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This season classes will be held on Mondays.

Ten sessions
Sept. 21 – Dec. 7

First class meets
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Refreshments
11:00 AM – 11:30 AM

Second class meets
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM

No classes
Yom Kippur
September 28

Columbus Day
October 12

In the case of inclement weather
We will only cancel classes if the Wellesley Schools are closed—but not if they are delayed for a few hours.

Below is the list of our Fall 2009 courses available for you to choose. After making your selections remember to download complete your registration form. Feel free to browse our 10:00 AM and 11:30 AM classes below.

10:00 classes

Analysis of Current Events: Domestic and Foreign

10:00 – 11:00

Political, historical, economic and military aspects will be considered.
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Teacher: Jerome Grossman, A.B. Harvard College. Chair, Council for a Livable World. Lecturer, Tufts University. Originator, Vietnam Moratorium. President, Massachusetts Envelope Company.

French

10:00 – 11:00

For those with three or more years of experience. We will begin to read and discuss Suite Française (Nemirovski) if available. Books may be bought in class. Questions may be addressed to Jack Lovewell.
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Teacher: Jack Lovewell, Harvard A.B.C.L., A.M.T., Romance Languages and Literatures; NDEA French, UNH (Durham) and Université de Rennes (Brittany, France). Formerly Tufts Foreign Languages Methodology instructor. Teacher of French for almost 60 years.

Wollen Sie Deutsch Sprechen?

10:00 – 11:00

An hour of conversation for students of German and for German speakers. Basic knowledge of the German language is necessary. We read stories, plays, newspaper articles and poems. Participants write small essays, which we correct in class and use as a basis to review or teach grammar points. Talents represented in the group make for a lively class.
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Teacher: Renate Olsen, B.A., M.A., New York State University of Albany: has taught high school English and German; Fulbright scholarship in Germany; retired serials librarian at Regis College.
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Coordinator: Lucy Noymer

Those Who Forged Modern Medicine — Their Stories

10:00 – 11:00

It was the Ancient Greeks who took the first steps to emerge from the web of mystic beliefs about the onslaught of disease. Centuries of brilliant work followed by bold explorers into the mysteries of human health and illness to bring us to our current state of medical knowledge. Flaunting authority, they risked lives and fortunes to create the gift of scientific medicine. The stories of their magnificent innovations comprise the mainstream of this course.
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Teacher: Richard Frankel received his medical degree from Tufts University, his Masters in Public Health from Columbia University and a Masters in Science Education from Hofstra University. Trained as a pathologist, he spent several decades examining surgical biopsies and performing numerous autopsies. He spent the latter two decades teaching basic medical science on the undergraduate and graduate levels.

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11:30 classes

It’s Your Turn to Talk (or Listen)

11:30 – 12:30

Except for our family and a few friends, we don’t often get a chance to exchange ideas and views of what is happening in our nation and the world. Here’s your opportunity in a friendly, informal roundtable setting – to express your views and to find out how others feel about the challenges we’Äôre all affected by – whether it’s politics, our legal/justice system, societal changes – you name it! Members will be encouraged to introduce topics of current concern and there will be no lack of a lively exchange of ideas.

“If it’s worthwhile reading about, it’s worthwhile discussing”.
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Moderators: Your experienced moderators will be Wally Nadel and Jack Rubin.

French

11:30 – 12:30

For those with three or more years of experience. We will finish reading and discussing Le Mystère de la Chambre Jaune (Leroux). New participants will buy their own books. Questions may be addressed to Jack Lovewell.
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Teacher: Jack Lovewell, Harvard A.B.C.L., and A.M.T., Romance Languages and Literatures; NDEA French, UNH (Durham) and Université de Rennes (Brittany, France). Formerly Tufts Foreign Languages Methodology instructor. Teacher of French for almost 60 years.

Anna Karenina

11:30 – 12:30

Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina is considered to be one of the greatest – some would even insist the greatest – novel ever written. Ostensibly about a tragic romance, its scope is much larger; encompassing the total canvas of late 19th Century Russian society and its political, economic, and social concerns. Above all it focuses on morality, in an exploration of the difference between the way we live and the way we ought to live.
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Teacher: Lois Ziegelman, Ph.D., is a Professor Emerita from Framingham State College, where she taught World Literature and Drama for thirty-one years. A recipient of five fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, she has studied, taught and performed works ranging from Classical Antiquity through the 20th Century.

Constitution of The United States of America: Its History and Influence in Our Time

11:30 – 12:30

Beginning with the revolutionary political theory of our “Founding Fathers,” we will consider the historical development of our federal republic from its constitutional origins in the 18th century to its purpose and function today. In the process, the following topics will be discussed: the purpose and function of government in general, the 17th and 18th century foundations of our government in particular, the means by which the people governed are connected with the government, the institutions of our federal system/republican form of government, the difference between civil liberties and civil rights, and making public policy. Throughout this course, we will consider whether our federal republic functions in the interest of the majority or the minority. And, finally, how does the answer to that question help us explain not only the outcome of the 2008 presidential election but also the Obama administration, the current Congress, and the Supreme Court session beginning in October 2009?

Class participation is encouraged. To facilitate discussion, registrants may want to read The U.S. Constitution for Everyone by Jerome B. Angel and Mort Gerberg. Science and the Founding Fathers: Science in the Political Thought of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams & James Madison, by I. B. Bernard Cohen is also recommended. Both are available online at www.amazon.com. In addition there are relevant, reliable on line news and official U.S. government websites such as www.nytimes.com, www.npr.org, and www.usa.gov. During our first class session we will consider options for those enrolled who do not have computer access to the worldwide web or simply prefer print sources.
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Teacher: Elaine Storella, Professor Emerita, History/Government, Framingham State College earned her Ph.D. in the History of Ideas from Brandeis and held a Harvard fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute and NEH award. Her research/writing at University College, London; Oxford University; and Harvard was in the history of science (including political science). Her presentation at Oxford was recently published in their journal.

Science in the News

11:30 – 12:30

Advances in technology create new challenges in medical, health, and ethical issues. The course will explore new technology as it appears weekly in the news media and present the science that makes it possible in a clear and concise manner. In addition, the human and ethical issues that are raised will be discussed in open forum. Topics will include science items of interest in the news and general science discussions that offer deeper understanding of the world of science in the 21st century.
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Teacher: Frank Villa is Director of InterFASE, the International Faith and Science Exchange, based at the Boston Theological Institute, and has led several classes on science-religion dialogue.

Writing Your Story

11:30 – 12:30

Our memories are an essential part of who we are. Each of us has stories to tell and many reasons to write them down – to recapture treasured moments, to leave a record for children and grandchildren, and to understand the past. This class provides a community for those who want to share the fun and the challenge of writing autobiographical sketches.
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Leader:  Pat Herlinger, B.A., University of California, Berkeley.  Elementary Teaching Certificate. Teaching experience at the elementary level (regular classroom, substitute, remedial).

Explore the Exciting World of Opera

FIVE SESSIONS ONLY - starting Nov 9

11:30 – 12:30

We will explore the many facets of the art of opera through different topics. Background material as well as musical examples, either on CD’s or DVD’s, will enhance our enjoyment and learning about opera. English translations will be provided for all selections offered.

  • The Sopranos
  • Tenors Past and Present
  • Duets
  • Comedy in Opera
  • Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffman
    (preparation for the Dec. 19th MET Opera HD transmission.)
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    Teacher: Helen Sagan. Background: BA, magna cum laude, University of Vermont, MA in music and literature, Boston University; retired music teacher. Performed in several staged and concert operas. Taught opera for adult learners for 14 years.

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