Eldredge Library’s ‘Mini University’
Learning Program Winter/Spring Term Set 

            CHATHAM --- For years, the Eldredge Public Library has morphed into a mini-university four mornings a week, twice a year.  That’s when the Learning Series at the Eldredge is held, and instructors with backgrounds ranging from hobbyists to retired Ivy League professors offer academic-style courses on subjects both practical and esoteric.

            And for years, the cost hasn’t changed. Each course will set you back a total of $5, possibly the best bargain in town.

            The winter/spring lineup of programs carries on the tradition, featuring 13 courses ranging from an examination of local architecture to discussions of foreign policy, Islam and Vietnam.  Most courses begin Jan. 28, unless where noted, and are open to all.  They run three to 10 weeks and meet most mornings at the library, located at 564 Main St.

            Monday programs begin with poet Peter Saunders’ old standby, “Writing or Thinking of Writing,” an eight-week course of writing and creative exercise for those interested in writing prose or poetry.  The course begins at 10:30 a.m.  Saunders is also the instructor for “So You Want To Be A Poet,” also held Mondays beginning at 1 p.m.

            Poetry also figures in “Robert Frost and the Wayside Poem,” a six week course that begins March 3 in which lecturer Hugh Andrews examines Frost’s prototypical wayside poem, “I wandered lonely as a cloud,” before delving into the poet’s other compositions in the genre.  Andrews is a professor emeritus at Northern Michigan University.  The course begins at 10:30 a.m.

            The final Monday program is “Chatham and Cape Cod Architecture,” a three-week course taught at 10:30 a.m. beginning May 5.  Taught by Len Sussman, an architect and chairman of the Chatham Planning Board, the course looks at the past, present future possibilities of local architecture via slide-based lectures.

            On Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m., Dr. William Coleman returns with his popular “Complex World of Islam” course, which runs six weeks. Coleman, a retired United Methodist minister, will lecture about the origins of classic Islam and its relationship to Judaism and Christianity, covering basic teachings of the religion, its branches and the roots of radical Islam.  Group discussions follow 30-minute lectures.

            Retired educator John Kennedy will teach “America During the Baby Boom: 1946-1960” on Tuesdays beginning at 1 p.m.  The six-week course covers the immediate post-war years through people and events which set the stage for the social revolution of the 1960s.

            Also at 1 p.m., Dr. William P. Barker will lecture on “The Celtic Revival in Ireland, Scotland and Wales,” a three-week course that begins May 6.  He’ll examine the history of the Celts, their music, language, arts, customs and spirituality, through three distinct cultures.  Barker has taught at two seminaries and is listed as one of the top 400 influential and intriguing persons on the Cape and Islands.

            “Fishing on the Cape” will be taught Tuesdays at 5 p.m. by Cape Cod Chronicle fishing columnist Michael Eichenseer.  All skill levels are welcome, with instruction tailored to the class.  The course will last for 10 to 12 weeks.

            Finally, “Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and ‘Venus and Adonis’ will close out Wednesday courses. Taught at 7 p.m. by Kerry Brown, who has been teaching the Bard’s works for 38 years, the five-week course will include reading of the plays as well as viewing film versions.  The course begins April 1.

            “What is Impressionism?” originally scheduled for Tuesdays has been canceled.

            Wednesdays start out with “Vietnam Revisited,” beginning at 11 a.m.  Lecturer Joan Maloney will discuss the U.S. involvement in the war, changes in U.S. policies toward Asia and the internal impact of the conflict.  Mahoney is a professor emerita at Salem State College, the author of several books and currently a member of the board of the Harwich Historical Society.  The course begins April 2.

            “Myths and Controversies in Astronomy Over the Ages” kicks off at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesdays.  Lecturer Jarvis Hunt, a member of the Cape Cod Astronomy Society who taught the subject for many years at the Applewild School in Fitchburg, explores myths and misinterpretations that have sprung up around astronomy over the centuries.  Time will also be devoted to the spring sky and sights to be observed at that time, and there will be at least one nighttime observing session.  The four-week course begins March 5.

            Shannon Griscom will lead discussions of “The Plays of Monomoy Theatre” on Wednesdays beginning at 1 p.m.  The subjects will depend on the slate of plays chosen for this summer’s season, and will be emailed to participants in the four-week course, which begins May 7.

            The single Thursday class this sessions is “Great Decisions: Foreign Policy Discussions,” taught by longtime Learning Series participant Richard Siewert.  The “Great Decisions” briefing book published by the Foreign Policy Association serves as the basis for the course, which covers eight current topics.  Course participants must purchase the $15 in advance from the Learning Series and read one chapter per week to prepare for the discussion.  The eight-week course will meet at 10 a.m. and begins Feb. 21.

            Registration information is available at the library. Sign up via mail or at the library.  For information, call the library at 508-945-5170, or program chairman Eileen Dunn at 508-945-3226.  All courses meet in the Forgeron Room in the library’s lower level.

1/17/08