–8:30 pm | Gibbs School | $175
Humanity is an amazing, puzzling species—from language and music, to science and technology, to faith and tradition, we do things no other animal does. But how exactly did evolution create an animal like us? What, if anything, sets us apart from our closest relatives? What were our ancestors like? What does evolution mean for how we live our lives today? We’ll look at these questions in depth, surveying topics such as behavioral ecology and cultural evolution and exploring human capacities like language and imagination. We’ll compare our Enlightenment view of humanity to the one revealed by evolutionary science.

An expert in the biology and cognitive science of music, Dr. Connor Wood received his PhD from Boston University in 2016. His dissertation focused on the role of collective rhythm in ritual. Dr. Wood’s passion is uniting rigorous scientific and humanistic perspectives on questions about human nature.

Buddhist Philosophy of Mind with Zhouyang Ma
Wednesday, May 10 | 7:00–8:30 pm | Arlington High School | $39
For centuries, Buddhists have been troubled by questions that are only recently becoming central to Western thought. Questions like, is this reality we live in actually real? How do we know, for example, that we are not characters in a video game, imprisoned in a cosmic simulation? Such questions are important for Buddhists because they believe a precise understanding of the nature of reality is crucial for spiritual liberation. This lecture will examine the thoughts of some key Buddhist masters in the Indian and Tibetan traditions, which will allow us to better understand the Buddhist perspective of the mind and to think creatively about our lives and the world around us.

Originally from China, Zhouyang is a Ph.D. student at IAAS, Harvard University. His primary interest is the history of Tibetan Buddhism from the 11th century to 14th century. Zhouyang is especially interested in Tibetan manuscript culture and the history of Tibetan musical literature.

Visit ArlingtonCommunityEd.org to register for any program or call 781-316-3568 for more information.

Arlington Community Education is a program of the Arlington Public Schools that is completely supported by tuition received from our courses. ACE provides affordable education and enrichment for residents of Arlington and surrounding communities.