Our fall semester continues Tues Sept 17, with a great line-up of classes on current events/issues, culture and the arts, historical perspectives, and better living. As always, our sessions are interactive, with the opportunity for students to comment and ask questions.

NEW CLASSES

TUESDAY, SEPT 17

Inside TV News: Reporting on the 2024 Olympics from Paris, with Jane Hanson in Conversation with Magee Hickey
10:30-11:45am
An outstanding and exciting Summer Olympics recently ended, with some triumphs and disappointments for Team USA. Jane, an award-winning American television presenter, was there to cover the event. She’ll tell us what it was like on the ground in the “City of Lights.” She formerly co-hosted New York Live and Jane Hanson's New York on NBC-TV in the city and was co-anchor of Today in New York. Winner of nine Emmy Awards, former president of the NY chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences; currently a Forbes Magazine contributor. PIX11’s Magee Hickey has been a reporter for every NYC TV station over her long career.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT 18

The Story of Ancient Greece, with Joshua Hoffman
10:30-11:45am
This two-session course focuses on the dramatic history of wars that have fascinated generations around the world. Joshua gives us illustrated talks about eras that changed the world. Session #1: The Persian War. In ancient times, four great empires ruled over the near east: Infamous Babylon, Ancient Egypt, Giant Media, and Wealthy Lydia. Then the Persian empire conquered all of them. And then, the largest empire the world had ever known set its gaze on Greece. Staring defiantly back, despite being outnumbered twenty-five to one, was a small alliance led by Sparta and Athens. This session focuses on the story of the subsequent war, the ultimate David vs. Goliath battle.

THURSDAY, Sept 19

Grammar Wars: The English We Fight About, and Can We Find Punctuation Peace? With Ellen Jovin 
12:45-4:00pm
Ellen, founder of the nationally acclaimed Grammar Table, will lead a rollicking online session through some of the thornier grammar issues of our time. What topics get people’s grammar goat? How can we reconcile our declension differences? Will we ever come to a comma consensus? Ellen recently took her traveling pop-up grammar advice stand to the streets of all 50 US states, so she has seen it all, grammatically speaking. During our session she will show a trailer from a new documentary, Rebel with a Clause, that her filmmaker husband, Brandt Johnson, made of their unprecedented grammar road trip. Ellen’s book about the Grammar Table, also called Rebel with a Clause, was a national bestseller in 2022.

CONTINUING CLASSES

TUESDAY, SEPT 17

Poetry for Pleasure in the Fall, 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. Barry is the author of 12 collections of poetry, most recently It’s About Time, as well as Time on the Move and Tony’s Blues (bilingual French and English). Grace Schulman is Barry’s guest poet this week.

Here is the poetry book for the semester: CLICK HERE

• The Bean Eaters by Gwendolyn Brooks, p.46
• The Human Seasons by John Keats, p. 10
• Poetry by Marianne Moore, p. 26, 27
• Scallop Shell & Crime in the Conservatory Garden by Grace Schulman, p.59, 60 * guest poet
• Evening Song by Kenneth Fearing, 38, 39
• 1914: Peace, by Rupert Brooke, p.17
• Three by Dorothy Parker, p.30

What Do You Think? Discussion, with Bill Goldman
2:45-4:00pm
This course is a group discussion of current events, focusing on significant economic, social, and political issues in the news. A few key articles from major newspapers and journals will be sent to students in advance to read so we can come to talk about our views on the subjects. We want to hear what you think! The attached articles for discussion. The attached articles for discussion include a description of Elon Musk as an unguided geopolitical missile (from last week), an analysis of why Americans cannot keep funding Boomers and beyond and a description of our democracy as lacking choice.
To download articles for class, CLICK HERE

WEDNESDAY, SEPT 18

CL&L: Focus Group Discussions: Staying (or Getting) Active Physically, with Judy Langer
1:00-2:15pm
As we age, being active becomes more of a challenge. In this 3-session course, we’ll discuss different aspects of what this means and how we do or can handle them. This second session focuses on being physically active. What helps us with the challenges? What are the obstacles we face? How do or can we handle those obstacles? Are there any resources you recommend? Tips you want to share with other attendees? Come to our focus group and we’ll talk together. Judy is CL&L Executive Director, a retired qualitative researcher who conducted focus groups for over 40 years and wrote a book about the subject, The Mirrored Window.

What’s Your Name? How About a Song? with Karen Valen
2:45-4:00pm
Many Broadway musicals have a lead character’s name in the title, and that name often has a song. Hello, Dolly; hello, Gigi; and hello, Mame. Often other characters in shows have a song that isn’t part of the show’s title: Maria in West Side Story, Marian the Librarian in The Music Man, and so many others. So many, in fact, that it will take three sessions to give those characters their due and to sing their praises and their names. Session 2: Leading Ladies. Karen has been attending theater regularly since 1954 when Mary Martin flew past her in Peter Pan, and she ushers both on and off-Broadway.

THURSDAY, Sept 19

Law in the Headlines: Exploring Legal Controversies, with Leora Harpaz 
10:30-11:45am
Leora will review the important cases the Supreme Court agreed to decide this Term and their outcomes. These will include the two Donald Trump cases raising the issues of ballot access and presidential immunity, also cases on gun rights, abortion, restrictions on the power of federal administrative agencies, and a series of First Amendment free speech cases. An interesting feature of the Term is that while some of the Court’s decisions reached the merits of the case, in a number of high-profile cases, the Court either disposed of the case without reaching the merits or wrote a limited opinion that remanded the case to the lower court to resolve many of the key issues in the first instance. Leora will address the fact that there was an unusual number of separate opinions written by individual Justices, even in cases where the Court reached a unanimous result. She will also discuss cases the Court has already agreed to review in the 2024-2025 Term. Students will have an opportunity to make suggestions for topics that they would like to have discussed in upcoming classes.
Please use the following link if you would like to make suggestions for topics you would like covered in upcoming classes: http://www.lharpaz.com/ContinuingEd/CLL/2024suggestions/

Politics 2024, with Larry Geneen
1:00-2:15pm
The 2024 presidential election battle continues, as Trump and Harris debate whether or not to have another debate. Both candidates and their running mates continue to hold rallies in swing states, making new pronouncements as well repeating their favorite talking points. Are they also changing some of their strategies? Will Trump’s various trials play a role despite having been delayed? What’s happening and likely to happen in key congressional races, and in NY State and City politics? What are the polls telling us about the state of the race? Larry always encourages interactive discussions and welcomes student suggestions of topics to cover; write to contact us. Larry is a risk management consultant, former COO of the American Management Assoc., EVP of Johnson and Higgins.

Register CLICK HERE
Full course descriptions CLICK HERE
Calendar of classes CLICK HERE

You can also register and pay on our website clandl.org or send a registration form and a check for $265 made out to “CL&L” to PO Box 592, New York, NY 10028-0019. One tuition fee pays for unlimited classes!

And There’s More…

Karen Valen on the way to find out more about Broadway shows: To access information about any Broadway production (creatives, cast, awards, etc.), go to this link: www.ibdb.com.

Leora Harpaz, teacher of Law in the Headlines, wrote this poem for us:

• The Supreme Court is feeling its oats.
• The right wing gets to decide and gloats.
• They keep Trump from jail.
• Their efforts don’t fail.
• They won’t stop while they have enough votes.

We look forward to seeing you and your friends!
Best, Judy

Judy Langer, CL&L Executive Director
Any questions? Email us at: contact us
or call 212-644-3320

The Center for Learning and Living, Inc.
Since 1994 – Affiliated with Marymount Manhattan College
PO Box 592, New York, NY 10028-0019
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