Courses for Spring 2018
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Jerome Kern (1855-1945) changed the whole style of American theater music when, in 1927, he composed the score for Show Boat with book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Prior to Show Boat he wrote enormously successful musical comedies with lyricists including P. G. Wodehouse, author of the Jeeves series. After the triumph of Show Boat he was summoned to Hollywood where he wrote music for films starring Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Irene Dunne, Paul Robeson, Jeanette MacDonald, Ginger Rogers, Deanna Durbin, and many more, all of whom we will hear and see in this class. Instructor: Thomas Gruenewald See this instructor's bio | ||||
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With the advent of the #MeToo movement in the United States and throughout the world, women are demanding respect and an end to routine sexual assault and harassment in their workplaces and their homes. It is but another chapter in the struggle of women in America to gain their rights under a Declaration of Independence that for them reads “all personsâ€, not “all men†are created equal. We will examine this struggle from the early 20th century to the present, using documentary film and discussion. Instructor: Laurance Rand See this instructor's bio | ||||
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In this course we will continue to try to define what Poetry is, make connections with new poems and poets, and discuss the relevance Poetry has in today’s world. I hope to encourage participants to contribute research and personal choices of poems to the discussion. Suggested books: How to Read a Poem by Edward Hirsch. The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry, ed. by J.D. McClatchy. Any poetry anthologies or collections. Instructor: Maura Wolf See this instructor's bio | ||||
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This four-part series will focus on the factors, events, personalities, and mindset that have produced one of the most prolific intellectual traditions human society has ever seen. The History of Western Sciences will explore the rich background and lead-up to our modern scientific accomplishments- and dilemmas. The course will examine the international background to western science; the Classical tradition of Greece and Rome; Medieval Science, both East and West; the Scientific Revolution of the 1500s; the Enlightenment; the accomplishments, inventions, theories, utopians, cranks and naysayers of the 19th century; and the two-edged sword that is science in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Part One: will explore the beginnings of science and technology in the earliest humans until the fall of Rome and the end of the Classical tradition. From its earliest beginnings, humanity has sought to explain the world and its workings, as well as adapting the world to its purposes. Part Two: will offer the background and process of the break between science and faith in the 1500s, and its merging in the 1600s with the Enlightenment. Part Three: The Enlightenment developed in the 1600s and electrified Europe with its new theories, such as gravity and Boyle's Law. These theories were later put into practice by men like James Watt, Jethro Tull, and Thomas Jefferson, with results that have left a lasting mark on Western Civilization. Part Four: The 20th Century has seen miracles of technology and theoretical science, and monstrosities as well. Atomic energy, DNA, Artificial intelligence, human cloning, LSD, Eugenics, plastics, computers... the list goes on and on. Instructor: Hamish Lutris See this instructor's bio | ||||
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“Inequality†is an important but complex topic. This course will approach inequality from the perspectives of (1) the varying scope and quality of health care and some approaches to correct the inequalities, (2) the importance of educational circumstances resulting in more, or less, inequality, (3) economic, sociological, religious and union developments influencing a century of American changes, and, finally (4) an examination of some of the causes of, and possible solutions for inequality. The intent is to provide a factual and rationale examination of inequality and leave politics to the politicians. Lynn Whelchel, Dick Paddock, Jerry Jamin and Bruce Montgomerie will each conduct one session, with time for class discussion toward the end of each class. A fifth class will be devoted to a class discussion. Instructor: Four: Jamin-Montgomerie-Whelchel- Pa |
