If the emotional health and well-being of individuals are linked to the larger structural features of their societies, then literature provides an important but often overlooked site for examining the social conditions that support (and diminish) mental health. Julie Minich, University of Texas at Austin, examines the depiction of mental health on the U.S.-Mexico border […]

On Oct. 2, Colombians went to the polls for a historic vote: whether or not to accept the negotiated accord with the country’s largest and oldest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the FARC. The accord promises to end the longest running insurgency war in the hemisphere, and put a definitive end to […]

Early photographic experimentation was frequently less concerned with optics — with providing a picture of the world — than with physics. Techniques such as spectroscopy were developed and deployed explicitly to investigate that which was beyond the range of human perception: the nature and behavior of light. Laura Saltz, associate professor of American studies, asks why […]

Silvia Newell, assistant professor at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, will discuss cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (HABs) in Lake Taihu and western Lake Erie, which are driven largely by agricultural nitrogen and phosphorus. Cyanobacterial community dominance and HAB development may depend on ammonium (NH4+) availability, and increased NH4+ has been linked to increased toxin […]

How do Colby professors use their disciplines to respond when violence convulses our world? When police shoot and are shot at, when bombs explode and refugees drown, what can the arts and humanities, in particular, teach us? Join us as professors Lisa Arellano (Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies), Gary Green (Art), and Anindyo Roy (English) […]

This national, evidenced-based certification course will help participants support loved ones, colleagues, neighbors, and others coping with mental illness and addiction. At the end of the day, you will have a five-step action plan and know where to turn for help. Presented by NAMI Maine in partnership with Inland Hospital, Healthy Northern Kennebec, Kennebec Behavioral […]

Join panelists E.J. Dionne, columnist for the Washington Post and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Eliana Johnson, Washington editor for National Review Magazine, and David Shribman, editor-in-chief for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for a discussion on the 2016 election, which in many ways has shattered the mold. This panel of experts will explore a host of topics: candidate strategy, voter attitudes […]

Wendy Warren, an assistant professor at Princeton University, will discuss the impact of the Atlantic slave trade on the culture of New England in the 17th century based on her new book, New England Bound: Slavery and Colonization in Early America (Liveright, 2016).

This special screening features new digital renditions of two of Abbott Meader’s 16mm films. “South Slope” (1979-80) is an elegant contemplation of a small patch of Oakland, Maine through the four seasons, set to “What Love Tells Me,” the sixth and final movement of Gustav Mahler’s third symphony; “Shadows From The Western Wall” (1973-74) is […]

This interactive workshop touches on the four steps in the college process: admissions, financial aid, career, and study skills. Advance registration required. Visit http://meoc.maine.edu/schedule.php or call 1-800-281-3703.

History tells us that Charles Darwin was neither the first nor the only one to think of evolution. This talk by Janet Browne, Aramont Professor of the History of Science at Harvard, takes the opportunity to think carefully about Darwin and the revolution in thought that carries his name. Browne, who teaches the history of […]

Kids and cops on campus! Maine's Law Enforcement, Local Communities & Higher Education Come together for a day of Fun! Barbecue, Games and the COLBY COLLEGE VS. UMO RUGBY MATCH   Hosted by Thomas College

Music by Richard Wagner Tristan und Isolde opens the Met season in a new production by Mariusz Treliński (the director responsible for the 2014–15 season’s double bill of Iolanta and Bluebeard’s Castle), and will be well served by a cast of outstanding Wagnerians: Nina Stemme as Isolde, Stuart Skelton as Tristan, Ekaterina Gubanova as Brangäne, […]

Bette Stevens, and Richard Wooten will be joining us for a book signing as part of Indie Author Day 2016! During this inaugural Indie Author Day, libraries all across North America will host their own local author events with the support of the Indie Author Day team. For more information about Indie Author Day, please […]

Maine's own wicked funny comedian returns for his annual performance at the Waterville Opera House! Tickets: $25 (Note: There will be only one performance. The previously announced 9:00 performance has been canceled.)

Ever caught yourself looking up at the Moon wondering exactly what you were looking at? The L.C. Bates Museum will be one of thousands of locations around the globe celebrating our moon! International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN) is an annual worldwide public event that encourages observation, appreciation, and understanding of our Moon and its […]

After 36 years teaching guitar in the Music Department, Carl Dimow will retire after this academic year. He performs his final official faculty concert with his eclectic klezmer band, the Casco Bay Tummlers. Several original Dimow compositions will be featured in addition to classic instrumentals and songs from the rich, soulful, and joyous klezmer repertoire. […]

A problematic romance; a less problematic revolution. Sean Connery (the first James Bond!) and Brooke Adams (a past Railroad Square guest who first rose to prominence in Terrence Malick’s Days Of Heaven) star in Richard Lester’s (best known for A Hard Days Night, The Three Musketeers, and Robin And Marian) knowing, sharp, beautiful, underrated and […]

This free program will offer helpful tips to assist families with difficult conversations related to dementia. Presented by the Maine chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. Please pre-register by calling 873-4745 or stopping at the reception desk.

Music’s Quill (Timothy Neill Johnson, tenor, and Timothy Burris, lute) will be joined by special guest Colby Professor of History Raffael Scheck on cello for a concert of Baroque continuo songs from England and Italy by Caccini, d’India, and Purcell and solo works for cello and lute.

Are you new To Medicare? Part A is hospital insurance. Part B is medical insurance. Part C is Medicare Advantage Plans & Part D is for prescription drugs. Do you know the difference between a Medigap Plan and a Medicare Advantage Plan ? This is where you can find the answers to that question and […]

Shermin de Silva will discuss Asian elephants, the sole survivors of the genus Elephas. This six-million-year-old, evolutionarily unique species must now make a living alongside its historic predator — humans — on the most densely populated continent on the planet. More than half the human population lives in Asia, and development is accelerating. With large herbivores […]

Most people today view climate science as a field wholly occupied with the practical problem of global warming. But, as with most scientific endeavors, the field has moved forward by scientists driven by their own curiosity to meet a series of fascinating intellectual challenges, whether or not they had any practical consequences. In this talk, […]