HARTFORD, Conn. – Have you ever had a yearning to explore Venice? Plumb the thinking of Francis Ford Coppola when he directed The Godfather? Understand today’s Hip-Hop culture? Write your own memoir? Or find out why bad things happen to good people?

Well, you can satisfy all those yearnings and more through Trinity’s Academy of Lifelong Learning, which is open to adults in the Greater Hartford Region and covers a wide range of interesting subjects taught by former and current Trinity faculty members. The Academy -- whose directors are Michael R. Campo, John J. McCook Professor of Modern Languages and Literature, Emeritus, and John A. Gettier, Professor of Religion, Emeritus – is designed to offer a series of mini-courses on diverse and intellectually stimulating topics.

The courses, which range in cost from $45 to $125, are taught in an engaging, collaborative manner and are conveniently scheduled for the late afternoon and early evening in classrooms easily reached from the center of the Trinity campus. Secure parking is available on campus within walking distance of the classrooms.

Among the courses that will be offered in the fall of 2009 are:

• A Day in Venice
The all-day program on Saturday, October 24 will meet in McCook Auditorium and will include the following: History of Venice, taught by Prof. Sean Cocco from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.; The Venetian Ghetto: A Republic Within a Republic, taught by Prof. Michael R. Campo from 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.; Rising Waters: Global Warming and Venice, taught by Prof. Christoph Geiss from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Monteverdi: Music of Venice, taught by Prof. John Platoff from 1:45 p.m. to 2:45 pm.; Venetian Art, taught by Prof. Jean Cadogan from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.; and a panel discussion from 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• Aristophanes: The Conscience of Athens
This course will be taught by Prof. John Williams on September 14 and 21, and October 5, 12, 19, and 26 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in McCook, Room 213.
As the greatest writer of comedy among the Greeks, Aristophanes provided the 5th century B.C. in Athens with plays that were both satiric and provocative. Aristophanes lived during the last days of the devastating civil war between Athens and Sparta.

• Islam, Extremism, and Empire: Obama and The Promise of a New Relationship with the Islamic World
This course will be held on September 15, 22 and 29, and October 6, 13 and 20, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in McCook, Room 220. The professor is Raymond Baker.
According to the course description, the argument will be made that neither the characterization of “bad Muslim” nor of “good Muslim” is of much help in understanding Islam today and the challenges that face the Obama administration in its efforts to redefine the American relationship to the Islamic world. The course will focus on the prospects for containing extremism in all its manifestations to achieve the kind of new positive relationship with the Islamic world of which President Obama speaks.

• The Mystery Novel Redux: Have Your Passport Ready
This course will be taught by Prof. Andrew De Rocco on September 16, October 14, November 11, and December 9 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in McCook, Room 225.
Readers will visit Bolivia and Inspector Alvarez and Mumbai, India and Inspector Ghote. From there, it’s on to Bethlehem and the patient wisdom of Omar Yussef before finishing in Istanbul in the company of Cetin Ikmen, an uncommonly intriguing sleuth.

• The Godfather Films and Game Theory: The Art of Hard Choices
Taught by Prof. John Alcorn, this course will meet on September 16, 23 and 30, and October 7, and 14 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Seabury Hall, Room S-201.
The raw material for this course will be The Godfather films (parts I and II).  The emphasis will be on the art and science of decision-making and the lens will be focused on elementary game theory. The one assignment – hopefully an enjoyable one – will be to view the films.

• The Coming of the Civil War, 1845-1861
Taught by Prof. Ronald Spencer, the class will meet on September 23 and 30, and October 7, 14, and 21 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in McCook, Room 225.
Among the topics that will be examined will be slavery and abolitionism; the growth of sectional consciousness; the protracted struggle over slavery’s status in the western territories; the transformation of the political landscape; Abraham Lincoln’s election
and the resulting secession of the seven states of the lower South; efforts to resolve the secession crisis peacefully; and the outbreak of war at Fort Sumter.

• A Gentle Introduction to Hip-Hop Culture
This course will be taught on September 24, and October 1, 8, and 15 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Austin Arts Center, Room 320. The professor is Gail Woldu.
Participants will explore the hip-hop phenomenon with an eye to understanding why the music is at once so beloved by youth and misunderstood by many adults. The evolution of hip-hop cultures from 1979 to 1009 will be tracked, with an examination of its roots, its political messages, its “gangsta” themes and the role of women. The course will include the music of Public Enemy, NWA, Ice Cube, Queen Latifah, Tupac, and Eminem.

• The Global Economic Crisis
Taught by Prof. Edward J. McKenna, the course will meet on October 5, 12, 19, and 26 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in McCook, Room 225.
During the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, this course will answer the following questions: What are the causes of the current economic crisis? Why were economists surprised by the speed and the depth of the current crisis? Why has the crisis affected the entire world economy? What needs to be done to bring the crisis to an end? What are the economic and political obstacles that must be faced if we are to avoid another crisis in the future?

• Dazzled: How Chick Austin Made Hartford a Capital of the Arts
This course will be taught by Austin’s biographer, Eugene R. Gaddis, and will be held on October 15, 22, 29, and November 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in McCook, Room 213.
Connoisseur, painter, teacher, teacher, actor, magician, designer of sets and costumes and superlative cook, Austin transformed the Wadsworth Atheneum in the 1930s into America’s most innovative art museum. He also founded Trinity’s Fine Arts Department, and made Hartford a cultural mecca where Picasso and the surrealists had their first great American exhibitions. The four lectures are illustrated with hundreds of images, film, music and the voices of Austin, his family, friends, actors, and students.

• Memoir Writing: Tell Your Own Story
This course will be taught by Prof. Hank Herman on Oct. 15, 22, and 29, and November 5, 12, and 19 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in McCook, Room 225.
A component of the human condition is the desire to put down on paper the most memorable events of your life. Give in to that urge! Whether your motivation is to have a neatly packaged memoir to pass down to your children or grandchildren, or a keepsake to enjoy for yourself, or to get yourself onto the Best Seller’s list, this course will help you do it. You’ll learn how to write easily and naturally in your own voice about your favorite subject: you.

• The Jewish Heritage in Italy
Taught by Prof. Michael R. Campo, this course will take place on Oct. 27 and November 3, 10, 17, and 24, and December 1 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Seabury Hall, Room N-130.
According to the description, the course will cover the amazingly diversified history of the Jews and Jewish communities of Italy during their long presence on Italian soil from pre-Christian to modern times. It will focus on the circumstances of the influx of Jewish groups from Constantinople and the Near East as Levantines; from Spain and Portugal as Sephardim; from Germany as Ashkenazim; from ancient Rome as slaves; and their subsequent experiences as tradesmen, artisans, silk weavers, silversmiths, prime ministers, physicians, artists, authors, military heroes, and victims of the Holocaust.

• How Microbes Rule the World
This course will take place on November 4, 11, and 18, and December 2 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Life Science Center, Room 131. The professor is Lisa-Anne Foster.
The course will examine the many aspects of microbial interactions with humans, both as a source of human suffering and the positive contributions they have made to human culture. The ability of microbes to cause disease will be studied with an emphasis on modern epidemics, such as HIV, SARS, and the swine flu. In addition, the course will examine the political and social impact that microbes have had on human development by exploring the threat of bioterrorism, the growing resistance to antibiotics and the feasibility of eradicating certain infectious diseases.

• When Bad Things Happen to Good People
Taught by Prof. John Gettier, the course will be November 23 and 30, and December 7, and 14 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in McCook, Room 213.
Rabbi Kushner’s book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, frames a concern raised throughout history as part of every religious tradition and in the secular world as well. How can a caring and all-powerful God permit suffering and evil? This course will explore the treatment of this perplexing issue within the Hebrew tradition and wrestle with equally perplexing answers.

For more information about the Academy, contact Program Coordinator Sherry Royer Affleck at 860-297-2125 or lifelonglearning@trincoll.edu. For a map of the Trinity campus, please visit: www.trincoll.edu/NR/rdonlyres/49EA971F-5F57-43DA-A0F0-A276AE77F148/0/CampusMap2009.pdf.