Course Descriptions
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The Election Process in Maryland
This course will concern the structure and processes of an election in Maryland, namely: The structure of the State Board of Elections and County Boards of election; voter registration; voting equipment, past and present; security of the vote; nuts and bolts – acquisition, delivery, and transfer of equipment and ballots; and tallying the vote through all stages – early, election day, absentee, provisional, and overseas. When: Monday's, Feb. 5-12, Feb. 26 - Mar. 19 (6 sessions) Time: 10 - 11:30am Location: MAC Course Leader: Dale Godfrey A Day in Old Rome (CLOSED) This entirely visual class will provide a general overview of Rome and Roman civilization, including what it would have been like to be a Roman citizen in the 1st century AD. Discussions will include political, religious, social, economic, and cultural features of Roman society. Additional lectures will revolve around the multifaceted Roman architecture, the growth of the Roman Empire, and the rule of the emperor Augustus. When: Monday's, Apr. 9-30 (4 sessions) Time: 10 - 11:30am Location: MAC Course Leader: Ray Thompson A Brief History of The Roman Catholic Church from 1870 to the Present (CLOSED) The second half of the 1800s included wars between the major European powers which laid the groundwork for two world wars in the next century. Along with the Italian Risorgimento and unification of Italy in 1870, these 19th century conflicts set the background for the Vatican Council of 1869-1870. When the temporal holdings of the Papal States were threatened by growing nationalism and liberal thought, the apparently liberal Pope Pius IX turned conservative and called an Ecumenical Council to combat progressive thinking and shore up his legitimacy. The First Vatican Council ushered in a century of conservative theology and rule over the Roman Church, including the controversial decision of Papal infallibility. In 1962 a Second Vatican Council began deliberations in Rome which set the world-wide Catholic Church in new directions, but not without internal controversy. This course will provide an overview of the history of the Catholic Church during the century and a half between the First Vatican Council and today. When: Monday's, Feb. 12, Feb. 26, Mar. 5-19 (5 sessions) Time: 1 - 2:30pm Location: MAC Course Leader: John Groutt Current Challenges in Global Health This course will review the basic structure of global health and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) developed as the framework for measuring global health. Four countries will be selected for more in-depth comparison of SDG progress and challenges and will serve to provide context for the course. An information base will be built for each country over the duration of the course and countries compared and contrasted in terms of their current progress as well as their future plans and strategies in addressing specific SDGs. Information provided in the course will be from multiple sources including print sources and videos and will be selected to engage students in the process of understanding global health issues. The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and Global Health NOW daily newsletter and the NPR Goats and Soda blog will be used to guide class discussion. When: Monday's, Mar. 26 - Apr. 23 (5 sessions) Time: 1 - 2:30pm Location: MAC Course Leader: Karin Johnson Three Catalysts of Progressive Ideology (CLOSED) The 18th century revolutions in North America and France altered the centuries-old Western way of life and governance. These conflicts also shattered a way of thinking -- centered on religion and a hierarchical system of race, class and order. However, the Deist ideology which inspired and fueled rebel thinkers yet failed to replace this hoary tradition with a humane and scientific perspective sufficient to guide men’s lives. It fell to Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln -- who coincidentally were born on the very same day (February 12, 1809), oceans apart -- to challenge the remnant ideology in their respective spheres of thought. An Eastern Shore slave, Frederick Douglass, newly emerged as a freedman to challenge and to modify the emerging progressive ideology. This short 5-session course shall focus on critical insights and revolutionary assertions of these three humble 19th century giants -- who created much of the intellectual and ethical foundation of our modern world. When: Tuesday's, Feb. 6 - Mar. 6 (5 sessions) Time: 10 - 11:30am Location: MAC Course Leader: Mike Pretl How to Read Poetry Understanding poetry is often more complex than reading the morning newspaper. Readers of poetry are often challenged by language and rhetoric within the poem and what they should know as they read. With practice and some navigation of the art form readers can ease the process, enjoy the task, and feel more confident in their interpretations. These sessions will focus on examining a wide variety of traditional and contemporary poems written in English, with the goal of making the process enjoyable, adding skill and ease to the task of reading a poem. All levels of prior literary experience welcomed warmly. When: Tuesday's, Mar. 20 - Apr. 24 (6 sessions) Time: 10 - 11:30am Location: MAC Course Leader: Ron Dotterer Teacher, Teacher! School Daze in Short Stories Tales out of school from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas provide the focus of this six-week course. Participants will read and discuss short stories about teachers, students, and ways of learning inside and outside the classroom. “School Daze” topics will include “Kicking and Screaming,” “In Our Own Words,” “Homework,” “Alternative Education,” and “Practicum,” among others. No pop quizzes, no report cards – just reading assignments, provided via e-mail. When: Tuesday's, Mar. 20 - Apr. 24 (6 sessions) Time: 10 - 11:30am Location: Bethany Lutheran Church Course Leader: Nancy Hesser Art and Artists: 19th Century Painting This course will be a continuation of the ALL series of survey courses covering Schools of Art/Painting/Artists. Slide presentations will be used to illustrate, share and discuss art, artists, and concepts. PowerPoint slideshows and discussions for this semester will focus on a selection of artists that were working in the 19th century. The selection of artists covered will be European and American. Intended subjects of study will include Pre-Raphaelites, Impressionists, Post Impressionists, and Hudson River School, among others. When: Wednesday's, Feb. 7-28 (4 sessions) Time: 10 - 11:30am Location: Bethany Lutheran Church Course Leader: Terry Murray Memba Mi Tell Yuh: Caribbean Short Stories Beat those winter blahs: Lively up yourself and join ALL’s literary cruise of the Caribbean. Readers will sample and discuss short stories that challenge the imagination, entertain, and evoke the occasional shock of recognition. This six-week course will showcase short fiction from all over the region, touching on themes such as “Strangers in Paradise,” “Tropical Watermen,” “Seduction,” “Soul Food,” and “Higher Education,” among others. Readings will be provided via e-mail. When: Wednesday's, Feb. 7 - Mar. 14 (6 sessions) Time: 10 - 11:30am Location: Bethany Lutheran Church Course Leader: Nancy Hesser |
The Great Migration that Changed the World (CLOSED)
As feudalism waned in Europe in the 16th century, vast numbers of people emigrated to the continent across the sea. Five visual presentations will tell the story of the establishment and expansion of our country, the maturing of the extraordinarily diverse society, and how all this was illustrated by the growing allure of the White House, as it became the emblem of the nation. When: Wednesday's, Apr. 4 - May 2 (5 sessions) Time: 10 - 11:30am Location: MAC Course Leader: Eleanor Mulligan The Artist's Way: Unearthing Your Creative Nature, part 2 In this course, we will examine how Divine Spirit can lead us to ever widening experiences of faith and appreciation of our lives as creative beings. A great deal of the study is self-directed. Participants are asked to read chapters followed by self-discovery tasks that lead you to excavate and examine your life. You will be given time to process through writing and class discussions. As a participant in the The Artist’s Way written by Julia Cameron, three tools will assist you as you foster your inner creative energy: 1. The Morning Pages are three pages of short-hand stream-of-consciousness writing. You delve deeply as you excavate your creative self. You inform the universe of your dreams, dissatisfactions, and hopes. 2. The Artist’s Date is a preplanned solo excursion, a play date for two sacred hours a week. Your imagination may be sparked by visits to an antique or junk shop, museum, toy store – the sky is the limit. 3. Synchronicity, our third tool, is when we change and the universe furthers and expands that change acting and reacting in our best interests. Allow your uncensored child to come out. It’s never too late! Participants should order a copy of The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, by Julia Cameron before the beginning of the class. Paperback copies are available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Enrollment limited to 14. When: Wednesday's, Mar. 21 - Apr. 25 (6 sessions) Time: 11 - 12:30pm Location: SU University House Course leader: Diane Mitchell Pearl Harbor - Lessons for Today from America's Day of Infamy (CLOSED) On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the United States fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Overnight, Americans went from complacency and a longing to avoid war, to outrage and full support for action and revenge. The course will explore the events leading up to the attack, addressing such questions as: How did the warm relationship between Japan and the U.S. deteriorate in a few decades to the point where Japan saw this country as its bitter enemy? Why did Japan’s leadership approve an operation which many of its top military leaders thought to be foolhardy? How were the Japanese able to keep their plans – and the whereabouts of their fleet – completely under wraps, and achieve total surprise? Why were our Navy and Army commanders in Hawaii so completely unprepared, despite clear warnings of the imminence of war? What lessons applicable to today and the future can we learn from this experience? When: Wednesday's, Mar. 21 - Apr. 18 (5 sessions) Time: 1 - 2:30pm Location: MAC Course Leader: Mike Roberts Slavery and Freedom on the Eastern Shore Six Sessions will partially include presentations by the course leader, but considerable time will also be devoted to discussion. Emphasis will be on critical reading of written sources and visual analysis of material culture. The focus will be on Maryland’s and Virginia’s Eastern Shore, with occasional references to Delaware. The Six Weekly Topics: 1. Sources for African American History 2. Slave Trade 3. Runaway Slaves 4. Antebellum Slavery 5. Abolition and the Underground Railway 6. Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and the Civil War When: Thursday's, Feb. 8 - Mar. 15 (6 sessions) Time: 10 - 11:30am Location: MAC Course Leader: Ted Corbett Psychology of Aging (CLOSED) There are more older persons in America today than ever before. They used to be our grandparents and parents, but now they are us. While we are living longer, we still live in a culture of youth, and fear of aging is a real issue, particularly as many of us experience the loss of loved ones, friends, careers, and ultimately, the betrayal of our own bodies. In the past, older people gathered up their gold watches after years of employment, then were often relegated to rocking chairs. Well, not anymore! Aging is not a disease. Most older persons want to be active, creative, and remain healthy. Instead of pondering, “What will I do when I grow up?” today’s seniors have asked, “What will I do when I gray up?” Academia, which historically offered few courses on aging, now has extensive curricula. This course will focus on the psychology of aging, that is, those issues that have impacted our mental health, who we are, and the intensified reflection many of us are doing. Enrollment limited to 25. When: Thursday's, Apr. 19 - May 24 (6 sessions) Time: 10 - 11:30am Location: MAC Course Leader: Carolyn Stegman Rockin' Steady - How Swing Became Rock and Transformed America's Popular Music The times, they were a changin' during the late '50s and early '60s in American Popular Music (APM) as well as US society. Over less than a decade, Swing (or its successor Swinging) Music and its heirs-apparent Rhythm & Blues, Boogie-Woogie, Shuffle, Jump, and Rock & Roll, gave way to a pervasive (or invasive) rock beat. The lilting rhythms of "Chat-ta-noo-ga Choo-Choo" turned into "Phil-a-del-phia P-A" (from "Dancin' in the Streets") and would influence APM in Jazz, Country, and Pop. How did this revolution come (seemingly) out of nowhere? Who made rock the beat of the Boomers? We will investigate this topic as a group, re-opening "Hesser's Detective Agency" from last term and sleuthing through our collective music memory for the big bang that changed it all. Topics include: 1) “Rockin’ in Rhythm” – The Evolutions of Swing in the ‘40s and ‘50s, 2) “Don’t Stop the Carnival” – Latin, Caribbean, and Creole Rocking, 3) “Hey, Baby” – Rock is Born, and 4) “Strangers in the Night” – Rock Goes its Separate Ways in APM. Class members will trace this evolution and its impact as a group through their own “College of Musical Knowledge.” When: Thursday's, Feb. 8 - Mar. 1 (4 sessions) Time: 1 - 2:30pm Location: MAC Course Leader: Phil Hesser A Tale of Two Ghettos The course will compare the conditions within the Vilna Ghetto in Lithuania with those of the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland. While the dehumanizing and humiliating conditions within each ghetto led to respective uprisings, they were both doomed to failure. However, while each of uprisings failed but for its own distinctive reasons, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising restored Jewish honor while the Vilna Ghetto Uprising never got off the ground. When: Friday's, Feb. 9 - Mar. 16 (6 sessions) Time: 10 - 11:30am Location: MAC Course Leader: Joe Chaikel The Supreme Court: Earlier Decisions and Current Cases (CLOSED) We will read and discuss earlier Supreme Court decisions and discuss their implications for issues in cases currently pending in the Court. Topics include voting rights—voter ID laws, racial and partisan gerrymandering; freedom of speech and the internet; constitutional rights of non-citizens; and compelled speech. When: Friday's, Mar. 23, Apr. 6 - May 4 (6 sessions) Time: 10 - 11:30am Location: MAC Course Leader: Page Insley Austin |
