MONDAYS
Virtual Classes: January 15 - February 19, 2024
Via Zoom Link
Election Law, Voting Rights, and Democracy
10:00am - 11:00am Instructor: Leora Harpaz
This class will focus on major issues involving elections and voting including (1) statutes such as the Voting Rights Act and the Electoral Count Act; (2) limits on gerrymandering; (3) the right to vote; (4) First Amendment protections for candidates, political parties, and campaign finance; (5) federal vs. state power to regulate elections, and (6) other major issues that define our democratic system. These issues seem particularly relevant at a time when many people believe American democracy is at risk.
The Art of Ancient Greece and Rome
11:10am - 12:10pm Instructor: Alison Poe
This course will prepare you to return to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a better understanding of their world-class Greek and Roman art collection. We’ll talk about Greek vases; Greek and Roman sculpture, including marble and bronze statues and marble reliefs; wall paintings from the region around Pompeii; Roman sarcophagi; and much more. We’ll look in-depth at many important examples of these types of objects that are on display in the Met. If you love art, history, museum-going, or all of the above, then this course is for you!
Jewish Book Club
12:20pm-1:20pm Instructor: Amy Weiss
In this course, participants will read and discuss award-winning contemporary Jewish fiction. Each week students will receive a short story to read and discuss before the following class. A brief writer biography including publication dates will be followed by a class discussion of themes, style, structure, character development, and plot. This class is great for anyone interested in Jewish writers, subjects, or universal stories that reveal a human connection within all of us.
Next Stop Broadway: Herman, Loesser, & Willson
2:40pm - 3:50pm Instructor: Kim Breden
A celebration of the lives and creations of three remarkable composers. Participants will enjoy a deeper look into the biographical information about these talented men and the amazing masterpieces they gave the world. With the use of performance videos, sound recordings, still photographs, and historical lectures, this class will offer the opportunity to hear an array of show tune favorites from musicals like “Hello, Dolly!”, “The Most Happy Fella” and “The Music Man.” Feel free to sing along!
Dance Through History
4:00pm - 5:00pm Instructor: Heather Warfel Sandler
After a brief introduction to the roles dance has played in society from the beginning of recorded history, we will delve into the lineage and aesthetics of concert dance forms of the 20th century. This period was explosive with movement, seeing the development of contemporary ballet as well as the building of new forms: tap dance, modern dance, jazz, postmodernism, hip-hop, and all of their variations. In the course, we will watch videos and discuss the origins of these forms, identify key figures in dance history, differentiate aesthetics, and explore ways to look at dance through an informed lens.
TUESDAYS
Virtual Classes: January 16 - February 20, 2024
Via Zoom Link
Directors of Film
11:00am - 12:30pm Instructor: Max Alvarez
This course is an examination of films from some of the industry’s great trailblazers. Each session will examine the life and career of a director who mapped a unique style of storytelling. The films of Ida Lupino, John Huston, Peter Bogdanovich, Zhang Yimou, Michael Powell, and Stanley Donen will be discussed each week. Among the films examined are Red Shoes, Singing in the Rain, Raise The Red Lantern, The Last Picture Show, The Asphalt Jungle, and The Hitch-Hiker among many others.
Creative Writing Workshop
1:00pm - 2:15pm Instructor: Lucia Hinojosa Gaxiola
How can writing expand into a multidimensional practice? Which literary and poetic methods can we access to find a personal and authentic voice? Can we create new forms of writing? Through different exercises, we'll generate a series of innovative personal texts, including poetry, prose, and experimental essays which we'll share with the class. The course is intended to enhance and develop writers of all stripes. Choose your medium and let that be your guide. This workshop will also provide a few examples of eclectic, absurdist, and transgressive works including Anne Carson, Cecilia Vicuña, George Perec, Bernadette Mayer, and Henri Michaux.
WEDNESDAYS
Virtual Course: January 17 - February 21, 2024
Via Zoom Link
Get A Clue: Crossword Construction
4:00pm - 5:30pm Instructor: Natan Last
Learn the principles of crossword puzzle construction through basic history, determining a theme, making a usable grid, and creating the fill. A group puzzle will be submitted to the New York Times. More than twenty puzzles have been featured in the Times thus far! Will Shortz has hailed this class as “one of a kind.”Learn the principles of crossword puzzle construction through basic history, determining a theme, making a usable grid, and creating the fill. A group puzzle will be submitted to the New York Times. More than twenty puzzles have been featured in the Times thus far! Will Shortz has hailed this class as “one of a kind.”