Remote   

We’ll look at six collective narratives we Americans tell ourselves regarding who we are as a country, examining in each case its origins, proponents, political and cultural uses, behavioral implications, and eventual fate. We will consider John Winthrop’s “City Upon a Hill,” Thomas Jefferson’s Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, “Manifest Destiny,” Theodore Roosevelt’s “Large Policy,” American “Exceptionalism,” and America the “Indispensable” Nation. Selected readings provided electronically. New remote course. Format includes lecture and discussion.

In partnership with Portland’s Irish Heritage Center, this course will lead us on a journey through Ireland’s rich literary, historical, and musical legacy. We will explore highlights in poetry, read James Joyce’s The Dubliners, consider key elements in Irish history as they relate to Portland, learn about musical and dance traditions, hear and speak Irish phrases, and be introduced to genealogical resources for personal enrichment. Designed for participants in the OLLI trip to Ireland in May 2025, this course is open to anyone interested in the vibrant heritage of Ireland. New hybrid course. Format includes lecture, discussion, film, and movement.

REQUIRED MATERIALS: Dubliners, James Joyce, ed. Terrance Brown, ISBN 9780140186475

In partnership with Portland’s Irish Heritage Center, this course will lead us on a journey through Ireland’s rich literary, historical, and musical legacy. We will explore highlights in poetry, read James Joyce’s The Dubliners, consider key elements in Irish history as they relate to Portland, learn about musical and dance traditions, hear and speak Irish phrases, and be introduced to genealogical resources for personal enrichment. Designed for participants in the OLLI trip to Ireland in May 2025, this course is open to anyone interested in the vibrant heritage of Ireland. New hybrid course. Format includes lecture, discussion, film, and movement.

REQUIRED MATERIALS: Dubliners, James Joyce, ed. Terrance Brown, ISBN 9780140186475

The “Gita” offers a “new” synthesis of the Vedic ritualists,
Sankhya Yoga, and “karma yoga.” In a liminal space
before a battle, Krishna draws the facts of the world, how
it feels to be engaged in it, and offers methodologies that
enable us to connect with the facts of existence. Arjuna
is on a journey home to his true self, and this can also be
our journey. The parallels with modern times are striking.
Professor Douglas Brooks’ brilliant translation will be
used, and Richard will lead an essentially line by line
examination of the text. There will be time for questions
and discussion. New remote course. Format will include
lecture and discussion.

The focus of this class is Jung’s thoughts on the nature of the Self, the theory of the collective unconscious and its expression in archetypical images, myths, dreams and active imagination. We will read primarily selections from Jung. I will provide supplemental readings from related thinkers, such as Joseph Campbell and Marion Woodman. Used copies of the required text are readily available online. New remote course. Format includes lecture and discussion.
REQUIRED BOOK: The Portable Jung, Joseph Campbell, Editor, ISBN 9780140150704

Small town life, blue sea summers, and harsh dark winters characterize the Maine landscape that we cherish. We will see our state through the eyes and imaginations of iconic Maine authors as we read four novels in eight weeks. The class is highly participatory with the discussion facilitated by four teams of two presenters. Come prepared to immerse yourself. Please read the first half of How to Read a Book for the first class. New remote course. Format includes discussion.

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

How to Read a Book, Monica Wood,
ISBN 9780063243675;

Billy Summers, Stephen King,
ISBN 9781982173623;

This Other Eden, Paul Harding,
ISBN 9781324074526;

Tell Me Everything, Elizabeth Strout,
ISBN 9780593446096

The discussion facilitators will be Susan Carter, Matt Ellenberger, David Hartley, Paula Johnson, Anna Messmer, Mark Sundermann, and Karen Winslow. Using a collaborative model, we will take a deep dive into contemporary fiction.

If we can’t change the world, we can create local Islands of Sanity. Meg Wheatley suggests that in this time of alienation, despair, and anger these will be oases which restore our generosity, creativity, and kindness; awaken the human spirit and enrich our capacity to work well together. She provides a practical manual. Our class will learn and practice as we create our own Island of Sanity. Are you ready to explore and experiment? New remote course. Format includes lecture and discussion.
SUGGESTED MATERIALS: Restoring Sanity: Practices to Awaken Generosity, Creativity and Kindness in Ourselves and Our Organizations, Meg Wheatley, ISBN 1523006269

This is a continuation of a course of the same title given in Winter 2025. Answer to Job was Jung’s last and greatest work. It addresses the “problem of evil,” or more specifically, the question of why bad things happen to good people. Part 1 is not a required prerequisite for Part 2. New remote course. Format includes lecture and discussion.
REQUIRED MATERIALS: Answer to Job, Carl G. Jung, ISBN 9780691150475

“The printing of pictures...brought a completely new thing into existence... It is hardly too much to say that since the invention of writing there has been no more important invention than that of the exactly repeatable pictorial statement (i.e., the print)”— William Ivins, Prints and Visual Communication. We will examine the history and technique of prints from 1440 to the present. We will discuss the political and social impact prints have had on culture, learn to identify specific printmaking techniques, and explore landmarks in artistic expression in printmaking through readings, lectures, and group discussions, including a discusson of the definitions of an “original print.” New remote course. Format includes lecture.
SUGGESTED MATERIALS: Prints and Printmaking: An Introduction to the History and Techniques, Antony Griffiths, ISBN 9780394326733

By challenging Europe’s dehumanizing aristocratic values, Shakespeare’s “tragicomedies” pose conceptions of humanity that seek the common good, dignify productive labor, and evoke emotions of awe and discovery. These plays converge, in surprising detail, with republican currents among Puritan activists (who also embraced the revolutionary new sciences), and similar impulses embedded in England’s American colonial projects, where Captain John Smith led in the sharpening cultural clash. With equal parts history and drama, Europe and America, we explore Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Smith’s popular writings, and contemporary Puritan texts, revealing their common, America-focused hopes for a truly “New World.” REPEAT hybrid course. Format includes lecture, discussion, and film.
REQUIRED MATERIALS: The Tempest, William Shakespeare, any edition.

By challenging Europe’s dehumanizing aristocratic values, Shakespeare’s “tragicomedies” pose conceptions of humanity that seek the common good, dignify productive labor, and evoke emotions of awe and discovery. These plays converge, in surprising detail, with republican currents among Puritan activists (who also embraced the revolutionary new sciences), and similar impulses embedded in England’s American colonial projects, where Captain John Smith led in the sharpening cultural clash. With equal parts history and drama, Europe and America, we explore Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Smith’s popular writings, and contemporary Puritan texts, revealing their common, America-focused hopes for a truly “New World.” REPEAT hybrid course. Format includes lecture, discussion, and film.
REQUIRED MATERIALS: The Tempest, William Shakespeare, any edition.

This is the second part of a two-semester course. It runs from the Civil War to the present, and the first semester is not a requirement for the second. Topics will include: women in industrial America, immigrant women, urban social reformers, family life, suffrage, women at war, the Great Depression, gender, and race. Repeat remote course. Format includes lecture, discussion, and film.
SUGGESTED MATERIALS: America’s Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Helpmates, and Heroines, Gail Collins, ISBN 9780061227226