MONDAY       February 4 to  May 13

Europe’s Past:  European Society and World War I
10:30 am – 12:30 pm / Cira Vernazza
Using history, literature and film, we will explore the causes, social conditions, cultural changes and aftermath of WWI, “the war to end all wars,”  on European society.  We will look at films such as The Shooting Party, Grand Illusion and Paths of Glory; literature such as the WWI poets and All Quiet on the Western Front; and Paul Fussell’s masterwork, The Great War and Modern Memory, to capture the way of life that was lost during the period.

Creative Writing:  Writing Through Art
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm / Nina Goss
This course invites you to the special inspiration and pleasure of writing through art, instead of about art.  We are accustomed to gazing passively and critically at a painting or a sculpture, and perhaps feeling frustrated by the dry text accompanying a work that fascinates or moves us.  Imagine entering the work with your own imagination and your own experiences, and emerging with a piece of original writing that was inspired by this personal encounter with the artwork.  Experienced writers will find that writing through art refreshes their writing with new experiences of memory, imagination, and emotions, and new writers will find that writing through art provides wonderful motivation and inspiration.  We will work primarily with painting, drawing, and sculpture using reproductions in the classroom.

Studies in Irish Literature: Modern Irish Writers
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm / Brother Edward Kent
A survey of Irish literature, beginning with the founding in 1897 of the Irish Theatre by W.B. Yeats and Lady Gregory.  Irish writers of drama, poetry and fiction include Barry, Beckett, Behan, Binchley, Joyce, Leonard, McDonagh, O’Casey, O’Connor and Yeats.   Film excerpts supplement the readings.

TUESDAY       February 5 to May 7

Studies in Art History:  The Art and Architecture of 19th century New York City
10:30 pm – 12:30 pm / Bannon McHenry
The course will discuss Federal architecture, the rise of Gothic Revival and later Victorian styles and will include exploration of the works of important painters, such as Samuel F. B, Morse, Thomas Cole, Frederic Church, and the so-called 'Hudson River painters' whose studios were in New York City.  The decorative arts of the period and the influence of French fashion will also be examined.

America’s Past:   Great Court Cases
10:30 am – 12:30 pm / Juliana Gilheany
This course examines America’s economic, political, religious and social history through the prism of influential and controversial Supreme Court cases. The cases are organized thematically, with emphasis on issues of equality in recent landmark decisions that explicate and implement provisions of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and other Amendments, and in earlier cases that the Court has built upon or departed from, as we seek to understand how Supreme Court jurisprudence shapes or is shaped by watershed movements and events in our nation's history.
[Registration preference will be given to students who have completed Great Court Cases in Fall 2012]

Studies in Social Science:  A Tale of Two Gilded Ages -- Where Nature’s Abundance Meets Abundant Wealth
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm / Robert Spiegelman
Using readings and films, we will compare the Gilded Ages of America in the 19th and 21st centuries.
We will focus on their expression in the arts, technology, economics and in everyday life and we'll explore our crucial relationship to the natural world.  Finally, as New York City lies at the heart of both periods, we will pay special attention to Gilded Age signs and symbols all around town -- often hidden in plain sight. In sum, our course is a tour-de-force in how the sociological imagination can sharpen our understandings of the past-in-the-present and yield both enjoyable and challenging results.  

Studies in American Literature:   Women Playwrights II – “Scribbling Women” Perform an Encore
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm / Laura Greeney
This course examines the careers of prominent women playwrights in America, from the early colonial days to those who are producing new plays as we speak.  We will consider the factors that made working on the stage so difficult in America in general, as well as the particular obstacles for aspiring women dramatists.  We will also ponder the ways in which plays by women manage both to confront important issues specific to women’s lives while also tackling themes that are universally human and will examine the growing diversity of women writers’ voices.  Authors to be studied include Susanna Rowson, Rachel Crothers, Zora Neale Hurston, Lillian Hellman, Maria Irene Fornés, Wendy Wasserstein, and Lynn Nottage.

WEDNESDAY       February 6 to May 8

The Art of Film:  The Best of the Best
10:00 am – 12:30 pm / John Erman
This class will explore the best single film of several world-class directors – the “top ten” picks of Prof. John Erman.   The class will explore what influences made these directors such legendary artists by examining and discussing the apex of their artistical development.  Films will include Joseph Mankiewicz’ All About Eve, Sidney Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon, George Stevens’ A Place in the Sun, Stephen Frears’ Prick Up Your Ears, Sydney Pollack’s They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Topics in History:  The Formation of the U.S. Constitution
10:30 am – 12:30 pm / C. Howard Krukofsky
The U.S. Constitution is one of the extraordinary codes of law in history, the culmination of the development of liberty within a self-governing republic, and the model for modern democratic government.  Yet the course of its interpretation has been contentious and often divisive, revealing fundamental schisms between liberalism and conservatism, between citizenship and partisanship, in the quest for an American identity.  This course will focus on the principles of American  constitutionalism---their evoluton from the historical roots and the Colonial American experience, and the adoption of the Constitution in the context of the political, economic and social developments in the Early Republic.

Religion and Culture: The Apostle Paul and the Pauline Letters
10:30 am – 12:30 pm / Byron Shafer
One scholar writes:  “Paul is the most important,  most controversial, and least understood figure in earliest Christianity.”  Thirteen of the 27 books of the New Testament are attributed to Paul, a first-century Jew who lived as a citizen in the Roman Empire.  He became a follower of Jesus the Christ, travelled widely to spread the Good News of his new Lord and Savior, and corresponded with the churches he founded.  After Paul’s death, disciples continued to work and write in his name.  Why was he and is he so important, so controversial, and so misunderstood?  We shall seek to understand!

Studies in Music History:  Great Composers and Their Symphonies
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm / Kathryn John
This course will study and enjoy the symphony – both early works and mature masterpieces – by the great composers of the Classical, Romantic and Modern eras.   In addition to analyzing and hearing performances during class, we will examine the cultural, social, political and personal circumstances that influenced the composition of works by such composers as Mozart and Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert, Berlioz and Schumann, Brahms and Mahler, Stravinsky and Copland.

Studies in Philosophy:  Journey to Selfhood
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm / Robert O’Brien
We will explore life as a journey, from just being an individual instance of a human being to becoming a human person, through stages on life’s way – an embodied sensual, aesthetic existence; a chosen rational life of ethical concern and conscience; and a transcendence to inter-personal relations.   We will explore questions and issues on whether the journey has an end.   Using Søren Kierkegaard as the primary source for the course, we will also use short readings and articles by existential philosophers, literary authors and psychologists from the modern era.

THURSDAY       February 7 to May 9

America’s Past:  Great Court Cases
10:15 am – 12:15 pm / Juliana Gilheany
This course examines America’s economic, political, religious and social history through the prism of influential and controversial Supreme Court cases. The cases are organized thematically, with emphasis on issues of equality in recent landmark decisions that explicate and implement provisions of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and other Amendments, and in earlier cases that the Court has built upon or departed from, as we seek to understand how Supreme Court jurisprudence shapes or is shaped by watershed movements and events in our nation's history.
[Registration preference will be given to students who have completed Great Court Cases in Fall 2012]

Issues in Psychology:  Human and Emotional Development in Adulthood
10:30 am – 12:30 pm / Marie Sheehan
This course aims to examine the hidden strengths and new possibilities in our lives as we mature and grow by discussing the emotional development of the individual.  Topics might include the concept of a healthy self, the false self, living creatively, and the value of depression, among other.  Using 2 books -- Emily, Alone: A Novel by Stewart O'Nan and Anna Quindlen's Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, we will search for what matters most.  As the course concludes, we will look back and look ahead, and celebrate it all.

Studies in Art History:  A History of Photography
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm / Sharon Suchma
This course looks at the social, artistic and political context surrounding the history of photography, specifically its appeal and authority from its inception to the present day.   Weekly lectures will highlight different photographic trends and various photographers who have made major contributions regarding the changing concept of what a photograph is, such as William Henry Fox Taft, Alfred Stieglitz, Alexander Rodchenko, Robert Capa, Robert Frank, Diane Arbus, Cindy Sherman, Yasumasa Morimura and Andreas Gursky.  Special attention will also be paid to exhibitions taking place in New York City museums and galleries.

Cultural Studies in American History:  The Modernization of Urban America
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm / Philip Suchma
This course will examine the development of modern, urban America through an in-depth look at events and cities from the late 19th century to the present.  Some cities and their events will include Chicago and the Columbian Exposition, Los Angeles and the construction of the Coliseum, and Denver and post-war Interstate Highway legislation.  We will also explore the rise of the American metropolis, the introduction of new technologies, the expansion to the suburbs and westward, and urban decline and renewal.