Courses for Fall 2015
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Last fall, we read about half of The Canterbury Tales. It’s high time we finished up! Join us as we journey on to Canterbury with medieval saints and sinners (I defy you to figure out who’s who) and their remaining tales. Even if you weren’t along for the first half, don’t worry: there’ll be lots of review to get you up to speed.nnYou need two texts: We’ll use the same one from last fall: Vincent Hopper’s interlinear translation—"Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales: An Interlinear Translation.” If you don’t have a copy, it’s available at Oblong Books in Millerton or from amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Chaucers-Canterbury-Tales-Selected-Interlinear/dp/1438000138 There will also be a a very small number of copies for sale in class. Also, plan to buy the remaining tales in a bound packet in class on the first day for $15.n Instructor: Mark Scarbrough See this instructor's bio | ||||
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Featuring stops on Broadway and in Hollywood, with lots of video and audio. Instructor: Thomas Gruenewald See this instructor's bio | ||||
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By the end of June, the Court is expected to have issued a series of blockbuster decisions, including rulings on gay marriage, death penalty drugs, and the Affordable Care Act. Will the conservative bloc have the last word in some or all of these rulings? Join us and find out what direction the Court has been headed this past term. Instructor: Laurance Rand See this instructor's bio | ||||
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No more!! This semester, we will finally get to the best of this great operatic tradition. Among the offerings: Berlioz's Les Troyens; Gounod's Faust; Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet; Bizet's Carmen; Massenet's Manon, and more surprises to be announced. Instructor: See this instructor's bio | ||||
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This fall we will continue to read plays by a contemporary American playwright, Edward Albee. Albee has been awarded three Pulitzer Prizes for drama. We will read two of these award winning plays, A Delicate Balance and Seascape, along with a number of his other plays. Please obtain The Collected Plays of Edward Albee, Volume 2, 1966-77. Instructor: Rosemary Farnsworth See this instructor's bio | ||||
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This course combines an introduction to the history of Indian and other Asian philosophical traditions with in-class practice of some of the meditation techniques associated with these traditions. Reading for the Course include The Bhadacad Gita (Penquin’s Juan Mascaro translation, Thomas Merton’s The Way of Chuang Tzu, Walpola Rahula’s What the Buddha Taught (Grove Press) and selected Xeroxes distributed by the instructor. Instructor: See this instructor's bio | ||||
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In this course we will read and evaluate a number of poems, determining which ones "sing to us". Believing that certain universal themes "ring bells" in human beings when articulated clearly, I will present some of my choices for an anthology of them, and I will encourage you to read your own choices. We will along the way gain insight into many stages of our shared human existence: youth, love, beauty, aging, death, etc. and we will learn more about some significant poets: e e cumings, W.B. Yeats, Emily Dickenson, Amy Lowell, A.E. Housman, Mary Oliver, or others you may choose. Please come and enjoy! Instructor: Maura Wolf See this instructor's bio | ||||
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Flooded New York subways, depleted California reservoirs, the Dead Sea sinking, and the world’s oceans rising. Water costs in Connecticut are too low to measure, while shortages elsewhere drive down standards of living. Water: It’s cheap and abundant until it’s not. What’s happening? It’s a subject too complex for any one instructor, so Lynn Whelchel, Dick Paddock and Jerry Jamin will team up to explain the medical, technical, and economic issues we’ll face in the 21st century. Will water be the new oil? Tune in and see for yourself.nnnInstructors/Organizers: Lynn Whelchel, Dick Paddock, Jerry Jamin. Thursdays, Instructor: Jerry Jamin See this instructor's bio | ||||
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The first book of The Hebrew Bible is a rich repository of stories that address questions as straight forward as "why are women afraid of snakes" to "what is the nature of free will and the source of suffering ?" Touching briefly on the work of Joseph Campbell we will consider creation myths from other cultures. This class is conducted as a seminar. Please Bring a Bible. Instructor: Richard Taber See this instructor's bio | ||||
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It is now sixty-five years since the start of this conflict, and there is no end in sight. This course attempts to look at the situation from different perspectives. Documentary films made by Palestinians and Israelis will shed light on various aspects of the conflict. Instructor: Laurance Rand See this instructor's bio |
