Independence Blue Cross presents Age Fearless with One Day University in Haverford

From its introduction in 1839, photography has transformed the ways in which we see the world. Photographs capture events and also transform them; they depict reality but also tell a story. Scores of photographs have changed America, and we will discuss four of them in detail. Some won’t come as a surprise, while others may open eyes anew. Examining the histories of these images, and learning how to read them, provides a deeper understanding of how photographs have shaped, and continue to shape, American society and culture.

• Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother (1936). The most iconic photograph of the depression, “Migrant Mother” changed how people thought about poverty.
• Joe Rosenthal, Flag Raising on Mt. Suribichi (1945). People thought it was posed, but it wasn’t. It helped the United States to win World War II and define the nation.
• Nick Ut, Napalm Girl (1972). Images from Vietnam fueled opposition to the war, and the story of the girl in the picture traveled around the world.
• Stanley Forman, The Soiling of Old Glory (1976). This Pulitzer-prize winning photograph brought the civil rights struggle to the North and transformed how Americans thought of the bicentennial.

Can we learn to control our impulses before they control us? Even more importantly: can we learn to let them flow when it really matters? Countless years of life are lost and countless chances at happiness are missed because of our unhealthy relationship with impulses, which we tend to control too little (e.g., addiction and explosive anger) or too much (e.g., repression and anxiety). Understanding the underlying mechanisms of impulse control can give you the potential to live a happier, healthier, and more fulfilled life.

Neuroscientist Dr. Heather Berlin and her colleagues have been illuminating these mechanisms for years, including the surprising positive effects of losing control at the right time and in the right place. Some domains of human experience, such as meditation, improvisation, and therapy under certain psychoactive drugs, offer controlled circumstances under which losing control provides overwhelming and repeatable benefits to human well-being. By understanding these dynamics that are already at play in you, you can master the fine art of losing control and gaining it back, learn to adjust your impulse control settings at will, and make your brain work for you.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is the brain basis of impulse control and impulse control disorders?

2. What is the neuroscience of free will?

3. What are some strategies to gain control over impulses and to let go in therapeutic ways?

4. Why does psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy seem so promising for treatment-resistant psychiatric disorders?

Hamilton made history not long ago by receiving a grand total of 16 nominations for Tony Awards – ultimately winning a total of 11, including Best Musical. The phenomenon is part of a long lineage of musical theater productions that capture the public’s attention and reflect the culture surrounding it. Broadway combines the thrill of live music with the compelling storytelling and drama of watching a movie or TV show and, when done with incredible care and sensitivity, the combination of the two can lead to something groundbreaking, and even transform society as we know it.

Join Professor Hartley for a lively session that will cover such greats as Rodgers and Hammerstein. Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber and more. Plus, a special live musical performance!