Midcoast Senior College Fall 2009 Courses
September 14 - November 6
monday
Dante’s Divine Comedy, I. Canticle: Hell
9:30-11:30 am
The course intends a close reading of the 34 cantos ofInferno, about-4per session, attempting to understand Dante the poet,and his time,buildingbridge to ours,including his influence on the Moderns. A variety of translations will be examined. Marlis Cambon, German native, has taught German and Italian literature at numerous universities in the US and Canada. She was also a long-time director of Boston University’s Centro in Padova, Italy. Limit 12.
Social Networking: Getting Your Place on the Web
9:30-11:30 am
The course will explore the world of social networking on the web including FaceBook, Twitter and many sites of which you have probably never heard. Then you will set up your personal blogs, websites, or other forms of networking of your choice. It is possible that some classes can be on the web from home after we start to work on individual sites. Minimal skill in the use of computers is required. Frank Broadbent, an Emeritus Professor at Syracuse University, has worked in computer education for over 40 years. Limit 16.
Espionage in Fact, Film and Fiction, Part II
1:00-3:00 pm
In this continuation of last semester’s course, the first hour of the first fall class will introduce new students to the basic definition and parameters of intelligence.students can attend this first hour for review, but need come only for new material in the second hour.
We will examine the history of espionage from World War II to the present.focus will be on.S., British and Soviet intelligence activities. We will read three spy novels and offer optional viewing of weekly spy films after class. Jack Thompson, a former history professor and diplomat (albeit briefly), has taught a variety of courses at MSC. Meets at The Highlands. Limit 40.
tuesday
Printmaking from the Woodcut
9:30-11:30 am
Making multiple images from a carved wooden block is an old art form. We will explore the tools and techniques of the craft, starting with black and white prints and progressing to multi-block color printing. All materials will be provided. Stuart Ross, a painter and printmaker, has been making and teaching art in midcoast Maine for many years. Limit 10.
France, England and the Wabanaki – The Cultural Chaos of 17th Century Maine 9:30-11:30 am
This course will present an historical and archaeological view of 17th and early 18th century midcoast Maine and the Kennebec River Valley.Starting with the Wabanaki and then the entry and intrusions of the French and English, we’ll discover and discuss some fascinating individuals, events and locations. Visits to the Popham Colony site, Pemaquid and Augusta are planned. John Bradford has had a life-long interest in early Maine history and has over the past 12 years been involved with the archaeology and research associated with the 1607 Popham Colony and its pinnace Virginia. Limit 15.
Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson
(this 4 week course begins Oct. 13th) 1:00-3:00 pm
We start from documents that led to conjectures that Jefferson was the father of one or more of the children of Sally Hemings, a slave at Monticello. We also consider Jefferson’s writings about equality and about race, together with the views of Jefferson biographers and historians. We then look at efforts to resolve the issue of paternity through DNA testing and several other types of evidence, along with disputes over interpreting the results. Finally, we will consider what happened to the descendants of Sally Hemings, as traced in a recent book by Annette Gordon-Reed.
This seminar-style course calls for reading and discussion. Howard Schuman is a social psychologist interested in collective memory and its relation to history. Limit 10.
wednesday
Troilus and Cressida
9:30-11:30 am
Chaucer and Shakespeare represent the beginning and flowering of the English Renaissance. The course will read their tragic and comic treatment of this story of love and intrigue. Bill Brown has been a regular faculty member since the inception of MSC. Limit 12.
The Man Who Loved China
(this 6 week course begins Sept. 16th) 9:30-11:30 am
If you enjoyed The River at the Center of the World, Simon Winchester's latest title, The Man Who Loved China, is another superb study of ancient China that focuses on "the fantastic story of the eccentric English scientist who unlocked the mysteries of the Middle Kingdom."Winchester's biography of Joseph Needham--who wrote a 24 volume magnum opus entitled Science and Civilization--will add to one'show China leapt to great power status in the last couple of decades after nearly two centuries of decline. Paul Johnson has taught numerous courses on East Asia at MSC since returning in 2001 from teaching at Qufu University in China.Limit 36.
American Ideals and the Founding of a Republic of Virtue
(this 6 week course begins Sept. 16th) 1:30-3:30 pm
References to the United States as a fledgling nation often overlook the fact that it is the oldest continuing democracy in the world.They also tend to obscure what the Founding Fathers themselves understood to be the ancient principles on which they defended the Revolution. This course will have as its focus the principles that guided the founding of our country, the conditions that led to the fateful break with England, and the attempt to design institutions capable of fulfilling the very ideals expressed in the founding documents.Special attention will be given to answering the question, "Who founded the United States?" and to the creation of the United States Constitution. Charlie Plummer, a regular MSC faculty member is a well known Civil War living history performer. Meets at Thornton Oaks. Limit 26.
thursday
Darwin’s Legacy: Evolution in the 21st Century
9:30-11:30 am
The publication of On the Origin of Species marks arguably the greatest intellectual revolution experienced by mankind. By explaining evolution as the action of natural selection, Charles Darwin set the stage for a century-long exploration into the fundamental tenet of biology – an exploration that continues to expand our understanding of change and adaptation in living organisms. This course will review the context within which Darwin wrote this classic and explore the emerging roles of genetics, populations, and molecular biology in completing the story Darwin wrote. Along the way, we’ll study examples in all forms of life– including humans - and discuss the impacts these changes had on the plants and animals living with them. Barbara Snapp has taught and researched in science for over 35 years since receiving her PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology from Cornell University. Limit 36.
Reflections on the Self’s Pilgrimage to Serenity in Life and Literature
1:00-3:00 pm
Reviewing the comforts of the Bible, philosophy, science, art, history and family, we’ll explore our common, iconoclastic and personal alternatives to established traditions and rebellions of our youth. “Had they deceived us or deceived themselves, the quiet-voiced elders,” asks T.S. Eliot in his spiritual masterpiece, The Four Quartets, our main text. We’ll use excerpts from soul and mind-girding classics that each of us can bring to class for interactive display of what binds as well as distinguishes us in our enriching, pruning, reconciling and best years ahead. What do we each wish or need to accomplish? What creative urges have we put on hold? Barclay Palmer, a graduate of Oxford, has taught about the human condition in the US since 1957. Limit 24.
Fundamental Forms in Music
2:00-4:00 pm
Forms can be sectional, variation, fugal, sonata, or free.will briefly visit all of these, but our main focus will be on the "sonata form."By listening we will gently dissect a few concerti, string quartets, symphonies, and maybe even from a sonata.are exposed (exposition), altered (development), and reviewed (recapitulation). We will discuss how repetition and contrast are used to organize and unify a composer's ideas.Copland’s text, What to Listen for in Music, answers the question: Are you hearing everything that is going on? No previous music experience is needed. Sonja Johansen is a biostatistician with a Master of Fine Arts in organ performance. Meets at The Highlands. Limit 36.
friday
The Family in Modern American Literature
9:30-11:30 am
In what is not a sociology course, we shall read plays, novelettes, and short stories by authors, such as Edith Wharton, John Steinbeck, and Lillian Hellman, that are twentieth century portraits of families in crisis. Similar to our reactions to the heroes and heroines in the “great tragedies” of Shakespeare or in classical Greek tragedy, we may not agree with their decisions, but are moved by the characters as they stand by their principles. Ted Reese has taught literature for the past decade at the senior colleges in Portland (OLLI) and Bath/Brunswick (MSC). Limit 24.
Energy and I in a Post-Fossil Fuel World
9:30-11:30 am
The course will be built around a few basic scientific facts that, once understood, can empower every one of us to act. It will be a practical journey, applying this understanding to the multiple problems we face – rising energy costs, climate change, peak oil, the economic meltdown – and the practical steps we must take to keep comfortable, healthy and happy in our homes, to feed ourselves and get around more efficiently, and to meet the needs of our communities in a post-fossil fuel world. Paul Kando, a chemical engineer by training, has been in the forefront of energy research since the first oil crisis of the 1970s. He is a co-founder of the Midcoast Green Collaborative, a grass roots citizen group whose mission is to turn the various crises we face into economic opportunities. Limit 36.
Geologic Processes & Products of the Lower Kennebec Region
(this 4 week course begins Sept. 18th) 1:00-3:30 pm
This abbreviated field-trip course on common geologic processes and their products is based on visits to bedrock outcrops in the vicinity of Bath. The course will entail two classroom meetings, three field trips, car-pooling to local outcrops, short off-road walking, taking notes and making sketches. Peter Goodwin, an Emeritus Professor of Geology at Temple University, studies geologic history by examining sedimentary rock. Limit 12.
Printer Friendly List of Fall '09 Classes (PDF)
Registration Form (PDF)
Mail-in registration deadline July 3.
Phone registration, 442-7349, with credit card, begins at 9:00 am on July 14.
$25 yearly membership
$55 per class
$30 per 4 week course
$40 per 6 week course
All courses meet at University College, 9 Park Street, Bath, unless otherwise noted.
For more information please call 442.7349 or email info@midcoastseniorcollege.org