History & Current Affairs   

Learn about the origins of democracy: how the Athenian lawgiver Solon (638-559 BCE), one of the seven sages of ancient Greece, made democratic constitutional reforms to Draco's harsh laws that were novel in their own time but still relevant today. Learn how our American democracy, its founding principles, public architecture, legislative bodies and Western Civilization owe their origins in important ways to Ancient Athens and Greek culture, achievements, philosophy, science and technology.

Who's growing? Who's not? We will examine the latest economic and demographic data and discuss what factors are driving change around the world, with an emphasis on the largest countries and blocs. Data sheets will be distributed in advance and complemented by maps and graphs shown during the class discussion.

By presenting relevant concepts and data, this on-going course aims to equip each participant to be an educated consumer of news on a wide range of economic topics. Discussions will be fact-driven and nontechnical; no formal economics training is required. This class will skip Monday April 28.

Building design is inherently derivative. Context, natural resources and vernacular building traditions play a role in defining a cultures’ monuments and architecture. While “form follows function” offers one clue as to the origins of style; aesthetics were historically in the hands of a “master builder.” Learn how Architectural Styles owe their origins to pragmatic and aesthetic traditions in order to achieve “firmness, commodity and delight,” i.e.. “architecture” versus just “construction.”

The ideological slogans familiar in political debate ("conservative," "liberal," etc.) are not always as clear as they may appear. Let's review the ideas behind some of the most common terms and the history of their use. We'll also look at some of the difficulties the American political system has in accommodating the diversity of our political opinions.

Get some perspective on today's world by journeying through the significant events and trends in politics, economics, culture, science and technology of the past 100 years - viewed both in historical context and their relevance for today. We'll note the many surprising twists, turns and ironies of humanity's path, and reflect on the hopes and dangers which may lay ahead.