IN-PERSON

Mid-Coast Maine is known for its verdant forests, farms, flowing streams, sparkling lakes, fens and bogs, and coastal mountains with views of the sea. Stewards of this land have protected large areas from development so next generations can experience the habitat and scenery in a mostly natural state. Climate change, however, is resulting in changing patterns of weather, heat, and precipitation. These changes impact forests, farms, habitat, and sustainability of our environment and way of life, for all living things. Learning how to adapt may become mankind’s major challenge in the future. Speakers represent local Land and Forest Preservation groups. They will describe their programs and their goals and challenges, in the face of climate change. They will all have different stories to tell. The course will not be technical, but informative. It will initiate conversations and discussions on how we can protect and sustain these resources for future generations.

The course will be moderated by Fred Bowers, the Chair of the Belfast Climate Crisis Committee. Fred has a Ph.D. in forest soils. Prior to moving to Belfast, he worked as a soil and water scientist at the NJ DEP. He has taught several Senior College classes on Geology, landscapes, GIS, and nature.

Other speakers represent the Belfast Library ABCD program, Georges River Land Trust, Coastal Mountain Land Trust, Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition, and the Waldo Soil and Water Conservation District.

IN-PERSON

This active course will engage all of your senses as we learn together the fun and challenging art of improvisational theatre. Beginning with a variety of theatrical games, this class explores different ways to get your brain and body moving towards completing spontaneous scene work driven theatre in a workshop style experience. Next we will move into dynamic improv games requiring participants to deepen their communication skills by diving together into the unknown. The class will work together, using trust and team building exercises, towards common goals and journey into the sacred art of improv. Prepare to be, completely unprepared.

With a history of directing and performing, Stephanie loves to be both on stage and backstage. Her performance education background began with the Martha Graham Children’s Company in NYC and continued through graduation from Carnegie Mellon University’s Theatre Department, concentration in Directing. For the last 20 years, Stephanie has been working in NYC, Pittsburgh, & Jacksonville in a variety of roles and productions ranging from puppetry, improv, musical theatre, modern dance, choreography, directing, theatre education, and drama therapy outreach. Stephanie has recently moved to Maine with her family and menagerie of pets and plants.

IN-PERSON

Like my earlier Senior College course "Historians and Racial Conflict in America", this course will examine a complex historical event as interpreted by leading historians. These will include several who were featured in Ken Burns' recent PBS documentary "The U.S. and the Holocaust", including Timothy Snyder ("Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin"), Daniel Okrent ("The Guarded Gate: Bigotry, Eugenics, and the Law That Kept Two Generations of Jews, Italians and Other European Immigrants Out of America"). We will also consider recent works by historians Jeffrey Herf ("Israel's Moment: International Support for and Opposition to Establishing the Jewish State, 1945-1949) and David Kertzer ("The Pope at War: The Secret History of Pius XII, Mussolini, and Hitler"). A complete class schedule, with links to videos and recommended readings can be found here.

This will be my tenth Senior College course dealing with aspects of the Holocaust. My interest stems from a combination of family history (my ancestors' roots were in the "bloodlands"), academic background in German and Eastern European history, and my profession as a diplomat. Over the course of my career I represented the United States at a memorial service at the only Holocaust extermination camp in Italy, advised Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel during his visit to Belgrade during the war in Bosnia, and, as Director of the Office of Human Rights, provided policy guidance on matters relating to violations of international law.

IN-PERSON

Do you wish you knew more about one or more of your ancestors? Are there family secrets nobody talks about? Do you ever wonder if you are related to someone famous (or infamous)? Are you just curious about your ancestors in general? This introductory level course in genealogy will emphasize the tools (many of them free) that can help you answer some of these questions. DNA research will be included. The scope is limited to the United States.

Rick Davis has been an amateur genealogist for more than 35 years. He is currently the President of the Wawenoc Chapter (Waldo County area) of the Maine Genealogy Society. He has published articles in The Maine Genealogist, Maine Families in 1790, and the New Hampshire Genealogical Record. He has previously taught several genealogy courses for Senior College.

Note: This course may be cancelled due to low enrollment. Registration has been turned off while this decision is being made.

IN-PERSON

Few books have been as universally cherished by children and adults alike as The Little Prince. This wise and enchanting fable teaches us the secret of what is really important in life.

We will take turns reading the book aloud and following each chapter (there are 27) we'll share our thoughts on the obvious and hidden meanings. Be prepared to laugh and cry, and remember that "One sees clearly only with the heart, anything essential is invisible to the eyes."

Text:

The Little Prince, Harcourt, Inc. Translation by Richard Howard, 2000, $7.49 on Amazon

Lila holds a Master’s in the Teaching of French, a Certificat de phonétique from Paris. She lived in Paris, has traveled extensively in France, loves to sing, and plays both piano and cello. She has taught numerous courses at Belfast Senior College and The Little Prince twelve times and in French.

IN-PERSON

The first week will be a review of the basics of working with watercolor. Really, there aren't many. Topics will be chosen at this time for the remaining 5 sessions. The group will decide what they want to explore. Anything goes. This is a great way for beginners to give the medium a try. If you are new to watercolor check with Nancy before purchasing supplies.

Nancy Blatz has been teaching watercolor workshops at Senior College for many years. She is a member of the Mid Coast Art Guild. Over the years she has attended many workshop with established watercolor artists. A former Math teacher in NY, she has been retired since 1998.

Note: This course may be cancelled due to low enrollment. Registration has been turned off while this decision is being made.

IN-PERSON

In this hands-on art course, artist Sandi Cirillo, along with Juliet Baker, will introduce you to some of the many fine African American artists from the Harlem Renaissance. By studying the works of several artists, you will incorporate some of their styles and themes into your own drawings and paintings. Together, Sandi and Juliet, will also shed light on other music, poetry, theatre, and literature from this period. The Harlem Renaissance had evolved during the Great Migration, a movement during the 20's and 30's, which brought thousands of Southern Blacks to work in the Northern factories. Extraordinary artists of all kinds had settled in northern cities, most famously in New York's Harlem. Here, finally, the wealth of Negro arts and literature could become public. At the same time Blacks began wrestling with questions about Black or Negro identity. We will consider these issues along with our review of the period’s arts. You will be painting and drawing. You also will see videos, hear music, and discuss other literary and musical contributions from the 1920’s. All materials will be provided.

Sandi Cirillo has been a teacher at Senior College for over 9 years, teaching various courses in drawing, art history and fiber. She is a fiber artist and has been teaching classes all over the Northeast for many years, working with various arts organizations and businesses and as well as artist in residence programs. She is currently represented at Local Color Gallery in Belfast and has her studio in Searsport.

Juliet Baker, focusing on literature, has taught at Senior College for many years as well, everything from "A Study of Gilgamesh" to "A Year with Charles Dickens" to a "Feminist Reading of Jane Eyre". Recently she taught a ZOOM course on Zora Neale Hurston and "Their Eyes were watching God", a course on Black American poetry, and in the Fall of 2022, a course on banned books, Critica

NOTE: This class may be cancelled due to low enrollment. Registration has been turned off while this decision is being made.

IN-PERSON

Voir: The Little Prince course description. Ce cours se conduira presque tout à fait en français. Ce cours sera limité à douze étudiants. Ce cours sera continuer le semestre prochain. Ce n’est pas un cours pour les débutants. Il faut un minimum de deux ans en français. En lisons Le Petit Prince on va réviser de la grammaire et apprendre le passé simple, un temps littéraire; qu’on le voit que dans les livres, les journaux et les revues. C’est l’équivalent du passé composé, le temps parlé.

Required: Le Petit Prince available through Thrift Books (thriftbooks.com for $5.09 or from Amazon.com for $9.59)

Lila holds a Master’s in the Teaching of French, a Certificat de phonétique from Paris. She lived in Paris, and has traveled extensively in France, loves to sing, and plays both piano and cello. She has taught numerous courses at Belfast Senior College and The Little Prince twelve times, also in English.