FALL QUARTER 2019
WEDNESDAYS: Sept. 18 & 25 FRIDAYS: Sept. 20 & 27
Oct. 2, 16, 23 & 30 Oct. 4, 18 & 25
Nov. 1, 8 & 15 Nov. 6 & 13
NO CLASS ON WED., OCT. 9 OR FRI., OCT. 11
Link to Registration at bottom of page.
Wednesdays
9:30 a.m. ClassesTOWN HALL 2019
Gail Ripans, MA in International Relations, Member, Senior University Gail Ripans and invited experts will share their expertise on China, Russia, the Middle East, Terrorism, Nuclear Proliferation, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, and Alzheimer’s Disease. Will also include a session with a Legislative Update from Senator Perdue’s Head of Georgia Office. ARE WE REALLY HONEST? ARE WE REALLY MORAL? Shai Robkin, serial entrepreneur, Operations Manager and Business Consultant This course will explore the evolutionary psychological explanations for the origins of and differences in people’s most closely held beliefs. We will also question whether human behavior can be properly considered moral and honest. The course examines the ideas of two social psychologists — Jonathan Haidt and Dan Ariely as reflected in their respective books, The Righteous Mind – Why Good People Are Divided by Religion and Politics and The Honest Truth About Dishonesty. BOTANY Coordinators: Dorothy Zinsmeister, Professor Emerita, Kennesaw State University and Virginia Dunbar, Member, Senior University You depend on plants and they are all around you but how much do you really know about them? In this course five lecturers will share their expertise on the biology and use of plants. Dorothy Zinsmeister will address myths of fruits and vegetables, plant sex, how they monitor the seasons, and photosynthesis as the biosphere's metabolic foundation. Dabney Dixon will cover a few key medications from plants and the importance of maintaining biodiversity. Chuck Sams will explain how lichens are used by the Forestry Service to monitor air quality. Leslie Edwards will discuss Georgia’s diverse plant communities. Sharon Worsham will explore how to identify, forage for, and creatively use edible wild plants. 11:00 a.m. Classes
THE UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS FROM 1836 TO 1860
John Evans, MA Curriculum Development, retired public school administrator During just over two decades six presidents were elected. Two of them died in office; two vice presidents ascended to the presidency; our country expanded to the Pacific Ocean; we fought a war with Mexico; and we experienced our nation becoming bitterly divided over the “slavery question.” We will examine the events – and several “interesting people” -- in an informal manner with opportunity for students to ask questions and make comments. ATLANTA AUTHORS AND PODCASTERS Norman Slawsky, Attorney at Law and Member, Senior University Book and podcast presentations from diverse authors and podcasters: Rachel Guinn and Ryan Roy (Introduction to Podcasts), Jim Auchmutey (Smokelore: A Short History Of Barbecue), Arri Eisen (The Endangered Gene), Bret Witter (Master Plan), Trudy Nan Boyce (The Policeman’s Daughter), Aaron Waisler (The Greatest Generation podcast), Mickey Dubrow (American Judas), and Sean Powers (GPB Director of Podcasting). Class schedule will be posted on bulletin board. HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY PART I: THE SCIENCE OF THE MIND Michael Zeiler, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Psychology Emeritus, Emory University This course traces the development of psychology as a natural science. Psychology has been and continues to be a field of continual change and development. Over the course of its history, psychology has taken many forms and has adopted a number of different definitions. Various conceptual issues dictated the nature of psychology, and these led to the development of systematic approaches to the field. This history shows where psychology has been, why it was what it was and why it changed, and where it is now. The focus of Part I of this course is on the development of the science of the mind. Part 2: Science of Behavior will follow in Winter quarter. |
Fridays9:30 a.m. Classes
CHAMBER MUSIC OF THE ROMANTIC PERIOD
Charles R. Hubert, retired attorney, Member, SUGA This class will consist of listening to recordings of performances of selected works by various composers from the Romantic Era, preceded by a brief lecture, and followed by questions, answers, and discussion. The following is a tentative list of the music to be the main focus of the class each week: 1. Mendelssohn - String Quartet 2. Mendelssohn - Piano Trio 3. Mendelssohn - Octet 4. Schumann - Piano Quartet 5. Schumann - Piano Quintet 6. Brahms - Piano Trio 7. Brahms - Clarinet Quintet 8. Brahms - Piano Quintet Final selection list will be posted. The main purpose of this class is to familiarize participants with the music presented. It is recommended that you listen to each selection prior to the class, and then again in the days after the class. Performances can be found on youtube.com. WHO NEEDS PHILOSOPHY? Frank Casper, BA Philosophy, MTS, Theological Studies All of us have lived out our daily lives, consciously or not, under the umbrella of our “inalienable rights,” chief among them the right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Indeed, so ingrained are these rights that we take for granted the right to pursue happiness even if we don’t often know what it means. On May 30, 2019, Politico reported that the Trump administration, led by Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State, will convene a new “Commission on Unalienable Rights.” The purpose of this commission will be to provide “fresh thinking about human rights discourse where such discourse has departed from our nation's founding principles of natural law and natural rights.” What are these abstract sounding principles of “natural law” and “natural rights,” and where has the discourse about them departed from our founding principles? These philosophical questions directly concern the character, content, and prospects for the lives of all Americans, and are questions worth examining. Using select videos from the Great Courses series, some movie clips, and discussion, we will explore these and other relevant questions. NEUROSCIENCE, EVOLUTION, RELIGION, AND CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN SOCIETY Darryl Neill, Professor of Psychology, Emory University Professor Neill has focused his career on the area of “Behavioral Neuroscience,” spending decades conducting basic research with experimental animals on brain and behavior and reading related literature on brain and behavior. This course will present some highlights of what he’s learned concerning current “hot topics,” including the neuroscience of sex, gender, and sexual orientation; race and racism; individual differences in abilities and our changing economy, why only some people become drug addicts; and the otherwise rather mystical topic of awareness and self. 11:00 a.m. Classes
ART HISTORY: RENAISSANCE IN NORTHERN EUROPE, 1400s & 1500s
Marilyn Morton, BS & MS in Art Education, PhD, Interdisciplinary/Art History During the 1400s and 1500s, while Italy was experiencing technical breakthroughs with enormous works of art, painters in Northern Europe were just emerging from their miniaturist traditions. These Northerners were concentrating on painting the surfaces of objects as sharp-focused and detailed as possible. Optical naturalism, not drama, was their objective, and supported by wealthy patrons with a preference for lavish beauty, they satisfied this demand. We will examine the most important works of the 15th and 16th centuries in western Europe, with the intention of discovering the symbolic meanings embedded in the images. CANCER 101 Gregg M. Orloff, PhD, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine The course is designed to provide an overview of cancer biology, treatment and survivorship. Course will begin by exploring the changes that turn normal cells into cancer cells. Subsequent topics will include metastasis, the role of the immune system in preventing and possibly contributing to cancer, causes of cancer, the myriad of treatment approaches and clinical trials. We will also spend some time discussing the side effects of cancer treatment and short and long-term impacts of cancer on the patient and their caregivers. GAME CHANGERS III Brandt Ross, Former business CEO & folk singer The stories, the history and the folk music of the following events and the people: The Miracle of the Revolutionary War; 100th Anniversary of Armistice Day; Three Ladies: Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth and Ida B. Wells; Women of Valor – World War II; “Jackie and Moe” (Jackie Robinson and Moe Berg); Bass Reeves: “The Greatest Lawman”; Women of the West: Cynthia Ann Parker, Women of the Oregon Trail, and Annie Oakley; The Dust Bowl: When the Sky Turned Black. All programs include folk music and guitar. |
Annual Tuition for four quarters: $175 (single) $350 (couple)