TOPICS  OFFERED  FOR  SPRING  2005

 

 

1.         (AFR)  THE  AFRICAN  CONTINENT

There are over fifty countries that make up the African Continent and they are largely overlooked despite their emerging importance on the world scene.  This S/DG would choose which African countries to study during this trimester.  (Other countries might be chosen in subsequent semesters).  Study might include the history, geography, politics, the part these countries play and the challenges they face in the world today.  Presentation possibilities abound as to the people, cultures, economies, art, leaders, etc. of the countries chosen.  This continues the present class and will cover those countries not already covered.

Common Reading:     TBD

2nd & 4th Wednesday, a.m.

 

 

2.         (ART)  WOMEN  ARTISTS  THROUGH  THE  AGES

Cassatt, Kahlo, O'Keefe and Grandma Moses are familiar names to most people.  But what about Renaissance painter Lavinia Fontano?  Or silversmith Louisa Courtauld? Sculptor Marcello?  Rosa Bonheur, Bettye Saar, Lee Krasner, Berenice Abbott, Josepfa de Ayala, Elisabeth Virgee-Lebrun and many, many more have been major contributers to the artistic archives of various culture and eras.  Explore the lives and creative output of some of these  neglected artists.  (We say "some" because there are far more women artists than can be covered in one Omnilore term!) But let's dig in and see what treasures we find!

Common Reading:     TBD

1st & 3rd Wednesday, p.m.

 

 

3.         (BRO)  THE  FOUNDING  BROTHERS:  THE STORIES  OF  THE  FOUNDING FATHERS,  THEIR  INTERACTIONS  DURING  THE  1790’S,  AND  THEIR LASTING  EFFECT

The United States was more a fragile hope than a reality in 1790 when a group of greatly gifted but deeply flawed individuals… John Adams, Aaron Burr, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington… combined the ideals of the Declaration of Independence with the content of the Constitution to create the practical workings of our government.  This S/DG will examine the intertwining of the lives, beliefs and personalities of the “Founding Brothers” (or Founding Fathers) as they hammered out the decisions and compromises that formed our new republic.  We’ll discuss some of the decisive events that shaped the political ideas and institutions of the emerging state in which sheer chance, pure luck --- both good and bad --- and decisions made in the crucible of specific political crises often determined the outcome which has made the United States the oldest enduring republic in world history.

Suggested topics:  The Duel between Burr and Hamilton; The Dinner with Jefferson, Hamilton, and Madison; The Silence about Slavery; The Farewell of George Washington; The Collaboration of Adams, Jefferson, and Madison; The Friendship of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams; John & Abigail Adams; Benjamin Franklin; Aaron Burr; Alexander Hamilton; Thomas Jefferson; James Madison; George Washington

Common Reading:  The Founding Brothers, by Joseph Ellis

1st & 3rd Thursday, a.m.

 

 

4.         (DEC)  GREAT  DECISIONS  -  2005

The Foreign Policy Association, an independent, nonpartisan organization, annual 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 2005.  The final topics for 2005 have not yet been announced but we can expect subjects similar to those in Great Decisions 2004 which were: The Media and Foreign Policy, The Philippines, Weapons of Mass Destruction, U.S. and Europe, Diversity in Islam, Latin American Overview, Reform in the Middle East, Public Diplomacy.

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:       Great Decisions 2005

DE1:   2nd & 4th Wednesday, p.m.

DE2:   2nd & 4th Wednesday, p.m.

 

 

 

5.         (GSS)  GREAT  SHORT  STORIES  OF  THE  MASTERS

Forty-nine short stories, selected for their richness of detail, accurate depictions of human passion, and international scope, fill this collection.  Authors include Americans such as Hemingway, Faulkner, Saul Bellow, and Flannery O’Connor; 19th and 20th century Western European Giants such as Proust, Sartre, Flaubert, Kafka, Mann, Pirandello, Rilke, and Balzac; Russian icons Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Pushkin, Turgenev, and Chekhov; and Asian writers Rabindranath Tagore and Lu Hsun.  While many of the names are recognizable (though some rank among the lesser-known), the editor has favored gems less familiar to the average reader.

Common Reading: Great Short Stories of the Masters, edited by Charles Neider

GS1:    1st & 3rd Friday, p.m.

GS2:    2nd & 4th Tuesday, p.m.

GS3:    1st & 3rd Friday, a.m.

 

 

6.         (HUM)  HUMANS,  MULTI-TALENTED  BEINGS

This S/DG will explore the theory of multiple intelligences developed by Howard Gardner and other researchers at Harvard and applications of that theory.  Gardner identified seven types of human talents, which he termed intelligences.  The concept of intelligence is complex and controversial, but includes the ability to respond successfully to new situations and to learn and generalize from one’s past experiences.  Gardner’s initial list of intelligences is:

      Linguistic – involved in communication with words

      Logical-mathematical – use of abstract relations and formation of hypotheses

      Spatial – perceive and process visual or spatial information and recreate images from memory

      Musical – create, communicate, and understand meanings from sound

Bodily-kinesthetic – use of all or part of the body to create products or solve problems

Interpersonal – recognize and make distinctions about other’s feelings and intentions, and

Intrapersonal – distinguish their own feelings, build accurate mental models of themselves and draw on to make decisions about their own lives.

Later, Gardner added “naturalist and existentialist intelligences,” though these are less well established.  Every human possesses each of these intelligences or types of talents in significant degree, but most people feel stronger in some areas than in others. Some people have discernable handicaps in one or more talent areas, sometimes compensated by enhanced capability in other areas

Common Reading:     Seven Kinds of Smart, by Thomas Armstrong (Plume, 1993)

1st & 3rd Tuesday, p.m.

 

 

7.         (INT)  INTELLECTUAL  HISTORY  (1850-1900)

In this course we will experience growth in expansion & depth as the Century moves into its final decades.  Although Terry is no longer with us, he chose most of those whose thought we will explore. Philosophy: Peirce & Nietzsche; Literature: Dostoevski & Dickinson; Science: Freud & Darwin; Political Thought: Karl Marx & Thomas Hill Green.  This course concentrates solely on the thought of the subject persons within the discipline of their topic; nothing else.  This is Intellectual History; not a survey course.  There is no core reading.  Presentation with discussion covers the entire two hours.  The presenter will submit outline materials at least two weeks before-hand giving background on the individual, websites for study and whatever else he wishes to state about the person that will not be a part of class coverage.  Everyone must also read the articles on the subject in the Britannica & Americana and all index references as part of preparation.

Common Reading:     No Common Reading

1st & 3rd Wednesday, p.m.

 

 

8.         (MAP)  THE MAPMAKERS:  GREAT  EXPLORATIONS  OF  SEA,  LAND  & SPACE

This S/DG is about maps and the people who made them, and what it is about their efforts and discoveries that captures the imagination.  The subject spans the history of cartography from early civilizations to the present and involves the great contributions of Eratosthenes, Ptolemy and Mercator and the voyages and expeditions of Magellan, Cook, Lewis and Clark and many others who mapped and expanded our world.  Many of the accomplishments would not have been possible without major discoveries in mathematics, astronomy, physics and medicine, but above all the history of map-making is a reflection of “the wonder that moves the human spirit to explore, encompass, and strive to understand.”  (John Noble Wilford)

Common Reading:     The Mapmakers, (Revised Edition) by John Noble Wilford

2nd & 4th Monday, a.m.

 

 

9.         (MTH)  CLASSICAL  MYTHOLOGY 

Classical mythology has had an enormous influence on many aspects of Western culture, particularly literature, the arts and man’s behavior toward his fellow man and the Gods.  The rich body of stories that constitute myth both stimulate our imaginations and influence our values and behavior to this day, even though their origins stem from pre-literate times well over 3,000 years ago.  Their longevity is a tribute to their relevance.  We will study a number of the most significant myths both for the sheer enjoyment of the stories, as well as for their imbedded meaning and/or “lessons learned.”  Researched presentations, of course.

Common Reading:     TBD

2nd & 4th Tuesday, p.m.

 

 

10.     (MUS)  MUSIC  OF  THE  ROMANTIC

This S/DG will focus on European music of the nineteenth century.  This period marked a departure from the existing rigidities. Heroes and heroines, lovers, beauty, pathos and tragedies burst out of the old structures in music, art, poetry and writing.  Our goal is to enhance your ability to understand and respond to the marvelous works of that era, composed by: Berlioz, Chopin, Dvorak, Liszt, Puccini, R. Schumann, R. Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Verdi and Wagner, among others. Members will research one or more composers, and analyze their work in the context of the culture of that period.  Presentations will include samples of recorded works.

Common Reading:     TBD

2nd & 4th Thursday, p.m.

 

 

11.     (REL)  RELIGION  AND  POLITICS  IN  AMERICA

This study/discussion group will examine the dynamic interactions between religion and politics as well as the historic roots of religion and its impact on political affairs and public policies in America.  We will examine the history of religion in America and the relevant constitutional principles and their interpretation by the courts over the past two centuries.  We will read and discuss the role and current status of religion in America – religious practices, theological and political outlooks and voting records of major religious traditions – Catholic, evangelical Protestant, liberal Protestant, Jewish and African American.  The common reading will be supplemented by readings provided by coordinators or may be developed by the discussion leaders during the semester.

Common Reading:     Religion and Politics in America: Faith, Culture and Strategic Choices, by Robert Fowler, et al (3rd edition, paperback, July 2004)

1st & 3rd Tuesday, p.m.

 

 

12.     (SOU)  THE  SOUTH  2:  MYTH  AND  REALITY

In this follow-on course we will continue our study of  southern culture and how it came to be. We will emphasize more recent aspects of architecture, literature, music, and political and economic pressures. Specific areas for presentations include post-Civil-War reconstruction, growth of the industrial south, the politically “solid south” and its transformation, impact of the civil rights movement and twentieth-century authors, musicians and politicians. An optional trip supporting the class and open to any Omnilore member is scheduled for the spring.

Common Reading:     TBD

2nd & 4th Tuesday, a.m.

 

 

13.     (TRK)  THE  GLORY  THAT  WAS  TURKEY:  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OTTOMAN  EMPIRE

Traces the history of the Ottoman Empire, an innovative and multicultural state that survived for over 600 years.  In its heyday, its economic and military power caused fear and admiration in Europe.  This course will examine the encompassing influence of religion on their institutions, society and art.  The focus will be on the golden age of the Empire and its decline in the 19th century, and its final dissolution in 1923 when the sultanate was abolished and the Republic of Turkey was born. 

Common Reading:     TBD

1st & 3rd Thursday, p.m.

 

 

14.     (WCC)  WORLD  CLASS  CURMUDGEONS

The world is divided into three classes of people: those who know (approximately 5%); those who don't know (approximately 45%); and, those who don't know but pretend to know (approximately 50%).

These are tough times for the curmudgeon.  In an age of fast food intellect, when crudity is mistaken for cleverness, the articulate witty curmudgeon seems out of place.  Try imagining such saber-tongued cynics as Mark Twain, James Thurber and H.L. Menken grousing about America in 2004.  Can you imagine Menken, a man who once said that "He never lost any money betting on the intelligence of the American people" adapting to an era of freedom fries?

The curmudgeons sensibility is an oyster pearl produced by the grit of existence. Curmudgeons maintain their balance in a universe gone mad. The beauty of it is that they expect the worst but they keep on playing.  That is why the curmudgeons are the ultimate adults.

This S/DG will spend eight delightful fun filled weeks discussing some of the world’s most brilliant curmudgeons.  Such giant wits as H.L. Menken, Mark Twain, Gore Vidal, George B. Shaw and many more.

Curmudgeons to be discussed:  H.L. Menken, Prince Philip, George B. Shaw, James Thurber, Samuel Johnson, Ambrose Bierce, Gore Vidal, Christopher Hichins, Evelyn Waugh, Woody Allen, Mark Twain, William Buckley, Jr., Dorothy Parker, Truman Capote, Oscar Wilde, Robert Frost, W.C. Fields, Oscar Levant, Groucho Marx, Tallulah Bankhead, George Kaufrnan, George Orwell, Fran Leibowitz, Gloria Steinem, Andy Rooney, and Robert Benchley.

Common Reading:     TBD

WC1:  1st & 3rd Monday, p.m.

WC2:  2nd & 4th Monday, p.m.

WC3:  2nd & 4th Thursday, a.m.

 

 

 

15.      (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; at least two submissions of original fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or other form of writing; and for reading and critiquing submissions.

Common Reading:     TBD

1st & 3rd Thursday, p.m.

 

 

16.     (CSU)  FILM  AS  ART  FORM

Lecture Course at CSUDH - Beginning January 5th through April 27th.

The CSUDH lecture series for Spring 2005 will focus on topics in film studies, including possibly film noir and/or other genres.  Discussion of film as an interdisciplinary art form will be emphasized in these presentations and clips from classics in the genre will be featured by the professors in their individual lectures.

Common Reading:     TBD

1st & 3rd Wednesday, a.m.