OFFICE OF CONTINUING EDUCATION

Academically oriented, noncredit courses
Majority taught by members of CWRU faculty
No educational prerequisites necessary
Members participate in planning the program
Senior Scholars Council helps administer the program
Three courses for one fee each semester (fall or spring) - course fees are not prorated

COURSE 1:  Part 1

THE DARK AGES

In the late fifth century the Roman Empire in the West came to an end, ushering in the Dark Ages, a period of barbarian rule in Western Europe.  The centuries between the Fall of Rome and rule of Charlemagne (768-814) were indeed dark in many ways, but they had many bright spots, and three of Europe’s great nations (England, France, Ireland) came into being.  Intellectual and artistic developments made later progress possible.  This six-part course will survey this crucial period.

INSTRUCTOR: JOSEPH F. KELLY, Professor, Religious Studies, John Carroll University

DATES:             Tuesdays, Sept. 15-Oct. 20

TIME:            1:30–3:30 p.m.

 

COURSE 1: Part 2

BYZANTIUM, 330-1453

For more than a thousand years, from early Christian Rome to the Renaissance, the empire of Byzantium was famed for its learning, refinement and luxury products.  This fabled classically-based Christian civilization was the envy of the Latin West.   It was at once Greek and Asiatic, Christian and Roman, and was the heir to the learning and civilization of ancient Greece.  From its intellectual and spiritual epicenter of Constantinople, Byzantium spread its culture and religion outward to the Balkans and Russia, and left a lasting impression upon European contemporaries while influencing their art and architecture.  The disappearance of Byzantium in 1453 has left an aura of mystery and remoteness for the modern observer.  Though little-understood by the non-specialist, or by those outside the Christian orthodox diaspora,, Byzantine art remains deeply personal and subjective.  It is infused with a lasting sense of spirituality and hidden meaning.  This art remains today the single most accessible manifestation of Byzantine culture and is the key to its most intimate soul.  

INSTRUCTOR: STEPHEN N. FLIEGEL, Curator, Medieval Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art

DATES:          Tuesdays, Oct. 27, Nov. 3, 10 

TIME:             1:30–3:30 p.m.

 

COURSE 2: Part 1

HOT SPOTS IN AFRICA

This course will include the following topics:
Slavery and slave trades, and their long-term impact on Africa;  colonialism and its aftermath—the case of Kenya and Mau Mau; a century of crisis in Central Africa—The Belgian Congo, Mobutu, Rwanda 1994, and the Current Civil War in the DRC; Apartheid and after in South Africa;  and Darfur

INSTRUCTOR:  JONATHAN SADOWSKY, Associate Professor, History, Case Western Reserve University

 DATES:         Wednesdays, Sept. 16-Oct. 21

TIME:            1:30-3:30 p.m.

 

COURSE 2: Part 2

THE SHORT FICTION OF HARUKI MURAKAMI

In the course, we will consider a representative selection of Murakami stories from each of his several short story collections, attempt to place them (and him) in the context of both his times and his larger literary world view, and examine how critics have evaluated his contributions to both Japanese and contemporary world literature over the course of his extensive career.

INSTRUCTOR: LEE MAKELA, Professor, Emeritus, History, Cleveland State University

DATES:         Wednesdays, Oct. 28-Dec. 9 (No class Nov. 25)

TIME:            1:30–3:30 p.m

 

 

COURSE 3: Part 1

NORTHEASTERN OHIO: A COMMUNITY OF COMMUNITIES

Northeastern Ohio is one of the most demographically diverse regions in the United States. Our population includes representatives of more than 130 nationalities and ethnicities. Our "global: community today is certainly not what the founders of the region evsiioned - a series of small agricultural and mercantile towns built on the model of New England.This course will trace the manner in which migration and immigration transformed the Connecticut Western Reserve.   Our instructor, John J. Grabowski, will provide an overview of immigration and migration to northeastern Ohio.  He will be joined by a number of guest lecturers who will provide detailed stories of specific communities, ranging from Slovenian to Italian, to Jewish, African, and Arab.  

INSTRUCTOR:     JOHN GRABOWSKI, Associate Professor, Applied History, Case Western Reserve University, V.P. Collections, Western Reserve Historical Society, author Encyclopedia of Cleveland

DATES:   Thursdays, Sept. 17—Oct. 22

TIME:        10—12 noon  NOTE TIME CHANGE

 

 

COURSE 3: Part 2

RESTORING THE GREAT LAKES: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

This course will focus on the issues and methods of restoring the Great Lakes, with particular emphasis on public action and decision-making processes. It will cover the environmental history of the lakes, as well as current challenges to improving water quality and related aspects of the ecosystem. materials will be available from the Western Reserve Resource Conservation and Development Council.

INSTRUCTOR: GLENN ODENBRETT, SAGES, Case Western Reserve University; Program Coordinator, Program
................................Coordiantor, Western Reserve Resource Conservation and Development Council

DATES:          Thursdays, Oct. 29 - Dec. 10 (No class Nov. 26)

TIME:           1:30 – 3:30 p.m.