Meet the Graduates

Steven James is a published psychiatrist and an accomplished storyteller. His innate curiosity about the world and its culture is reflected in his lectures and will keep your audiences engaged and wanting more. His background in neuroscience and history and his experience with engaging people offers a refreshing perspective of the world and its mysteries.

During a medical career spanning over forty years he has held academic positions at medical schools including Stanford and the University of Pennsylvania in addition to pharmaceutical companies including Eli Lilly, AbbVie and Merck Serono. In both, Steven created and presented entertaining and informative programs for professional and lay audiences. He has also appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America and introduced his research to a television audience.

I create and deliver enrichment and destination presentations for the cruise ship audience. Interactive storytelling utilizing PowerPoint presentations and video serve as templates for speaking with the cruise audience. My presentations are interactive and I encourage the audience to ask questions or make comments. Learning is my objective and I engage my audience not just during the presentations but throughout their journey. I work hard to ensure everyone is entertained and understands the presentations. No one is left behind.

Favorite topics that I enjoy discussing during the cruise:

General Topics

1. From Exhausted to Energized: Understanding the Physiology of Jet Lag and Resetting your Biological Clock. Join physician and researcher Steven James as he delves into the latest scientific research on human circadian rhythms and provides practical tips for coping with the challenges of jet lag as you adjust to your cruise.

2. A Tale of Two Axes: Longitude and Latitude in the Age of Discovery. Explore the deeper meanings and implications of latitude and longitude in shaping human history and culture, revealing how these concepts continue to influence our understanding of the world.

3. Navigating Time: The Origin and Significance of Time at Sea. Explore the fascinating history of the evolution of the concept of the prime meridian and the International Date Line, tracings its origins and describing its impact on global commerce and travel.

Europe

4. Seeds of Change: How the Colombian Exchange transformed our World. Learn how the discovery of the new world reshaped the course of history and connected new lands and cultures never imagined before. Discover how the tomato and the turkey found new homes and the emergence of new diseases lead to unexpected medical advances.

5. From Ancient Rope to the British Empire: The Story of Hemp. Explore the forgotten history of a plant that built an empire and remains today a remarkable opportunity and challenge.

6. Conquistadors of the High Seas: The legendary journeys of Christopher Columbus and Magellan. This presentation will explore the incredible achievements of the early navigators that opened up the oceans as highways for travel and the birth of the Spanish Empire.

7. The Prince of Navigators: Henry the Navigator and the Portuguese Discoveries. This presentation will showcase the achievements of Prince Henry the Navigator who founded a school of navigation and launched a century of discovery expanding the European knowledge of a larger world.

8. Drake’s Fortune: Sir Francis Drake, Piracy and the Spanish Armada. Learn about the times of Francis Drake who plundered the Spanish Main and helped make England a world power.

The Pacific Coast of the Americas

9. From Balboa to the Panama Canal: A History of Crossing Panama. This presentation will explore the challenges faced by explorers as they crossed the isthmus of Panama from Vasco Nunez de Balboa’s historic journey in the 16th century to the conquest of malaria and the construction of the Panama Canal.

10. Unmasking the Legend of Zorro. The Spanish influence on California’s Early History. Learn about the fascinating history of California’s Spanish roots and explore the cultural influence on the state’s development and identity.

11. From Aztec Empire to Modern Nation-State: The Enduring Legacy of Spain in Mexico. This presentation describes the history of Mexico and explores the profound impact of Spanish colonization on Mexico’s culture, traditions and development.

12. From Spanish Mission to Silicon Beach: The Evolution of San Diego. Listen to resident and physician Steven James as he discusses San Diego’s rich history from humble beginnings as a Spanish mission to emergence as a global hub of scientific innovation and tourism.

13. Discoveries of the Pacific Northwest: The Adventures of Cook, Drake and Vancouver. Learn about the incredible accomplishments of the great explorers that mapped the vast Pacific Northwest.

Pacific Ocean, Australia and New Zealand

14. James Cook and the Pacific Odyssey: The Epic Voyages. Learn about the journeys of Cook and the charting of new lands, introduction of new plants and animals, and the foundations of modern cartography and geography.

15. Conquering the Southern Seas: A History of Australia and New Zealand. Discover the challenges faced by the early explorers as they set sail for distant lands in Australia and New Zealand and encountered uncharted waters and unfamiliar cultures.