Course A

Central Asia (including Tibet, Kyrgystan and Uzbekistan)

Course organiser:Frank Tay

Presenter:Various

First, Eric Livingstone, a past National President of the New Zealand China Friendship Society and a long-time member of Chinese Industrial Co-operatives established by Rewi Alley, will give a series of three talks on Tibet. Then Judy Cockle, a retired university administrator, will lead us further afield.

To many of us, Tibet is a fascinating mysterious land full of conflicting stories but compelling because of its uniqueness and extremes of location, weather, history, beliefs and life of its people. For over 30 years Eric has collected these stories, attempting an understanding of Tibet’s mysteries and beliefs from Buddhist and earlier histories and more recently the Chinese version of events. The result is an intriguing collection of facts and myths summarized in these talks that will aid our understanding of why Tibet is so unique.

21 Aug:

Eric Livingstone on 'Physical and Ancient Tibet': Where did the rocks and the early people of Tibet come from? A look at ancient provinces, the Tibetan language and cultural influences.

28 Aug:

Eric Livingstone on 'Early Tibetan History and Religions of Tibet: 'Early peoples' beliefs, legends of Tibetan Kings, early clans, invasions, arrival of Buddhism, its sects, outside contact

4 Sep:

Eric Livingstone on 'Recent history of Tibet--1900 till today:' The British interest, recent Dalai Lamas, serfdom, Chinese arrival, cultural revolution, changes in the last fifty years.

11 Sep:

Judy Cockle on 'Journey across China:' The last two talks, illustrated by photographs (including Snap shots along the Silk Route) will be given by Judy Cockle. Born and educated in Canterbury, Judy spent much of her working life in the University Registry, helping to ensure that the institution functioned smoothly. She was, amongst other things, the Administrator for the Science Faculty and the University's Supervisor of Examinations. Judy is an enthusiastic and adventurous traveller.

18 Sep:

Judy Cockle on 'Visiting the Stans:' A personal view of Kyrgystan and Uzbekistan.

Course B

My family involvement in World War I

Course organiser:Garry Jeffery

Presenter:various

This course is being mounted in the month of the centenary of the outbreak of the catastrophe of the World War 1. 27 million people were killed worldwide. 100,000 New Zealand men served overseas, with 16,000 killed and 40,000 wounded, a casualty rate even higher rate than in World War 2.

Our speakers will cover aspects of the war such as its outbreak, why New Zealanders went in such numbers, and what effects the war had on society, while our own members will share family member experiences.

21 Aug:

Dr Colin McGeorge on 'New Zealand Patriotism and the Great War': How had the young men who served in 1NZEF been so well-schooled in loyalty to king and empire that the majority of them were volunteers? What prompted people at home not only to give time, toil and cash to the war effort but also to engage in some unlovely excesses of patriotic fervour? Dr McGeorge is a retired Senior Lecturer in Education, University of Canterbury.

28 Aug:

Dr David Monger on 'Reconsidering the origins of World War 1': Dr Monger is a Senior Lecturer in Modern European History, University of Canterbury. His talk will cover both the immediate decisions for war taken by different European nations in 1914 and the longer-term roots of these decisions. It will ask whether blame should be shared equally among several nations, or if one or another nation should take a larger share of the responsibility for starting what many historians consider to be the world's first total war.

4 Sep:

U3A members on 'Families at War' (Part I): U3A members will talk about aspects of the Great War from their families’ involvement, such as: letters from the Gallipoli trenches; desert warfare on camels; medals & plaques; a total family war effort; conscientious objecting.

11 Sep:

U3A members on 'Families at War' (Part II): Continued from 4 September.

18 Sep:

Paul O’Connor on 'The Impact of World War I on New Zealand Society': Paul O’Connor is Head of History, Burnside High School. This talk will cover issues such as the impact of the war on women and children, conscription and conscientious objection, the development of the RSA, rehabilitation, commemoration and the long term consequences of the war.

Course C

Archeology & Anthropology of Pre-European New Zealand

Course organiser:Loanne Metcalf

Presenter:various

25 Sep:

Catherine Reid on 'New Zealand biogeography and recent fossil history:'Dr Reid is a Senior Lecturer in Geology at University of Canterbury. This talk will cover biogeography and development of key components of New Zealand flora and fauna from the time of rifting away from Gondwana. Particular attention will be paid to the evolution of the kiwi and moa, their evolutionary relationships and the ecology and extinction of the moa.

2 Oct:

Roger Fyfe on 'Peopling the Pacific: 'Dr Fyfe is Senior Curator of Anthropology at the Canterbury Museum. We shall hear the story of the discovery and settlement of the Pacific islands and New Zealand.

9 Oct:

Lisa Matisoo-Smith on 'The Longest Journey - From Africa to Aotearoa: 'Professor Matissoo-Smith is a Professor of Biological Anthropology at the Department of Anatomy, Otago University. Her talk will describe how Genetic studies indicate that all modern humans can trace our ancestry back to a common origin in Africa about 160,000 years ago. About 65,000 years ago some populations left Africa and started expanding across the globe. The final landmass settled by humans was Aotearoa/New Zealand, just 750 years ago. This talk will discuss and explain the use of mitochondrial DNA variation to reconstruct the process of human colonisation from Africa to Aotearoa and briefly describe the current study being undertaken on the genetic ancestry and diversity of New Zealanders.

16 Oct:

Roger Fyfe on 'Adaptation and Change within Aotearoa: 'Dr Fyfe will look at how, by the time the first Europeans arrived, the East Polynesian settlers of New Zealand had become recognizably Maori.

23 Oct:

Joseph Hullen on 'The continuing involvement of Ngāi Tahu and Ngāi Tuahuriri in Archaeology in Canterbury: 'Joseph Hullen is from Ngai Tahu. He says "The final display or storage of any taonga/artefacts and archaeological material is made in consultation with “Mana Whenua”. Mana Whenua means literally the people who hold the customary authority (mana) over a particular area (whenua). There is particular concern about discovery of Koiwi tangata (human skeletal remains) that they may receive dignified and appropriate cultural management. There is great interest in gathering information on the lives, activities, food, resource use, trails and camp sites of the ancestors."

Course D

Ethical Issues

Course organiser:Jim Thornton

Presenter:Various

25 Sep:

Jim Thornton on 'Philosophical issues that might affect ethical decision-making:'Jim is a U3A Okeover member and a teacher of the Philosophy of Religion course at the University of Canterbury.

2 Oct:

Jonathan Hickford on 'The ethical issues in messing with DNA: 'Jonathan is a Professor in Animal Breeding and a teacher and researcher in Genetics at Lincoln University. He says "Advances in molecular biology, genetics and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis are raising new issues as regards who gets to choose the genetics of future generations. Will fashion begin to dictate the human genetics we keep and that we choose to discard?"

9 Oct:

Michael Ardagh on 'Ethical decision-making for health professionals:'Michael is Professor of Emergency Medicine and a specialist in the Emergency department of Christchurch Hospital. Ethical decision-making for health professionals will be explored using the case of Jacko as a foundation - a drunk man with a head injury who wants to leave the emergency department. Discussion will include appearances by Hippocrates, Abel Tasman, The Spice Girls and Campbell's Soup.

16 Oct:

Ruth Margerison on 'Ethics in aid programmes to other countries: ' Ruth is a teacher, writer, lecturer and widely experienced consultant for aid programmes to other countries.

23 Oct:

Neil Fleming & Jim Thornton on ''Issues raised by members: 'A facilitated discussion on ethical issues experienced by our members.

Chairman:	Howard Harvey	021 1363043
Treasurer:	Colin Freeman	027 2369476

Lifelong Learning

The University of the Third Age

U3A Okeover

Programme for Term 3, 2014

Term Completed

Officers: