Curriculum
Fridays
10:00am–12:00pm MEMOIR WRITING: How to Tell Your Story, Section 1
Memoir writing permits a "third eye" into one’s own personal history, as it offers a means of connecting with others. We will spend the first hour of each class reading the three- to six-page "chapter" each student brings to class. During the second hour we will share insights and delights of the work we have just read. The instructor will edit on request, as well as provide ideas for beginning, ending, and integrating memoir material.
POLLY HILSABECK holds a BS in biological sciences from the University of California at Irvine and an MDiv from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. She is a writer, editor, and Episcopal priest who has lived in Iowa, Texas, California and Hawaii and currently teaches part time in the Duke Divinity School.
11 Fridays, September 12–December 5, 10:00am–12:00pm (please note times), The Bishop’s House. Maximum: 12. Class ID: 1176.
10:00am–12:00pm MEMOIR WRITING: How to Tell Your Story, Section 2
Learn about the art and fun of writing memoirs—for your grandchildren or for your own pleasure and perspective. You must like to write and must hand in at least one chapter a week, prepared on your computer and printer. We will spend the first hour of class reading one another’s work and the second hour commenting and learning from one another.
This group will in part be self-directed, and priority will be given to those have participated in Lorraine Wechsler’s class in earlier terms. The instructor will guide discussion and review work on a weekly basis.
CATHERINE FRANK holds a PhD in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she taught writing and literature courses as part of her graduate studies. She is director for OLLI at Duke and has taught courses in Victorian literature at OLLI since 2001. She has enjoyed being part of the memoir writing classes since Spring 2008.
11 Fridays, September 12–December 5, 10:00am–12:00pm (please note times), The Bishop’s House. Maximum: 12. Class ID: 1177.
9:00–10:30am DANTE, PETRARCH, BOCCACCIO & MACHIAVELLI: Origin and Development of the Italian Renaissance
The seminal works of these four giants of Italian literature illustrate the great cultural, spiritual, and philosophic changes that led from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. All four authors were of Florentine origin. The Divine Comedy, Dante’s epic masterpiece, which was written in the early part of the 14th century, is the work of a medieval man. Petrarch, who is one of the greatest lyric poets in the Western world, is one of the first humanists. Boccaccio’s Decameron fully reflects the values and the spirit of the Renaissance. Machiavelli was born during the latter part of the 15th century, at the height of the Italian Renaissance. He was an excellent political writer, dramatist, and diplomat. The Prince, which is the most famous of his works, has given rise to the pejorative term Machiavellian and has been widely misunderstood during the following centuries.
In this course we will examine some of the key works of these four authors and illustrate the influence that they have had upon Western artists during the ensuing centuries.
Recommended texts:
- The Portable Dante, translated by Mark Musa, Penguin, 2003, $18.00.
- Selections from the Canzoniere, translated by Mark Musa, Oxford World’s Classics, 1999, $10.95.
- The Decameron, translated by Mark Musa and Peter Bondanella, Signet Classics, 2002, $7.95.
- The Portable Machiavelli, translated by Peter Bondanella and Mark Musa, Penguin, 1979, $18.00.
These OLLI books are available at the Regulator Bookshop.
FRANK SCARDIGLIA is a retired technical executive and a native of Tuscany, whose interests include Italian literature, classical music, and photography. He has previously taught courses on Dante and digital photography at OLLI.
10 Fridays, September 12–December 5 (no class one week in October; date TBA), 9:00–10:30am, The Bishop’s House. Maximum: 20. Class ID: 1178.
11:00am–12:30pm EL GRECO & VELÁZQUEZ
In seven weeks we will look chiefly (but not exclusively) at two Spanish artists of the 16th and 17th centuries: El Greco and Velázquez. The course is intended to complement, in a very general way, the Nasher exhibition "El Greco to Velázquez: Art during the Reign of Philip III," though it will by no means duplicate the exhibition in the classroom. In the main, we will talk about how to "read" some of the masterpieces of these artists with an eye toward understanding why they are masterpieces and have provoked the continuing critical interest of art historians over the centuries. To some extent the relation of these Spanish artists to earlier European artists will occupy a part of our attention. Where comparative assessments seem profitable and illuminating, we will make them.
Please note: There is a $20.00 photocopying fee, payable to the instructor at the first class; please bring exact change. No books need be purchased.
WALLACE JACKSON is the former chair of the English department at Duke University.
7 Fridays, September 12–October 31, 11:00am–12:30pm, The Bishop’s House. Maximum: 42. Class ID: 1179.
1:00–3:00pm GENEALOGY FOR THE NOVICE & BEYOND: Developing and Enhancing Basic Knowledge, Skills, and Techniques
In this course, new or experienced family historians will learn genealogical research skills and methods to gain or improve their working knowledge of the genealogical research process and the most frequently used American records from the 19th and 20th centuries. The final class session will incorporate a visit to the North Carolina State Library for hands-on research. Use of the Internet will be discussed as it pertains to each area but will not be the focal point of this course; however, one of the class sessions covers basic methods for using and searching several genealogical database websites.
Please note: The class sessions for this course are two hours long, which allows time for student discussion.
MARGO FARISS BREWER is a professional genealogist, a lecturer, a consultant, a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists as well as several other genealogical societies, and a graduate of Samford University’s Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (Advanced Methodology and Evidence Analysis, U.S. Military Records, and Advanced Land Analysis and Platting). She has been documenting her own family history for 20 years.
8 Fridays, September 12–November 14 (no class on October 17), 1:00–3:00pm (please note times), The Bishop’s House. Maximum: 25. Class ID: 1180.
1:30–3:00pm THE ERA OF GOOD FEELINGS: 1816 to 1828
This is the third in a series about the history of the early American republic, from its beginning under the new constitution, to the Civil War. However, each course is designed to stand alone. The first two were "The Age of Federalism: 1789 to 1800" and "The Democratic Republicans: 1800 to 1816."
The period covered by this course includes the first great financial panic in the nation’s history, the first really serious possible dissolution of the Union over the slavery question (postponed by the Missouri Compromise), the famous Monroe Doctrine, and the only presidential election in history when no candidate received a majority of the electoral votes.
It seems likely that the only reason that the period is traditionally called the "Era of Good Feelings" is that historians love irony.
VICTOR CARNES is a retired pathologist who received a master’s degree in history from UNC–Chapel Hill.
11 Fridays, September 12–December 4, 1:30–3:00pm, The Bishop’s House. Maximum: 24. Class ID: 1181.
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