Courses for Fall 2013
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There is no description for this course. Please check back later. Instructor: Laurance Rand See this instructor's bio | ||||
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We will be studying one of the greatest narratives of antiquity as found in the biblical books of Ruth and First and Second Samuel and Kings. “The King David who emerges from these pages is a masterful (and sometimes cunning) politician a bold warrior and a devoted ruler and a surprisingly human centerpiece of an ancient story.” Herbert Kupferberg Students should bring a bible. New Revised Version preferred Instructor: Richard Taber See this instructor's bio | ||||
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The focus of this class will be American musical theater. European sources, including the ballad opera, music hall, singspiel, vaudeville, and operetta as well as Afro-American jazz will be explored as contributors to the creation of the American musical. Audio and video illustrations will be used in every session. Gerald Boardmans/’s American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle (Oxford University Press) is a useful reference. It is overpriced at Amazon but can be borrowed through Bibliomation and IConn. Instructor: Thomas Gruenewald See this instructor's bio | ||||
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In 1974 the History Channel completed a video series entitled World at War, narrated by Sir Laurence Olivier. One reviewer of the series wrote: “This series … is on a scale of value that stands far above any individual/’s presumption to criticize ….The passage of thirty years allows the telling to be backed up by an impressive and fascinating panoply of the very individuals involved, ranging from some of the highest military and political figures down to the field soldiers, civilians, and such survivors of the death camps as have remained to bear witness to the unimaginable inhumanities of which civilized humans are capable ….The highest possible rating seems unworthy of being applied to this presentation. I think the value of this series is beyond counting.” Instructor: Laurance Rand See this instructor's bio | ||||
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This year, the entire musical world is celebrating the 200th birthday of Giuseppe Verdi - arguably the most admired opera composer of all time. All of Verdi/’s 37 operas are being recorded and many rare ones are being presented in the world/’s opera house. For this course, we will present a biographical film on the life of Verdi, as well as several complete operas (if possible a rare one that no one is likely to have seen or heard). In some cases, we will present excerpts – focusing particularly on historical performances. A special Opera Gala from La Scala Opera House will be part of this program as well. Entire program on video. Instructor: See this instructor's bio | ||||
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For the continued well being of our country it is necessary to address the imbalance that now exists within our political, economic and social systems. Our political parties are unable to work productively. One percent of our population control ninety percent of the country/’s income. Taxes and energy and regulation remain problematic issues. Together we will look at headlines and other sources to talk about these and other issues. Instructor: | ||||
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We will read some contemporary plays written from 1978-2000 by Tom Stoppard. Participants should obtain the book: Tom Stoppard: Plays 5. This book contains the following plays: Arcadia, The Real Thing, Night & Day, Indian Ink, and Hapgood. Instructor: Rosemary Farnsworth See this instructor's bio | ||||
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This will be a course in writing pieces of a memoir -- a less daunting memoir course where each week students write portraits, anecdotes, scraps of their lives, memories of grandparents, etc.; share their work in class; and then do some in-class writing to get themselves started on the following week/’s work. So the class will be a workshop in which I will participate as a "player-coach," so to speak. Instructor: | ||||
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The Enneagram (pronounced Any-A-Gram) is derived from the Greek words Ennea and Grama (meaning nine and figure). The Enneagram is a model of human behavior that describes nine distinct personality types, our underlying motivations, and the various ways we show ourselves to the world. The experience of learning it with others is both revealing and fun. We get a chance to understand ourselves in more depth and listen to what motivates others in our lives to act in ways that often make us wonder. Among the benefits of the Enneagram are self-awareness and resilience, more self control, and a deeper compassion for our own patterns and those of others. Instructor: Jane Strong | ||||
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Shelley famously claimed that "poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world." While such high-flying optimism is doubtful, we can say that poets did much of the heavy lifting for the construction of our notions of "modern" in Western culture. Our class will start with the spark of modernism that Coleridge blew to a flame and work our way through poets whose vision broke apart tradition and pushed art (and will push us) out of long-held conventions: T. S. Eliot, Pablo Neruda, Adrienne Rich, Philip Larkin and others. A prepared booklet will cost each class member $5.00. Note: No class on October 31 Instructor: Mark Scarbrough See this instructor's bio | ||||
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Money: Governments all over the world are printing it like there/’s no tomorrow. But for you the issue is how to make the most of what you have, assuming that an armored car from the Federal Reserve won/’t be pulling up to your door with a special delivery before it all becomes worthless. This is personal finance for our generation. We won/’t be spending a lot of time on student loans or how to save for retirement or how to pay for your starter home or even your starter spouse. We will be concentrating on personal financial issues: investment alternatives, risk measurement and management, portfolio strategies, taxes, inflation, and how to make your money last as long as you hang around. Maybe something left for the kids and grandkids. Maybe not. After all what did future generations ever do for us anyway? As usual a tolerance for arithmetic and a sense of humor are the only requirements. Instructor: Jerry Jamin See this instructor's bio | ||||
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This is a continuation of the previous two semesters regarding advances in medicine since 1945 (and sometimes earlier). As before, PowerPoint will be the medium of expression. However, person-to-person and e-mail feedback is essential to make the course interesting and informative as well as keeping me on track. Obviously the number of topics that can be discussed is virtually limitless, and we only have a finite amount of time. Therefore I have picked four topics with 05 December as a backup day for bad weather. Many of you have my e-mail address , so give me some feedback before the course begins. Also, I recommend going to www.khanacademy.org for information covered in previous lectures. SCHEDULE 24 OCT CANCER---WHAT IS IT AND HOW DO WE DEVELOP IT? 07 NOV CANCER---TREATMENT-- PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE 14 NOV BRAIN FAILURE #2---I FORGOT 21 NOV US HEALTH CARE SYSTEM—BASIC FACTS ABOUT OUR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM (Note: No class on October 31.) Instructor: Lynn Whelchel See this instructor's bio |
