The Lifelong Learning Program will remain online only for the Winter season, due to pandemic-related booking restrictions on Carleton’s campus. While we will miss seeing you in person, the response to our online format makes us glad that we are still able to connect and engage, and provide opportunities for learning and entertainment.

Our engaging lectures series provide participants with entertaining learning opportunities, without required readings, assignments, or tests. Participants can easily interact with the experts and with other lifelong learners, and many participants even attend with a friend or family member. See for yourself why participants love our fully supported online events, and sign up for our mailing list to receive notifications of our program offerings, as well as selected free events at Carleton University.

This winter, stay warm while exercising your mind with one or more of our five mini lecture series starting in February! Take the opportunity to explore the new and the old, from music and technology, to the solar system and Book of Genesis. Below are details for our Winter 2022 session. We hope to see you soon!

PLEASE NOTE: LLeaP’s Winter session will be a shortened one; instead of 6-week lecture series, there will be 3-week ‘mini-series’. This is to allow the LLeaP team time to work on updating our software to better serve you.

Lecture Series:
A Grand Tour of Solar Systems
Journey to Three Musical Destinations: Reggae, Hip Hop, and New Technologies
Genesis as Myth and History
The Neuroscience of Stress, Mental Health, and Resilience
Thriving in the Digital World: Taking Control of Your Tech


Lecture Series 1
A Grand Tour of Solar Systems
Lecturer: Dr. Andrew Robinson

Series description: This new mini-lecture series will take you on a Grand Tour of our own solar system, including our Sun, the inner and outer planets, and other objects. It will then move to other stars to look at more solar systems, and other types of planets.  On the way, award-winning educator Dr. Andrew Robinson will explain some of the physics behind how we observe things, and what we observe.  No background knowledge of physics or astronomy is needed; just your willingness to travel further than ever before!

  • Days: Wednesdays, February 9, 16, 23 
  • Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time
  • Location: Zoom (This lecture series is offered via Zoom, which can be used on computers and mobile devices. We recommend you use a computer/laptop with high-speed internet. A camera and microphone will enable you to participate more fully, but they are not required. See our Support page for details.)
  • Fee: $75 (HST included)
  • Lecture Series Outline
  • Registration is now closed.

Picture of LLeaP lecturer Dr. Andrew RobinsonLecturer biography: Dr. Andrew Robinson is a Contract Instructor in the Physics Department at Carleton University. He has degrees in Chemical Physics and Physical Chemistry from Bristol University and Bath University. He has worked as a professional scientist in Germany and the UK, and moved to Canada in 2000. After working at the University of Saskatchewan, he moved to Ottawa in 2010. His current research interest is the teaching of Physics at the post-secondary level, and he uses innovative technology and pedagogical methods in his classes. He has won Faculty of Science Teaching Awards in 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2020. Read what LLeaP participants have said about Dr. Andrew Robinson.


Lecture Series 2
Journey to Three Musical Destinations: Reggae, Hip Hop, and New Technologies
Lecturer: Keith McCuaig

Series description: Here is an opportunity to explore three topics in music that may be new to you, with LLeaP lecturer Keith McCuaig as your guide. At your first destination, experience some new sounds of the 20th century while studying music and technology. This includes instruments (like the Theremin, synthesizer, drum machine, and sampler) and effects used in studio or on stage (including reverb/echo, delay, and tremolo). Next, visit Jamaica, where you will examine the sonic and social history of its music, from ska and reggae, to dub and dancehall. The impact and influence of this small island’s music continues to be felt all over the world. At your journey’s end, uncover the origins, major figures, subgenres, and important issues of Hip Hop, to better understand why this artistic movement has become a global phenomenon and commercial force in just over 40 years. 

Note: Music and Technology was offered as a single lecture in Fall 2019, and the Reggae and Hip Hop content is from Keith’s full-length series on those topics. 

  • Days: Thursdays, February 10, 17, and March 3 (NOTE, there will be no lecture on February 24)
  • Time: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time
  • Location: Zoom (This lecture series is offered via Zoom, which can be used on computers and mobile devices. We recommend you use a computer/laptop with high-speed internet. A camera and microphone will enable you to participate more fully, but they are not required. See our Support page for details.)
  • Fee: $75 (HST included)
  • Lecture Series Outline
  • Registration is now closed, please email the Lifelong Learning Program to register.

Picture of LLeaP lecturer Keith McCuaigLecturer biography: With an M.A. in Music and Culture, and over 25 years experience as a musician, Keith McCuaig is dedicated to all things music and art. Keith has taught a dozen different courses through Carleton University’s Lifelong Learning Program; is a part-time professor at the University of Ottawa; and has presented at international musicology conferences. From performing, writing, and recording, to giving music lessons, lecturing, and working with community music programs, Keith’s life and passion is music. (Photo Credit: Anita Grace) Read what participants have said about Keith McCuaig’s lecture series.


Lecture Series 3
Genesis as Myth and History
Lecturer: Dr. Shawna Dolansky

Series description: The Book of Genesis is often dismissed as “pure myth” by biblical scholars, and in the technical sense of the term “mythology,” that is exactly what Genesis contains. But in looking at the stories as myths, we can in fact learn much about the history (as well as the worldviews, cultures, values, and ideals) of the people who recounted them. During this mini-series with Dr. Shawna Dolansky, you will delve into various stories from Genesis with a view to understanding the culture, and sense of history, of those who originally recorded them.

  • Days: Thursdays, February 10, 17, 24
  • Time: 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time
  • Location: Zoom (This lecture series is offered via Zoom, which can be used on computers and mobile devices. We recommend you use a computer/laptop with high-speed internet. A camera and microphone will enable you to participate more fully, but they are not required. See our Support page for details.)
  • Fee: $75 (HST included)
  • Lecture Series Outline
  • Registration is now closed.

LLeaP Lecturer Dr. Shawna DolanskyLecturer biography: Professor Shawna Dolansky specializes in Biblical Studies, with a focus on the history and religions of Israel and the ancient Near East and the development of the Hebrew Bible.  Her research incorporates the tools of literary criticism, comparative religion, historical study, anthropology, archaeology, political science and classics. Professor Dolansky received the Provost’s award for Teaching Excellence in 2013 and a Professional Achievement Award from Carleton University in 2018.  She is on the editorial board for Near Eastern Archaelogy, serves as General Editor for Hebrew Bible content at BibleOdyssey.org, and is a frequent contributor to thetorah.com and biblicalarchaeology.org.


Lecture Series 4
The Neuroscience of Stress, Mental Health, and Resilience
Lecturer: Dr. Ashley Thompson

Series description: Neuroscience researcher and educator Dr. Ashley Thompson returns to LLeaP to offer this new mini-series on the stress response. Together with Dr. Thompson, you will begin by exploring the neuroscience of stress and how different types and durations of stress impact our brains and bodies. Then, you will examine the concept of resilience, its relationship with stress, and what research tells us about resilient brains and how resiliency allows people to respond to stress. Lastly, you’ll investigate the concept of neuroplasticity to consider how each of us can influence our own resilience throughout the lifespan. 

  • Days: Fridays, February 11, 18, 25
  • Time: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time
  • Location: Zoom (This lecture series is offered via Zoom, which can be used on computers and mobile devices. We recommend you use a computer/laptop with high-speed internet. A camera and microphone will enable you to participate more fully, but they are not required. See our Support page for details.)
  • Fee: $75 (HST included)
  • Lecture Series Outline
  • Registration is now closed.

LLeaP Lecturer Dr. Ashley ThompsonLecturer biography: Dr. Ashley Thompson is an Adjunct Professor in the department of Neuroscience at Carleton University. Ashley completed her PhD in Neuroscience at Carleton focusing on Parkinson’s disease. Her doctoral research used substances that occur naturally in the brain to alter the environment of the regions known to be vulnerable in Parkinson’s disease to protect those neurons from degeneration and death. Ashley’s current research looks at factors influencing graduate student mental health as well as the areas of undergraduate stress and resilience. She works full-time for Teaching and Learning Services as an Educational Development Facilitator, supporting instructors as they design and deliver their courses at Carleton. Read what participants have said about Dr. Thompson’s lectures.  


Lecture Series 5
Thriving in the Digital World: Taking Control of Your Tech
Lecturer: Adrian Cho

Series description: We live in an increasingly digital world. Even if you work and play outside of the digital domain, the Internet, computers, and digital gadgets are becoming more unavoidable each day. Electronic tools and toys can make our lives easier, productive, and more fun. However, they can also be a source of frustration, confusion, and wasted time and money. In this mini-series, join LLeaP lecturer Adrian Cho to learn how to make the most of the digital world, and how to use tech tools to your advantage while avoiding traps and pitfalls. Adrian’s extensive knowledge, conversational style, and responsiveness to questions have been appreciated by participants, whether his topic is technology, learning, music, photography, or creativity.

  • Days: Fridays, February 11, 18, 25
  • Time: 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time
  • Location: Zoom (This lecture series is offered via Zoom, which can be used on computers and mobile devices. We recommend you use a computer/laptop with high-speed internet. A camera and microphone will enable you to participate more fully, but they are not required. See our Support page for details.)
  • Fee: $75 (HST included)
  • Lecture Series Outline
  • Registration is now closed.

LLeaP Lecturer Adrian ChoLecturer biography: Adrian Cho is a veteran of the tech industry. He taught himself to write software and build electronics at an early age, before computers became widespread. After leaving school he landed consulting work as a software developer and eventually spent over thirty years in the tech industry. Along with his “tech insider” view and deep understanding of the tech and business aspects of the computing world, Adrian also has a “consumer” view of the world and a “content creator” view as a professional musician and professional nature photographer. Along the way he provided direct leadership and advice to many small and large companies including IBM, Shopify, Proctor & Gamble, Bosch, Bankers Trust, and Fujitsu, and many more indirectly through his writing and speaking. In the arts world he is most well-known for founding and leading the Ottawa Jazz Orchestra, and most recently, the online music performance platform and virtual venue syncspace.live.  Read what participants have said about Adrian’s lectures.

Banner photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash