Online Resources

An Ageist Society Cannot Be An Age Friendly One – The Four Types of Ageism: Dr. Bill Thomas explores ways to develop communities that are free to rebalance, redesign and rediscover community living, embracing the exquisite arc of life that stretches from birth to adulthood and beyond to elderhood.

An iPad Saved Mom, An iPhone May Save Me – Health Care in the Age of Silicon: Dr. Robert Graboyes, Senior Research Fellow and Health Care Scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, asks, “How can we make health care as innovative in the next 25 years as information technology was in the past 25?”

The Future of Healthcare: Deborah Davis, CEO, VCU Health System Hospitals & Clinics and Vice President for Clinical Affairs, provides a comprehensive overview of the state of health care legislation covered its impact on hospitals and the American health care system.

Integrative Medicine – Treating the Whole Person: Lecture by Dr. Linda Manning, Interim Director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Vanderbilt University, who explores the burgeoning world of Integrative Medicine.

Garth Newel Music Center — Virtual Events: A growing selection of virtual events including cooking demonstrations, music and performance premiers, socially distanced virtual concerts and much more.

2020 Heifetz Virtual Summer Institute: The 2020 Summer Institute will take place ONLINE from June 25 – August 9, 2020.

Hope @ Home: Violinist Daniel Hope spends this period of social distancing by performing chamber concerts from his living room in Berlin with specially invited guests.

Metropolitan Opera: Each day, a different encore presentation from the Met Opera’s Live in HD series is being made available for free streaming on the Met website.

Modlin Center for the Arts — Virtual Arts: Modlin staff curated, ever-growing list of organizations that are offering free online visual and performing arts experiences. 

National Theatre Live: Every Thursday, a selection of National Theatre Live performances will be available to stream. Each broadcast will begin on Thursdays at 2pm EST and will be available for one week.

The Perfect Scam podcast: AARP’s weekly podcast The Perfect Scam profiles America’s biggest scam stories. Includes interviews with professional con artists and leading experts in the topic.

History

BackStory with the American History Guys: BackStory weekly podcasts use current events in America to take a deep dive into our past. Hosted by noted U.S. historians Peter Onuf, Brian Balogh, and UR President Emeritus Ed Ayers.

The Constitution: Changes & Challenges in US History: Akhil Amar, professor of law and political science at Yale University, and Eric Foner, professor emeritus of history at Columbia University, discuss constitutional changes and challenges throughout our nation’s history.

Juneteenth Resources: Associate Provost LaVonda Reed at Syracuse University has developed a list of resources to explore as we expand our understanding of Black history in America.

The Library of Virginia on Flickr: Browse historic photo albums showing areas and items of interest in Virginia.

Revolutionary Stories — Films at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown: Available to view for a limited-time only, step inside and see the revolutionary stories told at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.

Revolutionary Stories — Films from Jamestown Settlement: Available to view for a limited-time only, discover the stories of Jamestown, America’s first permanent English colony, and the convergence of the Powhatan Indian, English and west central African cultures told at Jamestown Settlement.

St. John’s Church Foundation: Special 245th anniversary reenactment of Patrick Henry’s “Liberty or Death” speech. Henry’s immortal words spread throughout the colonies and became a rallying cry for the revolution.

Susan Schulten: Maps and the Making of America: Lecture by Susan Schulten at the University of Southern Maine, hosted by the Osher Map Library at the University of Southern Maine’s Portland campus & Smith Center for Cartographic Education.

Virginia Museum of History & Culture — Curators at Home: The VMHC curatorial staff will take you beyond the bare facts of Virginia history and uncover the real stories and real people behind the dates. Also available on Facebook.

Why Do We Have the Electoral College? Should We? Professor Ken Kollman provides an historical and analytical analysis of the Electoral College, an institution that was created through the U.S. Constitution. He will review the origins of this curious institution, and will discuss the pros and cons of its continued use.

Politics

Dragon-Slaying Takes Time: The Complex Process of Ending Gerrymandering After the Passage of Proposition 2: In 2018 Michigan made history with its 61% vote for an Independent Redistricting Commission to end the Gerrymandering that caused legislative district boundaries to serve partisan interests.

Election and Voting Security in the United States: Professor Walter R. Mebane Jr., provides a review of election security concerns across the United States, discussion of methods to detect problems, and overview of approaches being taken to mitigate them.

Making Voting More Convenient: Implementing Michigan’s Proposal 3 (Promote the Vote): Passage of Proposal 3 in November 2018, amended the Michigan Constitution by adding a list of voting rights, which include “no reason absentee” voting and expanding voter registration options.

Race, the Party System, and Elite Incentives in American Elections: Professor Vincent Hutchings examines how race has become such a pivotal issue in American politics. He also explores how politicians in both parties use racial appeals in order to gain electoral advantage.

Foreign Policy Association

Due to social distancing policies required to slow the spread of COVID-19, the Foreign Policy Association has made the digital edition of the Great Decisions television series available for participants to stream in their homes.

Topic 1 - Rising Tide: Climate Change and the World’s Oceans: Around the world, sea levels are on the rise. Great Decisions explores how low-lying nations are fighting to ensure their survival and asks what can be done today to prepare for the crisis on the horizon.

Topic 2 - The New India: With an unprecedented parliamentary majority behind him, can Indian President Narendra Modi deliver on the economic promises that carried him to power, or will his strident brand of Hindu nationalism threaten the world’s largest secular democracy?

Topic 3 - Red Sea Rivalries: A Conflict of Interest: More than one-tenth of global trade passes through a strait just 20 miles wide at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. Examines a region where the world’s great powers can cooperate to create stability — or allow deepening rivalries to explode into conflict.

Topic 4 - Unchained: The Scourge of Human Trafficking: Millions of human trafficking victims are hidden in plain sight. Traffickers coerce their victims into forced labor and prostitution. Great Decisions shares the untold stories of trafficking survivors.

Topic 5 - Northern Triangle: The Origins of America’s Migrant Crisis: Great Decisions examines the Western Hemisphere’s migration crisis and the fractured societies at the heart of it: Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. 

Topic 6 - Competing for Influence: China in Latin America: Until recently, China had little interest in Latin America. Now, its investment is transforming the region. Great Decisions investigates this new alignment and the prospect of direct competition with the United States.

Topic 7 - The Will of the People: Duterte’s Philippines: Voters in the Philippines, fed up with a stagnant political system, opted for an unconventional candidate. Examines President Duterte’s bloody crackdown on drug crime and investigates how he has upended politics as usual throughout Southeast Asia.

Topic 8 - Artificial Intelligence: The Global Race for the New Frontier: A.I. is transforming economies and societies around the world. Assesses the possibilities and dangers of this technology, explores the mounting technological competition between China and the U.S., and asks how the international community can manage the coming wave of digital innovation.

Bonus Episode - Yemen: A History of Conflict: Since 2015, Yemen has been consumed by an intractable, multiparty war that has created a devastating humanitarian crisis and brought millions to the brink of starvation. Investigates the origins of the fighting, examines the motivations of foreign actors, and asks what steps the international community might take to resolve the conflict.

Bonus Episode - Americans and the World: In a democracy, foreign policy and diplomacy must be directed by the people, but survey after survey reveals dire statistics about Americans’ knowledge of the world. Investigates the roots of this knowledge deficit and asks what can be done to reverse it in today’s increasingly global economy.

Travel

Rick Steves’ Europe: Public television’s most-watched, longest-running travel series. Written and hosted by best-selling guidebook author Rick Steves, each half-hour show takes viewers to Europe’s most interesting places, from great cities to off-the-beaten-path discoveries.

Virginia Museum of History & Culture — Virginia History at Home: Museum-curated selection of digital resources, which will continue to expand and update as long as needed and possible.  

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts: Multiple ways to access and view permanent and special collections, including a map-based exploration of the galleries.

Maymont: Online resource for ideas to delight, educate and inspire you and your family while you’re staying at home.

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden: Experience the beauty of the gardens with a virtual visit. Take a virtual tour of highlighted gardens in full bloom right now among other features.

The Library of Virginia: New, featured, archival and special collections available online.

The Valentine Museum: Explore Richmond Stories through the Valentine Museum’s online resources. Check back often as they continue to add resources to this page.

Beyond Earth: 50 Years since Apollo 11: Dr. Scott Petty explains what we knew before and after the monumental moon landing on July 20, 1969. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, he demonstrates the mysteries of our solar system and describes the Apollo 11 landing in detail.

The Future of Amerca’s Past: In 2019, UR historian and president emeritus Ed Ayers launched this PBS television series. Ayers travels to places that define misunderstood parts of America’s past, visiting sites that Americans struggle to discuss. He guides viewers to engage thoughtfully with the fullness of our nation’s history.

C-Suite Conversations: During C-Suite Conversations, a distinguished guest sits through an unscripted interview on-stage in Ukrop Auditorium. Dr. Richard Coughlan helps guide the conversation, and students, faculty, fellow business leaders and other guests are given a chance to join in the discussion.

Robins Executive Speaker Series: The Robins Executive Speaker Series invites national and international business leaders to present keynote speeches to an audience of students, faculty, and community members. Select students are invited to a roundtable discussion with the speakers.

University Libraries – Osher Libguide: Our Boatwright Memorial Library is a treasure trove of resources, most of which are accessible from home. To use many resources, you must have your netID and password. If you already have your netID, but let your password expire, you’ll need to contact the UR Technology Help Desk to reset at (804) 287-6400 or helpdesk@richmond.edu. 

University of Richmond on YouTube: Playlists of a wide variety of UR video assets, including lecture captures, Spider Talks with President Crutcher, student performances, marketing and promotional videos, commencement celebrations and much more.

Gather: Collection of free and fee-based virtual learning resources developed by Stanford University researchers. Curates the best formal and informal virtual classes to fuel the curiosity of adults of all ages. Updated weekly with new classes and learning opportunities, each linking directly to an organizer’s website. Gather is free to use, and you can sign up for weekly email updates.

Harvard University: Harvard Online offers free online courses in many subjects, including Art, Data Science, Programming, Social Science and many more.

Road Scholar: From early Viking settlements in Northern France to the evolution of Native American cuisine in Santa Fe, New Mexico, our free online lectures will allow participants to explore topics featured on popular Road Scholar programs right from the comfort of their home.

The Science of Well-Being – Yale University: Series of challenges designed to increase your own happiness and build more productive habits. Professor Laurie Santos reveals misconceptions about happiness, annoying features of the mind that lead us to think the way we do, and research that can help us change.

TED Talks: TED is a nonpartisan nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks. TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics in more than 110 languages.