Monday Session 2   

Delve into the lives and personalities behind the music in this course on Richard Wagner, Clara Schumann, Ludwig van Beethoven, and the Mendelssohn siblings Felix and Fanny. We will uncover the fascinating stories, struggles, and creative passions that shaped these influential musicians, providing a deeper understanding of the human spirit that resonates through their masterpieces and performances.

A neologism of the word "utopia" (meaning "the good no-place"), the term "dystopia" was coined to describe attempts by fiction to envision a world that is politically bad, broken, oppressive, and hurtful to human life. These "bad no-places" capture the imagination in fiction and allow sci-fi and futurist fiction in particular to explore the depths that political regimes could reach. This class considers the notion of dystopia in a political theory context and will explore dystopian visions both famous and obscure. We will also spend time thinking about how we leverage the term in our political lives, and what people mean when they utter "this is dystopian": do our visions of potential bad futures have anything to say about our political now?

This course examines episodes of cultural collision, moments when different world views – ideas about human origins, cultural values and practices, systems of politics, theories of science – encounter one another. We will study instances of cultural collision and exchange to consider some fundamental questions: How are human knowledge, values, and beliefs shaped? How do they evolve and spread? What can we learn about the values and belief systems of different cultures when they come into contact with one another? What can we learn about ourselves by exploring our encounters with other cultures?

 

Despite the costly failure of Operation Barbarossa in 1941, the Germans launched another offensive in the summer of 1942. What were the reasons for and the goals of this offensive? How is the failure of the offensive to be explained? Did its failure, particularly the destruction of the 6th Army at Stalingrad, constitute a decisive turning point in the struggle or was a German victory, or at least a stalemate in the East, still possible? These and other questions, which spawned When Titans Clashed, will be addressed in this course.

In the recent case City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a local government can enact and enforce criminal penalties such as fines and even jail for acts such as camping or sleeping on public property. Critics have characterized this as criminalizing homelessness. The course will discuss the case and its legacy, the history and causes of homelessness in the United States, and an exploration of homelessness in other countries.

This course is for anyone who loves museums and wants to learn more about them! We will discuss museums throughout their history, starting with early collections of curiosity. The course will then explore different types of museums that emerge over time. We will break down museum studies and conclude with a discussion of the current state of decolonization and repatriation efforts. With this course, participants will be able to gain greater appreciation and understanding of all types of museums.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS COURSE HAS MOVED TO SESSION 2. IT WILL MEET IN PERSON MONDAYS 3:15-5 P.M.

Both Puritanism and Quakerism developed amid religious controversy, social change, and political strife in England in the 17th century—which also provoked migration to New England. Objects of establishment scorn and royal persecution in England, Puritans sought to realize their vision of a godly society— and transformed themselves into a persecuting officialdom. Puritan treatment of Quakers in New England of the 17th century raises still pertinent questions about religious toleration and the tension between rights of conscience and pursuit of spiritual perfection.

This American history lecture course will focus on the biographies of key founding fathers: Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton. The time periods of colonial, revolutionary, and early U.S. history will also be explored in the context of their lives.