Lifelong Learning Mississauga
Share – Discover – Enlighten
Announcing the Spring Lecture Series
The Tuesday lecture series will be provided IN-PERSON ONLY. The Thursday lectures will continue to be offered VIRTUALLY ONLY as Zoom webinars.
On Tuesdays from March 25 to May 13, 2025, Olivier Courteaux will present the The French Revolution: Ten Years that Changed the World.
| Where | Burnhamthorpe Community Centre |
| Applewood Hills Room | |
| 1500 Gulleden Drive, Mississauga L4X 2T7 | |
| (Vicinity of Burnhamthorpe Road East and Dixie Road) |
IN-PERSON lecture presentations ONLY
Neither online lectures nor recordings will be available for this in-person series
Registration begins on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 at 10:00 a.m.and tickets will be on sale throughout the series until Tuesday, May 13, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. However, it will be possible to register ONLY for the entire eight-week series and not for individual lectures or a partial lecture series.
Cost $40 per person for this lecture series
Format
9:30 a.m. Doors open
10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Lecture
11:00 a.m. Refreshment break
11:20 a.m. Q & A
12:00 noon Lecture ends
On Thursdays from March 27 to May 15, 2025, Jim Poling and Steve Buist will offer a series of lectures on Investigative Journalism: Stories from the Field.
VIRTUAL lecture presentations ONLY – as Zoom webinars
Recordings will be available to registered participants for one week after the lecture
Registration begins on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. and tickets will be on sale until Friday, March 21, 2025 at 11:50 p.m. After March 21, it will not be possible to register for individual lectures or a partial lecture series.
Cost $40 per household for this eight-lecture series
Format
9:50 – 10:00 a.m. Participants can join the webinar
10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Lecture
11:00 a.m. Refreshment break
11:10 a.m. Q & A
12:00 noon Lecture ends
The French Revolution: Ten Years that Changed the World
“The revolution is over,” wrote a French historian in 1989, as France was commemorating the bicentennial of the French Revolution. But perhaps it was not, for it was a controversial topic at the time – and still is.
The French Revolution had a number of founding moments. First the “revolution from above,” initiated by Louis XV and Louis XVI, which failed and led to the proclamation of a national assembly in 1789. This was the opening act of a revolution wanted and expected by an overwhelming majority.
Then in 1792 came the “real revolution,” led by the likes of Robespierre, who, while seeking to create a new society, unleashed an uncontrollable violence. It was marked by the Reign of Terror and is considered the birth of modern terrorism.
Finally, following the elimination of the same Robespierre and his followers, intense political rivalries led to the rise of a young, charismatic general, Napoleon Bonaparte, who ended up confiscating the State in November 1799.
At the end of those ten years, France had entered modernity. So had Europe and the world, for the French Revolution remains a major episode of world history, with global consequences.
Investigative Journalism: Stories from the Field
Investigative journalism consistently ranks as one of the most-valued sectors by news consumers. But investigative journalism is endangered around the world because of three factors: it costs a lot to produce, it’s labour-intensive, and it requires journalists with specialized skill sets.
In the first four lectures, career journalist Jim Poling will discuss contemporary media issues and real-life newsroom publishing decisions. Stories, words and photographs will outline matters of law, responsible reporting, public interest, good taste and community standards.
Following sessions deal with the business of secrets, going off the record, personal privacy and public accountability, concluding with the current state of journalism, subscription models and a growing movement called The Right to Be Forgotten.
In the second half of the lecture series, retired Hamilton Spectator reporter/editor Steve Buist will present four talks that delve into the world of investigative journalism, using examples of some of Canada’s most impactful investigative projects.
Buist will start with a primer on the fundamentals of investigative journalism from the journalist’s standpoint so we are better able to think like a reporter when we consume news.
Later talks will examine several award-winning investigative journalism projects, including a Hamilton Spectator ground-breaking series that showed the staggering connections between health, wealth and poverty in local neighbourhoods. Buist will conclude with his new passion in retirement – volunteering in sub-Saharan Africa to help train journalism students and working journalists who are trying to improve the quality of investigative journalism in Africa.
