Afternoon   

Johann Sebastian Bach spent the final twenty seven years of his career in Leipzig, Germany creating unsurpassed masterpieces such as the Mass in B Minor, St. Matthew's Passion and the Goldberg Variations. We will delve in these riches (among others), and the circumstances under which they were created. 

This course will explore the history of the Boston Public Schools system, from its inception in 1642 through the tumultuous busing crisis of the 1960s and 70s and to the district’s present-day realities of charter school competition, Exam School politics, and school mergers. As the first public school system in the nation, BPS holds a unique position within our city and country’s history – this course will allow participants to consider how BPS has changed over time and to explore what lessons the district’s history holds that can help to shape the future of public education in Boston and beyond. 

Infrastructures, often celebrated as symbols of modernity and national progress, are political. They tell stories about our aspirations, identities and what we collectively value in our societies. The course explores how big infrastructure projects from America’s Interstate Highway System to China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Pakistan reshape lives and displace communities. Through brief readings and engaging conversations, we will discuss the risks and rewards of “development” while connecting with familiar local histories such as Boston’s Big Dig and Interstate 81. Together, we will reassess development goals by critically evaluating development discourses around large infrastructure projects. 

The United States has always interacted with foreign nations but only in the late 19th Century did it go abroad and begin to compete directly with other great powers and intervene violently in other nations. Since that time, the U.S. has been involved in many wars and smaller conflicts too numerous to enumerate. Are many Americans really aware of key realities of these numerous conflicts? What does the history of American foreign policy over the last century or so have to teach us about ourselves and our interactions with other peoples? Is it true that the United States has gone to war only reluctantly in opposition to the threats and aggressions of other states and individuals?  Has Washington always fostered and promoted democracies and avoided conflict at all costs? Can we identify the underlying motivations and aims for specific policies carried out at different times? How may a critical examination of key episodes in the nation’s foreign affairs from the late 19th Century to the present help us grasp the dangers of the modern era? This course will examine: the Annexation of Hawaii, the Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II, The Korean War, The Vietnam War, the Iraq War, and the Afghanistan War.  

Chair yoga is so popular now….for many reasons. One is because people can get the benefits without getting on the floor and most everyone can do it. It increases circulation, keeps the joints lubricated, promotes relaxation, helps with better breathing, works on balance and increases strength. Come reap the benefits of this practice. You can do it! 

Learn simple, chair-friendly practices to steady the nervous system. Each session blends brief education (why breathing helps), guided meditation, and gentle movement you can do at home—no mat required. We’ll cover pacing the breath, grounding with the senses, and light mobility for stiff spots. Leave with a 10-minute daily routine and a personal “calm kit.” 

Join us for a tour of Boston’s colorful religious history. What basic beliefs did the Wampanoag and the Pilgrims share? Did Cardinal Cushing support Billy Graham’s Boston Crusades? How did Malcolm X’s pilgrimage to Mecca lay the groundwork for the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center? What does the Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge symbolize? You’ll learn answers to these questions and many more. Boston is home to the spiritual and the skeptical alike; if you’re interested in local history, this course is for you. 

Arguments about sex differences are a part of the current zeitgeist, so a foundational understanding of how sex works on a biological level is critical to being an informed voter and citizen. In this course we will explore how plants and animals determine sex, why they do that, how it evolved, and what the term ‘sex’ even means.  This course doesn’t have a political agenda, but hopes to empower its students to think intelligently about political issues of our time. 

What was it like to be sick in Russia? As a health care system was created in the late 19th century, traditional folk medicines and European specialists were replaced by Russian doctors and hospitals.  How did these doctors view the hospitals they worked in?  How did patients experience them? The writer Anton Chekhov used his medical training to explore 19th century Russian hospitals, and the writer Aleksander Solzhenitsyn examined 20th century hospital experiences in his novel The Cancer Ward.  How does illness relate to our basic humanity?  How do healers and healing support our self-understanding in our most vulnerable moments? 

We’ll review the antics of Josephine, Daphne, and Sugar in the company of Spats, Osgood, and Sweet Sue, in the 1959 film gem “Some Like it Hot.” We’ll discuss how actions and interactions define this multi-faceted comedy genre to make it AFI’s greatest  comedy of all time. Taking its cue from the artistry of Billy Wilder’s direction, and the masterful (over-the-top) performances from the cast, we’ll laugh our way through each session. Won’t that be fun! 

Often one runs out of ideas for new poems. This course is designed to help you find new source material to create new poems.  By focusing on a topic, such as the Boston Molasses Flood for example, or paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, you will do research and then write poems based on this research. By the end of the course, the goal is to have about 5-6 poems that could be the steppingstone to a chapterbook or longer length collection.  You will learn to develop and flex your creative muscle. 

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was Russia's most celebrated Romantic composer, whose emotionally powerful music bridged Western European traditions with Russian nationalism. Despite personal struggles, including his conflicted sexuality and bouts of depression, he created masterworks across multiple genres. His ballets, symphonies and concertos remain cornerstones of the classical repertoire. Tchaikovsky's gift for memorable melodies and dramatic orchestration made his music internationally beloved, establishing him as one of history's most influential composers whose works continue captivating audiences worldwide. In this course we’ll listen to samples of his music in the context of what was happening in his life. 

The Bauhaus existed between 1919 and 1933. In this brief time, it revolutionized art instruction, and the world of design. Its instructors were a who's who of famous artists such as Paul Klee, Vasily Kandinsky and Joseph Albers. We will learn about the school's founding, its methods and the legacy it has left us. 

Being an empath or highly sensitive person is a profound gift — but in today’s noisy, stressful world, it can also feel overwhelming. This 5-week class will help you understand your sensitivity, create healthy boundaries, and learn practices to stay grounded, centered, and at peace. Through gentle exercises, guided meditations, and heartfelt discussions, you’ll explore how to manage emotional overload, reconnect with your intuition, and honor your sensitivity as a source of compassion, creativity, and inner wisdom. By the end, you’ll feel more balanced, empowered, and aligned with the true strength of your empathic nature. 

In this course, we will dive into the more unusual side of literature, namely speculative fiction, a type of fiction where the laws of nature do not apply. Starting with Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, to short stories by authors like George Saunders and Karen Russell, we’ll discuss why these stories are considered speculative. We’ll also explore the underlying meaning of each story, as well as why the author chose this particular sub-genre. Lastly, we’ll question whether the story was successful. The course’s overall goal is to better understand why speculative fiction is a powerful sub-genre in literature. 

Participants analyze Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved, through lenses of history, psychoanalytic theory and our current tortured historical moment.  We will consider Morrison’s impact on the work of psychoanalyst Dionne Powell, and novelist Jesmyn Ward.  Their insights help us understand impulses driving the current wave of book-banning and censorship, and the dangers of these impulses if they remain unexamined.  The course title is an inversion of psychoanalyst Hans Loewald’s phrase “When Ghosts Become Ancestors.” Instead of considering the growth that comes with recognition and acknowledgement, Beloved requires consideration of the consequences when we refuse to acknowledge and recognize our painful history.