Let’s Get High! The High Middle Ages
March 17, 24, 31, April 7, 14, 21
Hybrid – Tuesday 3:10 pm – 4:50 pm
Have you ever wondered about the Middle Ages? Some scholars call the 13th century the greatest of centuries, while others point to many dark times. Who were the people who stand out during this century? How did they conquer, divide and reassign territories? What ideas did they formulate, develop and pass on to the future? How did these leaders open the gates to the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Age of Reason and the Information Age?
- Week 1: Through the eyes of Manco Capac
- Discover the legend and the history of the founder and first emperor of the Incas
- Meet the Sun God family
- Week 2: Through the eyes of Eleanor of Aquitaine
- Learn how to serve as Queen of France and England
- Get warm – invent indoor fireplaces
- Week 3: Through the eyes of Moses ben Maimon
- Walk through the mind of a Spanish philosopher, physician, lawyer
- Influence Thomas Aquinas and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- Week 4: Through the eyes of Kublai Khan
- Investigate how to conquer and unite China, even if you’re not Chinese
- Use paper money exclusively and build a postal system that works
- Week 5: Through the eyes of Alexander Nevsky
- See how to defeat the Golden Horde to create the Russian empire
- Learn how to become a saint
- Week 6: Through the eyes of Osman I
- Follow the foundation of the Ottoman dynasty and empire
- Plus, there’s always baklava!
Elissa Kaplan earned her doctorate in educational leadership from George Washington University and has degrees in German Language and Literature and Comparative Literature, with a specialty in Jewish Studies. She is a writer, speaker, teacher and an educational consultant and has served as Director of Education at synagogues, and was the President of the Jewish Historical Society of Fairfield County.