Current Courses
Our goal is to enhance the intellectual, social, and cultural life of adults by providing challenging, diverse, and relevant courses on academic topics. Most of our classes are four to six weeks long and meet once a week for 1-1/2 or 2 hours. Our volunteer instructors are motivated by their desire to share their knowledge and facilitate thoughtful discussions on academic topics.
We have two semesters: Fall and Winter/Spring.
Fall 2024 Courses
We have a record number of courses lined up for Fall 2024. Registration for the majority of our courses will open on August 5 at 10:00 AM. Once you have decided which courses you want to take, click on the "Register for Courses" button. It will take you to the course registration program.
DavidsonLearns is excited to offer a fascinating selection of in-person courses in both our traditional format and our shorter mini-course format. Before registering for any of these courses, you must have a DavidsonLearns account and be a current DavidsonLearns member. We encourage you to take care of both of these requirements now in order to avoid a delay when you register. If you need to create an account or become a DavidsonLearns member (or renew your membership), click here.
If you would like to take a course that is full, please add your name to the waitlist, and we will contact you if a seat becomes available. Please do not contact the instructor directly.
In-Person Mini Courses
Status: Waitlisted
Kafka
Instructor: Scott Denham, PhD
Franz Kafka, arguably the most influential author of the 20th century, died 100 years ago this year. During this "Kafka-Year," we will read all of Kafka's major works, selections from his diaries and letters, and some secondary readings. This course will be offered parallel to a Davidson College seminar with the same readings and schedule, meeting roughly every other week from late August through early December. The two groups will meet together on a few occasions. The Davidson College students will present their semester work at a formal literary soirée in early December, with DavidsonLearns students invited to attend.
Required and Suggested Materials
For the specific texts and editions and how to get them, as well as some more details on reading Kafka together, see the course website.
The instructor urges purchasing from Main Street Books to ensure that everyone is reading the same edition and to support our local independent bookstore.
Cost
$104
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 18 students
Day
Tuesday
Time
3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Date
Aug. 27; Sep. 10, 24; Oct. 8, 22; Nov. 5, 19; Dec. 3
In-Person Traditional Courses
Status: Open
Contradictions in Behavior: Yours and Everyone Else’s
Instructor: Grace Mitchell, PhD
Looking for a new way to understand the strange and contradictory behavior of others, not to mention your own? This one-session workshop will provide a perspective you may not have considered: the profound influence of an individual’s "approach to life." Based on data from original research in the fields of adult development and psychology, the instructor and a colleague identified seven distinct "approach to life" personality types and labeled them with easily understood sports metaphors. For example, do you approach life like a "lap swimmer," becoming expert at what you do as you stay in your lane but resisting changing lanes? Each personality type exhibits both healthy and unhealthy attributes, and these can lead to contradictory behavior. Course participants will identify their own dominant personality type using the Approach to Life Inventory (ALI) and will learn how that personality type responds to challenges, hopes, fears, and change.
Required and Suggested Materials
None
Status: Open
Introduction to Basic Game Theory
What do the pricing of soft drinks and police interrogation of criminal suspects have in common? What is the best strategy for winning a game of chicken? What can politicians learn from new car dealers? The field of game theory offers insight for answering these and other questions. This course introduces students to basic elements of game theory and its applications to business, economics, and public policy. Among the topics covered are zero-sum games, the prisoners’ dilemma, and Nash Equilibrium. The course assumes no prior knowledge of game theory, but the material is somewhat technical.
Suggested Materials
The instructor will provide suggested readings prior to the first scheduled meeting.
Cost
$39
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 25 students
Day
Monday
Time
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Date
Sep. 23, 30; Oct. 7
Status: Open
Local History and Archival Strategies: Learn from Yesterday, Preserve for Tomorrow
Instructor: Jessica Cottle, MA, and the Staff of the Davidson College Archives, Special Collections & Community Department
This two-session mini-course will be led by the staff of the Davidson College Archives, Special Collections & Community Department. In the first session, students will learn how to explore and access the department’s notable and unique resources about town and college history, including oral histories, local publications, scrapbooks, and photographs. The second session will be workshop-style, and students will receive training on how to use the provided archival supplies to preserve a selection of their own family records. At the end of the course, students will be able to conduct their own research on local history topics. In addition, they will understand how to protect their own records to share their story with their families and how to contribute to our larger understanding of Davidson’s past, present, and future.
Required Materials
For the second session, students should bring a small selection of their own records so they can fully participate in the archives workshop. This material could be photographs, scrapbooks, ephemera, materials from volunteer work or other organizations, or other family records deemed valuable to the participant. Instructors will provide archival storage materials and guiding literature. This includes our Beginner’s Guide to Family Archives.
Cost
$26
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 15 students
Day
Tuesday
Time
9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Date
Nov. 5, 12
Status: Open
Men’s Health Issues
Instructor: Joe Konen, MD, MSPH
November is Men’s Health month, aka Movember or "no shave November." The Movember Foundation seeks to change the "face of men’s health" by encouraging men to know more about common health conditions; screening, treatment, and prevention of male-specific cancers; mental health disorders; and suicide. This 2-hour mini-course will touch on the Foundation's goals, as well as factors contributing to male identity, dysfunction, and andropause (male menopause). Most of our discussion will focus on prostate enlargement (BPH) and prostate cancer, issues that most men will face over their lifetimes. The instructor – a physician, educator, researcher, and patient facilitator – will share his experiences and the latest medical advances. Participants will be encouraged to think and act holistically when confronted with such issues, to be their own best advocate, and to learn what to do when they need help. The course is open to all, regardless of gender.
Suggested Materials
The instructor will provide suggested readings prior to the first scheduled meeting.
Cost
$13
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 20 students
Day
Tuesday
Time
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Date
Nov. 12
Status: Open
Opioid Problem, American Drug Landscape, and Some Suggestions
Instructor: Peter Harnett, MS, MPH
This course will provide background on key aspects of the pharmacology of opioids, along with facts highlighting the extent of the crisis. For example, of the 108,000 overdose deaths in the US in 2023, roughly 81,000 were attributed to opioids, which is a decrease from 2022. We will discuss how Oxycontin marketing led to more Americans using opioids. Then, we will look at four phases that mark the opioid crisis – opioid prescription, heroin use, fentanyl use, and the use of fentanyl mixed with other drugs. The ever-changing drug landscape includes newer illicit drugs (e.g., medetomidine, xylazine, and benzimidazole opioids) that create additional concerns. The instructor will share his family loss and practical suggestions to limit the drug problem at the community level.
This course will be primarily lecture, but it will include some group participation.
Suggested Materials
The Anonymous People. Directed by Greg D. Williams, 4th Dimensions Productions, 2013.
Keefe, Patrick Radden. Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty. Penguin Random House, 2021.
Pardo, Bryce, et al. The Future of Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids. Rand Corporation, 2021.
Cost
$13
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 20 students
Day
Thursday
Time
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Date
Sep. 19
Status: Open
Too Much to Bear: Navigating the Challenges of Loss, Crisis, and Trauma
Instructor: Frieda Farfour Brown, PhD
At some time in our lives, most of us are challenged by circumstances of loss, crisis, or trauma. It is important to recognize in ourselves and others the signs and symptoms of each and develop an understanding of how to cope. This knowledge gives us and those we love an opportunity for growth and transformation. The content of the course is based on psychological research and the instructor’s years of clinical experience. Participants in this workshop will (1) examine the similarities and differences between loss, crisis, and trauma, (2) learn coping mechanisms for managing each, and (3) create rituals and rhythms that restore a sense of equilibrium and well-being.
Required and Suggested Materials
None
Cost
$39
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 10 students
Day
Wednesday
Time
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Date
Oct. 9, 16, 23
Status: Open
Around the Charlotte Region in Six Days
Instructor: Bill McCoy, PhD
The Charlotte region (Mecklenburg and surrounding counties) is one of the fastest growing areas in the United States. Using the instructor’s personal experience working directly with regional city, town, and county governments – along with information from the archives of the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute – we’ll explore the history of the region. We will examine Charlotte’s explosive growth and the issues stemming from that growth: jobs, housing, crime, education, and transportation. We’ll also look at historical patterns in the surrounding counties and the way outlying areas connect to Charlotte. As tourism plays a major role in the region’s economy, we’ll discuss what there is to see and do in the metropolis.
This course will be primarily lecture, but it will include some group participation.
Suggested Materials
The instructor will suggest articles from the UNC Charlotte’s Urban Institute’s Website, https://ui.charlotte.edu/articles-research, and will provide a short bibliography of books.
Cost
$78
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 25 students
Day
Wednesday
Time
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Date
Oct. 9, 16, 23, 30; Nov. 6, 13
Status: Open
Economic Issues in the 2024 Presidential Election
Instructor: Clark Ross, PhD
This course will examine the economic issues that will shape the November 5 presidential election -- immigration, trade and tariffs, taxes and fiscal policy, and other issues – and will discuss the positions we expect Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump to take. In one session following the election, we will assess the role that economic policy may have played in the election outcome.
Required and Suggested Materials
The instructor will provide a modest amount of required reading from relevant publications, primarily The Economist.
Cost
$65
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 20 students
Day
Wednesday
Time
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Date
Oct. 9, 16, 23, 30; Nov. 13
Status: Open
The End of Globalization: Where Does the World Go from Here?
Instructor: Greg Knudson
Does globalization help world trade by making it cheaper, faster, better, and/or safer? What is the historical context for globalization and world trade, including its benefits and costs? How have the pandemic, geopolitics, demographics, economics, and supply chain issues disrupted and changed globalization? What is the future of globalization? Has a new era begun? What are the geopolitics of China vs. the West (including the US)? We will explore these issues through lectures and some group discussion.
Suggested Materials
The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Economist, Financial Times, and Foreign Affairs.
The instructor will bring selected books to class and will email relevant articles for each student to read.
Cost
$78
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 25 students
Day
Wednesday
Time
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Date
Oct. 16, 23, 30; Nov. 13, 20, 27
Status: Open
Exploring Don Quijote, Part I, by Miguel de Cervantes
Instructor: Deborah Fosberg Nelson, MA
Don Quijote* has been labeled the first and the greatest European novel because it combines the protagonist’s wild adventures with meditations on heroism, examples of sanity and insanity, explorations of love, Renaissance poetry, pastoral novels, and literary criticism.
We will discuss the most significant chapters of the Quijote of 1605, covering the knight’s well-known adventures, his relationship with Sancho Panza, and his adoration of Dulcinea. We will highlight chapters dealing with Cervantes’ biography and societal conflicts in 16th-century Spain. While enjoying the comical aspects of Don Quijote’s misperceptions, we will learn to treasure Cervantes’ masterpiece for its psychological and philosophical depth and its insights into 17th-century history.
* Quixote is the English spelling; modern Spanish spells the word with a "j."
Required Materials
Cervantes, Miguel. Don Quixote. Translated by Edith Grossman. HarperCollins, 2005.
This book may also be available from other sources but be sure you get this translation.
Cost
$78
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 15 students
Day
Monday
Time
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Date
Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28; Nov. 4, 11
Status: Open
The Fascination of Fragrance
Instructor: Zoran Kuzmanovich, PhD
This course is a series of linked, student-chosen investigations into the art, science, and business of fragrance. Among the possible topics are the insights about scent offered by literature, religion, chemistry, biology, psychology, history, and marketing. Our goal is to develop a vocabulary that help us understand the marvelously evocative and behavior-modifying aspects of this exceptionally elusive sense. Each class will conclude with attention to (1) the horticultural needs of one unusual fragrant plant we can grow locally but usually don’t and/or (2) the history and chemistry behind the most iconic perfumes of the 20th century.
People with allergies to perfumes or essential oils should indicate this in the registration process.
Required Materials
Herz, Rachel. The Scent of Desire. HarperCollins, 2008.
This book may also be available from other sources.
The instructor will provide additional handouts.
Cost
$52
Location
Enrollment
Min 6, Max 12 students
Day
Thursday
Time
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Date
Sep. 12, 19, 26; Oct. 3
Status: Open
Fascisms
Instructor: Burkhard Henke, PhD, and
We will examine fascism as a transnational, historical phenomenon that took many different forms, including Mussolini’s Fascist Italy, National Socialism in Germany, and Francoist Spain. We will conclude by comparing 20th-century European fascist ideologies and movements to 21st-century populism in the US and Europe. The course is offered concurrently with a course for Davidson College students.
Required Materials
Epstein, Catherine. Nazi Germany: Confronting the Myths. Wiley, 2015.
Antonio, Altarriba. The Art of Flying. Translated by Adrian Nathan West. Penguin, 2015.
Suggested Materials
Stanley, Jason. How Fascism Works. The Politics of Us and Them. Random House, 2020.
These books may also be available from other sources
Cost
$65
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 25 students
Day
Wednesday
Time
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Date
Sep. 4, 11, 18, 25; Oct. 2
Status: Cancelled
Course Cancelled: Find Your Best Words: An Exploration of Poems and a Workshop for Poets
Instructor: Nora Hutton Shepard, MFA
Samuel Coleridge wrote that poetry is "the best words in the best order." With this in mind, class conversations will focus on selected published poems, material the instructor provides, and students’ own poems to help all participants find "the best words in the best order." Whether you are an experienced poet or a novice, the class activities will enhance the development of your own writing through the lens of selected poets and class feedback. Poems will be from the work of W. H. Auden, Robert Frost, W. S. Merwin, John Balaban, Eleanor Wilner, Jamal May, Betty Adcock, Marilyn Nelson, Claudia Emerson, and others. Bring your poems to share with fellow poets – a tried-and-true method to find out what is working in your poems and what may need to be re-examined. Fellow writers are often the best and most careful readers.
Required and Suggested Materials
All materials will be provided by the instructor.
Cost
$78
Location
Enrollment
Min 8, Max 12 students
Day
Tuesday
Time
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Date
Oct. 1, 8, 15, 29; Nov. 12, 19
Status: Open
The Future of the American Health Care System
Instructor: Joe Konen, MD, MSPH
The delivery of an effective, equitable system to protect and provide the health of the American people is a great challenge. The clamor about accessibility, affordability, and accountability cries out for evolution, if not revolution, of our current system. This course reviews the origins and concepts of the American health care system, the stakeholders of the system, and the emerging strategies being proposed to improve the system. Some of those strategies/goals include disease prevention, cost containment (medical services, pharmaceuticals, insurance rates), and universal coverage vs. Medicare for All. These themes will be prominent in the political dialogue for the 2024 general election.
This course will be primarily lecture, but it will include some group participation.
Required Materials
Shi, Leiyu, and Douglas A. Singh. Delivering Health Care in America: A Systems Approach. Jones & Bartlett, 2019.
This book may also be available from other sources.
Cost
$78
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 20 students
Day
Tuesday
Time
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Date
Sep. 10, 17, 24; Oct. 1, 8, 15
Status: Open
"Here I Raise My Ebenezer": The Sacred Places of Religious Americans
Instructor: John W. Kuykendall, PhD
A significant aspect of human society is the practice of establishing certain places/locations as valued centers of faithful experience. In the pluralistic environment of religion in America, there are almost as many "sacred spaces" as there are varieties of spiritual commitment. This course identifies and seeks to interpret some of those places. After using texts and media to explore several sacred locales throughout the US with the instructor, students will be encouraged to choose and interpret other places that function as sacred in our society and to share them with classmates.
Suggested Materials
The instructor will provide suggested readings prior to the first scheduled meeting.
Cost
$52
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 20 students
Day
Thursday
Time
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Date
Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24
Status: Open
Interest Rates, the Federal Reserve, and the Bond Market
Instructor: Richard M. Reid, MBA
This course will discuss the Federal Reserve policies towards interest rates, the tools at their disposal, and how the Fed balances inflation and unemployment in the US economy. Interest rate changes are one of the risks in bond investing, and they will be analyzed along with credit and structure considerations.
Required and Suggested Materials
None
Cost
$52
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 20 students
Day
Wednesday
Time
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Date
Sep. 11, 18, 25; Oct 2
Status: Open
Maestro: A Deep Dive into the Life and Music of Leonard Bernstein
Instructor: Bill Lawing, DMA
Maestro, 2023's wonderful Oscar-nominated biography of Leonard Bernstein, brings back to the fore one of the most important American musical personalities of the 20th century. In two hours, it was able to touch on the highlights of this remarkable man, but there is so much more to unpack! We'll take a deeper dive into the fascinating life of Bernstein the conductor, the composer, the pianist, the media star, and the family man.
Required Materials
Maestro. Directed by Bradley Cooper, Netflix Production, 2023. Currently available on Netflix.
Suggested Materials
Burton, Humphrey. Leonard Bernstein. Humphrey Burton, publisher, 2001.
The Leonard Bernstein Digital Collection of the Library of Congress. (https://guides.loc.gov/leonard-bernstein/collection).
The Bernstein Collection contains over 400,000 items. Feel free to poke around this treasure trove.
Cost
$65
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 30 students
Day
Monday
Time
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Date
Sep. 16; Oct. 7, 14, 28; Nov. 11
Status: Open
Persuasion and Propaganda in American Politics: From the Populist Movement to the War on Terror
Instructor: J. Michael Hogan, PhD
In the Federalist Papers, America's Founders imagined a democratic republic with safeguards against the rise of demagogues who might stir up the "prejudices," "intemperate passions," and "fluctuations" of the popular will. By the late 19th century, however, new media and new strains of popular discourse began to undermine those safeguards, as various political movements and even the government itself resorted to deceptive and manipulative forms of persuasion.
In this course, we will explore the ethical and practical distinctions between persuasion – an essential tool of democratic governance – and propaganda in a series of historical case studies, beginning with the "Calamity Howlers" of the late 1890s and concluding with 9/11 and the War on Terror. Along the way, we'll encounter figures such as Teddy Roosevelt, Huey Long, Joseph McCarthy, George W. Bush, Donald Trump, and others. In the process, we’ll learn to recognize, analyze, and critique unethical, deceitful, and/or manipulative forms of communication with a view toward becoming more critical consumers in the "marketplace of ideas."
This course will be primarily lecture, but it will include some group participation.
Suggested Materials
The instructor will provide a list of suggested readings.
Cost
$78
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 25 students
Day
Tuesday
Time
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Date
Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; Nov 5
Status: Open
Memoir Writing Workshop: It’s My Story and I’m Stickin’ To It
Instructor: Colleen Thrailkill, EdD
Ever realize that you have a priceless slice of the past to donate to the future? You do – it’s called the story of your life. In this course, we will tap our memories to chronicle the vivid lessons and life experiences that molded us into who we are. Funny, poignant, heroic, or embarrassing, our lives are a bundle of stories that deserve to be recorded either as a private exercise or as a gift to future family generations. This dynamic workshop will release the not-to-be forgotten tales of your life on earth.
Suggested Materials
King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. 20th ed., Scribner, 2020.
Westover, Tara. Educated: A Memoir. Random House, 2018.
Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl. Edited by Otto H. Frank and Mirjam Pressler, translated by Susan Massotty, Bantam, 1997.
These books may also be available from other sources.
Cost
$65
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 10 students
Day
Monday
Time
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Date
Sep. 16, 23, 30; Oct. 7, 14
Status: Open
Perspectives on Traditional Music, Part I
Instructor: Bill Lawing, DMA
Students will explore the musical genre of Traditional Music through instructor lectures, discussions with performing artists, and attendance at four Traditional Music concerts at Davidson College. The first class, one week before the first concert, will introduce the genre and provide background on all the artists. A day or two before each concert, there will be a preparatory session in which students will learn more about the artists and their context within the genre. On the day of the concert, the class will meet for 45 minutes with the artists, who will give examples of what to expect in the upcoming performance.
Note that the course spans both semesters, but registration will occur only in the Fall.
Course Introduction
Monday, September 23, 3:00 PM – 4:15 PM
Concert 1 Background Lecture: A Panoply of European Folk Instruments
Wednesday, September 25, 3:00 PM – 4:15 PM
Concert 1: John Doyle and Irish-American Masters
Monday, September 30, 4:00 PM – 4:45 PM meet-the-artists session and 7:30 PM concert
Our season opens with an Irish extravaganza, John Doyle’s Irish-American Music Masters, five wonderful musicians with shared Irish-American roots, led by the Grammy-nominated John Doyle. He will be joined by vocalist Cathie Ryan, Irish flutist Seamus Egan, John Williams on accordion and concertina, and Ivan Goff on Uilleann pipes. This is truly an all-star tour of five renowned Irish soloists coming together for a tour of the US.
John Doyle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVyB831ZKIg
Cathie Ryan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBSK_zA04uw
Seamus Egan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWqPcItnGME
John Williams: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slBTZsvoR7k
Ivan Goff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAIKOUAQO-Q
Concert 2 Background Lecture: Synthesizing Two Disparate Musical Languages
Tuesday, November 5, 3:00 PM – 4:15 PM
Concert 2: Larry and Joe
Wednesday, November 6, 4:00 PM – 4:45 PM meet-the-artist session and 7:30 PM concert
Our November 6 event focuses on Latin/Appalachian connections, with the great duo of Larry Bellorin and Joe Troop, known simply as Larry and Joe. Joe Troop, a Grammy-nominated Old-time and Bluegrass banjoist who spent over a decade in South America exploring Appalachian and South American connections, has joined with Larry Bellorin, a Venezuelan master on guitar, cuatro, and harp. It will be one of the most distinct virtuoso performances that the Traditional Music Series has produced, alternating between two countries and cultures.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr4fB8zBg5k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NiXVLMza6s&list=RDEMM0p5iqegOp6uKSjA7S6u8w&start_radio=1
Required Materials
The instructor will provide a listening list on YouTube.
Lectures
Meet the Artist
Time
4:00 PM - 4:45 PM
Date
Sep. 30; Nov. 6
Location
Day
Varies
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 30 students
Time
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Date
Sep. 23, 25; Nov. 5
Location
Cost
$39 for the DL course. Individual performance tickets, which can be purchased from Davidson College, are $25 adults, $19 seniors.
Status: Open
A Shutter Blinks and We Forever Gasp
Instructor: Mark Washburn
Photography was past its infancy by the Civil War, when the field of photojournalism blossomed, documenting through the camera's lens the most consequential and astonishing events of the times. We will look at the greatest news photography of three centuries, the photos that brought the world's events to living rooms and many that would revolutionize the world in ways big and small, from Antietam to charming portraiture to the "special operation" in Ukraine. Some images we will view of conflict and disaster contain strong content.
This course will be primarily lecture, but it will include some group participation.
Required and Suggested Materials
None
Cost
$52
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 30 students
Day
Thursday
Time
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Date
Sep. 12, 19, 26; Oct. 3
Status: Open
They Stole the Secrets of the Cold War
Instructor: Mark Washburn
Meet the 10 greatest spies in the post-World War II era, including Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and others you may never have heard of: turncoat FBI and CIA agents, Soviet officers (one called the "$2 Billion Spy," whose data on Soviet radar saved the US military research costs), and two beguiling women whose demure manners gave them entrée to a trove of information priceless to their governments. We will share intrepid tales worthy of James Bond, and – alas, more than once – Inspector Clouseau.
This course will be primarily lecture, but it will include some group participation.
Required and Suggested Materials
None
Cost
$65
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 30 students
Day
Thursday
Time
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Date
Oct. 17, 24, 31; Nov. 7, 14
Status: Open
Visual Arts and the Mind: The Cognitive Science Behind Famous Works of Art
Instructor: Greta Munger, PhD
What do such disparate works as Namibian cave paintings, pointillist Georges Seurat, impressionist Claude Monet, and modernist Mark Rothko have in common? Color. How we see color brings our experience of these very different styles of art together, and each artist expresses more than color by taking advantage of how we see. Similarly, surrealist Salvador Dalí and Claude Monet both use spatial frequency to direct the viewer’s experience of their art in different ways.
This course will highlight these and other aspects of early visual processing, explaining the cognitive science behind famous works of art. Links to specific works of art (2-4 per session) will be available in advance, so students can study them before each class. As students progress through this course, not only will they discover a different way to look at paintings, they also will learn more about the human visual system.
This course will be primarily lecture, but it will include some group participation.
Required Materials
There are no required readings, but students should look at the following pieces of art in advance of the class session.
Session 1: Introduction
Indefinite Divisibility. Yves Tanguy.
The Toilet of Venus. Diego Velasquez.
Session 2: Color
A Sunday on la Grande Jatte. Georges Seurat
Ochre and Red on Red. Mark Rothko
Water Lilies. Claude Monet
Session 3: Spatial Frequency
The Four Trees. Claude Monet
Disappearing Bust of Voltaire. Salvador Dalí
Look for "Disappearing Bust of Voltaire" under "Paintings" tab
Mona Lisa. Leonardo da Vinci
There’s a short movie opening, and then you can zoom in and out using +/- buttons at lower right
Session 4: Faces & Bodies
Portrait de Dora Maar. Pablo Picasso
Vertumnus. Giuseppe Arcimboldo
Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau). John Singer Sargent
Napoleon I on His Imperial Throne. Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
Session 5: Attention
The Oxbow. Thomas Cole
Chinese landscape (no title). Gong Xian
New York, 1911. George Bellows
…And the Home of the Brave. Charles Demuth
Cost
$65
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 18 students
Day
Monday
Time
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Date
Oct. 14, 21, 28; Nov. 4, 11
Status: Open
World War I: The War to End All Wars
Instructor: Eric Hight
The First World War was the seminal event of the 20th century. It left ten million soldiers and six million civilians dead. Under the strain of war and defeat, Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire collapsed in revolution. Large portions of France lay in ruins, and England’s wealth was shattered. Europe ceased to be the center of the world, as leadership passed to the United States in the west and Japan in the east. From the Euro-Asian territories of the old Russia Empire, a colossus arose: The Soviet Union. Peace was not permanent; instead, it led to a twenty-year truce, after which the world witnessed another cataclysmic conflict. This course will cover the causes, the fighting, and the peace treaties of The Great War.
Required Materials
Lang, Seán. First World War for Dummies. Wiley, 2014.
This book may also be available from other sources.
This course is offered as two separate classes – one on Wednesdays and one on Thursdays. If you register for the Wednesday class, you can only attend the Wednesday sessions. If you register for the Thursday class, you can only attend the Thursday sessions. You may not switch between days.
Note that the Wednesday class meets at 1:00 PM, the Thursday class meets at 1:30 PM.
Cost
$78
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 20 students
Day
Wednesday
Time
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Date
Sep. 11, 18, 25; Oct. 2, 9, 16
Cost
$78
Location
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 20 students
Day
Thursday
Time
1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Date
Sep. 12, 19, 26; Oct. 3, 10, 17
Status: Open
Lunch & Learn with Artist Tyler Starr
Instructor: Tyler Starr, PhD and Lia Newman, MA
This lunch-and-learn course will feature Tyler Starr’s exhibition, Tales of the Futures, and an artmaking workshop. After an introduction to the Van Every/Smith Galleries and a tour of the exhibition, Professor Starr will lead participants through a hands-on experience using a unique collage and tracing technique for extracting information from photographs. He developed this approach to artmaking after studying contemporary applications of the Japanese woodblock technique at the Tokyo University of the Arts, where he received a PhD in studio arts. No experience or artmaking skills are needed, but each student should plan to bring a few photos (personal or cut from a magazine).
This course will have an additional fee of $15 per person for art supplies, which we will collect at registration.
Also, a box lunch with either a ham or turkey sandwich will be available for $15 at registration, or participants may bring their own lunch.
Required Materials
None
Cost
Course & Art Supplies: $28
Box Lunch (optional): $15
Location
Van Every/Smith Galleries
Enrollment
Min 5, Max 20 students
Day
Friday
Time
10:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Date
Sep. 20