Join us this fall to explore new ideas, revisit familiar topics, and connect with others who love to learn. You’ll enjoy presentations by some of Tucson’s premier scholars in convenient locations and come away with a greater understanding of history, literature, music, writing, art, archaeology, and more. Nourish your appetite for learning and your love of fine dining with our Food for Thought series, head downtown to the Century Room for an afternoon of jazz, and expand your world when you take your seat in the classroom. Make your plans today.

  • Step 1: Take a look at the class listings below.

  • Step 2: Click on a class title for the complete details and online registration options.

  • Step 3: Fill your calendar with new opportunities to learn.

Susan-Dick-The-Learning-Curve

We can’t wait to welcome you.

Susan Dick

And The Learning Curve Team

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Click on a class image or title for complete details. Click on an instructor’s name for more information.
Edward Abbey: A Voice Crying in the Wilderness

Edward Abbey: A Voice Crying in the Wilderness

The writings of Edward Abbey stand at the center of the literature of the modern Southwest. Desert Solitaire, his best-known book, influenced dozens of other books about our region. The Brave Cowboy touched off a wave of novels that put the western in the context of the post–World War II West. And The Monkey Wrench Gang, a inspired a political movement. We’ll read and discuss these three books and their place in Southwestern writing today.

Wednesdays, Oct 8 – 29
10:00 am – noon

Instructor: Gregory McNamee

More Info / Registration
Spelunking through Prehistory: the Archaeology of Caves and Rock Shelters

Spelunking through Prehistory: the Archaeology of Caves and Rock Shelters

Caves and rock shelters preserve some of the most spectacular and important archaeological discoveries including spectacular cave paintings and elaborate burial sites. Embark on an exploration of human prehistory and consider how humans have interacted with these deep, dark places for millions of years.

Thursdays, Oct 9 - Nov 20
10:00 am – noon

Instructor: Matthew J Rowe

More Info / Registration
What’s the Story? — The Art of Narrative Writing

What’s the Story? — The Art of Narrative Writing

Stories have the power to evoke emotion, deepen understanding, reveal new perspectives — and transform the writer. Explore various narrative techniques, strategies, and structures in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, tiny stories, and hybrids. Examine plot, subtext, point of view, dramatization, conventions and experimentation as you connect memory and imagination in this multi-genre writing workshop.

Fridays, Oct 10 – Nov 14
1:30 – 4:30 pm

Instructor: Meg Files

More Info / Registration
Shakespeare’s Heroes and Villains

Shakespeare’s Heroes and Villains

Dive into the dramatic world of William Shakespeare by exploring his most iconic heroes and villains. Through close readings, discussions, and performance-based activities, consider what makes a hero heroic, a villain villainous, and how Shakespeare blurs the lines between the two. Ideal for literature lovers, theater enthusiasts, and anyone interested in timeless tales of power, ambition, and human nature.

Wednesdays October 15- Nov 12
1:30 – 3:30 pm

Instructor: Cynthia Meier and Joseph McGrath

More Info / Registration
A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters and The Great American Songbook - Morning Session

A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters and The Great American Songbook – Morning Session

Celebrate the composers and lyricists whose collective genius created the Golden Age of the American Musical Theatre and The Great American Songbook. We’ll trace the musical evolution of Jewish tunesmiths who fused African American and Jewish music into the soundtrack of the American dream and took us Over the Rainbow with songs that are still sung and played a hundred years later – our greatest cultural export.

Tuesdays, Oct 21 – Dec 9
10:00 am - noon

Instructor: Richard T. Hanson

More Info / Registration
A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters and The Great American Songbook - Afternoon Session

A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters and The Great American Songbook – Afternoon Session

Celebrate the composers and lyricists whose collective genius created the Golden Age of the American Musical Theatre and The Great American Songbook. We’ll trace the musical evolution of Jewish tunesmiths who fused African American and Jewish music into the soundtrack of the American dream and took us Over the Rainbow with songs that are still sung and played a hundred years later – our greatest cultural export.

Tuesdays, Oct 21 – Dec 9
1:00 - 3:00 pm

Instructor: Richard T. Hanson

More Info / Registration
Sounds of Change: Miles Davis and John Coltrane

Sounds of Change: Miles Davis and John Coltrane

Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of two legends. Miles Davis and John Coltrane, both born in 1926, made indelible marks on American Jazz. Join Tucson Jazz Festival Executive Director Khris Dodge for an in-depth survey of their music, their influence, their innovation and their lasting legacy through an entertaining blend of lecture, video clips and live performance.

Thursdays, Oct 30 – Nov 20
2:00 – 4:00 pm

Instructor: Khris Dodge

More Info / Registration
David to Delacroix, Beethoven to Berlioz

David to Delacroix, Beethoven to Berlioz

The instability of Rococo Europe after the violent French Revolution and the devastating Napoleonic wars resulted in the exploration of intense and passionate emotion, creating what we call Romanticism. Examine the work of visual artists David, Gericault, Delacroix, Turner and Constable, and the music of Beethoven, Berlioz and Chopin who provided the dramatic underscoring to illuminate this remarkable period.

Wednesdays, Dec 3 – Jan 21
10:00 am – noon

Instructor: Kevin Justus

More Info / Registration
Afternoon Delight: Jazz at the Century Room

Afternoon Delight: Jazz at the Century Room

Take your seat in the Century Room, Tucson’s only dedicated jazz club, and enjoy a special performance for The Learning Curve presented by local jazz musicians. Hosted by Khris Dodge, this afternoon session will be the perfect way to continue your journey into jazz and prepare to ring in the New Year in style.

Sunday, Dec 28
4:00 – 5:30 pm

Instructor: Khris Dodge

More Info / Registration
Vivace Restaurant

Food For Thought: a lunch lecture series

Nourish your intellect while you savor the delicious northern Italian dishes offered by Vivace Restaurant, 6440 N Campbell Ave.

Food for Thought - Put a Ring on It

Food for Thought – Put a Ring on It

Discover the fascinating field of dendrochronology (tree-ring science), first developed at the University of Arizona by a pioneering astronomer interested in solar cycles. Used to date volcanic eruptions, forest fires, archaeological sites and artifacts, it has also been used in the development of radiocarbon dating.

Monday, Oct 20
11:30 am – 1:30 pm

Instructor: Dr Charlotte Pearson

More Info / Registration
Food For Thought - Lost and Found: J.M. Barrie and the Origins of Peter Pan

Food For Thought – Lost and Found: J.M. Barrie and the Origins of Peter Pan

Discover the origins of Peter Pan and the imaginative world of Neverland in this lecture about author J.M. Barrie. We’ll explore the story’s creation, its themes of childhood, innocence, and loss, and how Barrie’s own life shaped this timeless tale.

Monday, Nov 10
11:30 am – 1:30 pm

Instructor: Cynthia Meier and Joseph McGrath

More Info / Registration
Food for Thought - Lost and Found: J.M. Barrie and the Origins of Peter Pan

Food for Thought – Lost and Found: J.M. Barrie and the Origins of Peter Pan

Discover the origins of Peter Pan and the imaginative world of Neverland in this lecture about author J.M. Barrie. We’ll explore the story’s creation, its themes of childhood, innocence, and loss, and how Barrie’s own life shaped this timeless tale.”

Monday, Nov 17
11:30 am – 1:30 pm

Instructor: Cynthia Meier and Joseph McGrath

More Info / Registration
Food for Thought - The Chance to Make a Difference

Food for Thought – The Chance to Make a Difference

From growing up in 1940s New York as a child of German immigrants, to chasing birds in Brazil, to meeting people as diverse as Ansel Adams and the shah of Iran, to becoming a university president at age 36, John Schaefer takes us on an entertaining ride through some of his most memorable experiences and the lessons he learned that shaped his remarkable life.

Monday, Dec 8
11:30 am – 1:30 pm

Instructor: Dr. John P Schaefer

More Info / Registration
Food for Thought - Mountain Gorilla Conservation: The Untold Stories

Food for Thought – Mountain Gorilla Conservation: The Untold Stories

Fifty years ago, Dian Fossey predicted that the mountain gorillas of Rwanda would be extinct by the end of the 20th century. Today, they are thriving. Hear the “untold stories”— not customarily revealed in scientific reports – to better understand gorilla behavior, the nature of the human-gorilla relationship and why Fossey and the many others have devoted their lives to saving mountain gorillas.

Monday, Jan 12
11:30 am – 1:30 pm

Instructor: Dr. H. Dieter Steklis and Dr Netzin Steklis

More Info / Registration
Food for Thought - Mountain Gorilla Conservation: The Untold Stories

Food for Thought – Mountain Gorilla Conservation: The Untold Stories

Fifty years ago, Dian Fossey predicted that the mountain gorillas of Rwanda would be extinct by the end of the 20th century. Today, they are thriving. Hear the “untold stories”— not customarily revealed in scientific reports – to better understand gorilla behavior, the nature of the human-gorilla relationship and why Fossey and the many others have devoted their lives to saving mountain gorillas.

Monday, Jan 19
11:30 am – 1:30 pm

Instructor: Dr. H. Dieter Steklis and Dr Netzin Steklis

More Info / Registration