Time/Day/Where |
Course/Instructor |
Overview |
Monday |
2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
MONDAYS ZOOM |
THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION - NOVEMBER 22, 1963
Sal DePasquale, MCJ (Criminal Justice), MBA |
Those questioning the Kennedy Assassination have been denigrated as conspiracy theory nut jobs. The official version of events is much more sensible. Consider this synopsis: · A former Marine, who served in Japan on a top-secret assignment and defected to the Soviet Union, returned to America but didn’t face espionage charges; · He purchased a traceable mail-order poor quality Italian made rifle that he used to kill JFK while on a lunch break; · He went to the lunchroom after the assassination to eat his lunch; · Where he was confronted by the building manager and a Dallas police officer; · He then left the building and took a cab home; · After a brief stay—presumably a potty stop--proceeded to a movie theater, killing a police officer along the way, where he was arrested; · He was killed 2 days later in police station by a Mafia connected strip club owner. Nothing strange about the official version. This class views events through the lens of an assassin, a security specialist and an investigator. Suggested reading: The Devil’s Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA and the Rise of America’s Secret Government by David Talbot, The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and their Secret World War by Steven Kinzer, and November 22, 1963: A Brief Guide to the JFK Assassination by Jeremy Bojczuk.
|
Tuesday |
9:30 AM
TUESDAYS ZOOM |
ICONIC CRIMINAL TRIALS OF THE 20TH CENTURY
Jeff Milsteen, Attorney and Former Deputy Attorney General of Georgia |
We all remember the names — Sacco & Vanzetti, Leopold & Loeb, Leo Frank, Julius & Ethel Rosenberg, the Scopes Monkey Trial, the Chicago Seven, the Manson family and more — but how much do we really know about some of the most famous criminal trials of the twentieth century? This class will explore the history of jury trials in America in the context of many of the so-called “trials of the century,” spectacles that captured the public’s attention and shaped the future, for better or worse, of our criminal justice system. The evolving role and influence of the media in covering these trials will also be examined.
|
11:00 AM
TUESDAYS ZOOM |
THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION - NOVEMBER 22, 1963
Sal DePasquale, MCJ (Criminal Justice), MBA |
[SEE DESCRIPTION LISTED UNDER MONDAY]
|
Wednesday |
11:00 AM
WEDNESDAYS ZOOM* |
THE LIFE AND POETRY OF WALT WHITMAN
Joe Baird, Attorney, Administrative Law Judge (retired), SUGA Member |
Many consider Walt Whitman (1819-1892) to be America’s greatest poet and the father of modern American poetry. His poetry collection, Leaves of Grass, is a true classic. He also lived a fascinating life as a journalist in a crucial period of transformation in the nation’s history. This class will discuss aspects of his poetry, the controversy created by his bold, innovative, and sometimes overtly sensual poems, and the fascinating historical period in which he lived. Poetry novices are welcome in this class. No book purchases required.
|
2:00 PM
WEDNESDAYS ZOOM |
REVISED HISTORY OF AMERICA
Sal DePasquale, MCJ (Criminal Justice), MBA |
Mr. DePasquale is reprising this course.
This class offers a different narrative than the one we were taught in school. In it we argue that American History began with humans migrating out of Africa, across Siberia and into the lands we know today as the Americas about 20,000 years ago. Some 500 years ago, however, technology opened a pathway for European invasion. With the 15th century Doctrine of Discovery, Spain invaded. This new age brings European settlement, which, along with the rich fertile soil capable of generating enormous wealth fosters the institution of slavery. The story of America includes some events we are not proud of. Slaughtering indigenous peoples, human and environmental exploitation, and taking lands by brute force—these are not part of the tale of freedom and justice we’ve been taught. The Doctrine of Discovery, the institution of slavery, the French-Indian War, the Louisiana Purchase, and the rebranding of slavery under the disguise of Jim Crow are significant events we must reconsider. This series of classes revises American History, not by re-writing it, but by widening the frames so events may be viewed in context and so patterns may be discerned and highlighted. |
Thursday |
9:30 AM
THURSDAYS ZOOM |
POTPOURRI
Ann Levine, Coordinator, Curriculum Chair, SUGA |
For more information on these speakers, see “Potpourri” Syllabus.
|
11:00 AM
THURSDAYS ZOOM |
DECODING, DECEPTION AND DOUBLE-CROSS
Bill Fisher, Business Consultant, retired BellSouth senior manager, Member, SUGA |
There’s an old saying that the Second World War was won with: British Brains, American Brawn, and Russian Blood. There’s indeed a lot of truth in this expression. This series of classes will take you into a set of clandestine operations, largely British-managed, where several hundred people changed the outcome in favor of the Allies. The big payoff was the successful invasion of northern France that we know as D-Day. The people involved a wide range of characters: from Cambridge and Oxford professors, on-the-run Polish mathematicians, to an eclectic group of eccentrics of varied nationalities who were turncoats to the Nazi cause. The skills involved range from complex mathematics, to incredible intuitive thinking, to outright lySome of names and places might be vaguely familiar like Alan Turing at Bletchley Park and an encryption machine known as Enigma, but most have been relegated to the dustbin of popular history. These classes seek to bring light to all of their contributions and legacies which range from the modern digital computer to the not-so-fictional character of James Bond. Many of the secrets were taken to the graves of the participants, most remained secrets for nearly 50 years. More become declassified each year making this a story that grows and changes over the years.
|
Friday |
9:30 AM
FRIDAYS ZOOM* |
GEORGIA GEOLOGY
Charles “Chuck” Hill, freelance geologist in the environmental consulting industry |
Class 1 The Barrier Island Sequence: The present islands and those of the last 2 million years
Class 2 The Coastal Plain: Sedimentary sequences from the last 70 million years made up of 10,000 cubic miles of material Class 3 The Valley & Ridge: Sedimentary sequences from the Paleozoic 550-300 million years ago Class 4 The Cartoogechaye-Cowrock-Dahlonega Gold Belt: A volcanic island arc and the sea between, now the Blue Ridge Mountains Class 5 The Tugaloo: Island arcs and sea floors intruded by granites, the terrane we live on Class 6 The Cat Square-Pine Mountain-Carolina: More volcanic island arcs, sea floors, and a piece of Rodinia a billion years old Class 7 The Brunswick-Suwanee: Buried terranes including a piece of Gondwana-Africa Class 8 Geology of Georgia and Human Settlement |
11:00 AM
FRIDAYS ZOOM* |
REDLINING THE WORKING CLASS
David Slavin, PhD, History, taught European, World and U.S. History at college level for 25 years |
Because race and gender obscure working class reality, activists and scholars wrestle with how to map labor history. Most knotty is the problem of the "white race." Not simply a social construct, it is a ruling class invention to separate the ranks of the exploited and, by imposing unequal status privilege on the "white" worker, maintain order and undermine resistance to exploitation. Industrial-financial elites adapted the slaveocracy's design to serve their own need for social control. Yet today's progressives tend to lump "white worker" with "Trump voter," a self-defeating assumption that reinforces efforts to convince "white" workers that their interests lie with a cross-class "white front." Rethinking class by statistically dis-aggregating "whites" and focusing on the lowest three income quintiles helps distinguish white privilege, and reveal its hidden costs. This course will rely on recent works by Heather McGhee, Ian Haney Lopez, Adolph Reed Jr., and a reassessment of New Deal reforms to help clarify the present political moment.
|