Coastal Senior College, serving Midcoast Maine from Wiscasset to Camden, opened registration on Dec. 10 for its nine winter courses set to begin the week of Jan. 13.

Three of the nine courses will be taught in live classroom settings (in Rockland, Bremen, and Newcastle); six will be on Zoom. One of the in-person courses will be “The Origins of Human Evolution,” an exploration led by instructor Bill Portela, on Thursdays, Jan. 16 through Feb. 20, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the First Universalist Church in Rockland. Portela combines a professional background in human systems integration, systems engineering, and technical learning environments.

“This course beckons readers to discover who they are and where they came from,” notes Portela, who has planned a narrative, interactive experience that uses dynamic, informative biological stories woven into a chronological journal of life on Earth. 

Students will be introduced to Darwin’s powerful theories about natural selection and the transition of species across vast epochs. By way of the fossil record, the class will explore the progression of a few cursory species into the extraordinary zoological diversification found in living fauna. 

Together, the class will analyze clues about how organic entities interact — invoking startling new layers of self-organizing complexity. The final parts of the course will trace potential human evolutionary avenues in order to analyze and learn to apply them to human societal dynamics.

Class discussions will offer an opportunity to learn and connect with as many as 18 other students, ages 50 and older.

Information about Coastal Senior College and registration for the Winter Courses may be found at coastalseniorcollege.org.