Life Long Learning At Brown
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Spring 2008 Study Group Schedule
Study Groups begin Monday, March 3, 2008 and conclude Friday, May 16, 2008
Brown University is closed March 24-28 for Spring Break
Location: All Study Groups will be held in Josiah’s at Brown University, which is located at the corner of Thayer and Charlesfield Streets on Providence’s East Side. Josiah’s is in the Vartan Gregorian Quadrangle on the southeast corner of the intersection. Go through the gate on Thayer into the yard and enter doors straight ahead (which are not marked), and turn right. Josiah’s is through the next set of doors. There is ample on-street parking near the classrooms. Power, John, and William Streets have all day parking after 10 a.m. Other streets have 2 or 3-hour limits.
Questions? Phone: (401) 863-7900
CHINA RISING: China's History, Present, and Unknown Future
Description:
Just back from a three-week trip to China, I have had the opportunity to see China's vastness, industrious people, innovative technology, and the decade-long turn to free enterprise. I am eager to pursue a deeper exploration of the country, its history, peoples, scientific discovery, artistic creativity, and feeling for the landscape. Join me in looking at all of this, and together we can try to project China's future impact on the world economy, its place in the constellation of powers, and whether China's goals will be peaceful or hostile to our own.
Class members will be expected to research a topic, making a short (20 minutes or less) presentation of their findings and leading discussion on questions raised. The coordinator will propose a list of options, and can help find research materials, but participants are welcome to offer self-designed, visual or theatrical presentations, according to their strengths. Some likely topics include "China as Historical Innovator”; "China as a 20th Century Political Incubator"; "China and the West"; "China and Islam: The Silk Road"; "China's Art and Aesthetic"; "Leading 20th Century Political Figures” (Chiang Kai Shek, Sun Yat Sen, Mao [and the influence of the Little Red Book], Dao Zen Ping).
Coordinator: Bev Rosen
Study Group Code: WSG03
Text: TBD
Time: Monday, 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
March 3, 10, 17, 31, April 7, 14, 21, 28, May 5, 12
(Registration limited to 15.)
ENJOYING SHORT STORIES
Description:
"Of all literary forms, the short story is distinctly American. Its birth and principal development occurred here; it has flourished in the United States as in no other culture . . .” (Treasury of American Short Stories, book jacket)
Furthermore, it has been said that the latter half of the twentieth century was a "golden age of the American short story." What better way to partake of that golden age than to read and discuss the stories from the Best American Short Stories of the Century? Editor John Updike has selected the very best of the best.
"A good short story is a story which is not too long and which gives the reader the feeling he has undergone a memorable experience." Keeping Series Editor Martha Foley's definition in mind, we will read two very different and highly entertaining stories each week. Our emphasis will be on enjoyment and appreciation, and we can't help but undergo memorable experiences along the way.
Class members are invited to be session leaders on a purely voluntary basis; their role would be to select the story and lead the discussion of it. Ultimately, it will be interesting to make or break the case for each story's inclusion in a "golden age" anthology.
Coordinator: Thomas Wilson
Study Group Code: WSG04
Asst. Coordinator: Peter Ciccariello
Text: The Best American Stories of the Century; Martha Foley, ed.
Time: Monday, 1:15 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
March 3, 10, 17, 31, April 7, 14, 21, 28, May 5, 12
(Registration limited to 22.)
THE ART OF LATIN AMERICA
Description:
We will explore both the indigenous roots, the colonial, and then post colonial experience in the fine and folk arts of the various countries which make up both Middle and South America reaching from Mexico in the north to Argentina in the south. The course syllabus will extend through the arts of the pre-Columbian era in Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru, to Spanish and European influences, to the blossoming of Latin American art through mural painting, surrealism, graphic traditions, and finally to its great 20th century painters, sculptors and photographers.
We will attempt to include lecturers from both the Haffenreffer Museum and The Museum of the RI School of Design (The Nancy Sayles Day Collection and contemporary photography) as well as from artists of Hispanic background working here in Rhode Island.
While using as a text Art in Latin America by Dawn Adams as background reading, we will urge each presenter, working alone or in teams, to seek additional materials and illustrations from materials to be found on suggested Internet sources.
Coordinators: Bunny Fain
Roberta Segal
Study Group Code: WSG05
Text: Art in Latin America by Dawn Adams
Time: Tuesday, 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
March 4, 11, 18, April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, May 6, 13
(Registration unlimited.)
READING AND APPRECIATING POETRY
Description:
If you have not read poetry recently, you may be surprised to find that age and experience have deepened your appreciation of the ability of poets to help us see the world in a different light.
We will read and discuss poetry mostly from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, but we will also include works from other periods.
Group members will select poems which speak to them and will lead the ensuing discussion.
We will read both "opaque" poems, which require a lot of deciphering, and "transparent" ones that are easier to understand.
Coordinators: Carol Crowley
Dick Bidwell
Study Group Code: WSG06
Text: Being Alive by Neil Astley. This anthology offers a wide collection of vivid, brilliantly diverse contemporary poetry. (We suggest that you order soon, as delivery takes a while.)
Time: Tuesday, 1:15 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
March 4, 11, 18, April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, May 6, 13
(Registration limited to 18.)
BEYOND PLANET EARTH: The History and Future of Exploring Space
Description:
The launch of Sputnik was 50 years ago. It inaugurated the Space Age. It plunged the USA into a race to catch up, as the Russians embarked on a new phase of science, which was perceived as a military threat. The evolution of the Space Age has been dramatic - from a simple sphere in orbit to a human landing on the moon just 12 years later to robots walking about on the surface of Mars.
This course examines the history of space exploration and debates the merits of its future goals, such as monitoring earth's climate, preparing an asteroid defense, seeking out new life forms, explaining the genesis of planets, and breaking out of our solar system.
The involvement of Brown University in space exploration research will be revealed with a visit to the NASA/Brown Northeast Planetary Data Center and through conversations with planetary geologists such as Peter Schultz.
Each participant must help this course soar by active participation . . . i.e. with an individual presentation, or contributing to a team presentation, or leading a discussion based upon a reading assignment that is selected and sent ahead to all group participants.
Coordinators: Barbara Nicholson
John Kenower
Study Group Code: WSG07
Resources to be used: Articles and data from a variety of sources such as Scientific American, National Geographic, etc.
Time: Wednesday, 10:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
March 5, 12, 19, April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, May 7, 14
(Registration limited to 22.)
ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
Jane Goodall's highly publicized study of the chimps of Gombe aroused great interest in studying animal communication, animal emotions, and animal culture. Universities have created new departments of animal behavior, and popular interest has been stirred not only by Goodall's work but by films such as The March of the Penguins and by experiences like swimming with dolphins.
In this course, we will examine varied aspects of animal life through reports by group members on topics such as life in a pod of whales or the relationship of parrots and their owners. Scientists find that studying animals has increased understanding of the nature of humanity.
Each group member will present one report on a topic of their choice related to an animal species or a topic related to animal behavior.
Coordinators: 'Lyn Swift and
Bruce Foresman
Study Group Code: WSG08
Text: King Solomon's Ring by Konrad Lorenz.
Time: Wednesday, 1:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.
March 5, 12, 19, April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, May 7, 14
(Registration limited to 24.)
THE ACTOR FINDS . . .
Description:
Acting - scenes, roles - what works? How do actors convey the messages and emotions spelled out by the playwright? What innate talents do they draw on? What is instinctive—what do they pull from within? What do they have to know?
In this "on-your-feet" kind of class, we will take on the mantle of the actor. Each class session will begin with a physical warm-up, followed by short improvisations in which you will find tools that every actor can reference.
During the first class session we will review "tricks of the trade," then partner up with other class members and choose scenes to be played (4-6 pages), either one from a list of coordinators' suggestions, or one of your own choosing. Over the course of the following weeks, each team will have the opportunity to present their scene three times, once in an initial "cold reading," then bringing it to life a second and third time after incorporating changes suggested by other class members.
Time permitting, the entire class will develop, and perform for an audience, a reading of one act of Our Town.
Coordinators: Bunny Bronson
Barbara Findley
Study Group Code: WSG09
Text: No text is planned; copies of scenes will be made available.
Time: Thursday, 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
March 6, 13, 20, April 3, 10, 17, 24, May 1, 8, 15
(Registration limited to 18.)
GREEK DRAMA
Description:
We will study five to seven plays from the Golden Age of Athenian Theatre in the fifth century B.C.E. The art and poetry of these dramas of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides will provide insights into the lives of women, the intrigues and politics of the courts, and sexuality and violence in the world of the plays and that of ordinary people.
At the same time, these Greek dramas exploit the possibilities for spiritual self-knowledge, that is, the contest of man against man, against nature, and against the gods. These questions remain as relevant today as they were 2500 years ago.
Class members can either choose to make presentations or to facilitate discussion based on questions from the reading.
Coordinators: Frankie Raben
Jim Doak
Study Group Code: WSG10
Text: Greek Drama (Bantam Books). You may use your own collection of plays from high school or college.
Time: Thursday, 1:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.
March 6, 13, 20, April 3, 10, 17, 24, May 1, 8, 15
(Registration limited 22.)
THE JOY OF OPERA
If you are a lover of Melodrama, Irresistible Voices and Music that makes the Spirit Soar, (or perhaps you just wonder what Opera is all about!), come to the Opera with us! The core of this class comes from the Metropolitan Opera's newly released DVD set: "Opera Stories." Each week of the ten-week course will feature a single popular opera. Background information, given by a narrator speaking from the original location of the opera as stipulated by the composer, will set the scene for us. For example, the story of La Boheme is told from the sidewalk cafes of Paris, where Mimi and Rodolfo fall in love.
We will see and hear extensive performance excerpts of each opera that bring the emotion of the plot vividly to life. The other operas included are: Manon Lescaut, Falstaff, Otello, Il Trovatore, Tosca, Die Fledermaus, Aida, and Cosi fan Tutti. Some of the voices we will hear are Kiri TeKanawa, Mirella Freni, Ileana Cotrubas, Neil Shicoff, and Placido Domingo. We will conclude the course in appropriate style with a full-length opera accompanied by a potluck lunch!
This course does not require a text. A presentation is required. Each session will include viewing an opera (from the above-mentioned set) and a straightforward presentation covering such topics as: the history of the opera, the ballet in opera, realistic and modern trends in opera, the history of the composer, etc.
Coordinators: Midge Gordon and
Sheela Percelay
Study Group Code: WSG11
Text: None
Time: Friday, 10:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
March 7, 14, 21, April 4, 11, 18, 25, May 2, 9, 16
(Registration limited to 15.)
BUDDHISM COMES TO THE WEST
The Buddha taught his followers to respect every other religion in the world and to judge the value of his own teachings through their own experience, with their own minds. The current Dalai Lama has said, "If you follow another religion, please adopt whatever [from Buddhism] might assist you. If you do not think it would be helpful, just leave it alone." This tolerance and respect for all peoples and religions has informed Buddhist religion with remarkable consistency. Buddhism has kept its record admirably clean of inquisitions, pogroms, or religious wars.
In the current world of mass violence and social, ecological, psychological and economic trauma, we seem hopelessly in the grip of dark forces that our Western religions often seem unable to address adequately. Does this account for the burgeoning appeal that Buddhism has been having for Western Christians, Jews, atheists and agnostics since the 1970's?
Through weekly discussion of the text, The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh, as well as exploration of key aspects of Buddhist daily practice, we will try to discover the nature of this spiritual practice and philosophy. Ten (20-minute) presentations will broaden the field of examination. Class members may choose to do this individually or double up with others.
Coordinator: Edith Kur
Study Group Code: WSG12
Assistant Coordinator: Laura French
Text: The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh
Time: Friday, 1:15 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
March 7, 14, 21, April 4, 11, 18, 25, May 2, 9, 16
(Registration limited to 16.)
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