The Learning in Retirement Association (LIRA) at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, holds a regular series of lectures called the Moses Greeley Parker Lectures. Note that three of the four events take place on a weekend. For this winter the following topics will be covered:

December (Thursday) – Report from Iraq
Doug Grindle has worked as an embedded report in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait for the last few years. His stories and slide show presentation capture the daily life for civilians as well as American soldiers on patrol and on base.

January (Sunday) –
How Technology Shapes Our Music and Listening Experience
Or “Five ways of hearing the Beatles Let it Be.” Making and playing back music recordings shapes our music and listening experiences in striking ways. Dr. Moylan is Professor and Coordinator of the Sound Recording Technology Program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell where he built the recording program into one of the strongest in the United States. Dr. Moylan will illustrate with sound recordings how we listen to music.

January (Sunday) –
Cotton & Slaves; the Fiber that Changed American Slavery
Cotton fueled the mills at Lowell; it contributed millions to the national economy; it also demanded a high human price. Susan O’Donovan explores those hidden costs in her new book, Becoming Free in the Cotton South.

March (Saturday) – A Day of Latin Music from the Caribbean and South America with Angel Wagner and “Grupo Fantasia”
Come enjoy a colorful mix of Mexican mariachi, calypso, reggae, and salsa music played primarily on original, handmade indigenous instruments. Dancing is recommended. Rumba anyone?