Culture, Society, and Religion

Itching to travel? Take a virtual trip to Yellowstone National Park with Stephen Cushman, Robert C. Taylor Professor of English in the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Virginia. In January 2019, Cushman led a group of alumni and friends on a search for the elusive wolves of Yellowstone […]

John Ragosta, author of Religious Freedom: Jefferson’s Legacy, America’s Creed, states that “…we must never return to a situation where people use their claims of religious freedom to avoid laws against discrimination…” Ragosta is a fellow at Virginia Humanities and lead faculty for Lifetime Learning‘s  Summer Jefferson Symposium at the University of Virginia. We welcome your […]

We end 2020 with a reflection on a year of hardship and hope. Anthony DeMauro, associate director of Dalai Lama Fellows at the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia, shares his thoughts on the collective care vital to our resilience and interconnection during this holiday season–and far beyond it. Lifetime Learning wishes you […]

As we close the door on an unusual, memorable year, University of Virginia faculty recommend a few good books for you to give as gifts or put on your 2021 reading list. If you have read any of these titles, let us know what you think of them. We invite you to add your book […]

            Experts at UVA’s Blandy Experimental Farm and State Arboretum of Virginia gave a virtual presentation on the ginkgo tree for Lifetime Learning in November 2020. Below, the Blandy team answers myriad questions that viewers posted in the webinar Q&A. David Carr is the director of Blandy Farm and a […]

“Origins are not destiny,” writes James Loeffler, considering how the past can shape the next chapter of American history. Loeffler is the Jay Berkowitz Professor of Jewish History in the Corcoran Department of History and the Ida and Nathan Kolodiz Director of Jewish Studies in the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at […]

David Carr, director of UVA’s Blandy Experimental Farm and State Arboretum of Virginia, presented a virtual lecture on autumn migration sponsored by Lifetime Learning in October 2020. Carr, a research professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences in the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Virginia, answers questions (below) […]

The Virginia Festival of the Book and Assistant Director Sarah Lawson launched the Shelf Life series of virtual author events in April in response to the need to escape the confines of pandemic life. VaBook has hosted discussions every Tuesday and Thursday since then, featuring graphic novels, romance fiction, true crime, historical nonfiction, literary fiction, […]

With summer in full swing, add these titles that creatively address race to your reading list. Patricia A. (Patsy) Goolsby, author-events coordinator at the UVA Bookstore, shares detailed reviews of three works of fiction. Check out Ms. Goolsby’s June 2019 and December 2016 Thoughts From the Lawn blog posts for more book recommendations. Do you […]

“Books can transform lives,” affirms Tisha Hayes as she shares a comprehensive and diverse list of children’s and young adult titles during National Reading Month. Hayes is Service Director, McGuffey Reading Clinical Services in the Sheila C. Johnson Center of Clinical Services and Associate Professor in the Curry School of Education and Human Development at […]

Questions of ethics arise in our professional and personal lives, and Mary Gentile recommends that problem-solving should go beyond placing blame and asking “what is the right thing to do?” Gentile is Creator/Director, Giving Voice To Values and Professor of Practice, Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. We welcome your comments below. […]