2019 finds the Umbrella Academy (UA) still more innovative and fascinating than ever. Founders Meisha Lohmann and Lisa Coniglio look forward to growing their program with new presenters that will continue to interest their faithful attendees while attracting new ones.
Still located upstairs at the Coburn Free Library, located at 275 Main St. in Owego, one format change is being introduced in 2019. Instead of every alternate Tuesday, sessions will be held on every second and fourth Tuesday of the month, still from 6:45 to 8:15 p.m.
On Tuesday, Jan. 8, DeWitt Henricks, former journalist, distinguished Toastmaster, and retired Binghamton University’s Graduate School of Management professor will present “The Best Things in Life Are Free.”
Do you enjoy going to the theater, musical performances, and sporting events but can’t always afford the ticket price? Why pay when you can enjoy these events for free? Professional volunteer DeWitt Henricks shares his not-too-secret secret for enjoying the rich variety of entertainment opportunities in our community – at a price anyone can afford!
On Tuesday, Jan. 22, Dr. Meisha Lohmann, instructor of medieval literature at Binghamton University and co-founder of Umbrella Academy, will present “Queer Knights and Sexy Nuns.”
Many of our assumptions about sexuality and gender are a legacy of medieval culture, and yet some of the beliefs medieval people held might surprise you! They will explore medieval texts and art to better understand pre-modern gender and sexuality.
On Tuesday, Feb. 12, a new presenter will join the ranks of UA. Dr. Jonathan Zisk reports that he spent his “early adulthood wandering – art, bicycle-wrenching, clinical psychology, and chemistry were nascent careers.
“I earned too many degrees, including a PhD from Cornell in Analytical Chemistry, looking at localization of neutron-capture compounds in cells, for cancer treatment,” said Zisk, adding, “To stay in Ithaca for the sake of family, I started—then settled into—25 years of teaching high school science in tiny, familial Candor, N.Y. Along that eventually deeply satisfying path, I helped Candor win nine State Envirothons – more than any New York school, including private, exam/magnet, and public districts that outlay three times Candor’s per-student budget. I have a lifelong environmental passion.”
Zisk will present on “The Language of Environmental Science.” Exploring the language of environmental science, created as a neutral study, we’ll see partisanship distort and weaponize a vital field. We’ll move from Teddy Roosevelt to Rachel Carlson, and from “conservation” to “sustainability,” discerning how ulterior motives ruin egalitarian principles.
On Tuesday, Feb. 26, retired English teacher George Lohmann will present on “The Life of Thomas Mann.” German writer Thomas Mann (1875-1955) was Nobel laureate in Literature in 1929. By most he is considered the greatest German writer of the 20th century. On the outside he presented a persona of dignity, poise and self-assurance; on the inside he suffered doubt about his own ability, his sexuality and his position in society, and his body of work reflects this inner conflict.
Join the ever-growing number of participants at Umbrella Academy. All sessions are free and all are welcome.
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