Language & Travel   

This class uses a group study of the book Complete Spanish Step by Step, Premium 2nd Edition, by Barbara Bregstein, beginning with chapter 1.

This class uses a group study of the book Complete Spanish Step by Step, Premium 2nd Edition, by Barbara Bregstein, beginning with chapter 13.

This class engages in a group study of the book Complete Spanish Step by Step, Premium 2nd Edition, by Barbara Bregstein, beginning with chapter 7.

Paris, Normandy, Lascaux, and Provence are well traveled areas of France. France is more than those destinations. In this class we will explore five areas that you might not have heard of that are often favorites of the French. From history to culture, food, and heritage, we will discover what makes each worth the detour.

This class is for people who have studied some French in the past. We study basic French grammar, usage, pronunciation, and vocabulary. The focus is communicating with others in written and spoken French.

This class is centered around a French book. The class reads aloud, followed by translation into English, with some discussion of vocabulary, grammar, and the plot. We will review grammar when questions about usage or form come up, perhaps dedicating a class to a particularly irksome topic.

On parle français dans cette classe, sans traduction (si nous avons de la chance). On doit avoir l'envie d'entendre et de parler mieux le français, et peut-être un jour le parler couramment. Il n’y a pas de textes.

This class is for those who have been studying Spanish for a while and already have some ability to converse.

When did France become France? Using maps, this class will examine the changing boundaries and structures within the territory now known as France from the fall of the western Roman Empire circa 450 CE to the French Revolution in 1789. Key events and personalities will punctuate the story of the origins of the France we know today.

West Africa is unlike anywhere else on Earth. In Benin, Togo, and Ghana, ancient Voodoo traditions continue to shape everyday life alongside Christianity and Islam. Explore remarkable ceremonies, tribal cultures, the Ashanti kingdom, and the moving legacy of the Atlantic slave trade in a presentation with many photos and videos. Visit a fetish market, partake in funeral rites, and attend the Festival of Akwasidae at which the Ashanti chiefs gather to pay homage to the Asantehene, the Ashanti King. Try and understand what it was like in the horrific dungeons at Elmina, Ghana, where enslaved people were warehoused before being shipped to the new world. And much, much more.

This class covers writing and conversation in Spanish. The class will be conducted mostly in Spanish; English may be used for support. Participants will have the opportunity to speak and to write short compositions for review and discussion. The class may have native speakers and professional Spanish educators as guest speakers. There is nothing like having a professional Spanish educator to help learn Spanish conversation.

Join us to learn to sing songs in Spanish. Lyrics and audio files will be provided to help you learn. In class, we will review song lyrics and sing along to recordings. The option is available for any class member to play or sing the music live in class.

This is a participatory, discussion-based class exploring the hidden assumptions in our language. Does the way we speak influence and manipulate the way we think? Our language is replete with militaristic euphemisms and metaphors, political code words and dog whistles, and hidden assumptions about power, patriarchy, hierarchy, and identity. Many of those words and phrases are so ingrained in our lexicon that we are oblivious to the potentially manipulative power they hold over us and our way of thinking.

Persia, now called Iran, has an ancient and rich history of producing fascinating architecture and artifacts whether they be paintings, ceramics, decorated tile works, metal works, or carpets. The beauty of Persian culture from earliest times has significantly influenced a large part of the world's creative endeavors. This class will introduce select works from early Persian history through the early twentieth century.