Summer 2026 Courses & Registration
Course registration opens Tuesday, May 26 and closes on the first day of each class
Register Online
By Phone: (707) 664-4246
In-person: SSU Student Center Desk, 1st floor (by appointment, please call number above)
THREE-WEEK COURSE
Instructor: Heidi Hermann, MA
When: Thursdays, July 9-23 | 9-11 a.m.
Location: SSU Campus (starts in Stevenson 1202) | $60
This three-part seasonal course introduces participants to the fundamentals of plant identification, ecology, and ethnobotany through a blend of classroom learning and guided field study. Each two-hour session begins with a concise, illustrated presentation covering key botanical features, plant classification concepts, and essential ecological vocabulary. The majority of class time is spent outdoors on campus, walking 0.5–1.5 miles on paved, loose gravel, and wood chip paths, with pauses to examine 5–7 plant species each week. Participants will learn to recognize distinguishing characteristics, understand ecological roles, and explore cultural, edible, and medicinal uses of selected plants. An optional observation sheet will be provided as a simple tool for tracking notes and reinforcing identification skills during the walk. This class requires students to be on their feet for about 1.5 hours walking up to 1.5 miles, and is limited to 25 students.
SINGLE/TWO-HOUR COURSES
Contemporary Ecopoetics: Beyond Nature Poetry
Instructor: Lynn Keller, PhD
When: Friday, July 10 | 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Location: Stevenson 1301 & Hyflex | $25
While nature poetry calls attention to the wonders of the plants, animals, and geographies around us, many contemporary poets who care about the environment find writing about the solace and beauty of nature inadequate to current realities. Awareness of environmental degradation, environmental crises, or environmental injustice is pushing them to produce alternative kinds of environmental writing. Poets whose powerful works may be presented to illustrate these developments include Lucille Clifton, Allison Cobb, Adam Dickinson, Forrest Gander, Brenda Hillman, Evelyn Reilly, Ed Roberson, Juliana Spahr, and Brian Teare.
Thinking About Democracy
Instructor: Steve Harris, PhD, JD
When: Tuesday, July 21 | 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Location: Stevenson 1300 & Hyflex | $25
Do we have a democracy? Did we ever have one? Is such a thing possible? We treat democracy as an article of faith but, like everything else it’s been a highly contingent development, with hundreds of local adaptations. We will look at the idea(s) and practice(s) of democracy across the globe and the ages. We will consider its implicit premises: literacy, engagement, progress, and social coherence. We will wrestle with whether it’s a fluke of the modern world whose time has run out or if it can be rebuilt for the societies of the 21st Century.
Rising Income Inequality: What Causes It and How to Fix It
Instructor: Mary Fricker
When: Thursday, July 23 | 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Location: Stevenson 1300 & Hyflex | $25
America has become a land of unequal opportunity, where the wealthiest 10% of Americans get half the nation’s income and have two-thirds of the nation’s wealth. Experts say we may be approaching a 1929-style crash with catastrophic losses due to 50 years of both political parties deregulating finance. Our rich are getting super rich while working Americans feel stuck. Our financial markets are unstable and dependent on frequent Federal Reserve bailouts. This course will survey nine simple, nonpartisan fixes that can get America headed in the right direction.
Propaganda in Putin's Russia
Instructor: Asya Pereltsvaig, PhD
When: Tuesday, July 28 | 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Location: Stevenson 1300 & Hyflex | $25
Putin's propaganda machine was established during the first year of his presidency and has had a significant impact on what many Russians think, believe, and do. In this talk, we will explore how the propaganda machine in Russia works, what its key instruments are, how it impacts people subjected to it, and why it has been so successful. We will also consider the question of whether there is similar propaganda in the United States and, if so, how to avoid becoming its victim.
Geology of the Pacific Ring of Fire
Instructor: Nicole Myers, MS
When: Thursday, July 30 | 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Location: Stevenson 1300 & Hyflex | $25
California is part of the Ring of Fire, a chain of volcanoes that encircles most of the Pacific Ocean. As the floor of the Pacific Ocean is consumed at subduction zones, earthquakes rock the planet and rock melts at depth creating magma chambers that fuel some of the most explosive volcanic eruptions in recorded history. Learn about the volcanic eruptions that have shaped human cultures and changed the global climate, earthquakes that shaped the land, tsunami that erased coastlines, and the Ring of Fire events that left their mark on California.