TOPICS  OFFERED  FOR  SUMMER  2004

 

 

 

1.         (ART)  THE ARTS AS A MIRROR OF HISTORY

The Arts are a reflection of mankind, the ideas and the society in which we live.  Just how do the arts and cultural expression reflect what has happened in a society? How do the accomplishments of writers, composers, musicians, painters, sculptors, architects, filmmakers and photographers interpret and provide insights into their societies?  Does society influence the arts or do the arts impact society?  In this S/DG we will choose artists of various disciplines who are representative of a particular time in history.  We will then examine the politics, philosophies, economics, religious factors, technologies and social conditions of that era and discuss the ways in which these factors and the arts influenced and affected one another.  And finally we'll have lively discussions and attempt to answer the question: Whose truth is more reliable, the historian's or the artist's?

Suggested topics include examples of various art forms from different periods of history representing the products of different cultures and societies of the world.

Common Reading:     TBD

2nd & 4th Tuesday, a.m.

 

 

 

2.         (CEN)  CENSORSHIP IN THE UNITED STATES

Wouldn't it be terrible to live in a country where the news is censored by some authoritarian power?  You say yes!  Well, in fact you do live in a country where the news is actively censored every day.  This class will investigate news stories that have been censored in the U.S. during the recent past.  We will see that these news stories have been censored by the media itself based on the presumed idea that it is better that we don't know about certain events / topics / issues.  We will review a publication that annually identifies news events which have been suppressed and branch out from there to discuss other stories which we feel were not reported.  Topics from this publication have included, (1) U.S. Plans for Global Domination; (2) The Sinister Side of Homeland Security; (3) New Laws Restrict Access to Abortions in the U.S.; (4) Novartis' Gene Research Endangers Global Plant Life.

Class members will discuss the documented censored items and some of the supportive materials from the core text.  Discussion can be extended to current events that members of the class feel are being manipulated by the media.  Presentations could expand on one of the identified censored stories or could flesh out an issue that the presenter feels is being currently, or has recently been, manipulated by the U.S. media (Ref: http://www.projectcensored.org/)

Common Reading:     Censored 2004: The Top 25 Censored Media Stories of 2002 & 2003

2nd & 4th Monday, p.m.

 

 

3.         (DSC)  KEY DISCOVERIES OF 20th CENTURY SCIENCE

It is difficult to find a field of human endeavor where creative genius has had such transcendent importance as the physical and biological sciences during the last century. Although many of the discoveries resulted in previously unimagined technology, equally interesting is how they reveal the workings of nature and provide insights into how scientific progress is achieved.

This SDG will be a non-mathematical exploration of some of the major developments in physics, astronomy, biology, chemistry, medicine and geology.  We will seek answers to questions such as how the discovery came about, what phenomena are involved, the impacts these discoveries have had on other fields, how we view life and our place in the universe.  The emphasis is on how each discovery can be explained and understood by those not having a technical background.

Topics to be explored may include: light as quanta, the photoelectric effect (for which Einstein received his Nobel Prize), the Big Bang and the expanding universe, superconductivity, nuclear fission and fusion, DNA and its double helix structure, vitamins, polio vaccine, HIV, and plate tectonics.

No Common Reading.

1st & 3rd Thursday, p.m.

 

 

 

4.         (ESS)  ENGLISH SHORT STORIES PAR EXCELLENCE

This collection of 37 short stories celebrates the eccentric differences and the excellence of English short stories.  All sorts of threads of connection and contrast run through these stories, which pack together comedy, tragedy, farce and delicacy, elegance and the grotesque, ranging from social realism to the supernatural, and surreal fantasy to science fiction.

Authors selected from the 19th and 20th centuries include Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, Rudyard Kipling, H.G. Wells, Virginia Woolf, D. H. Lawrence, Evelyn Waugh and Graham Greene, plus many more.

Common Reading:     The Oxford Book of English Short Stories, edited by A. S. Byatt

ES1:    1st & 3rd Wednesday, a.m.

ES2:    1st & 3rd Monday, p.m.

ES3:    2nd & 4th Thursday, a.m.

 

 

5.         (EUR)  EUROPEAN HISTORY

How did Europe evolve from the last Ice Age to the European Union?  British historian Norman Davies' scholarly, insightful, and witty paperback, Europe: A History, outlines the process while untangling the complexities of European history.  Not just a history of states, the book takes into account all the in-betweens, minority peoples, and the nations without statehood.  The book is a holistic history for those who wish to have a good grounding in European history or want to refresh their memories about the common culture and political heritage.

Coordinators and members will determine presentation topics.

Common Reading:     Europe: A History, by Norman Davies

EU1:    1st & 3rd Thursday, p.m.

EU2:    1st & 3rd Thursday, a.m.

 

 

6.         (FLO)  FLORENCE:  THE  HEART AND SOUL OF THE RENAISSANCE

Florence was the crucible of humanism in the 15th century and became the intellectual and creative heart of Europe during the Renaissance.  Why was this city a center of so much history, intellectual activity, great art and architecture?  In this S/DG we will trace Florence’s rise to power and explore its culture: art, architecture, sculpture, literature and music.  Coordinators and members will determine presentation topics.

Common Reading:       TBD

2nd & 4th Wednesday, p.m.

 

 

 

7.         (GRP)  THE RISE AND FALL OF THE GREAT POWERS 

With America at the apogee of world power it’s a good time to examine the histories of prior world powers and their decline.  Using Kennedy’s acclaimed study The Rise and fall of the Great Powers, we’ll study economic change, military conflict and balance of power from the post-Renaissance rise of Europe in 1500 to the 21st century.  We’ll begin by briefly examining the decline of China and Islam and the rise of the Western World. Then we’ll review the development of nation states leading to the growth of the Habsburg Block.  On to Industrialization and the shifting global balances of power 1815-1885.  And finally the two world wars, the evolution of a Bipolar World, the Cold War and the interim resolution.  There are numerous choices for supplementary presentations.  Class members will initially determine whether to cover the over-500 pages of the book in one or two trimesters.

Common Reading:     The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, by Paul Kennedy

1st & 3rd Wednesday, p.m.

 

 

8.         (MAS)  MEDIA AND SOCIETY 

Marshall McLuhan said it: "Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men communicate than by the content of the communication."  The media play a pervasive role in shaping all aspects of our culture -- our family, political, economic, educational, religious, governmental, and entertainment institutions.  The medium is the message.

After examining the oral tradition and the printed word, the course will focus on the "electric media" -- film, television, computers and video games -- looking at the differences in brain hemisphericity between the perception of pictures and the written word.  We will cover violence and other areas of content controversy, the role of the free press, increasing illiteracy, moral decline, materialistic stimulation of a consumer mindset, and avenues of societal control.

Common Reading:        Freedom From Fear, by David Kennedy

2nd & 4th Wednesday, p.m.

 

 

9.         (MDL)  MORAL DILEMMAS OF THE 20th CENTURY 

If you were President, would you decide to shorten a war by dropping a nuclear bomb on an enemy city?  Would you opt for tight restrictions on immigration from oppressive or Third World countries?  This S/DG will examine significant ethical dilemmas of the 20th century, with an eye on history and psychology.  Drawing on examples from the text, we explore the controversial political and moral situations that continue to shape our society and our lives.

Coordinators and members will determine presentation topics.

Common Reading:     Humanity: A Moral History of the 20th Century, by Jonathan Glover (Random House, 1999)

2nd & 4th Monday, a.m.

 

 

 

10.     (SEN)  MAKING “SENSE” OF OUR WORLD 

This class will make you want to live!  Our doorways to experiencing the world around us, the five senses, not only serve biological functions but are also a basic part of our culture.  This class will examine the sensors’ biological bases and the various and bizarre ways we have come to indulge them.  Building on the common reading selection, written by poet and essayist, Diane Ackerman, the members will participate in an exploration of the physiology and philosophy of the five senses.  The course will be multi-disciplined, and independent research can cross the lines of literature, history, anthropology, music, psychology, sociology and science examining each of the senses, the role they have played in the lives of famous and not so famous people and their role for humanity.  The book itself is rooted in science and enlivened by the author’s own convincing sense of wonder.  The prose is rich in imagery and rhythm, a delight to read; not meant to be gobbled in huge helpings but to be savored, like a box of chocolates!  It was the inspiration for the Nova series, Mystery of the Senses.  The participants will come away with keener senses . . . seeing colors more deeply, hearing music anew, savoring complex flavors on their tongues, feeling the rough and smooth more intensely, and smelling the aromas of life!  In all, a celebration of the senses will be a celebration of life.

Common Reading:     A Natural History of the Senses, by Diane Ackerman

                                    (paperback, 309 pp)

SE1:    2nd & 4th Wednesday, a.m.

SE2:    1st & 3rd Tuesday, p.m.

 

 

11.     (SIL)  SCIENCE IN LITERATURE

When top scientists and outstanding science writers combine to explore provocative ideas, they make for exciting reading and discussion.  Oliver Sach's recent anthology of essays and articles has been collected from a wide range of sources, from Harper's and Atlantic Monthly to the Southwest Review.  It spans content across such topics as biotech farming, the mass marketing of pharmaceuticals, medical ethics, fraud in physics research, the toll of Alzheimer's and the future of space travel.  Presentations can use these topics or any of the 25 essays in the common reading as a springboard for research and discussion.

Common Reading:    The Best American Science Writing, edited by Oliver Sachs and Jesse Cohen (paperback, 274 pp)

1st & 3rd Monday, a.m.

 

 

12.     (WEA)  THE WEALTH OF MAN

Over the grand sweep of history, human productivity has increased much faster than has the population.  We live much differently, and in many ways much better than all prior generations.  But the enjoyment of progress has been distributed with extreme and generally growing inequality.

This course will address the history of economic progress with a search for identifying what does work and what to avoid.

Research topics might include:  How has technology contributed to growth of wealth? How have communications and transportation advances leveraged economic growth? What advances in the technology of commerce, e.g., banking, checks, and corporations, have been important?  Has war ever contributed to economic growth?  What forms of government are most conducive to economic growth?  Does economic inequality necessarily lead to strife?  What forms of economic aid, such as micro-lending banks, have been effective at reducing poverty at a local level?

Common Reading:     The Wealth of Man, by Peter Jay (Was also a BBC TV series.)

2nd & 4th Thursday, p.m.

 

 

  1. (WRI)  THE WRITING MIND

This S/DG concentrates on fostering creativity and improving techniques of the writer through the production of original pieces, 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, and at least two submissions of original fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or other form of writing, and for reading and critiquing submissions

Common Reading:       TBD

2nd & 4th Tuesday, p.m.