Levy Lecture Series | Levy Senior Center Foundation

The LSCF is proud to sponsor the Levy Lecture Series, an educational program for residents 55+ years who are passionate about learning. The series is free, but registration is required.

Lectures through July will be presented on Zoom. Register and you will be receive an email with easy-to-follow steps. Need more help? Watch this video. If you are still having trouble accessing the lectures, call the Foundation at (847) 238-2659.

Do you have questions about the Levy Lecture Series? We have answers.

Enjoy virtual lectures this summer weekly through June.

Tuesday, June 22 at 1pm

Motown: The Music that Moved the World

Gary Wenstrup: musical aficionado, teacher

Presented via Zoom.

In Detroit during the 1960s, Motown Records produced hits as efficiently as the Ford Motor Company produced automobiles--110 Top Ten hits to be exact! It was the "Sound of Young America" sung by performers like The Supremes, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder. Using audio and visual content, we'll trace the amazing musical journey from the power soul of "Dancing in The Streets" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" to the psychedelic soul of "Cloud Nine" and "What's Going On" to the pop soul of The Jackson 5. Join us as we listen to timeless music that moved us then and continues to move us now.

Tuesday, June 29 at 1pm

The Nazi's Granddaughter

Silvia Foti: author, journalist, teacher

Presented via Zoom.

What would you do if you found out that your war-hero grandfather was not a hero—instead, he was responsible for the deaths of eight thousand Jews? The Nazi’s Granddaughter: How I Discovered My Grandfather Was a War Criminal is Silvia Foti’s account of her wrenching, twenty-year investigation that not only reshaped her family history but also exposed an official cover-up by the Lithuanian government that resulted in an internationally followed lawsuit. Her discovery has undone a national narrative in Lithuania which converted Holocaust villains like Silvia’s grandfather into war heroes.

Tuesday, July 13 at 1pm

Mandela in Chicago

Ava Thompson Greenwell: teacher, director "Mandela in Chicago"

Presented via Zoom.

Before the Black Lives Matter Movement, there was the Free South Africa Movement. Chicago activists played a major role in putting pressure on the South African, Illinois and Chicago governments to end their support of apartheid. Ironically, in one of the most segregated cities in the nation, Chicagoans of all races joined forces during the 1980s to resist a racist system that oppressed South African Black people similar to the ways in which U.S. Black people had been treated. Activists would say, “Freeing South Africa is freeing ourselves.”

Tuesday, July 27 at 1pm

Harry S Truman: Common Man, Uncommon Leader

Robert Watson: professor of American history

Presented via Zoom.

This program tells the remarkable story of the last president to lack a college degree, a former farmer who failed in the haberdashery business, yet emerged during one of the most critical hours in world history to become one of America's greatest and most influential presidents. We will explore Truman's upbringing and the events in his life that helped forge his character and resolve and examine his leadership style and decision-making. The lecture offers an intimate and insider look at Truman and is based on extensive interviews with former advisors to Truman and years of research in the Truman archives.

Tuesday, September 14 at 1pm

If You Can't Stand the Heat... Women in Comedy

David Chack: teacher, artistic director

Presented via Zoom.

Come for laughs and a cultural overview of successful female comedians
including Phyllis Diller, Joan Rivers, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tina Fey, Jenny Slate, Ali Wong, Tiffany Haddash and others. We'll explore how comedy--and women's roles within it--has changed over the past 70 years.

Tuesday, September 28 at 1pm

The Power of the Chinese Zodiac

Yvonne Wolf: cultural educator

Presented via Zoom.

The Chinese use the zodiac animals to inspire positive qualities in ourselves by learning from the natural world. The twelve zodiac signs were used to measure time, compatibility for marriage, compatibility with a chosen occupation, and many more areas in one’s life. Your Chinese zodiac animal may have hidden strength you previously were not aware of. Come and find out why life begins at age 60 in the Chinese world.