Summer is a time to relax and enjoy the great weather, but summer downtime can also provide a great opportunity to expand knowledge and feel enlightened. One great way to shake up those brain cells is to attend the Orillia Summer Institute.

“It might be more edifying than anything else you do this summer,” remarks organizer Steve McDonald.

The July lecture series provides the opportunity for people in the community to “get the university experience” without actually being enrolled in university, says McDonald.

All the lectures are non-credit, which means no homework, no exams — but all the fun. The series runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays in July, at Georgian College’s Orillia Campus, 1 to 4 p.m.

“The overall theme is how Canada’s culture is changing. We look at it from a real variety of perspectives, such as music, politics, literature and the buying and selling of our water,” says McDonald.

“There’s no pressure. You can sit and listen, or join in discussions, and you can attend one or two lectures, or all seven.”

The series is being held by Georgian’s University Partnership Centre (UPC) to reach out to residents of the Orillia and area community, as well as summer visitors. Lectures are facilitated by UPC professors.

“It’s going to a fun, informative and really different type of experience for many of the participants,” said McDonald. “Many of them will have never attended a university lecture before and this is a great opportunity.”

Bruce Meyer (pictured), a Laurentian@Georgian English professor presenting at the event, says Orillia is the perfect place for the lecture series, because of its clear ties to Canadian culture and its strong sense of community. Meyer’s lecture will focus on “things Canada has lost.”

“We have lost so many items of cultural significance in this country, but they don’t need to be lost forever.”

Specifically, Meyer has completed extensive research into lost literature from the First World War era and has found extensive documentation about Canada’s first professional baseball stadium in Toronto from the 1880s, which many people didn’t believe existed.

“We take our culture for granted and when things become lost, we look for culture in other places,” says Meyer. “This series should give people a sense of enlightenment and imagination. If you know what goes on in this country, it’s easier to imagine great things about it.”

The cost is $30 per lecture or $150 for the series of six lectures. To register, contact Rob Reid at (705) 329-3129.

SERIES LINE-UP

• July 7: Prof. Mark Jacquemain will talk about the rise of water markets and examine the politics behind the buying and selling of Canada’s most precious resources.
• July 9: Prof. Julian Ammirante will speak on Canadian political culture. His lecture will survey some of the central characteristics of the country’s political culture, including the game of hockey.
• July 14: Dr. Bruce Meyer will talk about Canada’s “great disappearing culture” and explore what remains to be discovered about our literature.
• July 16: Dr. Andrew Scott will take a broad look at music in Canada, including music genres from Western art music, rock and pop, to jazz and folk. Participants will learn how to listen to music critically.
• July 21: Prof. Geoff Booth will look at cultural development in nineteenth-century Canada and talk about the interplay of regional and international tastes in shaping artistic endeavours in Upper Canada.
• July 23: Dr. Daniel Byers will discuss peacekeeping and the Canadian identity. The lecture will examine how and why Canadians became involved in United Nations’ peacekeeping, how the concept has changed since 1947, and how changing roles are played by Canadians today.