SCANS
SENIORS' COLLEGE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA
SENIORS' COLLEGE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA
Continue your life-long learning by joining the Seniors’ College Association of Nova Scotia, a volunteer-based registered non-profit organization dedicated to providing affordable non-credit academic courses to seniors (age 50+) in Nova Scotia. Courses are for your learning enjoyment, without tests or assignments. Membership entitles you to enrol in any number of the courses offered per year. It also allows you to participate in further developing this dynamic learning organization. Classes are offered in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Chester, Liverpool, Mahone Bay, and Truro.
More about SCANS
More about SCANS
2021 Fall TerM
All courses will be delivered online as Zoom webinars
Download the print-friendly course schedule and description brochure (pdf)
Download the print-friendly course schedule and description brochure (pdf)
1. Women Artists Through Art History: Hidden But Very Present - VirginIa Stephen
Day: Monday
Dates: Oct 4 - Nov 15 (no class on Oct 11)
Time: 1:30 - 3:00 pm
Course Description
To read a standard art history text you might come away wondering where the women artists were. For centuries it would seem there were no women artists, few or not-named in the records and books. But we know they must have been there. In this course we will look at the place of women in the history of art from the Renaissance to today by looking at themes such as Their Father’s Daughters; Women’s Work; How Women Artists See Themselves (self portraiture); Women as Muse and/or Artist; and others. We will explore the work women who were seminal in the development of visual art some of whom you may know, others will be new acquaintances, and there are some who we never may now their identity beyond the work left.
Instructor Biography
An art historian and educator by training (and passion) Virginia Stephen brings to her practice over 40 years of experience as an arts educator, museum educator, art museum director and senior arts administrator. She was as Acting Director of the Arts and cultural Management Program at MacEwan where she taught Museum/Gallery Management, Human Resources and advocacy for several years. She was Deputy Director (Head of Programs and curator of Education) of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and Executive Director of the Edmonton Art Gallery. As an educator, artist, writer and curator her focus has been to facilitate individual and group interaction with art to enrich ways of knowing, ways of interacting with the world and other people, and ways to achieve innovation with students, adults, and corporate groups. She has worked and presented across Canada and been guest speaker at education, museum, healthcare, and leadership conferences and symposia in the United States and Europe. She has written exhibition catalogues and books for museum audiences of all ages and contributed to arts education and museum periodicals, anthologies and peer reviewed journals in Canada and the United States.
Ms Stephen holds an MA in Visual and Performing Arts Education and undergraduate degrees in both art history and arts education. In her own practice, she is a painter and fibre artist.
Dates: Oct 4 - Nov 15 (no class on Oct 11)
Time: 1:30 - 3:00 pm
Course Description
To read a standard art history text you might come away wondering where the women artists were. For centuries it would seem there were no women artists, few or not-named in the records and books. But we know they must have been there. In this course we will look at the place of women in the history of art from the Renaissance to today by looking at themes such as Their Father’s Daughters; Women’s Work; How Women Artists See Themselves (self portraiture); Women as Muse and/or Artist; and others. We will explore the work women who were seminal in the development of visual art some of whom you may know, others will be new acquaintances, and there are some who we never may now their identity beyond the work left.
Instructor Biography
An art historian and educator by training (and passion) Virginia Stephen brings to her practice over 40 years of experience as an arts educator, museum educator, art museum director and senior arts administrator. She was as Acting Director of the Arts and cultural Management Program at MacEwan where she taught Museum/Gallery Management, Human Resources and advocacy for several years. She was Deputy Director (Head of Programs and curator of Education) of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and Executive Director of the Edmonton Art Gallery. As an educator, artist, writer and curator her focus has been to facilitate individual and group interaction with art to enrich ways of knowing, ways of interacting with the world and other people, and ways to achieve innovation with students, adults, and corporate groups. She has worked and presented across Canada and been guest speaker at education, museum, healthcare, and leadership conferences and symposia in the United States and Europe. She has written exhibition catalogues and books for museum audiences of all ages and contributed to arts education and museum periodicals, anthologies and peer reviewed journals in Canada and the United States.
Ms Stephen holds an MA in Visual and Performing Arts Education and undergraduate degrees in both art history and arts education. In her own practice, she is a painter and fibre artist.
2. Criminal Justice in Nova Scotia: One Size Does Not Fit All - Nova SCOTIA CRIMINAL JUSTICE ASSOCIATION
Day: Tuesday
Dates: Oct 5 - Nov 9
Time: 10:00 - 12:00 pm
Course Description
The criminal justice system has struggled to deal with matters whose root causes are linked to poverty, marginalization, mental health and addiction issues. In recent years, Nova Scotia and other Canadian jurisdictions have developed ‘wellness’ courts and programs as a means of addressing the revolving door for vulnerable individuals in the traditional justice system. This course will introduce participants to these ‘wellness courts’ and programs – explore the reasons for their creation, how they work and what the outcomes have been. The course will be delivered by those who are involved in these courts: judges, Crown and defence lawyers and community program personnel.
Instructor Biography
The Nova Scotia Criminal Justice Association is a non-governmental provincial organization. NSCJA members include individuals working in all components of the justice system as well as our partners in the fields of health, education and social services. The Association is involved in a range of activities aimed at promoting a humane, equitable and effective criminal justice system.
Dates: Oct 5 - Nov 9
Time: 10:00 - 12:00 pm
Course Description
The criminal justice system has struggled to deal with matters whose root causes are linked to poverty, marginalization, mental health and addiction issues. In recent years, Nova Scotia and other Canadian jurisdictions have developed ‘wellness’ courts and programs as a means of addressing the revolving door for vulnerable individuals in the traditional justice system. This course will introduce participants to these ‘wellness courts’ and programs – explore the reasons for their creation, how they work and what the outcomes have been. The course will be delivered by those who are involved in these courts: judges, Crown and defence lawyers and community program personnel.
Instructor Biography
The Nova Scotia Criminal Justice Association is a non-governmental provincial organization. NSCJA members include individuals working in all components of the justice system as well as our partners in the fields of health, education and social services. The Association is involved in a range of activities aimed at promoting a humane, equitable and effective criminal justice system.
3. Frameworks for Understanding the History of Photography - Alan Griffiths
Day: Wednesday
Dates: Oct 6 - Nov 10
Time: 10:00 - 11:30 am
Course Description
This new course takes the history of photography apart so one can grasp the many different ways of appreciating and enjoying the subject. We will seek out patterns to recognize the key techniques, dating elements, themes and those involved in the photography community. There will be walks down winding roads, strange tales of adventure, mysterious temples, elephants, eyeballs, popes and bizarre connections. I will be a carnival barker enticing you into my visual tent.
Come on in… all will be revealed.
Instructor Biography
Alan Griffiths has lectured on multimedia and consulted worldwide for organizations as diverse as the British Library, IBM, the Portuguese Air Force, the European Union and Eastman Kodak. He has lectured at the University of Sheffield, been Visiting Professor at the University of Massachusetts and Chief Information Architect for a dot com start-up. He has maintained an interest in photography throughout.
Alan started developing www.luminous-lint.com in 2005 as a personal exploration of the history of photography. To date photographs from over 3,800 organizations, photographers, photographic galleries and private collectors around the world have been included. This allows users to explore an ever-expanding online history through over 700 online exhibitions, numerous biographies, techniques, timelines and a visually rich website with many millions of interconnections.
Dates: Oct 6 - Nov 10
Time: 10:00 - 11:30 am
Course Description
This new course takes the history of photography apart so one can grasp the many different ways of appreciating and enjoying the subject. We will seek out patterns to recognize the key techniques, dating elements, themes and those involved in the photography community. There will be walks down winding roads, strange tales of adventure, mysterious temples, elephants, eyeballs, popes and bizarre connections. I will be a carnival barker enticing you into my visual tent.
Come on in… all will be revealed.
Instructor Biography
Alan Griffiths has lectured on multimedia and consulted worldwide for organizations as diverse as the British Library, IBM, the Portuguese Air Force, the European Union and Eastman Kodak. He has lectured at the University of Sheffield, been Visiting Professor at the University of Massachusetts and Chief Information Architect for a dot com start-up. He has maintained an interest in photography throughout.
Alan started developing www.luminous-lint.com in 2005 as a personal exploration of the history of photography. To date photographs from over 3,800 organizations, photographers, photographic galleries and private collectors around the world have been included. This allows users to explore an ever-expanding online history through over 700 online exhibitions, numerous biographies, techniques, timelines and a visually rich website with many millions of interconnections.
4. Blue Lines and Blue Walls: Thinking Critically About Policing - Angus Smith
Day: Thursday
Dates: Oct 7 - Nov 18 (no class on Nov 11)
Time: 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Course Description
A year has passed since the horrific death of George Floyd, a black man who slowly choked to death as a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck, ignoring him as he pleaded for his life. Perhaps more than any other single incident, George Floyd’s murder has provoked an intense debate about how and why we are policed and even whether we should be. The debate is an important one and, however we feel about policing, it is one that we should care about as it goes to the heart of who and what we are as a society. This course will look at policing in North America from a broadly historical perspective. It will examine the origins of policing on this continent and its roots in both racist and colonialist mindsets. It will look at some of the many ways that policing has gone wrong, often as a result of institutional pathology. But it will also look at the things that the police do well, often with great professionalism, even heroism. It will also consider the intense interaction between policing, communities and political structures and the closely-related debates around defunding the police, curtailing police powers and perhaps even abolishing policing as an institution.
Instructor Biography
Angus Smith worked in the Canadian intelligence community for 30 years, a career that included work on Latin America, the Middle East, Russia and Eastern Europe, police malfeasance and corruption, organized crime, terrorism and national security. His career with the RCMP exposed him to Canadian policing at all levels — federal, municipal and provincial — and he has extensive international experience having worked with the FBI, the DEA, the New York and Los Angeles Police Departments, the Metropolitan Police, Europol, Interpol, the Australian Federal Police and the New Zealand Police, among others. He was also a police and intelligence educator, with experience in Canada, the United States, Eastern Europe and Latin America. An award-winning author, he writes for a variety of publications including The Jewish Review of Books, Rural Delivery and The Police Chief. Angus currently works part time as an intelligence and security consultant and lives on the South Shore of Nova Scotia where he keeps chickens and bees and tries to keep up with a pair of rambunctious Border Collies.
Dates: Oct 7 - Nov 18 (no class on Nov 11)
Time: 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Course Description
A year has passed since the horrific death of George Floyd, a black man who slowly choked to death as a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck, ignoring him as he pleaded for his life. Perhaps more than any other single incident, George Floyd’s murder has provoked an intense debate about how and why we are policed and even whether we should be. The debate is an important one and, however we feel about policing, it is one that we should care about as it goes to the heart of who and what we are as a society. This course will look at policing in North America from a broadly historical perspective. It will examine the origins of policing on this continent and its roots in both racist and colonialist mindsets. It will look at some of the many ways that policing has gone wrong, often as a result of institutional pathology. But it will also look at the things that the police do well, often with great professionalism, even heroism. It will also consider the intense interaction between policing, communities and political structures and the closely-related debates around defunding the police, curtailing police powers and perhaps even abolishing policing as an institution.
Instructor Biography
Angus Smith worked in the Canadian intelligence community for 30 years, a career that included work on Latin America, the Middle East, Russia and Eastern Europe, police malfeasance and corruption, organized crime, terrorism and national security. His career with the RCMP exposed him to Canadian policing at all levels — federal, municipal and provincial — and he has extensive international experience having worked with the FBI, the DEA, the New York and Los Angeles Police Departments, the Metropolitan Police, Europol, Interpol, the Australian Federal Police and the New Zealand Police, among others. He was also a police and intelligence educator, with experience in Canada, the United States, Eastern Europe and Latin America. An award-winning author, he writes for a variety of publications including The Jewish Review of Books, Rural Delivery and The Police Chief. Angus currently works part time as an intelligence and security consultant and lives on the South Shore of Nova Scotia where he keeps chickens and bees and tries to keep up with a pair of rambunctious Border Collies.
5. (Almost) Everything You Wanted to Know about Medical Imaging but Were Afraid to Ask! - Pierre Schmit
Day: Friday
Dates: Oct 8 - Nov 12
Time: 1:30 - 3:00 pm
Course Description
Over the last 40 years, medical imaging has played an increasingly important role in the diagnosis and evaluation of medical conditions reshaping the diagnostic pathways.
We will also discuss the advantages of each modality when compared to other ones, specific contraindications and risks, especially related to irradiation.
Instructor Biography
Dr. Pierre Schmit MD is a former Paris (France) University Hospital resident: he worked for three years under Pr Cl. Fauré in Paris (France) during which his interest and orientation developed in pediatric imaging and more specifically musculoskeletal imaging. He, then successively worked as a staff pediatric radiologist in two other university hospitals in Paris. He was also involved in a pediatric imaging private practice.
Finally, he landed in Halifax in January 2006 and since has worked as a staff radiologist at the IWK until he retired in December 2020. He was head of the IWK Diagnostic Imaging department for 5 years and promoted to Professor in Radiology on July 2018.
He has been a guest lecturer at 23 radiology international conferences, 42 national and 13 local ones. He has presented over 100 scientific presentations in both French and English. He has authored 57 peer reviewed articles and 18 radiology textbook chapters
Dates: Oct 8 - Nov 12
Time: 1:30 - 3:00 pm
Course Description
Over the last 40 years, medical imaging has played an increasingly important role in the diagnosis and evaluation of medical conditions reshaping the diagnostic pathways.
- X-Rays are now delivered and reported in a completely different way than they were 40 years ago
- Computed Tomography (CT) has recently become a widely (too widely?) used type of imaging
- UltraSound (US), which initially provided only static images, now offers real time imaging with Doppler and color Doppler capacity and is no longer only used for obstetrics
- Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging provides extremely important information and opens new insights especially in neuroradiology
- Nuclear Medicine (NM) which uses radioisotopes provides anatomic and functional information. Its most recent development, Positon Emission Tomography combined with CT (ie PET-CT) helps to better delineate cancer
- Medical imaging also has a therapeutic component (Image Guided Therapy or IGT) which allows radiologists to perform minimally invasive procedures such as biopsies, tumor ablation, abcess drainage, angioplasties and embolizations
We will also discuss the advantages of each modality when compared to other ones, specific contraindications and risks, especially related to irradiation.
Instructor Biography
Dr. Pierre Schmit MD is a former Paris (France) University Hospital resident: he worked for three years under Pr Cl. Fauré in Paris (France) during which his interest and orientation developed in pediatric imaging and more specifically musculoskeletal imaging. He, then successively worked as a staff pediatric radiologist in two other university hospitals in Paris. He was also involved in a pediatric imaging private practice.
Finally, he landed in Halifax in January 2006 and since has worked as a staff radiologist at the IWK until he retired in December 2020. He was head of the IWK Diagnostic Imaging department for 5 years and promoted to Professor in Radiology on July 2018.
He has been a guest lecturer at 23 radiology international conferences, 42 national and 13 local ones. He has presented over 100 scientific presentations in both French and English. He has authored 57 peer reviewed articles and 18 radiology textbook chapters
Course Information Session
September 8, Wednesday, 10:00 am, via Zoom
Registration for the information session and for the courses will be available here at a later date.
September 8, Wednesday, 10:00 am, via Zoom
Registration for the information session and for the courses will be available here at a later date.
The following information is not hosted by SCANS. No endorsement of any products or services is expressed or implied.
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