TOPICS OFFERED FOR SPRING 2004

1. (BAC) BACH AND HIS WORLD

We will study Bach and his music against the historical, religious and cultural milieu of his times; we’ll also explore the genius and the innovations of this great man and his enormous influence on music from his time to ours. Through examination of his music, his life, his contemporaries and his world we can better appreciate the extent of his creative powers and attempt to understand the mystery and beauty that his music reveals. Each session will include discussion of the text, examples of his music and presentations of Bach’s world by class members.

Common Reading: Johann Sebastian Bach, by Christoph Wolff

BA1: 1^st & 3^rd Friday, a.m.

BA2: 1^st & 3^rd Thursday, p.m.

2. (CAL) CAN CALIFORNIA’S PROBLEMS BE FIXED & DOES ANYONE CARE?

Many of us remember California in the 50’s and 60’s. We were the model for the nation. Our educational institutions were the best. We had developed a higher educational system that was being copied by the other states. We were building magnificent freeways, hospitals, schools and other facilities. We were bright and shiny. Today we are among the lowest in spending on education, infrastructure and public service. Parts of our state appear to be part of the third world. We have a terrific budget deficit. What happened? Some blame the political parties for being influenced by campaign contributions. Others blame term limits for creating a state legislature that is in for so short a time that none of them really understand the problems. One criticism advanced is that special interest groups have captured the initiative process and that laws are put into effect by whoever can buy the electorate. Some claim that we are suffering because of illegal immigration.

This is an opportunity for all of us to put aside our partisan political views, if we can, and really look at our state’s problems and see if we, as intelligent individuals can agree on ways to solve some of our state’s problems. The common reading is a book written by a reporter who spent years in Sacramento observing the state government and is now a visiting scholar at the Institute of Government at UC Berkeley.

Common Reading: Paradise Lost, California's Experience, America's Future,

by Peter Schrag

CA1: 2^nd & 4^th Thursday, p.m.

CA2: 2^nd & 4^th Friday, a.m.

3. (DEC) GREAT DECISIONS - 2004

The Foreign Policy Association, an independent, nonpartisan organization, annually publishes a listing of eight topics deemed of special urgency and importance to the nation. These subjects, with pertinent background and reference material, will comprise Great Decisions 2004 which will serve as the basis for study and discussion: Alone or Together, The U.S. and the World; Afghanistan: a Fragile Peace; The Uneasy U.S.-Saudi Alliance; U.S. & Nigeria: Thinking Beyond Oil; International Food Wars: Growing Controversies; China in Transition; Europe: State of the Union; and The Global Struggle for Women’s Rights.

Each class member will give a researched presentation that augments the eight topics, and members will also share leading discussions of the common reading.

Common Reading: Current Issue of Great Decisions

1^st & 3^rd Wednesday, a.m.

4. (DTH) TALKING ABOUT DEATH WON’T KILL YOU

Intellectually we know we will die, but we tend to avoid thinking about it, and to articulate our feelings about it even less. This S/DG would give participants an opportunity to explore their attitude toward personal mortality. Studies show that those who can talk about their own death report many benefits: less denial or fear; enhanced appreciation of living; more compassion for others. This would not be about “how to die” or “stages of dying,” but how we would deal with our own ideas about personal non-existence.

The group would explore, both seriously and lightly – positive ways to confront the fine art of dying. For instance, how would you write your own obit? How would you like to spend your last days? What values would you most want to pass on to your grandchildren? Who would you want to speak at your memorial service? What do you think they would say about you? What music would you want played? What do you think you would most regret not having done?

It is anticipated that this will be an inspirational topic – for only in talking about one’s death can one fully experience the preciousness of our life. For a presentation topic, each participant could choose an aspect of personal mortality that interests them, obits, funeral services, other practical matters that accompany one’s dying, or explore what happens to personal consciousness, religious/spiritual aspects of death, the values one would pass on, regrets for what was done or not done.

Common Reading: Life Lessons, By Elisabeth Kubler-Ross & David Kessler

2^nd & 4^th Wednesday, p.m.

5. (FIW) THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR: Prelude To The American Revolution

The most important event to occur in 18^th century North America, the Seven Years War (or as the colonists called it, The French and Indian War) figures in most Americans’ consciousness of the past as a hazy backdrop to the Revolution. This perspective has limited our ability to see the continuities between our pre-Revolutionary past and the rest of history. Viewing it from the points of view of Montreal, the camps of the Iroquois, Vincennes, Paris, London or Madrid, the Seven Years War was perhaps more significant than the War of American Independence. Without it that independence would surely have been delayed. Class participants will select their presentation topics from a list prepared by the coordinators.

Common Reading: TBD

1^st & 3^rd Thursday, p.m.

6. (GLD) GOLDEN STATE ENCOUNTER 2: A Study/Discussion Group with Travel

This course will cover 20th century California history. It extends our early California studies undertaken this fall. It will include the events and the people who contributed to our evolution, not only in the political arena but others such as writers, philanthropists, sports personages etc. The travel associated with our study (originally scheduled for the fall) will occur in late April or early May and will include Goldrush country, Sacramento, San Francisco, Monterey and a variety of other interesting places enroute. Although the travel is intended to enhance our learning experience, neither it nor the prior trimester are prerequisites to participate.

Common Reading: Americans and the California Dream, by Kevin Starr

GL1: 1^st & 3^rd Monday, p.m.

GL2: 1^st & 3^rd Monday, a.m.

7. (HIS) AN INTELLECTUAL HISTORY OF THE 18^TH CENTURY

This is a continuation of the "Intellectual History" series that we began in the Fall, 2003 Trimester.  Attendance at the prior trimester is not a prerequisite. Using the same categories of thought we will again attempt to understand the depth of the thinking of eight people involved in these disciplines:  Philosophy, Science, Literature, and Political Theory.  The individuals are:  Hume & Kant, Erasmus Darwin (grandfather of Charles Darwin) & LaPlace, Voltaire & Swift, Rousseau & Burke. The format will be the same as before; no common reading.  Each class will consist entirely of an inter-mingling of presentation & discussion of the thought of one of the eight above-cited individuals in their noted field of endeavor.  The Co-Coordinators will give the first two presentations on David Hume & Immanual Kant. The minimum requirements for members in every class in which they are not presenting is to familiarize themselves with the thought of the subject of the day. 

Presenters are responsible for distributing outlines and assigning or distributing copies of reading materials from our local libraries and the Internet well in advance of their presentations. Outlines, background material and a list of questions to be discussed are to be passed out in the session prior to the presentation. This course will focus entirely on each man’s thoughts in the area noted.

No Common Reading

2^nd & 4^th Wednesday, p.m.

8. (HUM) HUMAN NATURE: WHAT WE KNOW TODAY

In recent years several wonderful books have been published which give the layperson a fascinating picture of how nature and nurture make human beings. Many of these books derive from the research in the brain and neuro-biological sciences, the cognitive sciences, the evolutionary sciences and genetics. They’re contributing to a rebalancing and reblending of nature and nurture, replacing the old dualism of nature versus nurture. This S/DG will take us on an adventurous journey through these new discoveries to a better understanding of why we behave as we do.

Some of the questions we’ll consider include: How does allowing nature back into the debate affect social programs with the goals of more equality? Does the environment cause changes in our genes? What is the effect of genes, parenting and peers on the behavior of children? Are humans predisposed to violence? Why is violence and “macho” so appealing? Are humans predisposed to cooperation or selfishness? What makes one person attractive to another? How do status and culture affect this? Just how powerful are genetic gender differences? Is homosexuality largely genetic? Is a sense of right and wrong a predisposition or the result of cultural training? Do humans have a “tribal instinct” that affects political behavior? Are human artistic tastes and values part of human nature or developed through cultural training?

Some additional topics: A short history of nature versus nurture and new scientific studies; genes and environment: mental illness, intelligence, education and reform; evolution and culture: “morality” and religion; ethical and legal implications of new discoveries about DNA.

Common Reading: The coordinators will select one of these two books or may distribute specific chapters from each:

The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature,

by Steven Pinker (Penguin, 2002)

Nature Via Nurture: Genes, Experience and What Makes Us Human, by Matt Ridley (Harper Collins, 2003)

HU1: 2^nd & 4^th Tuesday, p.m.

HU2: 2^nd & 4^th Friday, p.m.

9. (JIN) JEWISH INFLUENCE

Jews comprise a mere 2% of the U.S. population, yet their influence in some areas of American life is obviously quite significant. Some resent this influence and conclude that Jews are “in control.”

In this S/DG we will study and make presentations about various aspects of American life to evaluate the role and influence of Jews in local, state and national politics, police/armed forces/Defense Department, the defense industry, the media, literature, financial institutions, large and small business, unions, the judiciary, education, etc.

To gain insights into these issues we will also consider still-prevailing anti-Semitic forces and influences (gentlemen’s agreements, quotas, false and inflated claims emanating from individuals and from today’s numerous anti-Semitic “patriot groups,” etc.).

No Common Reading.

2^nd & 4^th Thursday, a.m.

10. (LIT) LITERARY SATIRE

Satire helps to keep the high-flying excesses of a society, too smug and content with itself, from going off the deep end. Masters, such as Jonathan Swift and Voltaire in another age, and Robert Benchley, Gary Trudeau, Garrison Keillor and others in our own time have created a body of work that helps us see the realities of life through the rose-colored illusions created by those who try to set society’s standards. We will select and discuss various classical and contemporary authors and their work.

Common Reading: TBD

1^st & 3^rd Thursday, a.m.

11. (MID) CREATION OF THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST

The history of the Middle East has taken many turns, but perhaps none more decisive in modern times than the events surrounding and following World War I. The break-up of the centuries-old Ottoman Empire, the European mandates, the formation and dissolution of new countries and alliances, the rise of Zionism, and many other issues of current interest will be appropriate for study and discussion.

Common Reading: A Peace to End All Peace, by David Fromkin

2^nd & 4^th Monday, a.m.

12. (MUS) MUSEUMS: 21^ST CENTURY DESTINATIONS OF PLEASURE

Once the staid, formal and often boring setting for the well-educated upper class, museums have recently become fun-outings for the middle classes. Partly this is due to the increasing use of technology in the form of computer displays and audio accompaniment. But also in the last half of the 20^th century, museums began to change from an “elegant receptacle” for art works to a spectacle in and of itself. Some museum buildings are an attraction equal to or beyond the displayed collections.

Throughout the world more than 50 new-age museums have been completed and dozens more are in various stages of design and construction. Some critics deplore the ascendancy and emphasis on the housing, while others praise the personal and psychological effect of “becoming part of it.”

In this S/DG we will become more familiar with the newer museums and their architects such as Frank Gehry’s Bilbao and the new Minneapolis Museum, Kohn Peterson Fox’s Rodin Gallery in South Korea, Arata Isozaki’s Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio, the dazzling Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, the Museum Het Valkhof in the Netherlands with its exterior of shimmering aquamarine glass panels, and I.M. Pie’s Miho Museum of Japanese Art outside of Kyoto, as well as the famous museum designs of Renzo Piano, Rem Koolhaas and others.

As we look at these fascinating museum edifices, we’ll evaluate both the outward appearance and the interior designs that maximize the viewing of the art works. We’ll marvel at the stylistic ingenuity, boldness of form, breathtaking feats of design and craftsmanship . . . and perhaps here and there, even some of the “art stuff” scattered around inside. This S/DG will seek to provide insight into this new phenomenon by examining the reasons that have given rise to this explosion of new structures and we’ll research and make presentations on individual examples emphasizing the aesthetics, the functionality, the technology, the economics and more.

Common Reading: TBD

1^st & 3^rd Wednesday, p.m.

13. (RUS) RUSSIA: 800 TO 1917

Russia – mysterious, huge (its territory vastly larger than any other country), nourished on competing ideas from Byzantium, Europe, and Asia – was and is of enormous importance to us. We study Russia’s geography and ecology, her human landscape, and the major developments during her long, complex history: the Kievan period, the Mongol invasions, the age of Muscovy, and the Romanov Dynasty. Along with our focus on seminal historical developments, we examine the stunning evolution of Russian art, literature, music and dance. We examine this material through discussion of weekly reading assignments, reports, and possibly film excerpts.

Common Reading: History of Russia, by John Lawrence

1^st & 3^rd Tuesday, p.m.

14. (STK) THE STOCK MARKET

This course is designed both to broaden your understanding of the stock market and to increase the performance of your investment portfolio. Both novice and experienced investors are encouraged to attend.

Topics to be covered are: When to buy? When to sell? What advice can you trust? What are risky stocks? Are bonds better than stocks? Are mutual funds good investments? We will also examine individual stocks and sectors, the history of the stock markets, the value of the various indexes (Dow, etc.) and topics suggested by the participants. For each meeting two participants will select topics related to the stock market and prepare and deliver reports on these topics. It is expected that many questions will be generated from each presentation and that some will be answered.

Common Reading: None required, but the Wall Street Journal and Barron’s are recommended.

1^st & 3^rd Tuesday, a.m.

15. (WES) GREAT WESTERN SHORT STORIES

Everybody interested in American fiction has probably heard of Jack London, Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour. But have you also heard of Glendon Swarthout (his novels include The Shootist, the basis of John Wayne’s last movie), and Jack Shaefer (who wrote the novel, Shane)? These writers are part of the rich heritage of western fiction in the past 100 years, many of whose works are little known.

The members of this S/DG will hear presentations from each member about the author of a short story; discussions will follow. We will explore the tradition it follows, contrasts/counterparts with other short story writing and literary elements, the background and experience of the author, etc. Our goal is to gain a greater understanding of the often misunderstood western story and its unique American contribution to world literature.

Common Reading: A Century of Great Western Short Stories, by John Jakes

2^nd & 4^th Monday, p.m.

16. (WRI) THE WRITING MIND

This S/DG concentrates on fostering creativity and improving techniques of the writer through the production of original pieces, plus literary critique and presentations by each group member. Presentations are on literary topics or on the philosophy and subtleties of writing. Each member will be responsible for a presentation, at least two submissions of original fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or other form of writing, and for reading and critiquing submissions.

Common Reading: TBD

2^nd & 4^th Tuesday, p.m.

17. (REN) MODERN RENAISSANCE OF CENTRAL-EASTERN EUROPE

An Instructor-Led Course at CSUDH

Today the cultures of eastern Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary are experiencing a cultural rebirth and recovery from the “dark ages” of Soviet repression. This lecture series, February through April, will look at this region from an interdisciplinary perspective with special emphasis on music, literature, art, and architecture. We will also provide background history and the recent dramatic shifts in politics and economy of the region. The presentations will move from a base of romantic and modern artists such as Dvorak, Smetana, Liszt, and Kafka to the stirrings of post-Soviet creation. To illustrate this trend, Czechoslovakia may have been unique in having a poet, Valclav Havel, as president. The rebirth of cities such as Dresden, Prague, and Budapest has led to them becoming big tourist destinations. Join us for an informative and entertaining series.

2^nd & 4^th Wedneday, a.m.