TSO Events
October – December, 2021
All events are being held online. To receive email about future events and how to register for them, please see our Contact Us page to sign up for the TSO email distribution list.
A Discussion of Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound
(Online Seminar)
presented by David B. Williams
Wednesday, December 1, 2021 at 10 a.m.
Not far from Seattle skyscrapers live 150-year-old clams, more than 250 species of fish, and underwater kelp forests as complex as any terrestrial ecosystem. For millennia, vibrant Coast Salish communities have lived beside these waters dense with nutrient-rich foods, with cultures intertwined through exchanges across the waterways. Transformed by settlement and resource extraction, Puget Sound and its future health now depend on a better understanding of the region’s ecological complexities.
Focusing on the area south of Port Townsend and between the Cascade and Olympic mountains, Williams uncovers human and natural histories in, on, and around the Sound. In conversations with archaeologists, biologists, and tribal authorities, Williams traces how generations of humans have interacted with such species as geoducks, salmon, orcas, rockfish, and herring. He sheds light on how warfare shaped development and how people have moved across this maritime highway, in canoes, the mosquito fleet, and today’s ferry system. The book also takes an unflinching look at how the Sound’s ecosystems have suffered from human behavior, including pollution, habitat destruction, and the effects of climate change.
David B. Wiliams is an author, naturalist, and tour guide whose new book is a deep exploration of the stories of this beautiful waterway. He is also the author of the award-winning book Too High and Too Step: Reshaping Seattle’s Topography, as well as Seattle Walks: Discovering History and Nature in the City and Stories in Stone: Travels Through Urban Geology. Williams is a Curatorial Associate at the Burke Museum, Follow him on Twitter @geologywriter.
The Science of Giant Earthquakes and Tsunamis: What We Know and What We Don’t
(Online Seminar)
presented by Professor Harold Tobin
Thursday, December 2, 2021 at 10 a.m.
While they are fortunately very infrequent, tsunamis and the giant undersea earthquakes that cause them are perhaps the greatest of natural hazards. They are also a manifestation of the plate tectonic forces that shape our region and the entire Pacific Rim. The 2011 tsunami in Japan and 2004 Indian Ocean were the first magnitude 9 scale earthquakes in the modern digital recording era, and have taught us a lot about the parallels to the fault that lies off our shore known as the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which last moved 321 years ago, but will again someday. In the talk, I will discuss the nature of these faults and events, how we study them, and how new understanding and new technology are coming together to help us understand the hazard and prepare for it. I will highlight new early warning systems that are one way science can help reduce the dangers of such events.
Prof. Harold Tobin is the director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network and professor in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at UW, where he holds the Paros Chair in Seismology and Geohazards. He serves as the Washington State Seismologist as well. His research involves the study of tectonic plate boundaries with a focus on how faults work and the conditions inside them that lead to earthquakes. He is especially interested in subduction zones, where the planet’s largest earthquakes and tsunamis take place, and how these dynamic places develop over time. His research has taken him to Japan, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Alaska, and Barbados, as well as the bottom of the ocean off the coast of Oregon, and he has spent well over 18 months in total at sea on scientific expeditions. Formerly on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he came to UW and PNSN in 2018.
TSO Presents Winter Course Preview (Online)
Meet the Instructors
Monday, December 6, 2021 at 10 a.m.
Take a TASTE of TELOS by previewing seven Winter Courses presented by their instructors. Presented in 15 minute increments.
| Cindy Smith |
Highlights of Ancient Egypt (online class) |
| John Jensen | Rock & Roll 1940s to 50s Rock & Roll 1950s to 60s Homefront During WWII (all online classes) |
| Fred Silber | Racism in Hollywood New Yorker Discussion Group Age of Broadway: 1970s (all in-person on campus classes) |
TSO Presents Winter Course Preview (Online)
Meet the Instructors
Tuesday, December 7, 2021 at 10 a.m.
Take a TASTE of TELOS by previewing six Winter Courses presented by their instructors. Presented in 15 minute increments.
|
Eric Stathers |
Self-Publish Your Writing (online class) |
| Marna Hanneman | Gentle Yoga and Pilates (online Wednesday evenings) |
| Paul Schmid |
Create on your iPad (online class) |
My Favorite Things at SAM—for Kids (Online Seminar)
presented by David Turner
Wednesday, December 8, 2021 at 10 a.m.
A field trip to the museum with a grandchild can be rewarding for grandparent and kid. All it takes is a bit of preparation and willingness to make it fun. This presentation will introduce the nuts and bolts of getting ready and ideas for dealing with the challenge of keeping a youngster interested and engaged in the experience. Each child has a unique learning and attention style. We will introduce what it means to have a grandchild who is a bluebird, bunny, or squirrel. Sooner or later one has to deal with the naked lady at the top of the stairs. That’s just the beginning. Museum culture, rules and resources are your friends.
Then deciding what works will keep your grandchild engaged takes a big load off your worst fears. Did you know that SAM has a ceramic object that is especially designed to play a joke on your friends? We will look at ten objects from the Seattle Art Museum collection to consider. By the way, you probably only need three or four. Finally, I will offer a word about the rich quality of museums in this area that can make this a regular option for you and that youngster in your life.
David Turner holds a BA from Brigham Young in French and Psychology. He received an M.Ed. from the University of Utah as well as a graduate certificate in Gerontology. Turner taught French and Vocal Music in the public schools. After ten years teaching in Junior High School, he was employed at Salt Lake County Aging Services. He directed the health promotion projects, substance abuse intervention and caregiver initiatives. He was also the director of the nineteen senior centers in the county. During that time he wrote and researched in the areas of pedagogy, andragogy, and geragogy among older adults. He served on the board of the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and was chair of the Health Promotion Institute in Washington DC. He is the recipient of the Molly Metler Award. Metler is a national innovator in the world of Gerontology. Turner also received the Pioneer in Gerontology award from the Utah Gerontological Society.
Since retirement he has been a docent at the the University of Fine Arts and at Seattle Art Museum. He takes a vocal lesson every week and is learning to knit.
TSO Presents Winter Course Preview (Online)
Meet the Instructors
Thursday, December 9, 2021 at 10 a.m.
Take a TASTE of TELOS by previewing five Winter Courses presented by their instructors. Presented in 15 minute increments.
| Irene Pasternak |
Stable Walking (in-person on campus) |
| Sandy Hare | Uniquely You Organizing (in-person on campus) |
| Ted Watts | Views of the News (online class) |
| Dale Lehman | Fire + Ice: Geology of WA State (online class) |
| Michael King | The Haitian Revolution (online class) |
TSO Special Event – Paid Tickets Required
A Look into Our Future: Contemporary Threats (Online)
presented by Alessandro Regio
Friday, December 10, 2021
Two sessions: 10-11:30 a.m. AND 4-5:30 p.m.
(Information will be different at each session)
Tickets $30 for 1 or both sessions
An ever-changing world means an ever-changing set of challenges and threats to American security at home as well as to that of our allies and friends abroad. Yet, linking these challenges together, seeing how one feeds into another, is now more important than ever. In this two-part seminar, students will learn how threats such as terrorism, cyber warfare, misinformation and power dynamics all interact with each other to create the complex web of national security concerns for the United States and its partners. Students will also learn how the United States’ national security apparatus works to counter and combat these threats.
Alessandro Regio is an international security analyst based in Washington, DC. Alessandro’s focus is on security cooperation and Transatlantic diplomacy. He has a Master of Arts in International Policy Studies and Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Studies from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Political Science and Certificate in European Studies from the University of Washington.
All events are being held online. To receive email about future events and how to register for them, please see our Contact Us page to sign up for the TSO email distribution list.