Courses for Winter 2014
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"In a multitude of dreams and many words" the people of the Bible have sung their hopes and fears, their loves and longings. Share these beautiful words with us as we read from the Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah, and others. Please bring a Bible. Instructor: Richard Taber See this instructor's bio | ||||
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Calculus stands with writing and arithmetic as a signal achievement of human ideas. Founded on a simple, intuitively appealing observation, it has become an indispensable tool of science and engineering, helping bring to reality many applications, from weather prediction to CAT scans to space flight. This introductory course will explore calculus from both a historical and a geometric viewpoint, using minimal amounts of algebraic manipulation. No advanced preparation will be needed, just a willingness to explore ideas. Instructor: | ||||
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In this course, we will discuss several conflicts where a weaker entity went to war with a much stronger adversary. We will address the reasons that compelled the people to commit what seem to be very rash actions and how they supported these actions once the conflict was underway. The sessions will also look at some of the decisive battles in these conflicts. There will be six sessions as follows: a. Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Scottish Highlanders in the /’Rising of 1745/’, ending with the Battle of Culloden. b. New England Colonists at Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill (Breeds Hill): two sessions. c. Mr. Madison/’s War and the Battle of New Orleans. d. Spying: a Very Dangerous Contribution to the Cause. e. Egypt and Syria/’s Attack on Israel in the Yon Kippur War, 1973. Instructor: Thomas Key See this instructor's bio | ||||
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The main activities of the course will be classroom readings and discussion of Henry IV, Part One, enriched by samplings of scholarly opinions, historical background, and filmed versions. The play will be one of the main stage productions this summer by Shakespeare & Company in nearby Lenox, Massachusetts. As in the past, the class will have the opportunity to see it there and talk with at least one of the actors. Participants should bring to the first class one of the many ANNOTATED editions of the play, which are available in paperback on line, or may be purchased at the Oblong Bookstore in Millerton. Instructor: William DeVoti See this instructor's bio | ||||
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Although the 200th anniversary will soon end, the consensus from last semester was that "we can never have too much Verdi." So, this semester we will catch up with two masterpieces, Aida and Il Trovatore, as well as highlights from several earlier operas, including Nabucco and Macbeth. Instructor: See this instructor's bio | ||||
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This term we will continue reading the works of fairly contemporary English playwrights and we will concentrate on Harold Pinter. Participants should obtain this book, The Essential Pinter, which is available from Amazon or abebooks.com. Many of the used book dealers on abebooks have very inexpensive copies of this book. If using a used book dealer, please allow at least three weeks for delivery. Instructor: Rosemary Farnsworth See this instructor's bio | ||||
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America, in time of peril, at times has gone too far in the name of security, straying from the principles on which our nation was founded. The Alien and Sedition Acts; the internment of 120,000 Japanese, two-thirds of them U.S. citizens; and the Palmer Raids are examples. Did we lose our way yet again following the terrible 9/11 attacks? Many argue that we did and that we have not yet recovered our bearings. Examining these issues will be the focus of this course. Instructor: Charles Church | ||||
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Topics chosen by the Foreign Policy Association include: Defense Technology; Israel and the U.S; Turkey/’s Challenges; Energy Independence; Islamic Awakening; Food and Climate; China/’s Foreign Policy; and U.S. Trade Policy. This year our class will include students and faculty from the social studies department at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. All registrants should order the 2014 briefing book ($25) as soon as possible. Books will be shipped the third week of December and may be ordered by phone (1-800.477.5836) or online at fpa.org (click on Great Decisions and select Pre-order). Instructor: Collins_&_ Atwood See this instructor's bio | ||||
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This term we will examine the following topics: a. Immunology in Its Broadest Sense—covers infection, rejection, cancer treatments, etc. b. Modern Anesthesia in the OR, Recovery Room (PACU) and Intensive Care Unit c..How We Hear and See—and Don/’t. How to fix the problems Instructor: Lynn Whelchel See this instructor's bio |
