Thursday   

Toibin paints an unforgettable portrait of an Irish woman in her forties, Nora Webster. Widowed with four children and not enough money, she is drowning in her own sorrow and blind to the suffering of her young sons. Yet, through her pain, she begins to find a new life. Colm Toibin creates a character that evokes the bittersweet landscape of Ireland herself

Required: Nora Webster by Colm Toibin, PLEASE DO NOT START READING THE BOOK BEFORE CLASS BEGINS.  

Most Americans learn in school about the settling of Jamestown and the Pilgrims settling in Plymouth. From there, the knowledge of American History is mostly blank until the American Revolution. This period from 1607 until about 1700 is a very eventful story of 13 colonies developing into a population of over 2 million people and reaching an average per capita income higher than the rest of the world. The story of the European and African settlement of these 13 colonies is also the story of how these colonies reached the point that independence from the Mother Country, Great Britain, became possible. This class will look at the origin story of each of the 13 colonies and how the colonies grew and developed. Such things as the relations with Native Americans, Immigration, Economic Development and Political Evolution will be covered. In addition, events and attitudes in Great Britain greatly affected the development of these 13 colonies.

This class focuses on angels in Jewish folk religion, the informal religious aspect of everyday culture -in contrast to institutionalized beliefs and practices. As unseen, supernatural beings, angels function as intermediaries and messengers from God, and protectors. They are in the Hebrew Bible but became wildly popular in Late Antiquity (3rd-c. BCE – 4th-c. CE). From God’s ‘Academy’ in in the Bible, to ‘fallen’ angels in Late Antiquity, to angels and demons in Jewish folklore up to the present, they have played a significant role in everyday life. Angelic myths also provide clues into early Jewish-Christian relations, and paradoxically, Jewish and Christian ideas about the origin of evil. The class will involve reading and discussion with lecture for historical context and important concepts in Judaism. No prior study or knowledge of Judaism is necessary. Any background in spiritual, anthropological or folkloric studies will greatly enliven discussion.

 

Required: On My Right Michael, On My Left Gabriel: Angels in Ancient Jewish Culture. By Mika Ahuvia. University of California Press, 2021.

“But I don’t have a creative bone in my body!” We might not have a creative bone, but we all have the innate ability to tap into a fundamental aspect of being human: Creativity. Sadly, creativity too often is perceived narrowly, as a talent possessed by relatively few people rather than a process available to all people. And it’s never too late! The human brain is more open to creativity as we age.

During this course, we will explore ways to ignite the creative spark that exists in all humans and enhance your creativity by challenging perceptions and taken-for-granted assumptions, expanding and deepening awareness, and addressing blocks to creative expression.

The course is for both new and seasoned creators and will offer opportunities to engage in and share creative pursuits as well as provide insights into the creative process as we have experienced it.

Most of us cannot seem to live without our iPhones – but we are often not taking advantage of their capabilities or are frustrated with them. This class will explore the revolutionary technologies, connectivity, and components involved in these devices. Learn essential settings, apps, features, and operations that enable their tremendous versatility and usefulness. Explore what we need to know about carriers and purchasing equipment. Learn about voice control and more: managing, maintaining, handling security, email accounts, wi-fi use, and texting. Come get a little smarter about tech, the Apple iPhone and iPad, and how to operate this life-sustaining tool.

 

Recommended:  an iPhone or iPad

Do you sometimes feel frustrated because of the complexity of using our computers? Or perhaps you have had years of hit-or-miss learning? We will learn more about today’s computer technology, including PC hardware, the Mac operating system settings, peripheral connections, file and application management, Internet connectivity, cloud storage with iCloud, security, and maintenance, including backing up our computer with Time Machine. Understand what is happening with PC and versions, currently Sequoia. Become more familiar with how computers sync with other devices and the Cloud. You will end up with a smarter computer and a smarter you!

Recommend owning a Mac

In the abbreviated format I have developed for Oscar Movies, I have selected some 24 of those same films spanning 1940 to 2018 to recap and discuss with 3 movies per session. These will be organized in mini-genre groups rather than by year so we can see and compare: Love stories, Family struggles, Society Issues, Making It, Show Biz Behind the Scenes, War, Musicals, and Life on the Wrong Side. The syllabus details which films, and which weeks. We can muse over how Hollywood has evolved in its storytelling in these areas and whether the lessons have changed over time.

Who are we? Where did we come from? Who are our closest living relatives? Who are our ancestors? What does it mean to be human? We will discuss these questions during our eight-week journey from the darkest Africa 6-8 million years ago to the icy landscape of Europe and Asia in the Ice Ages up to 12 thousand years ago. Our guide will be the book Understanding Human Evolution by Ian Tattersall. We will examine the hard evidence (fossils, stone tools, other artifacts) and consider the deductions made from it. We will then venture into indirect evidence along with direct evidence to draw inferences regarding human behavior through time. How and when did human ancestors first come down from the trees? How and why did diet need to change? How do we reconstruct our ancient ancestors? How are we related to Neanderthals? Where and when did our species, Homo sapiens, appear? This course involves reading, videos, and discussion.

Required:  UNDERSTANDING HUMAN EVOLUTION by Ian Tattersall, Cambridge University Press, 2022, Paperback  ISBN 978-1-009-10199-8 (14.95 new) also available in Kindle version  (11-9)

In this class, we will explore Japanese cinema, from post-war classics to contemporary works, focusing on how films reflect the complexities of Japanese society, history, and human experience. In viewing seminal films like Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon (1950), Ikiru (1952), and Seven Samurai (1954), Keiji Nakazawa's Barefoot Gen (1983), Hayao Miyazaki's The Wind Rises (2013), Hirokazu Kore-eda's Shoplifters (2018), and Wim Wenders' Perfect Days (2023), we will consider the artistic and cultural significance of these works within Japanese and global cinema. All films will be shown in their entirety with English subtitles.

Place is sometimes described as an additional character in novels, especially when an author develops a collection of characters in a specific location throughout a continuing series. "Mysterious Places" encourages armchair travel while exploring various mystery series - in this case, global travel with a side of murder. We'll explore some new authors who have set their stories firmly in a place, reflecting the geography, culture, and personal relationships that inform means, motive, and opportunity for our reading and detecting pleasure.

What happens to human “consciousness” when we die? In 1978 Dr. Raymond Moody's landmark book “Life After Life” reported on Moody’s investigation of 150 people who died “clinically,” were subsequently revived, and reported similar extraordinary experiences. His book started a revolution in popular attitudes regarding an “afterlife” and forever changed how we understand both death and life. Since then, with vastly improved resuscitation techniques, five decades of scientific research on thousands of NDEs has brought us powerful evidence that yes, Virginia, there is “life" after physical death and, as frosting on the cake, what awaits us is both heart-warming and extremely comforting. Physicians and professors at prominent universities, medical schools and hospitals world-wide continue to study this phenomenon with seriously "mind-blowing" results. This course brings you up to speed on these findings as well as what we now know about other exceptional “paranormal” phenomenon.

Couldn’t we all use more joy in our lives right now? Ingrid Fetell Lee wrote a book entitled Joyful in which she details “The surprising power of ordinary things to create extraordinary happiness.” She divides joy into ten aesthetics such as energy (often provided through color), renewal (think baby chicks and spring flowers), freedom (riding in a convertible or the last day of school before summer vacation), or transcendence (kites, clouds, tree houses).

This class will have fun spending two hours each week delving into those aesthetics plus a few other ways of looking at joy with slides, videos, music, and discussion. We will try to determine what gives each one of us the most joy and then concentrate on how to get more of those joyful moments into our lives. Joy isn’t just something we find. It’s also something we can make, for ourselves and those around us. This class helps us to be intentional about building joy and looking for joy.

Are you a WORD NERD? Where did English come from and how the heck did it become the international lingua franca, and by the way, what’s a lingua franca? Do you ponder how some words get their start, how and why they get into dictionaries and who decides? Can (and should) a word be deleted from a dictionary? If these questions get your juices flowing, you're a WORD NERD in need of this class! Videos and lots of discussion, plus your questions about words, will make this class a true adventure.

Recommended Reading: Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper; The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

The Western movie we used to know is a thing of the past: no more ride ‘em cowboys or shoot ‘em up Indians, damsels in distress, or good guys/bad guys. Instead we have sensitively developed characters, beautifully filmed action scenes, glorious scenery, and intricate plots, many with socially applicable themes. Streaming has given us new “Westerns,” with strong female protagonists or villains, Indian heroes, “cowboys” of all sizes and ethnicities, and transportation modes that include horses as well as automobiles and bicycles.

Join me as we  enter this world of the  new old West.  We will watch eight modern films, ranging from small independent  features like The Sisters Brothers, to Academy Award winner, The Power of the Dog; from the urban perspective of  Mustang , to the frontier film The Homesman; from the all Black The Harder They Fall to the haunting love story The Dead Don’t Hurt.  All part of the western genre, some of the movies will be more violent than others and  most films will have profanity.  

Each week discussion questions will be emailed regarding the movie to be seen. We will dive deep into the world of cinema focusing on the elements that make a “great” film.    Because of the length of the films each class will be 3 hours to enable discussion. We will also be reading the novel The Power of the Dog by Thomas Savage.

Please have the 2001 edition with an "Afterward" by Annie Proulx.  A content advisory is in place for all the movies so please come with an open heart and mind as we explore another facet of the world of art.

Required: The Power of the Dog by Thomas Savage, copyright 2001 edition

This multi-week course explores the history of the Berlin Wall, from its origins during the Cold War to its dramatic fall in 1989. Topics include post-war Berlin, the Berlin Airlift, the construction of the Wall, life behind it, escape stories, and the resistance movements that led to its collapse. We’ll also discuss key moments such as President Reagan's challenge and the Leipzig protests, culminating in the reunification of Germany. Join us for an insightful look at this pivotal chapter in history.

So what created this mess? William Faulkner wrote: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” This class will dive deeply into Palestine’s past and how it has contributed to, and ultimately shaped, the current-day tragedy in the Holy Land.

We will begin with 3000 BCE:

• Who were the Canaanites and where did they come from?
• How did the Israelites end up in Palestine?
• How did the series of conquerors and rulers shape the country?
• How did the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam influence Palestine?

We will explore the last 150 years:

• Where did the Zionist movement begin and why was it so successful?
• Why did Great Britain support the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine?
• Why did the newly formed United Nations advocate a two-nation solution in 1948?
• Why did the Jews win the wars of 1948 and 1967 so decisively?

And finally, what is the situation today?

This is an eight-week course that will include lecture, videos, and a lot of discussion.