Join Bradley Bush in an intriguing course on the original residents of Texas. Before European settlement, Texas was home to numerous Native American tribes and cultures. Its vast size and diverse geographic regions allowed these different groups to thrive for centuries. Among the most prominent were the Comanche, the Caddoan culture of East Texas, the Karankawa of the Gulf Coast, the Tonkawa of Central Texas, and the Apache of Southwest Texas. These tribes and cultures will be discussed. However, understanding these tribes begins with the first Texans, the Paleo-Indians, who arrived more than 10,000 years ago and were their ancestors.   

Instructor Bio: Bradley Bush has a master’s in Military History from Norwich University, 2016, and is a retired agricultural chemical product manager living in Waco. Additionally, he holds an Agricultural Economics degree from Texas A&M, 1978, and a B.S. in Biology from The University of Texas at Arlington, 2008. This will be his fourth Baylor Lifelong Learning course to teach.

Dr. Lynn Tatum has taught a series of popular Lifelong Learning courses on the Middle East, both ancient and modern. This spring’s course will focus on the modern. What will be covered? It depends on what’s happening at the time of the course. Focus will be on learning about the key players (Iranians, Israelis, Palestinians, Shiites, & Sunnis) to try and understand how they themselves view the conflict(s). The classes will be “ripped from the headlines” to aid in understanding what is going on in the Middle East now. 

Instructor Bio: Dr. Tatum, Senior Lecturer Emeritus, has taught Religion and Middle Eastern courses for decades. He has lived, traveled, studied, and excavated throughout the region. He has also been Baylor University’s Associate Director of Middle East Studies. He prides himself on trying to understand “all sides” and has been named an “Israel Fellow,” as well as a Fellow of the National Council on U.S. Arab Relations. He has been a popular teacher in Lifelong Learning and has won teaching awards at Baylor. He has been active in interfaith dialogue, particularly on Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. His Ph.D. is from Duke University. 

Dr. Christian van Gorder will introduce readings from the Qur’an and Hadith, as well as other Muslim sources to help participants gain a greater appreciation of the wisdom perspectives of (soon to be) the world’s largest faith. 

Instructor Bio: Christian van Gorder is from Pittsburgh and has 11 children (including quadruplets). His doctorate in Intercultural Studies is from the queen’s University of Belfast, Ireland. He has taught at Baylor for 22 years, at Yunnan University in China for 9 years, and at Messiah College in Pennsylvania for 7 years. He has published 12 books and numerous articles.