Wednesday PM   

Do you vaguely remember skipping classes in college to play bridge? Or being the reluctant fourth when your parents needed to fill an empty chair? Have you always wanted to learn bridge but never found the right venue? Consider joining us for a class that invites you to “start at the very beginning.” You’ll learn the basics, and you’ll be playing bridge before you know it. Neither Barbara
nor Anne is a bridge master — they simply love the game and enjoy helping others grow to love it as well. Repeat in-person course. Format includes discussion and hands-on learning.

SUGGESTED MATERIALS: Bridge at a Glance, Audrey Grant, ISBN 9780910791625

In 1899 the City of Deering became part of Portland. Originally a suburb of Portland, it was created as a town in 1871 from what was originally a part of Westbrook. It contained several prominent villages including Woodford’s Corner, Morrill’s Corner, and Stroudwater. In this series of six walking tours off the Portland peninsula we will explore the history of a few of these Deering neighborhoods and learn about some of their interesting residents.

New in-person course. Format includes lecture and movement.

This will NOT be your typical movie course! Yes — you will be asked to watch a different movie each week as preparation. Yes — we will BRIEFLY discuss the movie and your reactions to it. Then we will use specific scenes, or overall themes to learn about African culture, history, politics, current events, and much more. For example, after watching Disney’s Queen of Katwe, we will discuss markets, transportation, dress, weather, slums and NGO’s. After watching Black Hawk Down we will review the history of the horn of Africa and the current situation in this region. Join us for this interactive, discussion-filled way to learn more about Africa. Instructor will provide online sources where you can view, rent, or buy the movies. Warning: some of these movies depict violent incidents. Following is the tentative list of movies you will be asked to watch.
New hybrid course. Format includes lecture, discussion, and film.

REQUIRED FILMS: Queen of Katwe, Blood Diamonds, A United Kingdom, Invictus, Black Hawk Down, Blind Ambition, Hotel Rwanda, King Peggy

This course will examine how we know the facts of the universe, from the unimaginably distant and old to the incredibly small and strange. No math unless requested! No books required. New in-person course. Format includes lecture and discussion.

Music has long provoked debate, from Beethoven and Stravinsky’s bold innovations to Broadway works like Annie Get Your Gun and South Pacific, now revisited through modern concerns about race, consent, and gender. Is political correctness enriching art or erasing cultural heritage? We will also examine plagiarism and borrowing in pop and film music, with cases involving The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Peter Frampton. This course blends audiovisuals, anecdotes, and humor to explore music’s most controversial moments.

Siberia covers three quarters of Russia’s territory but is home to only a quarter of its population. Yet its role in shaping Russia as a vast and wealthy empire is profound. In this course, we will explore Siberia’s economic significance, indigenous cultures, and history as a penal colony, along with its importance for climate change, environmental issues, and Russian-Chinese relations. We will also consider Siberia’s role in both the rise and possible fragmentation of Russia.

This course will examine the cultural transformations in thinking and living that reshaped America and Western Europe between World War I and the Great Depression. Known as the Roaring Twenties, the Jazz Age, and the Lost Generation, this period redefined values and norms. We will explore the vibrant world of 1920s Paris through F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Babylon Revisited and Bernice Bobs Her Hair, Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, and Gertrude Stein’s The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, considering the lasting legacy of the era.

Think “boogie shoes” and “disco” along with solo music from Streisand, Ronstadt, and Manilow and you’ll get a glimpse of this course. The BeeGees, Led Zeppelin, K.C. and The Sunshine Band, and The Eagles represent groups to be heard. Disco stars like Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, and Michael Jackson will entertain. We’ll pay homage to blues man B.B. King. Using videos, discussion, and live piano music we’ll explore the hits and performers that made it to the top of the charts. This repeat course will also cover the news of the decade. No text is required. Can you dig it? Repeat in-person course. Format includes lecture, discussion, and film.

The best science fiction always holds a mirror up to its audience and allows issues to be considered from a safe distance. Star Trek: The Original Series was no exception, so let’s take a look at eight of the episodes that had something to say and discuss whatever aspects we see in the mirror. Each week we will watch a complete episode and then spend the rest of the class talking about we’ve seen.
 

New in-person course. Format includes discussion and film.

We all have life stories worth sharing — waiting to be written. We want them to invite readers into our life experiences. AI can be our personal editor polishing our writing, so it flows and clearly expresses our experience to readers. In class, you’ll learn this approach. You’ll gain confidence, new skills, and writing that sounds like you — your best writer self. One benefit of class is sharing with each other and getting supportive feedback. Some writing homework: no prior AI or writing experience needed.

New remote course. Format includes lecture and hands-on learning.

SUGGESTED BOOK: How To Tell A Story, The Moth, ISBN 978059390004