MCLL Winter Lecture Program
We offer a program of lectures both online and on campus, presented by MCLL members, other lifelong learning centers and faculty members who share their research on a variety of topics.听The fee is $10 per lecture, and does not include MCLL membership benefits.听
Winter Term Duration: January 16 - March 13, 2026
Winter registration is now open.
馃挕听New!
MCLL On the Road brings signature lectures to Montreal's seniors鈥� residences, retirement clubs, and independent-living apartment buildings.
鈿狅笍听Important
To register for a lecture you'll need your 海角社区 Athena login name and password, so keep them handy. If you forget or don't yet have them, get them now at the .
Useful Links
Useful Notes
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Maximum in-person attendance is 17听unless otherwise specified.
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Registration closes at midnight two days before the lecture date.听The Zoom link for online lectures will be sent to attendees the previous day.
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In case of technical problems, an emergency, or an illness, a听refund is available听through your Athena account until one day after the lecture.
馃搷Location听
All on-campus study groups take place on the second floor of
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MCLL Winter 2026 Workshops |
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MCLL Workshops
YCLML 988 French English Conversation Exchange
Time: to be determined by participants
Organizer: Alain Lessard
Attendance: to be determined by participants (one-on-one partnership)
If you want to improve your conversation skills in French, MCLL will assign you a partner from a French-language community organization for seniors who want to improve their English. The two partners arrange between themselves when they will meet up in person for one hour of conversation per week, alternating between French and English. Many participants enjoy this activity because, in addition to practicing a second language, they find it interesting to converse with people from a different background.
A one-time fee of $10 applies to access this workshop.
MCLL Winter 2026 Lectures |
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MCLL Lectures
YCLML 956 Beyond Duality: How Reality Works
Time: Friday, January 16, 10:00 a.m.
Presenter: Howard Eisenberg
Attendance: Online
Throughout history, humanity has often embraced flawed models of reality, like the pre-Copernican belief that Earth was the center of the Universe. This lecture holds that today鈥檚 societal breakdown and the multiple looming existential threats are the consequences of another such error: the materialistic-reductionist paradigm, which views reality solely through physical matter and measurable mechanisms.
YCLML 957 Manuel de Godoy: What a Life!
Time: Friday, January 16, 10:00 a.m.
Presenter: Frank Nicholson
Attendance: Online
Born in 1767 to a humble family, Manuel de Godoy, a handsome royal bodyguard, rose to become Spain鈥檚 Prime Minister at just 25 (helped, it was whispered, by his intimate relationship with the Queen). Celebrated as 鈥淧rince of the Peace,鈥� Godoy ruled at a turbulent time of war, reform and scandal, navigating fragile alliances, suffering defeat at Trafalgar and witnessing Spain鈥檚 loss of colonies. Overthrown in 1808 and exiled when Napoleon invaded France, Godoy spent the rest of his 84 years in obscurity.
YCLML 958 How to Keep a Commonplace Book
Time: Friday, January 16, 1:00 p.m.
Presenter: Maxine Ruvinsky
Attendance: In person
This lecture is about keeping a commonplace book to spark or reinvigorate your writing, whether you write for publication or simply for pleasure (or both!).
YCLML 959 Mordecai Richler鈥檚 Subversive Humour
Time: Friday, January 16, 1:00 p.m.
Presenter: Russell Chapman
Attendance: Online
Humour can take many forms, from the subversive to the sarcastic. Mordecai Richler鈥檚 novels use humour subversively to undermine social expectations and conventions. Richler has been described as an equal opportunity insulter, challenging the norms of many groups, ridiculing conventional values - and not subtly. His novels have memorable characters and dialogue. We will examine excerpts from selected novels that will have us both grinning and cringing. This on-line lecture is a repeat of a previous in-person talk.
YCLML 960 Journey Through Art & Words
Time: Friday, January 23, 10:00 a.m.
Presenters: Romano DeSantis & Giovanna DeSantis
Attendance: Online
A piece of visual art - a painting, photograph or sculpture 鈥� tells a story, conveys a message, and evokes emotions. So does creative writing, whether prose or poetry. The lecturer shares his personal journey comparing and contrasting these two expressive forms. He explores how they communicate meaning, using hands-on projects transforming visual art into writing and vice versa, and aided by digital tools including AI.
YCLML 961 The Discovery of Writing
Time: Friday, January 23, 10:00 a.m.
Presenter: Harald von Cramon
Attendance: In person
The practice of recording language in written form arose independently in four separate regions of the