Classes

The Great Women of Song
In a small cafe on a crowded night
In spot of light stands the singer.
And the band begins and the beat is strong
And the room belongs to the singer . . .

From Sophie Tucker to Bette Midler, from Bessie Smith to Aretha Franklin, from Doris Day to Carole King, from Ella Fitzgerald to Whitney Houston, the great women of song have chronicled an emotional history of our lives. Irving Berlin once said, “History makes music and music makes history.” For over ninety years, the women of song have given voice to The Great American Songbook. The music and lyrics of the great tunesmiths live in their voices.

Sing For Your Supper celebrates the careers of the great vocalists who stood in front of the bandstand or in the recording studio in front of a microphone and sang the songs that told us who we were, where we were, what we did and how we felt. A great singer can instantly trigger the soundtrack of our lives. A great singer takes us into the heart and soul of a song. Whether on vinyl, eight-track, cassette, CD or streaming, hearing Over The Rainbow or Sentimental Journey or Alfie or I Feel The Earth Move or Proud Mary can instantly transport us back to a special place in time when it was just you, the singer and the song.

Sing For Your Supper features a cavalcade of singing stars: The Greats of Jazz and the Blues, The Belters, The Rockers, Big Band, Pop and Cabaret Singers, The Girl Groups. Join Lena, Judy, Ella, Adele, Barbra, Eydie, Nina, Janis, Cher, Billie and a cast of thousands who will lift your heart and make your spirit soar. Each week, it will be standing-room-only for the great women of song!

Sing for your supper,
And you’ll get breakfast.
Songbirds always eat
If their song is sweet to hear . . .

The Great Women of Song
In a small cafe on a crowded night
In spot of light stands the singer.
And the band begins and the beat is strong
And the room belongs to the singer . . .

From Sophie Tucker to Bette Midler, from Bessie Smith to Aretha Franklin, from Doris Day to Carole King, from Ella Fitzgerald to Whitney Houston, the great women of song have chronicled an emotional history of our lives. Irving Berlin once said, “History makes music and music makes history.” For over ninety years, the women of song have given voice to The Great American Songbook. The music and lyrics of the great tunesmiths live in their voices.

Sing For Your Supper celebrates the careers of the great vocalists who stood in front of the bandstand or in the recording studio in front of a microphone and sang the songs that told us who we were, where we were, what we did and how we felt. A great singer can instantly trigger the soundtrack of our lives. A great singer takes us into the heart and soul of a song. Whether on vinyl, eight-track, cassette, CD or streaming, hearing Over The Rainbow or Sentimental Journey or Alfie or I Feel The Earth Move or Proud Mary can instantly transport us back to a special place in time when it was just you, the singer and the song.

Sing For Your Supper features a cavalcade of singing stars: The Greats of Jazz and the Blues, The Belters, The Rockers, Big Band, Pop and Cabaret Singers, The Girl Groups. Join Lena, Judy, Ella, Adele, Barbra, Eydie, Nina, Janis, Cher, Billie and a cast of thousands who will lift your heart and make your spirit soar. Each week, it will be standing-room-only for the great women of song!

Sing for your supper,
And you’ll get breakfast.
Songbirds always eat
If their song is sweet to hear . . .

Literary Works That Changed the American Mind

The transformative power of literature has had a profound effect on the development of our country and continues to shape our lives today. Inspired by Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America by Jay Parini, noted American literature scholar and Editor-in-Chief of The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature, this course explores fifteen significant works of American literature, expanding on the selections included in Perini’s book.

Join Dr. William Fry for an intriguing eight-week examination of the power of the pen.

Week 1: A survey of many American books that changed the fabric of American life. We will discuss titles, themes and the significance of these books.

Week 2: Discourses on Various Important Subjects (1738) by Jonathan Edwards; The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1771-never completed).

Week 3: Selected Essays (1840’s-1850’s) of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.

Week 4: Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) by Harriet Beecher Stowe; Up From Slavery (1901) by Booker T. Washington; Souls of Black Folks (1903) by W.E.B. DuBois.

Week 5: The Jungle (1906) by Upton Sinclair; The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.

Week 6: Black Boy (1945) by Richard Wright; The Pillar and the City (1948) by Gore Vidal.

Week 7: Notes of a Native Son (1955) by James Baldwin; On the Road (1957) by Jack Kerouac.

Week 8: Silent Spring (1962) by Rachel Carson; The Feminine Mystique (1963) by Betty Friedan.

The Great Women of Song
In a small cafe on a crowded night
In spot of light stands the singer.
And the band begins and the beat is strong
And the room belongs to the singer . . .

From Sophie Tucker to Bette Midler, from Bessie Smith to Aretha Franklin, from Doris Day to Carole King, from Ella Fitzgerald to Whitney Houston, the great women of song have chronicled an emotional history of our lives. Irving Berlin once said, “History makes music and music makes history.” For over ninety years, the women of song have given voice to The Great American Songbook. The music and lyrics of the great tunesmiths live in their voices.

Sing For Your Supper celebrates the careers of the great vocalists who stood in front of the bandstand or in the recording studio in front of a microphone and sang the songs that told us who we were, where we were, what we did and how we felt. A great singer can instantly trigger the soundtrack of our lives. A great singer takes us into the heart and soul of a song. Whether on vinyl, eight-track, cassette, CD or streaming, hearing Over The Rainbow or Sentimental Journey or Alfie or I Feel The Earth Move or Proud Mary can instantly transport us back to a special place in time when it was just you, the singer and the song.

Sing For Your Supper features a cavalcade of singing stars: The Greats of Jazz and the Blues, The Belters, The Rockers, Big Band, Pop and Cabaret Singers, The Girl Groups. Join Lena, Judy, Ella, Adele, Barbra, Eydie, Nina, Janis, Cher, Billie and a cast of thousands who will lift your heart and make your spirit soar. Each week, it will be standing-room-only for the great women of song!

Sing for your supper,
And you’ll get breakfast.
Songbirds always eat
If their song is sweet to hear . . .

Literary Works That Changed the American Mind

The transformative power of literature has had a profound effect on the development of our country and continues to shape our lives today. Inspired by Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America by Jay Parini, noted American literature scholar and Editor-in-Chief of The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature, this course explores fifteen significant works of American literature, expanding on the selections included in Perini’s book.

Join Dr. William Fry for an intriguing eight-week examination of the power of the pen.

Week 1: A survey of many American books that changed the fabric of American life. We will discuss titles, themes and the significance of these books.

Week 2: Discourses on Various Important Subjects (1738) by Jonathan Edwards; The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1771-never completed).

Week 3: Selected Essays (1840’s-1850’s) of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.

Week 4: Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) by Harriet Beecher Stowe; Up From Slavery (1901) by Booker T. Washington; Souls of Black Folks (1903) by W.E.B. DuBois.

Week 5: The Jungle (1906) by Upton Sinclair; The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.

Week 6: Black Boy (1945) by Richard Wright; The Pillar and the City (1948) by Gore Vidal.

Week 7: Notes of a Native Son (1955) by James Baldwin; On the Road (1957) by Jack Kerouac.

Week 8: Silent Spring (1962) by Rachel Carson; The Feminine Mystique (1963) by Betty Friedan.

Painters of all levels are invited to come together for instruction, inspiration, and encouragement. Review the basic elements of painting and receive plenty of individual attention in a small and supportive class environment. Work on projects of your choice or those suggested by the instructor. Discuss methods for color mixing, techniques for paint application, and ideas for still life, landscape, and portrait. Bring any art supplies you have. Additional supply needs will be discussed at the first class.

Take a virtual visit to Paris with art historian and frequent Paris visitor Julie-Anne Plax for a four-part lecture series highlighting major monuments, and museums that are “hidden gems” in the City of Lights. We’ll explore Ancient Roman and “barbarian” Paris, the lofty Medieval cathedrals; the urban planning projects of Henri IV and Louis XIV; the nineteenth-century embellishments during Napoleon, and the transformation and “modernization” of the city by Baron van Haussmann plus more recent urban planning projects, such as the business district of La Défense, Mitterand’s Grand Projets, and the newly formed Parc Bercy in the former warehouse district.

Week 1: Ancient and Medieval Paris

Week 2: Early Modern Paris – 17 & 18th centuries

Week 3: 19th-Century Paris

Week 4: 20th-and 21-century Paris

In 2000 the Protestant Reformation was frequently cited as the most important historical event in the previous millennium. On the 500th anniversary of this iconic moment, it is necessary to emphasize that the English Reformation did not follow the continental models associated with Luther, Calvin and Zwingli. In particular reform began in secular concerns and only later addressed religious questions. The reformation in England was not a single event but a process that required nearly two centuries to become final.

Week 1: The Advent of Religious Change, 1500-1558
Political and personal issues started Henry VIII (1509-1547) on the path of religious change. His goals in the realm of theology never became clear. Politically radical and yet conservative in doctrine, Henry’s dictates left many puzzled. Henry unleashed a whirlwind he could not control. His immediate successors enjoyed no more success.

Week 2: The Elizabethan Settlement, 1558-1603
Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) imposed a comprehensive settlement of religion that led to the supremacy of her Anglican church. Yet this reconciliation of church and state was incomplete for both Catholics and `religious dissenters, now known as Puritans, who questioned religious affairs until Elizabeth’s death.

Week 3: Religion and the English Civil War, 1603-1660
Religion played a significant role in the English Civil War (1640-1660), also known as the Puritan Revolution (or Rebellion). The status and nature of religious reform was still in flux, although the state ostensibly determined the sphere of religion. The agenda of Oliver Cromwell (1649-1658) ultimately failed.

Week 4: Religion in the Restoration and Glorious Revolution, 1660-1689
When Charles II (1660-1685) was restored to the throne, what the people should believe was still a major issue. The Anglican Church returned as well but Dissenting (Protestant non-Anglican) religions, although subject to persecution and prosecution, remained strong. In the Glorious Revolution of 1688-9 the Act of Toleration finally settled religion. The Anglican Church retained its supremacy but the Dissenting religions, although suffering civil disabilities, no longer had to fear the state. The Anglican Church, by law established, reigned supreme.

This course will provide an examination of the sites that were most critical to the development of ancient Egyptian civilization and have yielded its most spectacular discoveries, including: the Pyramids and Great Sphinx of Giza, the Valley of the Kings & King Tutankamun’s tomb, and the treasures of Tanis, among others. The archaeological evidence is explored for each selected site (or clustered group of sites/discoveries) and its importance explained. Chronological emphasis will be from the Predynastic Period (ca. 3500 BC) through the New Kingdom and its aftermath (ca. 950 BC).

Week 1: Introduction to ancient Egypt & the era before the Pharaohs. Sites discussed: Nabta Playa, Heirkonpolis, Naqada

Week 2: The Pyramid Age: The Old Kingdom. Sites discussed: Saqqara, Giza, Heliopolis

Week 3: The Enlightenment & Age of Literature: The Middle Kingdom. Sites discussed: Abydos, Lisht/Dahshur

Week 4: Cultural Apex and a Monotheistic Interruption: The New Kingdom – Part 1. Sites discussed: Karnak temples, ancient Thebes & Amarna

Week 5: A Renaissance: The New Kingdom – Part 2. Sites discussed: Valley of the Kings, Abu Simbel, Deir el Medina

Week 6: Beginning of the End: The Third Intermediate Period and Later. Sites discussed: Tanis, Nubia, Alexandria

A Nonfiction Writing Course

Nonfiction literature is surging in popularity and this trend shows no sign of slowing down. Memoir, personal essay, and narrative journalism respond to our collective desire for true stories that speak honestly to our world, to different cultures, to large questions and to the wide range of human experience. In this five-week course, we will read and discuss work written by a wide range of contemporary nonfiction writers including Aisha Sabatini Sloan, JoAnn Beard, Beth Alvarado, Lidia Yuknavitch, Paco Cantu and others. Together, we will consider craft and discuss how these writers utilize research and personal narrative to explore some of the most urgent issues of our time. Students will use prompts to generate writing both in and outside of the classroom and will have opportunities to share work and get feedback during class. Are you are curious about the craft of nonfiction writing? Do you want to engage with writing that asks big questions about our current times? Do you have stories that are begging you to be told? Please join us!