Burcham Hills Summer History Seminars Home » Evening College » Burcham Hills Summer History Seminars

Evening College travels to Burcham Hills Retirement Community for a series of summer seminars that will explore the history of the Rosetta Stone, the year of 1585 and Sir Robert Peel. All adults are welcome-you do not need to be a Burcham Hills resident to attend these Evening College noncredit personal enrichment seminars. Discounts for MSUAA members.

You must register with the Evening College office before attending. Phone 517-355-4562 to register now!

• Wednesdays, July 11, July 18, July 25, 7-8:20 p.m.
• Location: East Lansing, Burhcam Hills Retirement Facility, 3 sessions, $45
• Instructor: Ann Harrison, Professor Emeritus, Michigan State University Department of Romance and Classical Languages

The Rosetta Stone and the Science of Linguistics: July 11, 7-8:30 p.m.

Uncovered by the French in 1799 during Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Egypt, the Rosetta Stone was named for the town where it was found, Rosetta now Rashid, near Alexandria in north Egypt. It bore three inscriptions, in Egyptian hieroglyphics and dialects of Greek, and it was an undeciphered mystery for over twenty years. A young Frenchman, Jean-Francois Champollion began to understand its inscriptions and thereby assured a place in history for the black stone and for himself. Now, America's most popular foreign language learning program takes its name from these events. Why? What made the Rosetta Stone so important? What were the steps that led to Champollion's de-coding? Was this an isolated event or part of a context that would lead to the creation of a new branch of knowledge -the science of linguistics? All of these questions and more will guide our investigation into this remarkable rock of ages.

1585: People, Happenings and Chocolate July 18, 7-8:30 p.m.

In this year Elizabeth I was securely on the throne of England, Europe was struggling through the Reformation and Roman Catholics marked the death of Pope Gregory XIII who left us the Gregorian calendar. William and Anne Hathaway Shakespeare welcomed their twins Hammet and Judith. Sir Walter Raleigh founded a colony on Roanoke Island, North Carolina, that lasted less than twelve months.

In short, the year was filled with active, talented people, but perhaps the most important one for us was the merchant who imported a shipload of chocolate from Veracruz, Mexico, to Seville, Spain. We don't know his name, but for chocolate-lovers, the world began in 1585.

Sir Robert Peel: Politics and "Bobbies" July 25, 7-8:30 p.m.

Sir Robert Peel was born in 1788, a year before the French Revolution rocked Europe and thirty-one years before Queen Victoria ascended the throne. An aristocrat by birth, he entered political life immediately after taking a "Double First" at Oxford, at the age of 21. He then rose to become a leading politician and statesman, serving as Prime Minister 1841-46. He is remembered as the founder of Britain's police force (still nicknamed "bobbies" or "peelers" after his name) and of the modern-day Conservative Party.

In this session, we will look at British political life two hundred years ago. How did Peel's career develop? What was it like to stand for office, try to enact laws, reform policies, or deal with social change during the Industrial Revolution? In this election year, a look at Sir Robert Peel may give us a rest from and an appreciation for our own political times.