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Spring 2018 Courses

spring 2018 COURSES

​| HRM | Chester | Mahone Bay | Liverpool | Truro | 
download Schedule Brochure (pdf)
download Course Description Booklet (pdf)

At a glance

HALIFAX REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY
1. Indigenous Peoples of Arctic Canada - ​Barnett Richling
2. The Forgotten and the Famous: A Study of the Short Stories of the Now Forgotten Katherine Mansfield and "To The Lighthouse" by the Enduringly Famous Virginia Woolf - ​Victoria Rosenburg
3. Creative Writing - ​Gwen Davies COURSE FULL
​4. Nature Conservation - Martin Willison
5. The Operas of Mozart - ​Walter Kemp
6. ‡ Harbour Watcher - ​Mac MacKay ‡
​7. Reflections of a Canadian Immigrant Escaping Latvia During World War II - Valda Kemp COURSE FULL
​8. Media Issues - ​Kevin Cox
9. Principles and Paradigms of Computing: Where We've Been, Where We're Going - ​Rex Woollard
10. The Bloomsbury Group: Literature, Politics, and Art in Edwardian London - ​Barry Mills
11. From Bach to Beatles: Evolution of Guitar - Vladimir Sitnikov
12. Protestantism's Nun - The Clergy Wife in History and Literature - Mary Lu Redden COURSE FULL
‡ Course marked with double-dagger is in partnership with Halifax Public Libraries,
CHESTER
13. How to Talk Back to a Statistic -  A Survival Guide to Understanding Statistics in the Media, Politics, and our Daily Lives - ​Alex Roberts
14. A Practical Guide to Observing the Night Sky - Tony Schellinck

​​MAHONE BAY
15. A Cauldron of Struggle: Ideology, War and Art in the 20th Century - ​Faye Pickrem COURSE FULL
16. A Beginner's Guide to the Italian Renaissance - ​Greg Galbraith 
17. History and Politics of the Oil Industry - Michael Collins

​​LIVERPOOL
18. Contemporary Literature in English - Susan Hoover
​19. An Introduction to Chinese Culture, Part 2 - ​May Wang


​​TRURO
20. History and Politics of the Oil Industry - ​Michael Collins
21. Learn to Draw
- Christene Sandeson
22. Spy School 201 - ​Hugh Williamson and Ian MacVicar

HRM classes

1.   ​ Indigenous Peoples of Arctic Canada
Barnett Richling​ [bio]
Captain William Spry Community Centre - CMPR, 16 Sussex Street, Halifax​​ [location]
Tuesdays, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 17, ends May 22
Arctic Canada has been home to Inuit and their ancestors for 5,000 years. Following a general introduction to the circumpolar world and its diverse indigenous peoples, the course begins with the long stretch of time before dawn of the contact era. Drawing mainly on archaeological and indigenous knowledge, it examines origins, migrations, and ways of life of the Inuit and of their Sivullirmiut predecessors, the “first peoples” to inhabit this far-northern expanse. It then turns to the contact era, a period of incipient change beginning with arrival of early explorers in the 16th century and ending at the start of the 20th with Canada’s attempts to exercise sovereignty over its remote arctic islands and adjacent mainland. Finally, it considers key developments of the last 100 years, a span that witnessed an array of changes, from demographic disaster and settlement in year-round villages to the emergence of state institutions, and most recently, creation of self governing territories, the foundation of Inuit society, culture, and identity in the 21st century.
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2. The Forgotten and the Famous: A study of the short stories of the now forgotten Katherine Mansfield and “To The Lighthouse”  by the enduringly famous Virginia Woolf
Victoria Rosenberg [bio]
Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts, Room 15, 6199 Chebucto Road, Halifax​​ [location]
Tuesdays, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 17, ends May 22
A close reading of Mansfield’s sadly forgotten but wonderful short stories about the Burnell family. I strongly recommend The Collected Works of Katherine Mansfield, Wordsworth Classics edition; it is available at Book Mark ($8.99) and contains each of the stories we will be analyzing. (You will need to ask for the course copy at the counter, because the number of books is limited and will be reserved for this class.)The Mansfield stories will be contrasted and compared, in style and in the revealing of character, to Virginia Woolf’s “To The Lighthouse” (any edition you choose).
​
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3. Creative Writing - COURSE FULL
Gwen Davies [bio]
​Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts, Room 15, 6199 Chebucto Road, Halifax​​ [location]
Tuesdays, 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 17, ends May 22
This is an active course in writing, for those who want to explore your own stories but have never gotten around to it, and those who need help to get back to writing. The class is designed to be a safe place for beginners to get started, and useful to those with writing experience. Over the six weeks, we will play with ways to find a focus, uncover memories, write pieces that hold a reader’s interest, and organize what you write. You will come away with a folder of writing and some ideas on how to keep your project going.
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4. Nature Conservation
Martin Willison​ [bio]
Captain William Spry Community Centre - CMPR, 16 Sussex Street, Halifax​​ [location]
Tuesdays, 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 17, ends May 22
There are millions of diverse life forms on Earth, living together in complex inter-dependent communities. We live in the Anthropocene, a geological period that includes a spasm of extinction. In this course, we will examine why we need to reduce the rate of extinction and how we can do it. A holistic approach will be taken, integrating both natural science and humanities. The course will be richly illustrated with examples of nature conservation projects from around the world, and will include a focus on Nova Scotia.
​​
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5. The Operas of Mozart
Walter Kemp [bio]
​Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts, Room 15, 6199 Chebucto Road, Halifax​​ [location]
Wednesdays, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 11, ends May 16
A survey of Mozart’s works in the operatic idiom, and how they reflected the taste and the issues of his time.
  •  Lecture I: The formative years: Mozart’s use of inherited opera types- Italian pastorale; opera buffa; hybrid music drama ( La finta giardiniera); German sung play (The Abduction from the Seraglio)
  • Lecture II:  The Opera Seria-reform and revitalization (Idomeneo; La Clemenza di Tito)
  •  Lecture III: The Marriage of Figaro-opera as a parable of Social Order
  • Lecture IV:  Don Giovanni- opera as a parable of Social Disorder
  • Lecture V:   Cosi fan Tutte- opera as social comedy
  • Lecture VI:  The Magic Flute- opera as the allegory of Universal Order
 Translations for the recorded illustrations will be given to the class.
There are no home reading or listening assignments.
No reading knowledge of musical notation is required.
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6. Harbour Watcher
Mac MacKay​ [bio]
‡ Halifax Central Library, Paul O'Regan Hall, 5440 Spring Garden Road, Halifax ‡​​ [location]
Wednesdays, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 11, ends May 16
1. Halifax Harbour Overview
- a smattering of Geology, Geography, History, Economics, Engineering + other ologies.
- the evolution of the today's port infrastructure, with a hint of the future
2. How it works
- Government – civilian and military, RCN, CCG, BIO, APA, and other acronyms
- Industry, labour, companies and corporations
3. Sail to steam and beyond
- the evolution of ships and shipping in Halifax
4. Show me the fish and other resources
- fishing, forestry, grain, gypsum, oil and gas – where are they now?
5. The container revolution
- how it developed and where it is going
6. Finale
– unfinished business
Bonus round: Tugnology.
​
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7. Reflections of a Canadian Immigrant Escaping Latvia During World War II - COURSE FULL
Valda Kemp​​ [bio]
​Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts, Room 15, 6199 Chebucto Road, Halifax​​ [location]
Wednesdays, 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 18, ends May 23
From first-hand experience, the course will cover the history and culture of Latvia before World War II, and how this all changed during the war, as well as the impact that war had on its citizens caught in the middle of strife between Russia and Germany, including those who immigrated to Canada. The course will shed light on the experience of living in a war torn country as well as the experience of being an immigrant in Canada, shedding light on the situation of the immigrant in Canada today.
​​
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8. Media Issues
Kevin Cox [bio]
St. Andrew’s Community Centre, Seniors Room, 3380 Barnstead Lane, Halifax [location]
Wednesdays, 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 18, ends May 23
The course will examine issues such as the future of mainstream media in a social media world, who filters the news (if anybody) , what is fake news and who is faking it- whom do we trust, whom do we believe- the media images of leaders like Trump and Trudeau- the impact of 24-7 news – when everyone’s opinion supposedly matters how do we make decisions- should governments subsidize the media- what are the dangers and the benefits- we will use the case study approach that engages everyone in the class.
​
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9. Principles and Paradigms of Computing: Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going
Rex Woollard [bio]
​Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts, Room 5, 6199 Chebucto Road, Halifax​​ [location]
Thursdays, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 19, ends May 24
Computing systems are woven into the fabric of our modern society.  Today’s computer architecture has its roots in developments in the 1950’s. Since that time, incremental improvements in materials engineering and algorithm design have resulted in the extraordinary systems which underpin our modern society. In this course, you will learn about the fundamental building blocks of all modern computers and how they have evolved. However, computing systems are now reaching the limits of fundamental physics, as designers quest for more speed and power. Future computing systems will continue to exhibit greater power and performance in spite of those limits, by embracing new principles and paradigms of computing, including parallelism and quantum computing.
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10. The Bloomsbury Group:  Literature, Politics and Art in Edwardian London
Barry Mills [bio]
Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts, Room 15, 6199 Chebucto Road, Halifax​​ [location]
Thursdays, 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 19, ends May 24
The first lectures detail how in 1905 certain young male Cambridge graduates, members of an exclusive debating society, imported their values and social ideals into metropolitan London’s Bloomsbury district.  In their claim to be cultivating trust in social relationships they began including women into their Thursday evening discussions.  E. M. Forster and Virginia Stephen (later, Woolf) soon were giving public utterance to these discussions in their innovative fictional narratives.  Politics and economics received wide ranging discussions at the behest of fiscally conservative John Maynard Keynes and socialist Leonard Woolf.  The expanding group entertained a multiplicity of interests, including Adrian Stephen’s translations of Freud and the art criticism and painting of Roger Fry and Vanessa Bell.  The concluding lecture is an account of a group interest, the Post-Impressionist exhibitions at the Grafton Gallery in 1910 and 1912.
​​[top]

11. ​From Bach to Beatles. Evolution of Guitar
Vladimir Sitnikov [bio]
​Parkland at the Lakes, Phase 2, Kinross Hall Theatre, 122 Baker Drive, Dartmouth​​​ [location]
Fridays, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 20, ends May 25
From Bach To Beatles is the musical journey throughout times and continents. It focuses on history of music in general and guitar evolution in particular.
Each class is dedicated to a different music genre: baroque, classical, romantic, modern, flamenco from Spain, Latin American music such as salsa, samba, tango, bossa nova, and North American music such as jazz, blues and rock.
Live guitar compositions performed by instructor throughout the course.
​
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12. Protestantism's Nun - The Clergy Wife in History and Literature - COURSE FULL
Mary Lu Redden [bio]
​Parkland Clayton Park, Cameron Hall, 114 Fairfax Drive, Halifax​​ [location]
Fridays, 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 20, ends May 25
When Marin Luther challenged the policies of the Roman Catholic Church in the 1500’s, he unleashed a revolution in Western European Christianity.  One of the consequences of Luther’s protest was the overturning of mandatory celibacy for the clergy.  How did the women involved step into their new roles as clergy wives and how did congregations respond?  This course looks at the upending of a near millennium of clerical celibacy and, in particular, at the difficult lives of the women, especially in Germany and England, who were the groundbreakers in the new role of “clergy wife”.​
​
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Chester classes

13. ​How to Talk Back to a Statistic - A Survival Guide to Understanding Statistics in the Media, Politics and our Daily Lives
Alex Roberts  [bio]
St. Stephen's Hall, 54 Regent Street, Chester [location]
Tuesdays, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 17, ends May 22
"Don't be a novelist, be a statistician – much more scope for imagination." - Darrell Huff.
 
Statistics and numbers dominate the news, politics, science, education and our lives - and are now the lingua franca in our 'big data,' numbers-crunched world. Alas, they can also be used to sensationalize, mislead, overstate, confuse, and oversimplify. This course is intended as an up-to-date, user-friendly, accessible introduction to these 'tools of democratic persuasion.' The objective is to provide you with the “tricks of the trade” and the interrogation techniques you need to look at data intelligently, to ask the right questions, and to empower you with practical rules and techniques so that you can distinguish statistical fact from fiction.
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14. A Practical Guide to Observing the Night Sky
Tony Schellinck [bio]
St. Stephen's Hall, 54 Regent Street, Chester [location]
Thursdays, 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 19, ends May 24
After completing this course the participant should have a greater appreciation of and knowledge about what objects there are to see in the night sky and how to find and observe them. Topics covered include: how to find your way around the summer, fall, winter and spring night skies; how to observe the moon and planets; and what galaxies, globular clusters, open clusters, planetary nebula, diffuse nebula, double stars and interesting asterisms can be found. We will also cover how to view these objects using dark adapted eyes and averted vision, and practice observing using a variety of instruments from binoculars to telescopes. We will also explore topics of interest to participants. If the weather cooperates we will have a couple of nights when we will put into practice what we learned in class. Students are encouraged to bring a pair of binoculars to each class in order to practice observing with them in class.
​
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Mahone Bay classes

15. ​A Cauldron of Struggle: Ideology, War and Art in the 20th Century - COURSE FULL
Faye Pickrem  [bio]
Mahone Bay Centre, 45 School Street, Mahone Bay [location]
Mondays, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 23, ends May 28
Revolution, war, and upheaval are inevitably entwined with visions of a ‘brave new world’ of change, reform, and progress.   But for whom?   At stake in any struggle are competing ideas of power, culture, and truth – the demolition of certain physical and ideological boundaries and construction of a new world order, whether utopian or dystopian.   From the 1917 Russian Revolution to the vast European theatres of war to the killing fields of Vietnam and the hunt for Hussein in Iraq, competing ideas of culture, truth, and power are at stake.   This course examines literal, metaphorical, and cultural representations of war and revolution through literature, visual art, documentary journalism, and manifesto.

​The course is divided into three sections:   ‘Modern Times’, ‘I Have a Dream’, and ‘Shock and Awe’.   It is by no means a comprehensive study of war art,  nor an analysis of the tactical aspects of particular wars.   Rather, this is an overview of rhetorical and artistic representations of war and struggle.   We will dip into the writings of war poets, explore the ideas in The Communist Manifesto and Reading Lolita in Tehran, listen to Bertolt Brecht’s audio testimony to the House Un-American Activities Committee, discuss snippets of film from Eisentein’s October, Chaplin's Modern Times, and Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, read Bush and Blair on WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction), and discuss civil rights – Kent State, Martin Luther King, the struggle for women to be legally recognized as ‘persons’.   We will contrast the depiction of Vietnam in the fiction of Bao Ninh as opposed to that of Tim O’Brien, contemplate Michael Kamber’s Photojounalists on War:  The Untold Stories from Iraq, and witness the fascist propaganda of Leni Riefenstahl.   We will look at and think about a cross-section of war paintings.   Mostly we will talk about what we encounter in these images and writings of war.  What emerges out of this cauldron of struggle?  Is it dream vision or nightmare, a brave new world or what poet Wilfred Owen calls the old lie once again?
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16. A Beginner's Guide to the Italian Renaissance
Greg Galbraith  [bio]
Mahone Bay Centre, 45 School Street, Mahone Bay [location]
Tuesdays, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 17, ends May 22
This course is a six-week visual romp designed for anyone curious about an age that saw a more analytical and intellectual approach to life take hold, as the focus of attention shifted from the Church to humans and the world around them. While the majority of time will be devoted to the art and artists of the era, time will be given to the significant events, notable personalities, and the underlying spirit that spurred an expansion of thought, creativity and commerce that rivaled, if not surpassed, the Classical World.
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17. History and Politics of the Oil Industry
Michael Collins  [bio]
Mahone Bay Centre, 45 School Street, Mahone Bay [location]
Fridays, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 20, ends May 25
A more or less, (and skimpy), history and politics of the liquid which fuels our society.  Ambition, technical expertise, skullduggery, high and low diplomacy, treachery, military requirements, and capitalism “red in tooth and claw”.
  1. A quick run through the history of exploration and development of the industry. Heavy initial emphasis on North America.
  2. Standard Oil and the business genius of John D Rockefeller
  3. Russia, South Sea Trading and Hard Nosed Dutchmen. A quick trot along twister and devious paths.
  4. The Desert Kingdom.  USA enters the Middle East and trades Iran for Saudi Arabia.
  5. World War and Industrial War.  Japan and Germany risk all for the prize of ‘black gold’.
  6. Provisional: Suez 1956. Protecting oil supplies and the last gasp of Imperialism, USA cracks the whip and shows it does not need allies
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Liverpool classes

18. ​Contemporary Literature in English
Susan Hoover [bio]
Trinity Church Hall, 196 Church Street, Liverpool [location]
Tuesdays, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 17, ends May 22
We will examine six recent Canadian, English and American novels. Each novel will examine a contemporary issue: War, Terrorism, Abortion, Euthanasia, Sexual Harassment/Sexual Assault, and Gender/Transgender Issues. We will explore how these novels allow the reader to examine the issues in a new way. Attending this course may make your opinions becoming more nuanced, while enjoying these great novels. Authors include Ian McEwan, Barbara Gowdy, Kathleen Winter, Don Dilillo, Russell Banks and Tim O'Brien.
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19 . ​An Introduction to Chinese Culture, Part 2
May Wang [bio]
Trinity Church Hall, 196 Church Street, Liverpool [location]
Thursdays, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 19, ends May 24
This session is designed for anyone interested in China and its culture. It is not necessary to have taken Part 1.
This course examines the Chinese language, and how Chinese people communicate using language and non-verbal language. We will look at some of the Chinese fine arts, such as calligraphy and painting, and performing arts such as Peking Opera. We will also learn about the science behind Traditional Chinese Medicine and the origin of natural treatments. Finally, we will explore the challenges that China faces today.
1. Peking Opera and Performing Arts
2. How Chinese People Communicate (Language and Body Language etc.)
3. Fine Arts (Calligraphy and Painting)
4. Traditional Chinese Medicine
5. Movie: Gua Sha: a Treatment
6. Facing the Challenges.
​
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Truro classes

20. ​​History and Politics of the Oil Industry
Michael Collins  [bio]
​Douglas Street Recreation Centre, 40 Douglas Street, Truro [location]
Tuesdays, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 17, ends May 22
A more or less, (and skimpy), history and politics of the liquid which fuels our society.  Ambition, technical expertise, skullduggery, high and low diplomacy, treachery, military requirements, and capitalism “red in tooth and claw”.
  1. A quick run through the history of exploration and development of the industry. Heavy initial emphasis on North America.
  2. Standard Oil and the business genius of John D Rockefeller
  3. Russia, South Sea Trading and Hard Nosed Dutchmen. A quick trot along twister and devious paths.
  4. The Desert Kingdom.  USA enters the Middle East and trades Iran for Saudi Arabia.
  5. World War and Industrial War.  Japan and Germany risk all for the prize of ‘black gold’.
  6. Provisional: Suez 1956. Protecting oil supplies and the last gasp of Imperialism, USA cracks the whip and shows it does not need allies
[top]

21. Learn To Draw
Christene Sandeson [bio]
​Douglas Street Recreation Centre, 40 Douglas Street, Truro [location]
Wednesdays, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 25, ends May 30
Join Instructor Christene Sandeson as she breaks the skills of drawing into manageable bites while offering you opportunities for in-class practise.
People might wonder what is the purpose of learning to draw. Maybe you are here for one of these reasons:

  • to help learn more about our world
  • to figure out and to explain ideas (it is easier to remember how a thing looks after you draw it)
  • to learn (diagrams, maps and charts help clarify our understanding)
  • to more clearly see how things fit together
  • to help us imagine better ideas …
  • to make something that seems beautiful, to lift our spirit
In the next six weeks, you will be introduced to several techniques that will help refine your drawing skills.  We will introduce a drawing rationale, beginning techniques, negative space concepts as well as value and light, composition, edges & weights, and, some higher level drawing skills.
You will be exposed to the theories of drawing as well as have an opportunity to apply your learning, and for this reason, the instructor asks you to bring the following to the first class:

  • soft drawing pencil
  • eraser
  • sketchbook or unlined paper ​
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22. Spy School 201
Hugh Williamson [bio] and Ian MacVicar [bio]
Edinburgh Hall, Parkland Truro, 356 Young Street, Truro [location]
Thursdays, 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm (6 weeks) - Begins April 12, ends May 17
Spy School 201 expands on Spy School 101, which described intelligence agencies, terminology, practical tradecraft, the history of spying, the legal foundations of such activities, and the real life impact of intelligence on policy making. Spy School 201 examines hidden aspects of intelligence and espionage, including the role of women, well-known spy scandals, the often related use of sex as a ruse to gain information, conspiracy theories, and “black operations, and the increasing role that intelligence plays in politics, and politics plays in intelligence. An ongoing theme of the course is the researching, analysis and validation of information received from multiple sources. There is no requirement to have taken Spy School 101 as a prerequisite.
​
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