Tolstoy, Civil Disobedience and Nonviolence

Tolstoy’s fame today derives from his great novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina. In the last 30 years of his long life, though, he largely abandoned fiction and concentrated his writing on promoting civil disobedience and nonviolent protest. While fighting a ceaseless battle against state and church censorship in his own country, and even excommunication, he became the most famous Russian in the world. “Tolstoyan communes” sprang up internationally, devoted to following his principles of nonviolent civil disobedience. Gandhi went to live in a Tolstoyan commune as a young man, where he imbibed Tolstoy’s ideals — and the courage to deploy them to bring down the British Empire and change history.

This class will be held online using Zoom. The Zoom Meeting ID and link will be included in your registration confirmation email.

Explore the connection between mythology and human values. Learn how human values have evolved, and why we are (in spite of the news) such decent creatures. We'll cover what myth is, traditional interpretations of myth and mythic themes, myths and the transmission of values, and the meaning of karma and the cycle of lives. We'll discuss the Oedipus plays, Tiamat (ancient Mesopotamia), and Osiris (Egypt). Living without myth: is it even possible?

This class will be held online using Zoom. The Zoom Meeting ID and link will be included in your registration confirmation email.

Widespread reporting on aspects of white supremacy -- from police brutality to the mass incarceration of Black Americans -- has put a media spotlight on racism in our society. Still, it is a difficult subject to talk about. How do you tell your roommate her jokes are racist? Why did your sister-in-law take umbrage when you asked to touch her hair -- and how do you make it right? How do you explain white privilege to your white, privileged friend?

As a group, we'll read the book So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo with the following goals in mind:

• To raise awareness of equity, diversity, and inclusion issues;
• To engage in meaningful discussions about equity, diversity, and inclusion with members of the community;
• To improve our common knowledge and understanding of equity, diversity, and inclusion topics; and
• To apply that learning to our individual lives.

In So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo guides readers of all races through subjects ranging from intersectionality and affirmative action to "model minorities" in an attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race and racism, and how they infect almost every aspect of American life.

This class will be held online using Zoom. The Zoom Meeting ID and link will be included in your registration confirmation email.

Each of us has a story to tell. Whether your story is fiction, creative nonfiction, a memoir, or an essay - the elements of writing are the same. Students will work on different writing elements each week and share their writing by reading it aloud, then critique the work of other class members. All levels of writing experience are welcome.

This class will be held online using Zoom. The Zoom Meeting ID and link will be included in your registration confirmation email.

Once you've been doing genealogy for a while, you might wonder what to do with all of your research — or perhaps you've always wanted to share your family's story but aren't quite sure how to start. Writing the story of your ancestor or a historical character helps ensure that your research gets passed on. Learn how to frame your narratives with background and context so they become as compelling to others as they are to you.

What We'll Cover:

• Planning, gathering, and organizing your materials
• Bringing historical context to the person and place
• Finding ways to present your materials

This class will be held online using Zoom. The Zoom Meeting ID and link will be included in your registration confirmation email.

Write compelling personal stories in a memoir format through the study of strong openings, a unique voice, and good structure.

This class will be held online using Zoom. The Zoom Meeting ID and link will be included in your registration confirmation email.

Masterworks of Russian Literature VII

Universally recognized as one of the greatest novels ever written, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina presents a breathtaking exploration of love, spiritual struggle, adultery, loneliness, passion, family life, intimacy, and the quest to find happiness and to make life meaningful.