A resource for life-long learning.

Life-long learning is an Albright tradition, as is community service. We are delighted to be able to share the expertise of our faculty and staff as a resource with the residents and organizations of Berks County.

Included in this guide, you will find speakers on a wide variety of topics, from the arts and sciences to computer technology, health, economics, spirituality, travel, politics and sports. Speakers are provided free of charge.

Founded in 1856, Albright College is a nationally recognized, four-year, liberal arts college with an interdisciplinary focus and pre-professional programs.

To request a speaker, please call the College Relations Office at 610-921-7526.

Go here for a printable version of this guide

AEROSPACE

• History of Aviation Technology
• The Concorde
• Do We Really Need a Space Program?
• Why the Wright Brothers Made a Difference
• Zeppelins (author of Zeppelin!: Germany and the Airship 1900-1939)
  Guillaume de Syon, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History

ALBRIGHT COLLEGE

• Albright College: Past, Present and Future
  A Sesquicentennial Journey in Photographs
  - Barbara Marshall, M.A., Associate Vice President of College Relations & Marketing
  
  
• Albright's Holocaust Resource Center
  - Dan Tannenbaum, M.S.W., Coordinator of the Holocaust Resource Center, Gingrich Library

ANTHROPOLOGY

• Group Violence Among Humans: Wars, Gangs, Genocide, Ethnic and Racial Conflict
  
• Human Evolution: How Humans Evolved and What it Says About Us Today
  
• Human Nature: Why Humans Think and Act as They Do
  
• Human Sexuality: Differences in Male and Female Sexuality
  
• Hunter-Gatherers: How Humans Lived in the Past and What it Says About Us Today
  
• Issues in Animal Rights
  - Barton Thompson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Anthropology

ARTS AND LITERATURE

• Shakespeare's Plays Milton's Poems
  Post Modern Aesthetics - "Men Have Named Her:" What Does the Mona Lisa Mean?
  - Alberto Cacicedo, Ph.D., Professor of English
  
  
• Poetry Reading: Painting God's Portrait
  - Paul E. Clark, M.Div., Chaplain & Director of the Multifaith Center/Lecturer in English
  
  
• Holland Through its Artists
  
• Rembrandt and His Art
  
• Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Interpreted
  
• Rubens, a Baroque Master
  - Barbara Fahy, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of History
  
  
• Magical Realism in Modern Art and Literature
  
• Tradition and Revolution in "One Hundred Years of Solitude"
  
• A Lacanian Analysis of "Lazarillo de Tormes"
  - John S. Incledon, Ph.D., Professor of Spanish
  
  
• Needlework: Samplers and More - Available in Spring 2007
  - Fianna Holt, M.S., Technical Services Librarian, Gingrich Library
  
  
• Critical Approaches to Hip-Hop Culture
  - Teresa Gilliams, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of English
  
  
• The History of Watercolor Painting
  - Richard Hamwi, M.F.A., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Art
  
  
• Totalitarianism and Art
  
• German Literature
  
• The World and Work of Marcel Proust
  
• The Problems of Literary Culture in a Visually-Oriented Culture
  
• History of Photography
  
• Art History from 1700-present
  - Newton A. Perrin, Ph.D., Professor of German and Art History
  
  
• John Updike: John Updike's Poetry
  - Denise Greenwood, M.A., Instructor of English
  
  
• Facing Reading: Stories from the Portrait Project (Faces of Reading)
  - John R. Pankratz, Ph.D., Professor of History/Photographer
  
  
• Rider and Other Works by the Author
  - Marian Frances Wolbers, Instructor of ESL and English

ATHLETICS

• Competitive Swimming
  
• Lacrosse
  
• Athletic Recruitment: Division III
  - Gregory E. Eichhorn, M.B.A., Vice President of Enrollment Management/Dean of Admission
  
  
• Sports Medicine
  - William Santoro, M.D., Medical Director, Health Center
  
  
• Athletics Recruiting
  - Christopher Boehm, Director of Admission

AUTOMOBILES

• Car Culture: The Automobile's Arrival as Seen in Early Postcards
  - Guillaume de Syon, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History

BUSINESS AND MARKETING

• What Rate of Return Did Your Portfolio Manager Earn? Methods of Calculating Average Rates of Return
  
• Introduction to Investing
  - David A. Martin, C.F.A., Professor of Economics and Business Administration
  
  
• Statistics: Use, Misuse and Abuse
  - Stephen G. Mech, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology

CHILD DEVELOPMENT

• Preventing High-Risk Behaviors in Adolescents (i.e. substance abuse, criminal behavior)
  - Lindsay A. Phillips, M.Ed., Instructor, Psychology, Degree Completion Program

COMMUNICATION

• Public Relations Basics for Community Organizations
  - Barbara J. Marshall, M.A., Associate Vice President, College Relations & Marketing
  
  
• History of Journalism: Chicago, Newsboys and Foreign Language Press
  - Jon Bekken, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Communications

ECONOMICS

• The European Union and Turkey: Is it a Clash of Civilization?
  
• How Much do We Deserve: A Look at Income Inequality in the U.S.
  
• European Union Expansion: Consequences and Opportunities
  - Lisa Wilder, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Economics

EDUCATION

• College Admission Search: Nuts and Bolts on How to Find the Right College
  
• Applying to College: Finding Your Way Through the Maze
  
• Financial Aid: Making College Affordable
  
  - Gregory E. Eichhorn, M.B.A., Vice President for Enrollment Management/Dean of Admission
  - Chris Boehm, M.A., Director of Admission
  
  
• Millennials: Changing Higher Education
  - Chris Boehm, M.A., Director of Admission
  
  
• Service Learning
  - Richard Schott, M.B.A., Instructor in Economics and Business
  
  
• Continuing Higher Education for Adults
  - Mickey Baines, Interim Director of Accelerated Degree Programs
  
  

THE ENVIRONMENT

• Environmentalism
  - Barton Thompson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Anthropology
  
  
• Columbus and the Discovery of the "New World:" True Wildlife Frontier
  
• Water: Quality and Quantity-Working to Make it Better
  
• The Coral Reef-The Host
  - Phillip Lynn Dougherty, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry

FAMOUS PEOPLE

• Albert Einstein: The Human Side
  - Guillaume de Syon, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History
  
  
• Thomas Mann
  
• Franz Kafka
  - Newton A. Perrin, Ph.D., Professor of German and Art History

FASHION

• Merchandise Planning for Increasing Retail Productivity and Profit (includes forecasting sales, inventories, reductions and the calculation of a monthly open to buy)
  - Doreen Burdalski, M.B.A., Assistant Professor of Fashion Merchandising

FILM, VIDEO AND DIGITAL MEDIA

• Film & Video: History, Theory and Production
  
• Experimental Media
  - Gary L. Adlestein, M.A., Professor of English and Art
  
  
• Subtitling Foreign Films on Video: A Workshop/Demonstration
  
• "Kiss of the Spiderwoman": The Spiderwoman as Psychoanalyst
  - John S. Incledon, Ph.D., Professor of Spanish
  
  
• Digital Daydreams: A Look at Visual Arts and Digital Image Construction
  - Matthew Garrison, M.F.A., Assistant Professor of Digital Media
  
  
• Film Culture
  - Newton A. Perrin, Ph.D., Professor of German and Art History
  

FOREIGN COUNTRIES, CULTURE AND TRAVEL

• Flying the Alaskan Highway
  - Richard G. Heller, Ph.D., Professor of Biology
  
  
• Pachamaca! Food and Feast in the Peruvian Andes
  
• Where are Our Trains? Searching for Baldwin Locomotives in Peru and Chile
  - M. Karen Jogan, Ph.D., Professor of Spanish
  
  
• The Modern Middle East
  
• Islam
  
• Iran
  
• Syria
  - Geoffrey D. Schad, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of History

HISTORY

• The Holocaust
  
• The Jewish Community in Reading
  
• The Holocaust Resource Center
  - Dan Tannenbaum, M.S.W., Coordinator of the Holocaust Resource Center, Gingrich Library
  
  
• Family Values in the 17th Century
  
• The Molly Maguires: A History of the Pennsylvania Coal Miners Who Organized into a Union in the 1860s and 1870s
  - Barbara Fahy, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of History
  
  
• History of the Industrial Workers of the World
  
• History of Journalism: Chicago, Newsboys and Foreign Language Press
  - Jon Bekken, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Communications
  
  
• Nazi Germany and the German Weimar Republic
  
• European History
  
• Art History from 1700 to present
  - Newton A. Perrin, Ph.D., Professor of German and Art History
  
  
• The African-American Experience
  
• The Significance of Black History Month
  - Teresa Gilliams, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of English
  
  
• Irish History and Literature: Irish Legends
  
• Irish Language: The State of Modern Irish
  - Lawrence Morris, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of English

HUMAN RESOURCES

• Supervisor Training and Development: Leadership Traits Necessary for Success and Transition to that Role
  
• Sexual Harassment Awareness Training: Scenarios, Examples and Perspectives of Sexual Harassment
  
• Performance Improvement Strategies: Utilizing Progressive Counseling Sessions and Performance Improvement Plans to Improve Productivity
  
• Changing Face of the Human Resource Department (includes strategic role, advisory, administrative and compliance)
  - Timothy J. Steinrock, SPHR, Director of Human Resources

MUSIC

• Critical Approaches to Hip-Hop Culture
  - Teresa Gilliams, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of English

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

• Local Governments in Berks County: Organization and Operation; Historical Development; Current Issues; and Citizen Participation
  - John Kramer, M.R.P., Director of the Center for Local Government
  
  
• Terrorism: Islam/Middle East
  - Carla J. Abodalo, M.S., Instructor, Sociology and Criminology
  
  
• Elections: How to Predict Presidential Election Results
  - Thomas C. Brogan, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science

PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY

• Close Relationships
  
• Psychology and the Law
  
• Stereotypes: How We Perceive and Judge Others
  - Andrea Chapdelaine, Ph.D., Provost
  
  
• The Relationship of Crime to Neighborhoods
  
• Issues in Race, Class and Gender Inequality
  
• Juvenile Delinquency
  
• Urban Crime
  - Kennon Rice, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminology
  
  
• Domestic Violence
  
• Organized Crime
  
• Serial Murder
  
• Terrorism
  - Carla J. Abodalo, M.S., Instructor, Sociology and Criminology
  
  
• Boys' Night Out: Dark Masculinity and its Wounds
  
• Lonesome Boy Blues: The Dark Roots of Sexual Fantasy
  - Paul E. Clark, M.Div., Chaplain and Director of the Multifaith Center
  
  
• Prison and Correctional Psychology
  
• Mental Illness and Psychosocial Rehabilitation
  
• Re-entry from Prison to Society
  
• Preventing High-Risk Behaviors in Adolescents (i.e. substance abuse, criminal behavior)
  - Lindsay A. Phillips, M.Ed., Instructor, Psychology, Degree Completion Program

RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY

• Binding the Strong Man: The Biblical Basis for Nonviolent Resistance
  - Paul E. Clark, M.Div., Chaplain and Director of the Multifaith Center
  
  
• Religion in Cults: The Emergence of New Religious Movements
  
• Selling Faith: Christian Mass Media and Popular Culture
  - Charles M. Brown, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Sociology
  
  
• Middle East and Islam
  - Carla J. Abodalo, M.S., Instructor, Sociology and Criminology
  - Geoffrey D. Schad, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of History
  
  
• Monsters in the Bible: The Monsters of Creation
  
• Monsters in the Bible: Monsters at the End of the World
  - Jennifer Koosed, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
  
  
• Religions of the East: Yogis, Buddha's and Sages
  - Victor Forte, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
  
  
• The Northern Gods
  - Lawrence Morris, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of English

SCIENCE AND NATURE

• Going Batty: The Biology of Bats
  
• Human Physiology
  
• Learning about Science
  - Karen A. Campbell, Ph.D., P. Kenneth Nase, M.D. Chair of Biology
  
  
• Under the Lens: Using Microscopes in Scientific Research
  - Richard G. Heller, Ph.D., Professor of Biology
  
  
• Global Pandemics and Avian Influenza: An Examination of Emerging Infectious Diseases from a Worldwide Perspective
  
• Genomics and Advances in Understanding Cancer: A Look at New Technology Largely Related to Genome Studies (understanding the cause, diagnosis, treatment of cancer)
  - Gerald L. Kreider, Ph.D., Professor of Biology
  
  
• ET Phone Us - We'll do Lunch: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
  - Devon Mason, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Physics
  
  
• All About Plants: Mosses to Maple Trees
  
• The Effect of Deer on Pennsylvania Forests
  
• Gardening: Garden Flowers and Their Wild Relatives
  - Susan Munch, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biology
  
  
• Habitat Fragmentation: Human Impacts on Natural Systems & Possible Remedies
  
• Conservation Genetics and Biology
  
• Small Mammals
  
• Statistics: Use, Misuse and Abuse
  - Stephen G. Mech, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology

WELLNESS

• Asthma
  
• Drug & Alcohol Issues
  
• Family Medicine
  
• HIV
  
• Sports Medicine
  - William Santoro, M.D., College Physician, Health Center
  
  
• Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) for Women
  - Samantha Wesner, CRNP, RNC, Assistant Dean of Students and Director of the Gable Health Center
  - Robert Gerken, Director of Public Safety

WRITING

• Be a Writer (or Just Look Like One)
  - Marian Frances Wolbers, Instructor of ESL and English