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Fall 2012
- Steam on the Shore: Railroads, Boat Lines, and the Cities they Made
- The Constitution & the Supreme Court: The First Amendment Guarantee of Freedom of Speech
- American Women Poets of the 20th & 21st Centuries: Songs of the Kitchen and the Attic
- Great Decisions: Discussions of major worldwide issues
- Music of the Romantic Era (1820-1900)
- Assateague, Life on the Edge
Spring 2013 Classes
Pearl Harbor – Lessons for Today from
America’s Day of Infamy FULL
Seventy years ago this December 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?
Mondays, 12:30-2 p.m. March 25-April 15 (4 sessions)
Course Leader: Michael J. Roberts Location: Salisbury University, Perdue Hall Room 349
Family Folklore Treasures of the Eastern Shore
Explore the tales and superstitions of the Eastern Shore. Did someone in your family meet Big Liz in the Devil’s Woodyard? Did one of your relatives control rain with a blacksnake skin? What do the wooly caterpillars tell people just by looking at them? Hauntings and callings are part of the Eastern Shore’s heritage, too. We will gather “evidence” and present “findings.” Join us to hunt history in this Eastern Shore folklore course.
Mondays, 2:30-4 p.m. March 25-May 13 (8 sessions)
Course Leader: Dorothy Yeatman Location: Bethany Lutheran Church
The Rise of the American Short Story
From Hawthorne to Harlem, American fiction came into its own to command a central place in world literature. This course will survey the emergence of the short story through the nineteenth century to the early twentieth, focusing on innovative writers who sought to perfect their art while giving it a uniquely American voice. Discussion topics will include “Leaving the Euro Zone: New World Creation”; “Dream on: The Romantics”; “Tell it Like it is, Maybe: Realism and Naturalism”; “Tighter ‘n a Tick on a Dawg’s Back: Regionalism and Local Color.”
Tuesdays, 10-11:30 a.m. February 5 - March 12 (6 sessions)
Course Leader: Nancy Hesser Location: Bethany Lutheran Church
Assateague, Life on the Edge
Want to know what it is like to live on the edge? This course is designed to introduce students to Assateague’s unique environment and the organisms that dwell there. With a focus on managing park resources, students will investigate the lives of plovers, tiger beetles, seabeach amaranth, phragmites, and famous wild horses. By the conclusion of this 4 week course, students will have gained an appreciation for the challenges associated with managing native, invasive, and iconic species in an environment that is constantly being reshaped by wind and waves!
Tuesdays, 10-11:30 a.m. March 26- April 16 (4 sessions)
Course Leader: Kelly Taylor Location: SU, Guerrieri University Center Room 236
The First Women Supreme Court Justices and the Law They Made
Sandra Day O’Connor was appointed by President Reagan as the first woman Supreme Court justice in 1981. During her almost quarter-century on the Court, Justice O’Connor was a voice for common sense, and often the deciding vote in 5-4 decisions involving controversial issues of our times. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, appointed by President Clinton in 1993, transformed gender discrimination law in cases she argued to the Court before she joined it. On the Court, she has been a strong and consistent voice for civil liberties. Participants will discuss these pioneer women’s backgrounds and influence on the Court; the decisions on issues such as race-based affirmative action, abortion, gender discrimination, gay rights, and separation of church and state in which they played key roles; and whether their legacies are likely to endure as the Roberts Court revisits these issues.
Thursdays, 10-11:30 a.m. Feb. 7 - March 14, March 28-April 4 (8 sessions)
Course Leader: Page Insley Austin Location: Bethany Lutheran Church
Trees Useful in Every Way: Forests and the Making (and Unmaking) of the Eastern Shore FULL
The forests of the Eastern Shore have shaped the lives of its peoples throughout its history, contributing to their livelihood and transforming their landscape. This course will examine the changing nature and role of the Shore’s forests from the first days of European settlement to the present day. Topics include: 1) Canoes, Cutters, and Clippers – Shipbuilding and Settlement; 2) Cordwood and Calories – The Shore’s Energy Empire; 3) Building Business – Propping up Cities and Industries; 4) Forestry and the Future – Conserving Resources and the Land in a Age of Environmental Transformation. Participants will explore the changing nature of the “value” of the trees of the Eastern Shore, as the forests and their sustaining lands have been reshaped throughout a volatile history.
Thursdays, 2:30-4 p.m. Feb. 7 - 28 (4 sessions)
Course Leader: Phillip Hesser Location: Salisbury University, Perdue Hall Room 347
I Hear America Swinging: When U.S. Music United its Diverse People and the World FULL
From just before to just after World War II, American Swing united a nation and inspired a world. This course will examine how Swing “translated” from its big band roots into the distinctive musical cultures of people across the country and around the world. Topics include: 1) “’Taint What You Do” – What Is Classic Swing?; 2) “Sing, Sing, Sing” – American Swing Variations from the Concert Hall to the Cantina; 3) “Flying Home” – Swing Transplanted around the World from South Africa to “Stockholm”; 4) “’Taint Nobody’s Business if I Do” – The Break-up of Swing into Bop, Pop, R&B, Country & Western, and the first Global Music. Participants will examine the rise and fall of swing one song at a time, exploring how Swing became the soundtrack for a global crusade and yet gave rise to the diverse American and global music scene of the postwar era.
Thursdays, 2:30-4 p.m. March 28-April 18 (4 sessions)
Course Leader: Phillip Hesser Location: Salisbury University, Perdue Hall Room 347
Seventy years ago this December 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?
Mondays, 12:30-2 p.m. March 25-April 15 (4 sessions)
Course Leader: Michael J. Roberts Location: Salisbury University, Perdue Hall Room 349
Family Folklore Treasures of the Eastern Shore
Explore the tales and superstitions of the Eastern Shore. Did someone in your family meet Big Liz in the Devil’s Woodyard? Did one of your relatives control rain with a blacksnake skin? What do the wooly caterpillars tell people just by looking at them? Hauntings and callings are part of the Eastern Shore’s heritage, too. We will gather “evidence” and present “findings.” Join us to hunt history in this Eastern Shore folklore course.
Mondays, 2:30-4 p.m. March 25-May 13 (8 sessions)
Course Leader: Dorothy Yeatman Location: Bethany Lutheran Church
The Rise of the American Short Story
From Hawthorne to Harlem, American fiction came into its own to command a central place in world literature. This course will survey the emergence of the short story through the nineteenth century to the early twentieth, focusing on innovative writers who sought to perfect their art while giving it a uniquely American voice. Discussion topics will include “Leaving the Euro Zone: New World Creation”; “Dream on: The Romantics”; “Tell it Like it is, Maybe: Realism and Naturalism”; “Tighter ‘n a Tick on a Dawg’s Back: Regionalism and Local Color.”
Tuesdays, 10-11:30 a.m. February 5 - March 12 (6 sessions)
Course Leader: Nancy Hesser Location: Bethany Lutheran Church
Assateague, Life on the Edge
Want to know what it is like to live on the edge? This course is designed to introduce students to Assateague’s unique environment and the organisms that dwell there. With a focus on managing park resources, students will investigate the lives of plovers, tiger beetles, seabeach amaranth, phragmites, and famous wild horses. By the conclusion of this 4 week course, students will have gained an appreciation for the challenges associated with managing native, invasive, and iconic species in an environment that is constantly being reshaped by wind and waves!
Tuesdays, 10-11:30 a.m. March 26- April 16 (4 sessions)
Course Leader: Kelly Taylor Location: SU, Guerrieri University Center Room 236
The First Women Supreme Court Justices and the Law They Made
Sandra Day O’Connor was appointed by President Reagan as the first woman Supreme Court justice in 1981. During her almost quarter-century on the Court, Justice O’Connor was a voice for common sense, and often the deciding vote in 5-4 decisions involving controversial issues of our times. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, appointed by President Clinton in 1993, transformed gender discrimination law in cases she argued to the Court before she joined it. On the Court, she has been a strong and consistent voice for civil liberties. Participants will discuss these pioneer women’s backgrounds and influence on the Court; the decisions on issues such as race-based affirmative action, abortion, gender discrimination, gay rights, and separation of church and state in which they played key roles; and whether their legacies are likely to endure as the Roberts Court revisits these issues.
Thursdays, 10-11:30 a.m. Feb. 7 - March 14, March 28-April 4 (8 sessions)
Course Leader: Page Insley Austin Location: Bethany Lutheran Church
Trees Useful in Every Way: Forests and the Making (and Unmaking) of the Eastern Shore FULL
The forests of the Eastern Shore have shaped the lives of its peoples throughout its history, contributing to their livelihood and transforming their landscape. This course will examine the changing nature and role of the Shore’s forests from the first days of European settlement to the present day. Topics include: 1) Canoes, Cutters, and Clippers – Shipbuilding and Settlement; 2) Cordwood and Calories – The Shore’s Energy Empire; 3) Building Business – Propping up Cities and Industries; 4) Forestry and the Future – Conserving Resources and the Land in a Age of Environmental Transformation. Participants will explore the changing nature of the “value” of the trees of the Eastern Shore, as the forests and their sustaining lands have been reshaped throughout a volatile history.
Thursdays, 2:30-4 p.m. Feb. 7 - 28 (4 sessions)
Course Leader: Phillip Hesser Location: Salisbury University, Perdue Hall Room 347
I Hear America Swinging: When U.S. Music United its Diverse People and the World FULL
From just before to just after World War II, American Swing united a nation and inspired a world. This course will examine how Swing “translated” from its big band roots into the distinctive musical cultures of people across the country and around the world. Topics include: 1) “’Taint What You Do” – What Is Classic Swing?; 2) “Sing, Sing, Sing” – American Swing Variations from the Concert Hall to the Cantina; 3) “Flying Home” – Swing Transplanted around the World from South Africa to “Stockholm”; 4) “’Taint Nobody’s Business if I Do” – The Break-up of Swing into Bop, Pop, R&B, Country & Western, and the first Global Music. Participants will examine the rise and fall of swing one song at a time, exploring how Swing became the soundtrack for a global crusade and yet gave rise to the diverse American and global music scene of the postwar era.
Thursdays, 2:30-4 p.m. March 28-April 18 (4 sessions)
Course Leader: Phillip Hesser Location: Salisbury University, Perdue Hall Room 347
Classes are offered in two semesters, September - December (Fall) and February - May (Spring). All classes are included with the membership fee, which is $30 per semester. Classes meet during the day or 1.5 hours once a week for four to eight weeks during the semester. To facilitate discussion, maximum class size is 30 on a first-come, first-served basis. Classes may be canceled due to low enrollment.