2024 Spring Semester: WEEK 4
This week’s classes feature some of our country’s small quirky towns, the challenge of manufacturing in the US, love later in life. NOTE SCHEDULE CHANGE.
CL&L Spring Semester Zoom Link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82177728725
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 821 7772 8725
Click these links for:
Full Course Descriptions >>
Calendar >>
NEW CLASSES
TUESDAY, APR 16
Exploring America’s Small Quirky American Towns, with Karen Gershowitz
10:30-11:45am
A surprising number of offbeat small towns have the best the US has to offer – and almost no one knows about them. They’ve got fabulous art, architecture, music, history, scenery, food and more. In some places, there are unique American subcultures. For example, Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, is considered the heart of Cajun Country. Other towns are just plain quirky. Imagine visiting a museum that features a 100+ foot long fish sculpture that you can climb into and hang out of its mouth. Or a town of just over 1,000 people that converted a railroad bridge into a breathtaking, three-season garden. How about ghost towns? There are loads of those, some that swear they feature real ghosts. Karen will illustrate photos she has taken on her travels and tell us about what makes each place unique. She has written two books about travel, Wanderlust and Travel Mania (which she spoke about previously at CL&L).
Exploring America’s Small Quirky American Towns, with Karen Gershowitz
10:30-11:45am
A surprising number of offbeat small towns have the best the US has to offer – and almost no one knows about them. They’ve got fabulous art, architecture, music, history, scenery, food and more. In some places, there are unique American subcultures. For example, Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, is considered the heart of Cajun Country. Other towns are just plain quirky. Imagine visiting a museum that features a 100+ foot long fish sculpture that you can climb into and hang out of its mouth. Or a town of just over 1,000 people that converted a railroad bridge into a breathtaking, three-season garden. How about ghost towns? There are loads of those, some that swear they feature real ghosts. Karen will illustrate photos she has taken on her travels and tell us about what makes each place unique. She has written two books about travel, Wanderlust and Travel Mania (which she spoke about previously at CL&L).SCHEDULE CHANGE: Making It in America: The Almost Impossible Quest to Manufacture in the USA, with Rachel Slade
2:45-4pm
This is a look at the story of manufacturing in America, asking if it can ever successfully return to our shores and why our nation depends on it. It is told through the experience of a young couple as they attempt to rebuild a lost industry, ethically. Ben and Whitney Waxman are tireless idealists attempting to do the impossible: produce an American-made, union-made, all American-sourced sweatshirt – an American hoodie. Ben spent a decade organizing workers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin, fighting for Americans at a time when national support for unions had sunk to an all-time low. Struggling with depression and drug dependency, Ben lands back in his hometown of Portland, Maine, desperate to prove that ethical manufacturing is possible. He meets Whitney, a bartender wrestling with her own complicated past. They see a better future, a version of the American dream they can build together. Making It in America is a deeply personal account of one couple's quest to change the world. As they navigate private struggles, international trade wars, and a global pandemic, their story carries us across the nation and across time: cotton fields in Mississippi, NYC’s hollowed-out garment district, a family-owned zipper company in LA to knit-and-dye factories in North Carolina. The book grapples with what "Made in the USA" really means to us today. It offers a unique look at global politics, economics, and labor through the story of textile manufacturing, keeping in mind that it was the demand for cheap cloth that sparked the industrial revolution and the brutality of the textile industry that first drove workers to organize. The Waxmans' quest tells us how our country got here, where we are now, and where we're headed through the people that produce the fabric of our lives. Rachel is an author, editor and journalist.
This session replaces “Superb Suspense: Classic Movie Discussions, with Bobbie Stein” on Notorious.
THURSDAY, APR 18
Love Later in Life, with Carol Hymowitz
2:45-4:00pm
Longer lifespans are propelling more older singles to seek and form new love relationships. Whether they’re widowed, divorced or have never been married, women and men in their 60s, 70s and older often have many years ahead of them. What’s more, because of a surge of “gray divorces,” there’s a larger pool of older singles. But jumping back into dating requires not just risk taking but a willingness to tackle difficult questions – from whether to blend households and families to how to deal with finances. This course will explore how late love poses different challenges than relationships formed when young, with examples of a variety of older couples. Carol is an independent journalist and author who has served in leadership roles at The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News and Forbes. Her work focused on stories about business leaders, diversity, gender, and most recently about how longer lifespans are changing careers and lifestyles. Currently her work appears in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Next Avenue and other publications. Adjunct professor, creative nonfiction, NYU’s Carter Institute of Journalism. Previously visiting scholar at Stanford Univ’s Stanford Center on Longevity, reporting and writing about the longevity economy; editor at large at Bloomberg; founder, editorial director of Forbes.
CONTINUING CLASSES
TUESDAY, APR 16
Poetry for Pleasure in the Spring, with Barry Wallenstein
1:00-2:15pm
These lectures with discussion will involve close readings of poems – classic, modern, and contemporary. Our aim is to listen to the sound poems make. What makes a successful language performance? We will discuss these works’ emotional truth, unity of expression, and attention-holding, pleasure-providing use of language. Philip Fried is Barry’s guest poet this week.
In our class on April 16, we’ll discuss the following poems:
Here is the poetry book for the semester: CLICK HERE
WEDNESDAY, APR 17
The Beatles’ Final Years, with Scott McLaren
10:30-11:45am
In this last class of his 4-session course, Scott will discuss the music of the Beatles’ swansong album, Abbey Road, and end with events leading to and finalizing their break-up. Clips from their songs and interviews will be included. Scott says it’s a touching story.
2:45-4pm
This is a look at the story of manufacturing in America, asking if it can ever successfully return to our shores and why our nation depends on it. It is told through the experience of a young couple as they attempt to rebuild a lost industry, ethically. Ben and Whitney Waxman are tireless idealists attempting to do the impossible: produce an American-made, union-made, all American-sourced sweatshirt – an American hoodie. Ben spent a decade organizing workers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin, fighting for Americans at a time when national support for unions had sunk to an all-time low. Struggling with depression and drug dependency, Ben lands back in his hometown of Portland, Maine, desperate to prove that ethical manufacturing is possible. He meets Whitney, a bartender wrestling with her own complicated past. They see a better future, a version of the American dream they can build together. Making It in America is a deeply personal account of one couple's quest to change the world. As they navigate private struggles, international trade wars, and a global pandemic, their story carries us across the nation and across time: cotton fields in Mississippi, NYC’s hollowed-out garment district, a family-owned zipper company in LA to knit-and-dye factories in North Carolina. The book grapples with what "Made in the USA" really means to us today. It offers a unique look at global politics, economics, and labor through the story of textile manufacturing, keeping in mind that it was the demand for cheap cloth that sparked the industrial revolution and the brutality of the textile industry that first drove workers to organize. The Waxmans' quest tells us how our country got here, where we are now, and where we're headed through the people that produce the fabric of our lives. Rachel is an author, editor and journalist.This session replaces “Superb Suspense: Classic Movie Discussions, with Bobbie Stein” on Notorious.
THURSDAY, APR 18
Love Later in Life, with Carol Hymowitz
2:45-4:00pm
Longer lifespans are propelling more older singles to seek and form new love relationships. Whether they’re widowed, divorced or have never been married, women and men in their 60s, 70s and older often have many years ahead of them. What’s more, because of a surge of “gray divorces,” there’s a larger pool of older singles. But jumping back into dating requires not just risk taking but a willingness to tackle difficult questions – from whether to blend households and families to how to deal with finances. This course will explore how late love poses different challenges than relationships formed when young, with examples of a variety of older couples. Carol is an independent journalist and author who has served in leadership roles at The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News and Forbes. Her work focused on stories about business leaders, diversity, gender, and most recently about how longer lifespans are changing careers and lifestyles. Currently her work appears in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Next Avenue and other publications. Adjunct professor, creative nonfiction, NYU’s Carter Institute of Journalism. Previously visiting scholar at Stanford Univ’s Stanford Center on Longevity, reporting and writing about the longevity economy; editor at large at Bloomberg; founder, editorial director of Forbes. CONTINUING CLASSES
TUESDAY, APR 16
Poetry for Pleasure in the Spring, with Barry Wallenstein
1:00-2:15pm
These lectures with discussion will involve close readings of poems – classic, modern, and contemporary. Our aim is to listen to the sound poems make. What makes a successful language performance? We will discuss these works’ emotional truth, unity of expression, and attention-holding, pleasure-providing use of language. Philip Fried is Barry’s guest poet this week.
In our class on April 16, we’ll discuss the following poems:
- If We Must Die by Claude McKay – p. 30
- Lament of the Frontier Guard by Ezra Pound – p.22
- The Waking by Theodore Roethke – p. 41
- How I Learned to Dance & Oedipus, Tourist by Philip Fried – p. 77-79
- from Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters – p. 46
- Water by Rita Satz – p. 91
- Lady Came from Baltimore by Tim Hardin – p. 85 (with the recorded song)
Here is the poetry book for the semester: CLICK HERE
WEDNESDAY, APR 17
The Beatles’ Final Years, with Scott McLaren
10:30-11:45am
In this last class of his 4-session course, Scott will discuss the music of the Beatles’ swansong album, Abbey Road, and end with events leading to and finalizing their break-up. Clips from their songs and interviews will be included. Scott says it’s a touching story.
Short Stories by Latin American Women, with Pilar V. Rotella
1:00-2:15pm
The well-known Chilean novelist Isabel Allende has said that writing a short story “it’s like shooting an arrow. There is no second chance – it’s a make-or-break proposition.” The stories in this collection are like well-aimed arrows that hit important targets in their depiction of women’s lives and women’s role in patriarchal and often constrained conditions, whether by focusing on the common place and the everyday (the real) or on the unusual and the strange (the magical dimension of reality). Navigating between the poles of the magic and the real, these beautifully crafted stories offer an insightful view of complex issues regarding womanhood not only in Latin American society but in the world at large.
Text: Celia Correas de Zapata, ed., Short Stories by Latin American Women Writers: The Magic and the Real
Syllabus: (All stories are available as pdfs, which will be provided in advance.)
April 17:
R. Castellanos, “Culinary Lesson”
https://www.medina502.com/classes/ml260_2017/readings/Castellanos_Cooking_Lesson.pdf
M.L. Bombal, “TheTree”
https://armandfbaker.github.io/translations/novels/el_arbol.pdf
Makers of History XXII: American President Woodrow Wilson, with Manfred Weidhorn
2:45-4:00pm
This 3-session course revisits historic figures, showing that almost all are complex characters, with good and evil traits intertwined in varying proportions. Session #2 is on Woodrow Wilson, an intellectual as POTUS, who preferred initially an academic life. He ventured out but with a reach that exceeded his grasp and suffered a deeply tragic fall – a devout soul and an idealist who was defeated by the real world. Next week focuses on Richard Nixon. Manny looks at the broader context of what these famous figures meant in their time and ours, recounting their history and impact with analysis and humor.
Election Law, Voting Rights, and the American Democratic System, with Leora Harpaz
10:30-11:45am
In this week’s class, the last of her 4 classes on election law and voting rights, Leora will complete her discussion of gerrymandering. She will finish her review of the racial gerrymandering cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court and focus on the issue of partisan gerrymandering. Time allowing, Leora will end the discussion with several First Amendment free speech cases that review restrictions both inside and outside polling places.
Starting next week is Leora’s 4-week course, Law in the Headlines: Exploring Current Legal Controversies.
Politics 2024, with Larry Geneen
1:00-2:15pm
Larry will be discussing the current situation in the Middle East and its impact on US politics and what’s happening in Florida politically. He’ll also focus on the issue of migrant crime in NYC and other cities. And, of course, he’ll talk about some of the latest developments in the upcoming national and state elections. Larry always encourages interactive discussions and welcomes student suggestions of topics to cover; write to judy@langerqual.com.
And There’s More…
Grace Schulman’s latest book of poetry is American Solitude. She was Barry Wallenstein’s guest poet this week.
NextGen America leaders gave a talk about the organization’s work to encourage young people to participate in the political process. More information about the organization at https://nextgenamerica.org/.
Click these links for:
Full Course Descriptions >>
Calendar >>
See you at school,
Judy
Judy Langer, CL&L Executive Director
Any questions? Email us at: info@clandl.org
or call 212-644-3320 CL&L, PO Box 592, New York, NY 10028-0019
The Center for Learning and Living, Inc.
Since 1994 – Affiliated with Marymount Manhattan College
PO Box 592, New York, NY 10028-0019
212-644-3320 | clandl.org | info@clandl.org
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