Early 20th-century Nashville history, the French films behind American remakes, and key discoveries about physics are among the 2014 winter term offerings from the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Vanderbilt University.
Other topics include changing views of Shakespeare over time, the role of music in American history, lesser-known political speeches, lessons from financial crises, and fabricating literary characters.
“The non-credit courses provide invigorating lectures and discussions in an informal, supportive and relaxed environment for those 50 and older,” according to Norma Clippard, program director. Registration is open online for the following classes:
- Music Hath Charms, beginning Jan. 13 for six Mondays at St. George’s Episcopal Church. The class, scheduled from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., will be taught by Beth Gottlieb, a member of Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band and former professor of music at Rollins College. Students will consider music that has aroused, comforted, distracted and entertained Americans during times of stress.
- Inspiring Hollywood: French Films Behind American Remakes, beginning Jan. 14 for six Tuesdays at Belle Meade United Methodist Church. Amy Bertram, a French and film teacher at Watkins College and film teacher at Belmont University, is the instructor for the class, which is from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Students will be introduced to the relationship between the production of French and American cinema.
- Realism: Instructions and Method for Fabricating People, beginning Jan. 15 for six Wednesdays at The Commons Center at Vanderbilt. The class, which will be from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m., will be taught by Andres Zamora, associate professor of Spanish in the College of Arts and Science. The course will examine the mechanisms that realist novelists have used through the years to create “characters of flesh and bone.”
- Financial Crises: Lessons Learned from History, beginning Jan. 15 for six Wednesdays at The Commons Center. The class, set for 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., will be taught by Jeremy Atack, professor of economics, emeritus, in the College of Arts and Science. Students will focus on parallels between the 1930s and the recent financial crisis but will also try to gain insight from other, less dramatic financial downturns.
- The Top 10 Best U.S. Political Speeches You’ve Never Heard, beginning Jan. 16 for six Thursdays from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. at The Commons Center. Vanessa Beasley, associate professor of communication studies and director of the Program in American Studies in the College of Arts and Science, will teach the course. It covers 10 of the lesser-known but still important speeches from U.S. history.
- The Decade When the World at Home and Abroad Began to Change: 1910-1920, beginning Jan. 16 for six Thursdays at The Commons Center. Taught by Carole Bucy, professor of history at Volunteer State Community College, this class will look at changes taking place in Nashville, the state, nation and even the world during the decade that included World War I. The class meets from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
- Shakespeare Across the Centuries, beginning Jan. 17 for six Fridays, at The Temple. Ann Jennalie Cook, professor of English, emerita, in the College of Arts and Science, will teach the course. Students will explore the ways our understanding of and encounters with Shakespeare have changed between his time and our own. The class meets from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m.
- Primer of Physics and its Application to Society, beginning Jan. 17 for six Fridays, at The Temple. Joe Hamilton, the Landon C. Garland Distinguished Professor of Physics, will teach the course, which looks at fundamental laws that govern the matter and energy of the universe. This class meets from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
- Osher Steel Drum Band, starting Jan. 12 for six Sundays from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at the Blair School of Music. Mat Britain, director of the Vanderbilt Steel Band Program, will lead this hands-on class, which is limited to 13 students.
Participants pay an $80 class fee that entitles them to sign up for three classes. Additional classes cost just $10 each. Benefits of Osher membership include monthly “Lunch and Learn” sessions and experiential field trips.
To sign up for classes, visit the Osher website or contact Norma Clippard at (615) 343-0700.