LLARC Study Groups At a Glance - Spring 2008

General Information

Most study groups meet for 10 weeks, minicourses meet for 5 or 6 weeks. Please note the specific meeting dates given for each course. Locations of classes will be announced shortly before classes begin. Study groups are typically “led” rather than “taught”— all by volunteers. Most use a seminar format, emphasizing discussion, usually with preparatory reading. There are variables, however, such as the amount and nature of weekly preparation, the opportunity or expectation for class members to give presentations, and the extent to which material is presented by the leader. Please read descriptions carefully for these details. Also note costs for materials provided (other than texts, which students should buy independently.)

Click here for Driving Directions. Free parking is available for LLARC participants behind the Fine Arts Center.

For more information about LLARC, contact LLARC@regiscollege.edu or call 781-768-7135

LLARC STUDY GROUP COURSE DESCRIPTIONS - SPRING 2008

#701 The Development of American Painting
These slide presentation lectures will examine the development of American painting from its beginning in the late 17th Century to the portraiture of John Singleton Copley, the discovery of the American landscape (Cole, Kensett, Lane, Church, Bierstadt, etc), those who found their inspiration at home (Eakins, Ryder, Homer), those who found it abroad (Whistler, Cassatt, Sargent), genre painting and still life. The course will conclude with American impressionism and the reaction against it (the Aschen School).

Leader: Rosemary Cancion graduated from Radcliffe College and did graduate work at Harvard and Yale Universities. For many years she was a Gallery Instructor at the MFA. After becoming a year-round resident of Hyannisport, she lectured at the Sandwich Glass Museum, the Cape Museum of Fine Arts and ALL (the Learning in Retirement program at Cape Cod Community College). Having moved back to the Boston area, she is looking forward to an association with LLARC.

Class Meetings: 10 Mondays, February 25-May 5 (excluding Patriots Day April 21); 9:40-11:20am

#702 Benjamin Franklin: The First American
Benjamin Franklin is often depicted as a cartoon character, i.e., short, fat and always flying a kite. However he was a true Renaissance man--a politician, statesman, philosopher, scientist, inventor, businessman and visionary. He was the quintessential autodidactic. His story is the story of America’s birth. He was the first American both in stature and as a political leader. Above all, he truly liked people and people revered and adored him. No reports will be required, but active and intense class participation will be encouraged. Weekly readings of one to two hours will be assigned. The text is The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H. W. Brands (available at Amazon.com).

Leader: Bernie Schuster was an undergraduate history major and received an LLD from Boston University School of Law. He practiced law in Boston for several years and then was the founder and CEO of a financial services company. Bernie has led several courses at HILR, Brandeis and at LLARC.

Class Meetings: 10 Mondays, February 25-May 5 (excluding Patriots Day April 21); 9:40-11:20am

 #703 Aging Outrageously and Courageously
In any stage of life, growth comes about as we shed old identities and discover new ones. This study group is for men and women who would like to take a fresh look at societal roles and attitudes about aging, and personal options for living arrangements, relationships, recreation, etc. Class format will be primarily group discussion, focusing on areas of greatest interest to the group, as determined in the first class.

Leader: Ruth Harriet Jacobs, PhD, is a gerontologist and sociologist at the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women and former professor at Boston University, Clark University and Regis College. She has written nine books including Be An Outrageous Older Woman.

Class Meetings: 10 Mondays, February 25-May 5 (excluding Patriots Day April 21); 9:40-11:20am

#704 Short Story Sampler
Short stories can capture a whole life in one event. They can hold us spellbound, make our hair stand on end, or broaden the way we look at ourselves and the world. This course welcomes short story lovers, as well as those less familiar with the genre. We will read from the collection The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction: 50 North American Stories Since 1970 (Simon & Schuster). The authors include Sandra Cisneros, Charles Baxter and Michael Cunningham. In class, we will learn about each author, participate in discussion and reflection and take time to share our own experience as it relates to the points being made by the writer. Participants will read one short story each week and will receive an assignment to prepare for the first class. The text is available at Amazon.com for about $12.

Leader: Joan Parrish is an experienced group leader with a Master’s Degree in Adult Education from Boston University and a Master’s in Theology from Episcopal Divinity School. She has taught courses for adults and children in a variety of settings and currently leads a short story course at the Weston Council on Aging.

Class Meetings: 10 Mondays, February 25-May 5 (excluding Patriots Day April 21); 12:30-2:10 pm

#705 Documentary Films
Many people think of documentaries as the boring films they saw in grade school with titles like "How Cloth is Woven." In fact, as this course will show, the best documentaries rank among the greatest cinematic experiences. We will first view "Nanook of the North" and then move on to more recent films such as "Burden of Dreams", "The Thin Blue Line", "The Fog of War", and Michael Moore’s "Sicko." Six films will be shown in class; others will be suggested for "outside viewing." Brief reports on these outside films are encouraged but not required.

Leader:  A St. Louis native, Bob Sprich studied at MIT, Harvard and Brandeis. Besides earning a Ph.D. in English Literature from Tufts, he has studied with noted film critic, Roger Ebert. Bob has taught literature and film at Bentley for 39 years.

Class meetings: 6 sessions beginning March 24, 31, April 7, 14, 28 and May 5. Please note time difference. This class will meet from 12:30-3:00 each session.

#706 Hablemos Espanol
Spanish is fast becoming a second language in the United States. This small, informal class, a continuation of the one offered in the fall of 2007, is designed to enhance speaking skills and improve grammar. New members at an intermediate level will be welcome, if space permits. It will be conducted at the intermediate rather than beginner level; therefore participants should have some experience with the language through secondary education or travel. All classes will be in Spanish, with the leader offering assistance as needed. The main focus will be speaking; fluency or perfection is not expected. Conversation may focus on subjects of general interest such as news of the day or movies. No text is required. There will be a nominal cost for handouts in class. Class size limited to 14.

Leader: Aida Dudelson was born and grew up in Montevideo, Uruguay. She received a BA in liberal arts at the University of Montevideo. Shortly after moving to the United States with her family, she worked in the foreign department of a Boston bank. She then volunteered at New England Medical Center, translating for Spanish-speaking patients. She has taught at Wellesley High School as a short-and long-term substitute and has tutored privately for the past 26 years.

Class Meetings: 6 sessions beginning March 24, 31, April 7, 14, 28 and May 5; 12:30-2:10pm

#707 How Things Work
We all use familiar products and services that use unfamiliar science and technology: computers, cell phones, the Internet, global positioning systems (GPS), anti-lock braking systems (ABS), hybrid cars, etc. This workshop will delve into these to learn how they work and why they sometimes don’t! Class time will be spent on presentations by the course leader and discussion. The workshop is designed for those who do not have a background in science or engineering. Reference material will be taken from various books on how things work and from Internet sources. Cost: $5 for copying handouts.

Leader: Dick Vidale holds a BS degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Rochester and a PhD in engineering mechanics from the University of Wisconsin. He is Professor Emeritus in Electrical and Computer Engineering at BU, where he taught for 37 years. He gave a talk for LLARC on Physics for the Frugal in January 2006 and led with Jim Cudmore the study group US Energy Policy: Hard choices Ahead in the fall of 2006.

Class Meetings: 5 weeks, April 1-April 29. 9:40-11:20am

#708 A Sense of Africa through Literature
Fiction, like history, informs; but it presents circumstance, not resolution. Fiction does present the background of place and time in which characters interact and this seminar will examine both. Participants should have read for the first session Alexander McCall Smith’s The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, set in Botswana and the kind of congenial environment we would all like to live in. Our reading of God’s Bits of Wood, a novel of pre-independence Senegal by Sembene Ousmane and So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba introduces two aspects of the independence movement: political liberation and gender liberation. Cheikh Hamidou Kane’s Ambiguous Adventure documents the tension of cultural hybridity in a young Senegalese. Gifts by Nuruddin Farah is the story of a single mother working in Somalia, while The Madonna of Excelsior by Zakes Mda has as its setting the racial anomalies of South Africa in which redemption knows no color. Participants will present short reflections on the time and place of the readings which should average 130 pages per week.

Leader: Brooks Goddard has had a 40-year affair with Africa starting with a three-year teaching stint in East Africa in the 60's. After traveling overland from India, he returned in 1968 to earn his Master’s degree and begin a 31-year career teaching English at Wellesley High School. He currently works for Teachers as Scholars and volunteers at the Africa Outreach Office at Boston University. Brooks has revisited Africa eight times, most recently to review secondary education in East Africa and to visit Nubian ruins in Sudan.

Class Meetings: 9 meetings starting March 10, 2008. 9:40-11:20am

#709 Democracy: An Exploration
America seems determined to spread democracy around the world and thus establish a stable, peaceful world and one friendly to us. But what do we mean by “democracy”? And does our version of democracy work for all peoples and cultures? This course explores the question. The focus of the course will be on our own version of democracy. We will look at the early examples that influenced our founding fathers: the Athenian democracy, the Spartan oligarchy and the Roman republic. We will examine the thoughts of a number of philosophers who held both pro and con views on democracy, and then look at the slow, deliberate growth of English democracy. After studying the experiments with government in our colonial period, we will finally examine our own form of government: what was created by our founding fathers at the Constitutional Convention and the subsequent slow development of what we now call democracy. Islamic thoughts on democracy will also be included.

This will be a collaborative course. Participants will be encouraged to undertake research assignments and render oral reports. The leader will help with background material. Handouts will be provided. Cost: $15-$20.

Leader: Sam Starobin has had three careers. First, as an army officer, he participated in both the Korean and Viet Nam wars and had working relations with Korean, German and Viet Nam officers. Second, he headed a major department for the government of the District of Columbia and witnessed its transition from authoritarian to democratic rule. Finally, he worked as a project manager for a large engineering firm in Boston.

Class Meetings: 10 Tuesdays, February 26-May 6 (excluding April 22); 1:30-3:10pm

#710 Women in the Arts
A writer for a French magazine in 1860 wrote, "Male genius has nothing to fear from female taste. Let men conceive of great projects. Let them busy themselves with all types of art. Let women occupy themselves with pastels and miniatures."

That was the attitude for many centuries and much of the work done by women was as assistants to fathers, husbands or brothers. It is hard to identify exactly what art work was done by the women. But slowly women’s work was taken into account and began to be appreciated and even compared favorably to that of men. With the 20th Century women’s movement, artistic creations by women were received on the same footing as those of men and the appreciation of women’s art became of great importance. We will trace the rich history of women in the arts from the Renaissance to the present time, taking note of the unique and remarkable artistic contributions women have made through the centuries.

Leader: Mary Black was born in Vienna, Austria, and educated in England and the United States. Her great interest has been art history. She graduated from Elmira College and studied art history at New York University and the Metropolitan Museum. She has given art history courses at the University of South Carolina and at Lasell Village and the Lifelong Learning Center in Wellesley. She has led two previous study groups for LLARC.

Class Meetings: 6 weeks, February 26-April 1, 2008; 1:30-3:10pm

#711 YOU Be the Star!
Participate in live drama; no audition or prior experience necessary! Read plays aloud, develop a sense of character, plot, historical context and character interaction. All participants will take turns reading various roles from a list of plays available through your community library or local bookstore. Informal performances (no memorization required) may occur as "readings" for other LLARC members if appropriate.

Leader: John Archer is a trained singer, actor, musician and veteran of straight and musical theater productions for many different companies throughout the greater New England area. John runs a business in Beverly while remaining active as a civic leader and philanthropist for many arts and community organizations. He has led play reading sessions at several community venues across the North Shore as well as at LLARC.

Class meetings: 5 weeks, February 26-March 25 ;1:30-3:10pm

#712 The History of the United States Supreme Court
The History of the United States Supreme Court will be a study of its Justices decisions and their philosophies. Landmark cases from Marbury v. Madison to Roe v. Wade will be discussed. We will listen to audio tapes of Court hearings recently made available. "The History of the Supreme Court" (text) by Peter Irons is available at most bookstores in soft cover at a reasonable cost. For the ambitious participants, there will be some library work, but not required. Class participation will be encouraged.

Leader: Murray Aisenberg is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and Georgetown University Law School. His interest is in constitutional law; when President Truman ordered the steel mills taken over by his Secretary of Commerce, a landmark case evolved called Youngstown Sheet and Tube v. Sawyer. He attended the proceedings at the Supreme Court. As it turned out, it was not Harry Truman’s best day. Murray has taught at the Boston College ILR.

Class Meetings: 10 Thursdays, February 28-May 1 9:40-11:20am

#713 How Do We Know What We Know?
There is a difference between "knowing" that the sun will rise tomorrow in the East, and "knowing" the stock you bought today will rise in price. This course will examine how we get to know things, how observations are made, and what conclusions can be drawn from them, and how scientific theories are formed. We will consider pseudo-sciences (eg, intelligent design) and how to detect them; religion and science, the role of statistics, among other topics. The book and course are nontechnical, and no background in Science or Mathematics is needed. This is a discussion course, with the leader moderating and occasionally shedding some light.

Text: Just a Theory by Moti Ben-Ari (available in paperback from Amazon.com)

Leader: Bill Rachlin retired after 40 years as a Clinical Instructor in Surgery at Harvard Medical School, and was certified by the National Science Foundation as a "Science Resource Agent." He is a volunteer science teacher in the Boston Middle Schools and has led study groups at BOLLI and LLARC on a variety of medical and scientific subjects.

Class Meetings: 10 Thursdays, February 28-May 1; 9:40-11:20am

#714 Great American Wealth
America has often been called "the land of opportunity." A few individuals, entrepreneurial folks, have managed to exploit an opportunity to amass immense fortunes. The purpose of this study group is to explore just how they did it. We will examine the stories of such well-known people as Morgan, Rockefeller, Ford, Edison, Gates, Buffet, and others. In addition we may discover some new names, like Derby, Brown, Schiff and Green. What did they see that others didn’t? What did they do about it? What did they do with their money? What became of their families? At each session we’ll discuss the opportunity they seized, look at the life style they lived and, perhaps, do a little predicting about how and where the next windfalls will occur. The text, Families of Fortune, is available used and in paperback.

Leaders: Dr. Alan Greene and Jules Schwartz: Greene is a retired radiologist and is a "certifiable" Civil War and history buff. He has conducted walking tours for Boston by Foot and the Boston Athenaeum. After a career in high-tech engineering, Schwartz earned a doctorate in Business policy from Harvard Business School. Schwartz had led seminars on Junk Science and History of Taxation at Regis. Schwartz was the recipient of Boston University’s highest teaching award and produced a video tape series for the Teaching Company’s "Superstar Lecturer" program. Greene has led a course on the history of Boston. Both have also led classes at the Harvard Institute and LLARC.

Class Meetings: 10 Thursdays, February 28-May 1; 12:30-2:10pm