HARTFORD, CT, January 23, 2012 - Trinity's Academy of Lifelong Learning, now in its 22nd year, will for the first time partner with a community group to offer a personal enrichment class to residents of the group's continuing care facility. The four-session course, Three Dictators: Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin, will be open to residents of The McAuley, which is operated by The Mercy Community Corp. in West Hartford.
"The partnership between The Mercy Community and our neighbors at Trinity College…is something that we are so proud and excited to be able to offer to our residents," William J. Fiocchetta, president and CEO of the Mercy Community said at the January 12 signing ceremony. "The ability for our residents to continue their intellectual growth, guided by the well-renowned Trinity faculty, is extraordinary."
The non-credit course, to be taught by Borden Painter, a history professor and president emeritus of Trinity, will offer classes on March 7, 14, 21 and 28 from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at The McCauley, 275 Steele Road. The course is also open to residents of the Saint Mary Home, a long-term nursing home that is part of The Mercy Community.
Sherry Affleck, program coordinator of the Academy of Lifelong Learning, said Trinity is excited at the inauguration of the pilot program and that if it's successful, additional courses could be added during the summer or fall 2012 semester.
The Academy, which is designed for adults who desire to pursue new interests and expand their intellectual horizons, is open to residents in Greater Hartford. The courses are primarily taught by current and former Trinity faculty. The Academy’s co-directors are John A. Gettier, professor of religion emeritus, and Patricia A. Bunker, retired head reference librarian. With the exception of one all-day seminar and two morning courses, all of the others are scheduled for late afternoon or early evening.
The prices range from $65 for a three-day course to $125 for the all-day themed academy, which includes lunch. Trinity faculty and staff are eligible for a 10 percent discount.
As always, the centerpiece of the Academy's roster is a daylong seminar focusing on a timely subject. This coming semester, the four-lecture program is The Arab Spring: Examining the Sweeping Change in the Middle East. It will meet on Saturday, March 31 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with two sessions in the morning and two in the afternoon. "Mapping the Arab Spring" will be taught by Zayde Gordon Antrim, assistant professor of history and international studies; "Let me Speak: The Story of Arab Women Writers" will be taught by Kifah Hanna, assistant professor of Arabic language and literature; "Understanding Egypt's Worldly Miracles" will be taught by Raymond Baker, professor of international studies; and "The Arab Spring and the General Strike in the Global South" will be taught by Vijay Prashad, the George and Martha Kellner Chair in South Asian History and professor of international studies.
In addition to the all-day academy and the course on three dictators, others include:
- Apocalyptical Dreams in Action: Doomsday Cults and Their Prophets
This three-week course will be taught by Leslie Desmangles, professor of religion and international studies, on March 7, 14 and 21 from 10:30 a.m. to noon at The McLean Home in Simsbury. The course will survey the themes from the Book of Revelation that appear in contemporary apocalyptic movements in the United States, with emphasis given to the development and future prospects of the movements and their contributions to changes in American social and religious life. Examples will be drawn from contemporary movements such as the Branch Davidians, the Peace Mission Movement, Johnstown and the recent apocalyptic predictions of radio evangelist Harold Camping.
- The Face of Wisdom in Ancient Israel
This five-week course will be taught by Gettier on April 4, 11, 18 and 25 and on May 2 from 10:30 a.m. to noon at The Lucy Robbins Welles Library in Newington. This course will address the traditions of wisdom in the ancient world, which struggled with questions such as how to succeed in career and life, why good people suffer while bad people thrive and where the righteous God is hiding while evil rampages. The focus will be on understanding the contours of ancient Israel's distinct expression of wisdom.
This six-week course will be taught by George Higgins, retired professor of psychology, on January 16, 23 and 30 and on February 6, 13 and 20 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The class will explore some of the central ideas developed by Freud in the early 20th century. Three of his seminal essays will each be read and discussed for two weeks. They include "Three Essays on Sexual Theory," "The Ego and the Id," and "Civilization and Its Discontents."
- Campaign 2012: Republican Primary Elections
This four-week course will be taught by Adrienne Fulco, associate professor and director of the Public Policy and Law Program; Edward Cabot, adjunct professor of public policy and law; and Mark Silk, director of the Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life. The classes will be held on significant primary dates: February 1, March 7, April 4 and April 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Topics will include religion and the Republican presidential candidates and voters; the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court case Citizens United vs. Federal Elections Commission; the role of debates and social media; and suggested reforms of the primary process.
- Writing What You Feel: The Personal Essay
This eight-week course will be taught in two sessions by Hank Herman, a novelist and award-winning columnist with The Westport News. The dates are February 2, 9, 16 and 23 and March 1, 8, 15 and 22. Section A will meet from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Section B will meet from 7:45 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. Attendees will learn how to turn their inclinations into action and their inspirations into finished pieces. They'll be shown how to brainstorm for material, how to overcome their fear of the blank computer screen, and how to edit themselves. Due to the personalized nature of the course, which is limited to eight students, the fee is $300 for the Section A series and $225 for the Section B series.
- Reading Ancient Poems in the Modern World
This five-week course will be taught by Rick Hornung, a Trinity graduate with a Ph.D. in educational psychology, on March 26 and on April 2, 9, 16 and 23 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The course will explore the remarkable power of the Book of Psalms in the Hebrew Bible through a close reading of a group of four related psalms – those which articulate individual and communal concerns past and present. They include the role of prayer, the longing for home, the establishment of community and the meaning of suffering.
- Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Part II: The Sacred and the Profane
This six-week course will be taught by Sheila Fisher, professor of English, on March 27 and on April 3, 10, 17 and 24 and on May 1 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. One of the most famous works of medieval English literature is Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, which presents readers with an array of pilgrim characters and the stories that they tell. Among the many themes that Chaucer develops are the exploration of and tension between the sacred and profane. Participants will probe the question: Where can we find true goodness in The Canterbury Tales?
- Black American Artists and Writers in Paris: The Other Journey
This six-week course will be taught by Sonia Lee, professor emerita of French, on April 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 and on May 7 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. From the painter Henry O. Tanner to the performer Josephine Baker to the writer James Baldwin, many black American artists traveled to Paris in the 20th century to live, create and enjoy what the city had to offer. The course will examine the artistic contributions of other major black artists who chose to live in Paris, such as the poets Countee Cullen, Claude McKay and Langston Hughes; the writers Chester Himes and Richard Wright; and the jazz musician Sidney Bechet.
This six-week course will be taught by Eugene Leach, professor of history and American Studies and director of the graduate program in history, on April 3, 10, 17 and 24 and on May 1 and 8 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The course will examine the writings of four American visionaries who were builders and leaders: Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass and Jane Addams. Each had strong opinions about where the country was headed and stronger convictions about where it ought to be headed.
This five-week course will be taught by Andrew De Rocco, former dean of the faculty at Trinity and president of Denison University, on April 4, 11, 18 and 25 and on May 2 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. This course will help provide answers to the following questions: What endows a musical work with the enduring legitimacy as a "standard" and its inclusion in the "American Song Book?" Who were the composers, lyricists and performers who made them integral to the nation's cultural history? What debts are owed to the harmonic and rhythmic inventions of the first decades of the 20th century? What role did the musical theater play in fostering the development of the Song Book? And what role has the world of jazz played in keeping the flame lit even as popular musical tastes have changed?