Please click here to view the list of courses with space available before registering. After registering, please contact the BOLLI Program Coordinator at bolli@brandeis.edu or 781-732-2992 to enroll in courses.
Spring 2023 courses begin the week of February 27 and run through the week of May 8. There will be no courses April 3-7. View the Spring 2023 schedule.
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Period 1 |
SOC5-5b-Mon1 John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry and the Road to the Civil War
Kerry Jo Green 5 week course - April 10 - May 8 FILM1-5b-Mon1 H&G3-5b-Mon1 MUS8-5a-Mon1 H&G13-5b-Mon1 LIT4-10-Mon1 |
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Period 2 |
ART1-10-Mon2 MUS7-5b-Mon2 LIT10-5a-Mon2 WRI1-10-Mon2 H&G1-10-Mon2 |
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12:35 pm to 2:00 pm |
Break |
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Period 3 |
SOC4-5b-Mon3 H&G11-10-Mon3 ART8-5a-Mon3 LIT2-10-Mon3 LIT7-10-Mon3 |
SOC5-5b-Mon1 History of Feminist Thought
Study Group Leader (SGL) – Anna Valcour
Location: This course will take place virtually on Zoom. Participation in this course requires a device (ideally a computer or tablet, rather than a cell phone) with a camera and microphone in good working order and basic familiarity with using Zoom and accessing email.
Monday– Course Period 1 – 9:30 am to 10:55 am
5 week course - April 10 - May 15
(No Class April 24)
Description “Solidarity does not assume that our struggles are the same struggles, or that our pain is the same pain, or that our hope is for the same future. Solidarity involves…recognition…[that] we live on common ground” (Ahmed, Living a Feminist Life). How might feminism inform our everyday political, social, cultural, and personal practice? In contemplating this question, we will explore the history of feminist thought from the early Suffragette movement to the present. Together, we will dive into feminist theories, concepts, and writings in an accessible, inclusive, and caring manner.
Our discussions will consider the views of generations of scholars, writers, and theorists including Sojourner Truth, Simone de Beauvoir, Betty Friedan, Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Cherríe Moraga, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Judith Butler, and Julia Serano. We will read various texts and explore multiple genres (poetry, music, art, and film) for diverse perspectives on feminist thought. Our goal is to comprehend integral concepts and theories within feminist study, consider the intersection of history, race, class, culture, gender, and sexuality, challenge our assumptions, and reflect on our contemporary relationship to feminism.
Course Materials All materials will be provided on a class google site or by email links.
Preparation Time 2-3 hours / week
Biography Anna Valcour (she/her) is currently a PhD student in Musicology at Brandeis University while simultaneously earning her MA in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. In addition to her scholarly pursuits, Anna is a professional opera singer who has been a Resident Artist with several opera companies. She holds a graduate degree in Voice with an emphasis in Opera and has a BM in Vocal Performance and BA in History. Her diverse research interests include witchcraft and demonology in Lieder, cultic groups and music, vocal pedagogy, and operatic stagings.
H&G5-5b-Mon1 John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry and the Road to the Civil War
Study Group Leader (SGL) – Kerry Jo Green
Location: This course will take place virtually on Zoom. Participation in this course requires a device (ideally a computer or tablet, rather than a cell phone) with a camera and microphone in good working order and basic familiarity with using Zoom and accessing email.
Monday– Course Period 1 – 9:30 am to 10:55 am
5 week course - April 10 - May 8
Description The political and ideological debates over slavery in the United States would come to a head with the fighting of the American Civil War from 1861-1865. However, prior to the presidential election of Abraham Lincoln, the secession of Southern states, and the declaration of war, America experienced decades of violence fought between slavery’s advocates and abolitionists. Through a tour of both well-known and lesser-known incidences of violence beginning in the 1830s and culminating in John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859, students will learn about the country’s road to its most-studied conflict. Community members may see parallels in these stories to the ways in which political violence has been used throughout history and into the present day. We will consider whether and to what extent the Civil War proved the truth of John Brown's final words: “I... am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood.”
Course Materials Selections from: The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War by Joanne Freeman, Bleeding Kansas: Contested Liberty in the Civil War Era by Nicole Etcheson and Words at War: The Civil War and American Journalism (edited volume). Selections from these and other books will be provided on a class website or by email links.
Preparation Time 1-3 hours/week
Biography Kerry Jo Green is a PhD student in the history department at Brandeis University. After receiving her undergraduate degree at California University of Pennsylvania, she received an MA in Historical Studies from Duquesne University, where her studies culminated in a research project on the vital role of women workers in the American Civil War. Kerry Jo has taught in some form at every level from grade school to adult learning, and her main interest is in creating communities of learning where all members learn from one another.
FILM1-5b-Mon1 The Golem: Artificial Humans and Monsters from Kabbalah to Film
Study Group Leader (SGL) – Henry Morris
Location: This course will take place virtually on Zoom. Participation in this course requires a device (ideally a computer or tablet, rather than a cell phone) with a camera and microphone in good working order and basic familiarity with using Zoom and accessing email.
Monday– Course Period 1 – 9:30 am to 10:55 am
5 week course - April 10 - May 8
Description The story of the Golem, the artificial human/monster who protects a threatened Jewish community but then gets out of control, has roots in the Bible, Talmud, Kabbalah, and Yiddish literature. In the 20th century, films have brought this story around the world to illustrate the horrors of war, violence at unprecedented scale, and the dangers inherent in creating intelligent technology. We will study the roots of the Golem story in classic Jewish texts and stories. With this background in mind, we move on to watch multiple film treatments of the Golem concept. These include the classic 1920 German silent film The Golem: How He Came into the World, which influenced later films and videos from Frankenstein to The Simpsons, as well as an X-files episode about the creation of a Golem to mete out vengeance on an anti-Semitic group. We will also discuss an Israeli film about a woman who creates a child Golem to save her community,and finally look at a film about a man who falls in love with an intelligent bot he knows only through her voice. What do these films reveal about the dangers of creating intelligent technology that advances beyond our capability to manage it? When a Jewish community looks to a Golem for protection, does that mean humans have taken over the mantle of creation from God and that God's Relevance to the life of the community has been marginalized? We will explore these timeless issues of God, humans, and creation.
Course Materials The SGL will provide links to free films, essays, and stories on a class Google site. In addition, there will be three films on Google Play or YouTube that cost $2.99 each.
Preparation Time 2-3 hrs / week
Biography Henry Morris worked for 35 years in high tech, most recently as Senior Vice President at International Data Corporation, the global technology market research company. He joined BOLLI last year and he taught a well-received course on Augmented Intelligence. Henry enjoys writing and teaching about analytics and artificial intelligence. He was a lecturer at Tufts University Experimental College and co-authored Augmented Intelligence: The Business Power of Human-Machine Collaboration (CRC Press, 2020). Henry received a PhD in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania and Rabbi/D,H.L. from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.
H&G3-5b-Mon1 The Presidency of Harry S. Truman: The Lore, the Leadership, the Legacy
Study Group Leader (SGL)- Fran Feldman
Location This course will take place in a BOLLI classroom (22 person capacity) with a maximum enrollment of 15 to allow for some social distancing. The classroom will be equipped with a HEPA air purifier.
Mask Policy Masks will be optional in this class. Note that when moving through public spaces at 60 Turner Street, including hallways, bathrooms, and the gathering space, individuals will be required to wear a mask throughout the spring term.
Monday– Course Period 1 – 9:30 am to 10:55 am
5 week course - April 10 - May 8
Description “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Surely, a cliché, you are thinking. Yet it’s significant how much of today’s news so closely resonates with events of 70+ years ago during the presidency of Harry S. Truman. Loose talk of using a nuclear weapon in Ukraine harkens back to the dropping of the atomic bomb in 1945, which gave birth to the nuclear age. Russia’s aggression today reflects the lowering of the Iron Curtain in 1946. NATO, which figures so prominently in the news currently, was an achievement of the Truman years. Current efforts to ensure true equality and diversity, to understand and undermine racism, and to shore up the middle class at the expense of the very wealthy echo much of what was Truman’s Fair Deal. The February 2022 invasion of Ukraine closely parallels the Korean War during the Truman years. Rather than being a survey, the course will focus on major events during Truman’s presidency, such as the dropping of the atomic bomb, the development of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, and the tragedy that was the Korean War, with just a mention of Truman’s early years and government experience prior to 1945. Learning in the classroom is collaborative, with no lectures, lots of discussion, and individual research and reports on the significant achievements of the Truman presidency. The book The Trials of Harry S. Truman will be a constant guide during the course.
Course Materials Book: The Trials of Harry S. Truman by Jeffrey Frank
Preparation Time 2-3 hours/week
Biography Passionate about government and history, Fran Feldman majored in government at Smith College, received a Master of Arts in Teaching (in history) from Yale, and taught social studies in middle school. Later, in California, she embarked on a second career editing books for Sunset Books. After returning to the Boston area, she worked as an administrator/financial trainer in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard. Her avocations include golf, traveling, and volunteer work. Previously at BOLLI she taught “The Remarkable Roosevelts,” “Allies and Adversaries,” “The Reluctant Ally,” “Four Portraits of Leadership,” and “A Life of Purpose In 20th-Century Moscow.”
MUS8-5a-Mon1 Ingenuity and Influence in the Piano Sonata, from the 17th to 20th Century: Part II
Study Group Leader (SGL) - Jared Redmond
Location: This course will take place virtually on Zoom. Participation in this course requires a device (ideally a computer or tablet, rather than a cell phone) with a camera and microphone in good working order and basic familiarity with using Zoom and accessing email.
Monday– Course Period 1 – 9:30 am to 10:55 am
5 week course - February 27 - March 27
Description PLEASE NOTE: This course, a continuation of one which began in Fall 2022, covers late Beethoven through the 20th century. It is not necessary to have taken part to join this Spring, but preference will be given to those who participated in Fall 2022.
The piano sonata stands as one of classical music’s most beloved and ubiquitous genres, challenging composers and delightinglisteners from the 17th century to the present. Through an in-depth exploration of both famous and less-familiar keyboard works by Beethoven, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and Barber, we will trace developments in style, influence, and the technological evolution of the piano as an instrument. In contrast to a typical survey course, however, we will explore a few major sonata masterpieces in detail, discovering why these pieces are so special and speaking more deeply about each major watershed moment in the history of the keyboard/piano sonata genre. Finally, our study of these works will help us to discover what they illuminate or reveal about the creative process of composing itself. How do great artists respond to, challenge, build on, or rebel against the immense weight of influence and tradition handed down from their forebears? Since we will be referring to the musical scores of these pieces, please note that there will be some technical discussion of music, in both class sessions and some assigned readings. Ability to read music will certainly help but is not an absolute requirement!
Course Materials All readings and listening assignments will be provided by email, usually in the form of PDF attachment and YouTube link.
Preparation Time ~2-3 hrs / week maximum. This will be mostly listening time, with two to three short (or 1-2 long) readings per week.
Biography Jared Redmond is a composer and pianist. Holding a PhD in Music Composition and Theory from Brandeis University, he has taught music at MIT, Hanyang University, and Seoul National University in South Korea, where he currently lives. His appetites for classical music are omnivorous, but he is especially devoted to contemporary music, the music of the late 19th-early 20th century, and to discussion of stylistic and technical influence among music of the canonical masters. He has led many courses for BOLLI, on topics including Russian Music, post-WWII music, music and architecture, classical music and politics, and musical Romanticism
H&G13-5b-Mon1 What We Talk About When We Talk About Patriotism
Study Group Leader (SGL) - Ben Railton
Location: This course will take place virtually on Zoom. Participation in this course requires a device (ideally a computer or tablet, rather than a cell phone) with a camera and microphone in good working order and basic familiarity with using Zoom and accessing email.
Monday– Course Period 1 – 9:30 am to 10:55 am
5 week course - April 10 - May 8
Description The term “Patriotism” often conjures up particular images such as: 4th of July celebrations, a waving flag, or a group of people singing the national anthem. But what if I told you that these images pertain to only one of four forms of American patriotism–the one that equates patriotism with a celebration of the nation? In this class we’ll trace four forms of patriotism:
These competing visions of American patriotism have never been more hotly contested, nor the stakes of how we define patriotism and the nation clearer or higher than they are today. Think of the critical patriotic1619 Project and its Trumpian celebratory patriotic counter, the 1776 Project. We will trace the long history of these national narratives – of celebratory patriotism and how it is often transformed into the exclusionary form of mythic patriotism. We’ll discuss these four contested forms of patriotism across five time periods: late 18th century (the Revolution), late 19th century (the Gilded Age), early 20th century (the Progressive Era), the 1960s, and the 1980s. Throughout, we’ll use historical documents, literary texts, pop culture sources, and more to talk together about the obstacles standing in the way of singular national identity.
Course Materials Nothing to purchase—texts will be available online or handed out by the SGL.
Preparation Time 1 hour/week
Biography Ben Railton is Professor of English and American Studies at Fitchburg State University. He’s the author of 7 books, most recently Of Thee I Sing: The Contested History of American Patriotism. He also writes the daily American Studies blog, contributes the bimonthly “Considering History'' column to the Saturday Evening Post, and is an active public scholarly tweeter @AmericanStudier.
LIT4-10-Mon1 WHODUNIT?: Down These Mean Streets; Private Investigators in Literature
Study Group Leader (SGL) - Marilyn Brooks
Location: This course will take place virtually on Zoom. Participation in this course requires a device (ideally a computer or tablet, rather than a cell phone) with a camera and microphone in good working order and basic familiarity with using Zoom and accessing email.
Monday– Course Period 1 – 9:30 am to 10:55 am
10 week course - February 27 - May 8
(No class April 3)
Description In this semester’s WHODUNIT? course, all the protagonists are private investigators. The PI has a lot of nicknames, and many are not flattering: private dick, snooper, peeper, gumshoe, private eye. Thus we may begin the class with a belief that the protagonist is not to be trusted, but is that valid or a prejudice? The books we will read were written by female and male authors and feature lead characters of both sexes. They include themes of thwarted love, jealousy, greed, revenge, and self-protection, all motives in the minds of those who commit the crimes as sufficient reasons to take the life of another individual. Some mysteries are part of a series, others are “stand-alones,” and we will discuss the authors’ choices and how they are reflected in the books. Interviews on YouTube will allow us to see many of the authors and to think about whether they look/talk/present themselves as we expect, and if not, why not. Some of the authors are familiar to BOLLI members, others unfamiliar. Part of the fun of WHODUNIT? classes is being introduced to new authors and sharing viewpoints with other class members.
Course Materials We will read a book a week for eight weeks, starting with the second class and continuing through the ninth. Any edition is fine. The print copies will range from 300-375 pages each.
Books: An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by P. D. James, The Galton Case by Ross Macdonald, Hard Time by Sara Paretsky, The Last Place You Look By Kristin Lepionka, The Bitterroots by C. J. Box, Butchers Hill by Laura Lippman, Come to Grief by Dick Francis, Stalking the Angel by Robert Crais
Preparation Time Each mystery will take three to four hours to read.
Biography Marilyn Brooks has been a mystery fan since reading the Nancy Drew series in elementary school. Searching for the best books for her classes and her blog, she reads three or four mysteries a week. She admires police detectives, private eyes, and amateurs equally. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America. Her blog, marilynsmysteryreads.com, has appeared online weekly since 2010. Some of her posts have been reprinted in the BOLLI Banner under the title Mystery Maven, and she has been a frequent contributor to the Mainely Murders Newsletter. Marilyn has taught eleven previous Whodunit? courses.
ART1-10-Mon2 Three Bohemian Artists from the School of Paris: Modigliani, Soutine and Chagall
Study Group Leader (SGL) - Nancy Alimansky
Location: This course will be held in the BOLLI Gathering Space (a 58’ x 32’ room) with a maximum enrollment of 20. The Gathering Space will be equipped with two HEPA air purifiers.
Mask policy Masks will be required at all times in this class. The Study Group Leader may choose to remove their mask when leading the class. Members of the class may also briefly lower their masks to take a sip of a drink, but not when speaking.
Monday– Course Period 2 – 11:10 am to 12:35 pm
10 week course - February 27 - May 8
(No class April 3)
Description While Picasso and Braque were experimenting with cubism in Montmartre there was another community of emigrant artists living together in an apartment building called La Ruche in the Montparnasse section of Paris. Many of them were Russian Jews who had escaped from Russia to pursue an artistic life in France. As happens with many immigrants they felt more secure living together, especially because many of them spoke only Yiddish, and although the Dreyfus affair was in the past, anti-Semitism was still an issue in Paris. We will concentrate our study on three of these artists: Amodeo Modigliani, Chaim Soutine and Marc Chagall. Some art critics called the group “the School of Paris,” although they didn’t share a common artistic philosophy and their work was quite diverse. Modigliani was Italian but felt a connection to the other Jewish artists in La Ruche. He was especially close to Soutine. Chagall initially lived in La Ruche, but ended up returning to Russia right before the outbreak of World War I. He too had close ties with the other La Ruche artists. We will analyze their work, learn about their lives and also study the historical context in which they lived.
Course Materials Book: Shocking Paris by Stanley Meisler. Additional readings and videos will be posted on a class Google site.
Preparation Time There will be approximately 30 pages of reading/week. The preparation time should be about 3 hours including additional reading, study questions and videos.
Biography This will be Nancy Alimansky’s 24th teaching experience at BOLLI. For 26 years she was an Associate Professor at Lesley University, teaching management and technology as well as studio art. For three years she conducted tours as a docent at the Davis Museum at Wellesley College. Nancy has a BA from Wellesley College, an MAT from Harvard Graduate School of Education and an MBA from Boston College. She has been a professional artist for more than 30 years.
MUS7-5b-Mon2 “Miles Ahead” – Miles Davis as a Defining Force in Late Twentieth Century American Musical Culture
Study Group Leader (SGL) - Hankus Netsky
Location: This course will take place virtually on Zoom. Participation in this course requires a device (ideally a computer or tablet, rather than a cell phone) with a camera and microphone in good working order and basic familiarity with using Zoom and accessing email.
Monday– Course Period 2 – 11:10 am to 12:35 pm
5 week course - April 10 - May 8
Description Constantly evolving and reinventing himself, trumpeter Miles Davis retained his status as a perennial leader in the world of Black improvisational music throughout his forty-plus year career. In this course we will trace his evolution as a musician starting with his “be-bop” collaborations with Charlie Parker and moving through his later forays into “Cool Jazz,” “Hard Bop,” “Modal Jazz,” and “Jazz Fusion.” Through readings and guided listening, we will consider not only the impact of his musical innovations and their influence on the music of his time, but also his universally acknowledged status as an American cultural icon.
Course Materials All readings will be provided as online links.
Preparation Time One hour (optional)
Biography Dr. Hankus Netsky is co-chair of New England Conservatory’s Contemporary Improvisation Department and founder and director of the internationally renowned Klezmer Conservatory Band. He has composed extensively for film, theater, and television, collaborated closely with Itzhak Perlman, Robin Williams, Joel Grey, Theodore Bikel, and Robert Brustein, and produced numerous recordings. His essays have been published by the University Of California Press, the University of Pennsylvania Press, the University of Scranton Press, Hips Roads, Indiana University Press and the University Press of America. Temple University Press published his book Klezmer, Music and Community in 20th Century Jewish Philadelphia in 2015.
LIT10-5a-Mon2 How “a Slave was Made a Man:” Frederick Douglass and the Long Road to Freedom
Study Group Leader (SGL) - Agnes Malinowska
Location: This course will take place virtually on Zoom. Participation in this course requires a device (ideally a computer or tablet, rather than a cell phone) with a camera and microphone in good working order and basic familiarity with using Zoom and accessing email.
Monday– Course Period 2 – 11:10 am to 12:35 pm
5 week course - February 27 - March 27
Description In 1845, the fugitive slave, acclaimed orator, and abolitionist activist Frederick Douglass published his bestselling memoir, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself. The title of the Narrative already suggests the profound political stakes of its author’s foray into the literary art of self-writing: Douglass’ self-designation as an “American Slave” highlights the deep contradiction of a nation founded in freedom while engaging in chattel slavery. His emphasis on sole authorship points to the significance of authentic slave testimony as a tool in the abolitionist movement’s political arsenal. In this class, we will examine Douglass’ memoir as both literary text and political tactic. We will analyze the Narrative as an aesthetic reconstruction of a remarkable life that draws, for example, on the genres of sentimental fiction, bildungsroman (coming-of-age novel), and biblical epic to present a gripping account of a hero’s flight from bondage to freedom and self-possession. And we will approach its graphic account of the brutality, violence, and dehumanizing effects of slavery as a rhetorical strategy intended to build and galvanize the international slave abolition movement. Finally, our class discussions will explore what Douglass’ Narrative has to offer philosophically and ethically about the nature and meaning of freedom for an individual life. To this end, we will consider the Narrative’s investment in questions of personhood and self-realization in light of its sustained exploration of ignorance and education, suffering and rebellion, and the role of community and kinship structures.
Course Materials Book: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass; preferably Oxford 2009, ISBN: 0199539073. However, any edition that includes the preface by William Lloyd Garrison and letter from Wendell Phillips.
Preparation Time Approximately 20 pages a week or 1-2 hours
Biography Agnes Malinowska is an Assistant Instructional Professor in the MA Program in the Humanities and the Department of English at the University of Chicago. Her teaching and research center on nineteenth-and twentieth-century American literature and culture, gender and sexuality studies, and the history of the biological and social sciences.
WRI1-10-Mon2 Small Moments: Advanced Memoir Writing
Study Group Leader (SGL) - Donna Johns
Location: This course will take place virtually on Zoom. Participation in this course requires a device (ideally a computer or tablet, rather than a cell phone) with a camera and microphone in good working order and basic familiarity with using Zoom and accessing email.
Monday– Course Period 2 – 11:10 am to 12:35 pm
10 week course - February 27 - May 8
(No class April 3)
Description “We do not remember days, we remember moments.” (Cesare Pavese). In this iteration of the Advanced Memoir course, we will focus on the specificity of a moment in your life. Through a series of prompts, you will be asked to capture the essence of a moment in no more than 350 words. These smaller pieces may add texture to previous writing or provide a jumping off point for a more extended piece you might write later. We will operate in our usual fashion for BOLLI memoir writing courses: a prompt will be given, then each participant brings 350 words to be read and responded to in class. Our work together is to encourage and support each member of the group. Members should listen actively and provide constructive and supportive responses to the work. Students are expected to have some prior experience with memoir writing but you don't have to be a skilled writer to participate. You just need to be willing to explore your own remembered moments and be supportive of other writers’ explorations. Because the prompts are new, those who previously have taken a basic or advanced memoir writing course at BOLLI are welcome to enroll in this course.
Course Materials Guidelines will be provided via syllabus and discussions during first class. Communication will be through email. No textbook or required reading.
Preparation Time Preparation time will vary, depending on personal writing speed. Memoir of 350 words maximum required each week.
Biography Donna Johns spent her working years as a youth librarian in the Newton Public Schools, an adjunct professor at Simmons, and a popular presenter at regional conferences throughout New England. At BOLLI she focuses on making herself a better writer and encouraging others to pursue their writing goals. Donna has previously co-taught the advanced memoir writing course twice with Marjorie Roemer.
Study Group Leader (SGL) - Ollie Curme
Location: This course will take place virtually on Zoom. Participation in this course requires a device (ideally a computer or tablet, rather than a cell phone) with a camera and microphone in good working order and basic familiarity with using Zoom and accessing email.
Monday– Course Period 2 – 11:10 am to 12:35 pm
10 week course - February 27 - May 8
(No class April 3)
Description In 1969 1,601 Americans died from drug overdoses. In 1971 President Nixon announced his war on drugs. In 2021 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses. How could our public policy have been so ineffectual or counterproductive? We’ll examine the history of drug use and prosecution in the United States, beginning from when all drugs were legal, through increasing criminalization from the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in the 1930’s, through Nixon’s war on drugs, to Clinton’s unprecedented penalties on drug users. We’ll also look at the parallel reasons for drug use in this country, from several different waves of heroin use, to marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine,and the opioid crisis of the 21st century. We'll examine why drug policy swings between the goal of medical treatment and the goal of incarceration and punishment. We’ll delve into the science of addiction and find many promising approaches to treating addiction and reducing the harms of drugs. Throughout this course we’ll focus on the tension between the social, political and economic forces within society that support the drug trade versus those arrayed against. We’ll finish with a debate about alternative solutions to the problem of drug abuse in our polarized society.
Course Materials All materials will be provided on a class website, a draft of which can be seen at www.warondrugsoc.com
Preparation Time At least two hours of reading per week.
Biography Ollie Curme has been a member of BOLLI since 2019 and has enjoyed leading study groups in the fields of history, politics, science and religion. He is also a member of the Study Group Support Committee.
SOC4-5b-Mon3 Exploring Unconscious Bias
Study Group Leader (SGL) - Linda Shapiro
Location This course will take place in a BOLLI classroom (22 person capacity) with a maximum enrollment of 15 to allow for some social distancing. The classroom will be equipped with a HEPA air purifier.
Mask policy Masks will be optional in this class. Note that when moving through public spaces at 60 Turner Street, including hallways, bathrooms, and the gathering space, individuals will be required to wear a mask throughout the spring term.
Monday– Course Period 3 – 2:10 pm to 3:35 pm
5 week course - April 10 - May 8
Description Many people face criticism for holding unconscious biases, “social stereotypes about certain groups of people that individuals form outside their own conscious awareness.” In the face of this kind of criticism, a normal reaction is defensiveness and even anger. This course will examine unconscious bias without accusations of personal failings. We will look closely at our own ideas and experiences and explore current research in order to find out if this thinking is a part of normal cognition. The class will talk about how bias develops and how to deal with it in our daily lives. Excerpts from books and current research papers will be an important part of our study. Much of what we will cover will have to do with brain processing. By the end of the course we should be able to understand the concept of unconscious bias without shame or blame.
Course Materials Book: “Blind Spot” by Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald. Additional materials will be provided on a class website or by email links.
Preparation Time An hour and a half per week
Biography Linda Shapiro is a clinical psychologist who practiced in a variety of settings. She is particularly interested in how new knowledge about brain function is used to deal with the problems we face in our world today. She has taught at Boston University, Harvard’s School of Education, and The Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement.
H&G11-10-Mon3 How Examining Joe McCarthy’s Life Helps to Understand Trump’s Political Reality
Study Group Leader (SGL) - David Moskowitz
Location This course will take place in a BOLLI classroom (22 person capacity) with a maximum enrollment of 15 to allow for some social distancing. The classroom will be equipped with a HEPA air purifier.
Mask policy Masks will be optional in this class. Note that when moving through public spaces at 60 Turner Street, including hallways, bathrooms, and the gathering space, individuals will be required to wear a mask throughout the spring term.
Monday– Course Period 3 – 2:10 pm to 3:35 pm
10 week course - February 27 - May 8
(No class April 3)
Description Does history repeat itself? The word “unprecedented” is used often to describe Donald Trump’s actions and tactics. But American history is littered with demagogues and would-be strongmen, some of whom achieved meaningful levels of influence and power. In particular, Senator Joseph McCarthy used lies and unsubstantiated charges to destroy lives and create chaos and terror before he came crashing down as suddenly as he rose. Studying Joe McCarthy’s story tells us much about America. What lessons did/should we learn from McCarthy and McCarthyism? Was he a genuine anti-communist or mainly an opportunist inciting fear for his own purposes? How did our political system allow him to operate as both judge and jury? Why was he challenged so seldom and so weakly? Did he achieve anything consequential? This class will examine “what made Joe Joe” — what life experiences and personal traits drove him. We will read two biographies and view multiple videos to chart his rise, his reign, and his fall, using vibrant class discussions to help us better understand his impact. And we’ll study the legacy and playbook he left for Donald Trump and others to follow. How are these two men similar and different? How do bullies and demagogues attract a loyal following? Why do so many people believe lies and conspiracy theories? The Donald Trump Story is still being written but we have the Joe McCarthy story to help us understand those who would trample our democratic values to gain power. Let’s examine what it has to teach us.
Course Materials Shooting Star: The Brief Arc of Joe McCarthy by Tom Wicker. Demagogue: The Life and Long Shadow of Senator Joe McCarthy by Larry Tye.
Preparation Time The Wicker book is a light 194 pp. The Tye book is a dense 481 pp. There will also be 20 YouTube videos to be watched at home, e.g., McCarthy army hearings, Edward Murrow broadcast, etc., totalling less than 5 hours cumulatively. These are strongly recommended for background.
Biography David Moskowitz holds a BS degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a JD from Harvard. His legal career was spent predominantly as a general counsel, including 11 years as Brandeis’ initial general counsel. This is his 13th BOLLI-led course (27th time leading). David has led both fiction-based and non-fiction based courses. David encourages dynamic, vibrant class discussions and at times will play devil’s advocate to stimulate discussion. Be prepared to think.
ART8-5a-Mon3 Paper, Scissors, Glue, Collage!
Study Group Leader (SGL) - Caroline Schwirian
Location: This course will take place in a BOLLI classroom (22 person capacity) with a maximum enrollment of 15 to allow for some social distancing. The classroom will be equipped with a HEPA air purifier.
Mask policy Masks will be required at all times in this class. The Study Group Leader may choose to remove their mask when leading the class. Members of the class may also briefly lower their masks to take a sip of a drink, but not when speaking.
Monday– Course Period 3 – 2:10 pm to 3:35 pm
5 week course - February 27 - March 27
Description Collage has been used as an art form since the Japanese glued paper to silk in the 1100’s. Picasso and Braque are considered the inventors of modern collage and Matisse followed. Since then, collage has become an art form in its own right and is seen in museums, book illustration, advertising, and in many other contexts. We will learn about some well-known collage artists and their work, but the primary purpose of this hands-on class is for you to make your own collages. Collage art is made through a process of selecting a design idea or subject and implementing it by gluing down different papers, magazine and newspaper clippings, photos, fabric, and other materials that you find or make yourself. You can stop there or add pencil or marker drawings or writings to make a mixed media work. The possibilities are endless; it is up to you.We will enjoy a time of creating together! This class will give you a foundation in collage making so that you can continue creating on your own.
Course Materials There are no required books for this course, but links to articles and video assignments will be provided on our class website. A complete list of materials for you to bring to class will be provided in the course welcome letter. The primary tools used will be paper, scissors, glue and a paint brush for gluing. If you are interested in this class you might start to accumulate magazines, newspapers or other papers for your projects.
Preparation Time Total: About 1 ½ to 2 hours. The primary homework will be creating ideas and selecting materials for the collage that students will work on in class. Preparation time will vary depending on the student. Short reading and video assignments will also be provided.
Biography Caroline Schwirian has always been interested in the visual arts. She started to draw in her early years, but later on her time for art was limited. Her professional life as an architect kept her involved in both the visual and technical aspects of projects. After joining BOLLI, Caroline was inspired by classes in art history and their SGLs to get back to making art. Caroline has taken classes at the New Art Center, MFA, and the Newton Senior Center in drawing, painting, and collage. She is always open to learning new ways of creating art and looks forward to sharing her interest in collage with others.
H&G6-10-Mon3 Rosa Luxemburg in Her Times and Ours: "I was, I am, I shall be"
Study Group Leader (SGL) - Jeff Kichen
Location This course will take place in a BOLLI classroom (22 person capacity) with a maximum enrollment of 15 to allow for some social distancing. The classroom will be equipped with a HEPA air purifier.
Mask policy Masks will be optional in this class. Note that when moving through public spaces at 60 Turner Street, including hallways, bathrooms, and the gathering space, individuals will be required to wear a mask throughout the spring term.
Monday– Course Period 3 – 2:10 pm to 3:35 pm
10 week course - February 27 - May 8
(No class April 3)
Description Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919), the little woman in the big hat, through her voice and writings commanded the attention for better or worse of a European generation across the political and economic spectrum. She was a fearless Marxist intellectual who debated Lenin regarding revolutionary tactics, democracy, and nationalism, where their mutual respect always remained intact. This course will follow Luxemburg's Life as a theorist and activist from her beginnings as a young student in Poland to her university years in Switzerland where her reputation was made as a leading Marxist theoretician. We will follow her to Germany as she emerges as a leader of the international socialist movement and serves her first stint in prison for insulting the Kaiser. We will see her challenge Eduard Bernstein’s revisionism of Marxist theory. We will watch her break with the Social Democratic movement regarding its support for Germany in World War I, which helped earn her further time in jail. During the German Revolution at the end of World War I, she becomes the target of the counter revolutionaries, which ends in her assassination. We will also address aspects of her life that have received less attention, specifically, her long-term relationships, her feminism, her interests and works regarding nature, and her social economic analysis of the non-western world. We will consider her changing legacy from ‘bloody Rosa’ to her ‘Creolization’ by modern scholars. We will conclude our course by reflecting on her last published words, ‘I was, I am, I shall be.’
Course Materials Books: Rosa Luxemburg by Dana Mills. Reaktion Books LTD. 2020. ISBN 9781789143270. Reform or Revolution and Other Writings By Rosa Luxemburg. Dover. 2006. ISBN 9780486447766. Other required readings will be posted on the class google site.
Preparation Time Approximately three hours per week.
Biography Jeff Kichen has been a BOLLI SGL since 2013. He has led BOLLI courses on the history of health care reform, the history of medicine; literature courses on Toni Morrison, George Eliot, Lafcadio Hearn; Hannah Arendt and Theodor Adorno, Reinhold Niebuhr, Professional Wrestling and Politics. He is currently Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Worcester. He co-edited the college text Advancing Health Through Education and was formerly Vice-President of Strategy and Planning for the Massachusetts Medical Society and Director of Health Care Policy at The Roche Associates. He has degrees in public health and history.
LIT2-10-Mon3 Coming to America: Four Novelists Portray the Immigrant Experience
Study Group Leader (SGL) - Lois Ambash
Location: This course will take place virtually on Zoom. Participation in this course requires a device (ideally a computer or tablet, rather than a cell phone) with a camera and microphone in good working order and basic familiarity with using Zoom and accessing email.
Monday– Course Period 3 – 2:10 pm to 3:35 pm
10 week course - February 27 - May 8
(No class April 3)
Description The vast majority of Americans came here from someplace else—we, our parents, or our ancestors stretching back generations. Some, to our country’s shame, were kidnapped and transported from Africa in chains. But most immigrated by choice — sometimes to escape violence or persecution at home; more often, to seek freedom and opportunity for themselves and their children. History recounts the facts of the American immigrant experience, but literary fiction more deeply reveals its texture, the richness and complexity and confusion of adjusting to a strange culture and struggling to belong. E. L. Doctorow’s Ragtime, arguably the Great American Novel for this contentious moment in the life of our nation, provides the frame for this course. Its reimagined historical figures of the early 20th Century share the page with characters entirely of Doctorow’s invention. The novel intertwines themes of immigration, race, class, patriotism, and the notion of America itself. We'll then read four works set over the following hundred years, whose protagonists arrive from different continents with different motivations for creating new lives in America: Julie Otsuka’s two short novels of Japanese-American immigration and internment, When the Emperor Was Divine and The Buddha in the Attic; Colm Toíbín’s novel of 1950s Irish immigration, Brooklyn; and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel of immigration from Nigeria at the turn of the 21st Century, Americanah. While exploring these works from a literary perspective, we'll also ask what insights they offer about the American Dream and the country we live in now.
Course Materials Books: Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow (preferred edition: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2007 reprint, ISBN 978-0812978186)
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka (preferred edition: Anchor Books 2003 edition, ISBN 978-0345807274)
The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka (preferred edition: Anchor Books 2012 edition, ISBN 978-0307744425)
Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín (preferred edition: Scribner media tie-in 2015 edition, ISBN 978-1501106477)
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (preferred edition: Anchor Books 2014 ISBN 978-0307455925)
If you have a different edition or prefer the ebook version, feel free to use it.
Preparation Time Approximately 130 - 200 pages per week.
Biography Lois Ambash has been a reference librarian, a dean, a professor, and a consultant. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English, master’s degrees in public policy and library science, and an interdisciplinary PhD in American culture. Her most fulfilling professional endeavors have involved working with adult learners, whether college students, new speakers of English, or colleagues here at BOLLI.
LIT7-10-Mon3 Reading Ideal Love through the Lens of Political Upheaval in Flaubert's Sentimental Education
Study Group Leader (SGL) - Hollie Harder
Location: This course will take place virtually on Zoom. Participation in this course requires a device (ideally a computer or tablet, rather than a cell phone) with a camera and microphone in good working order and basic familiarity with using Zoom and accessing email.
Monday– Course Period 3 – 2:30 pm to 3:55 pm
10 week course - February 27 - May 8
(No class April 3)
*Please note this course will begin at 2:30pm and end at 3:55pm*
Description Although Madame Bovaryis Flaubert’s best-known novel, Sentimental Education is often considered one of the most influential works of the nineteenth century, marking a turning point in the evolution of the modern realist novel. Through his innovative literary style and his unconventional choice of subject matter (including a main character who functions as an anti-hero), Flaubert demonstrates how the most insignificant moments of life can become the very stuff of great art. In this ground-breaking work, the novel is no longer a “realist” representation of life, but rather a means through which to interpret and understand newly evolving elements of the modern human condition. As the protagonist, Frédéric Moreau, pursues his “sentimental education,” we explore how the political crises of the 1840s and 1850s in France parallel Frédéric’s moments of emotional turmoil and personal stagnation. This is a work of historical fiction that helps us to interpret political events, while history enriches and elucidates the plot of the novel. In the end, we see that Flaubert has created a work where fiction and history reach much the same conclusions.
Course Materials Book: Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert Translated by Helen Constantine
Oxford University Press (Oxford World’s Classics), reprint 2016 ISBN: 978-0199686636
$12.71 on amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/Sentimental-Education-Oxford-Worlds-Classics/dp/0199686637
Additional materials will be provided on a class website and by email links
Preparation Time 40 pages a week for a 10-week class
Biography Hollie Harder is a professor of French and Francophone Studies at Brandeis University and teaches courses at all levels in language, culture, and literature. She has published articles on the works of Marcel Proust, Emile Zola, Honoré de Balzac, and Michel Houellebecq.
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Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Brandeis University
415 South Street, MS 085
Waltham, MA 02453
(781) 736-2992
bolli@brandeis.edu
We are a year-round community of intellectually curious adults, age 50 and above, who explore a liberal arts curriculum through study groups, seminars, lecture series and special presentations and events. Study groups are led by BOLLI members who bring a broad range of life experience and knowledge into their classrooms to enrich the exchange of ideas. Brandeis University instructors, experts in their field and master-teachers, lead seminars and lecture series. Members regularly organize special presentations and events including book discussions, theater and museum outings, poetry circles, photo exhibits, and literary salons.