There are blue skies over McGill, one of the many campuses offering courses on a host of topics this fall.
Use it or lose it—the adage applies to mind as well as body.
Here is a selection of the many courses offered for the inquiring mind this fall at various institutions.
The Thomas More Institute has 30 unique university-level courses over 12 weeks that are not repeated, including:
* The Price of Inequality: How Today’s Divided Society Endangers Our Future, a study of the 2008 market crash and its aftermath.
* Skepticism, Secularism, Spinoza: The notion of a philosophical God pioneered by Baruch Spinoza forced a confrontation between medieval values and emerging modernity. The course examines the context and relevance today of his theories.
* In Saecula Saeculorum: Western music from antiquity to present: A survey course with musician/conductor François Ouimet, including orchestral works performed in Montreal.
3405 Atwater. 514-935-9585, thomasmore.qc.ca
The Cummings Senior Centre offers English, French, Spanish, computer courses and several lecture-style series including new ones:
* Native Peoples of North America is a survey course from pre-Columbian to modern times, including current issues, with Francis Charet, PhD.
* History of Political Cartoons, from the 18th century to now, with John Felvinci.
* Human Rights, a global survey, with Marvin Hershorn M.A.
* From the Bible to the Borscht Belt: Jewish Humour and Humourists and their connections with Jewish history, with Janie Respitz, M.A.
* History and the Bible and how the Old Testament stands the test of time, with David Bensoussan.
5700 Westbury. 514-342-1234, info@cummingscentre.org
Dawson College offers an array of not-for-credit courses, including languages at various levels, part of its Centre for Training and Development.
* Courses in English, French (including French conversation), German, Spanish (including Spanish for travelers), Italian, Japanese and Chinese given by the Confucius Institute in Quebec.
* Financial markets & Investments Strategies covers markets for equities, bonds, overnight money, options and futures.
* Photography courses range from camera basics to digital and documentary photography, portraiture, Photoshop and wedding photography.
* Creative writing focuses on the interests of the class in two genres. All students will be asked to write at least one piece of fiction or non-fiction or several poems, to be critiqued in class.
4001 de Maisonneuve W. 514-933-0047, ctd@dawsoncollege.qc.ca
The McGill Community for Lifelong Learning, led by volunteers, offers one or two 10-week study groups at a full membership of $100, or a single study group at $75. For $20 per term, you may attend lectures on Fridays and Saturdays and take part in social events.
* Study groups include Demystifying Contemporary Art, Modern Latin America, The Modern Middle East, Remaking the World Order,
The Second World War (Part 1), Hand-picked Poetry, Igor Stravinsky, Russian Artisan, Dimitri Shostakovitch, Democracy, and The History of Telecommunications in North America.
* Friday Lectures include Swing—the Big Band Sound; America’s Two Tragic Wars—Vietnam and Iraq; The Christian Right—Republican Party in Israel: A Love Affairs to the Death; Death in the Forest—the Katyn Massacre; and Yoga 1 (an introduction).
* Tech Savvy workshops on various aspects of digital photography are also offered.
Courses run September 16 to November 22. 688 Sherbrooke W. 514-398-8234, mcgill.ca
The Creative Social Centre presents the following courses, for $5 to $8 per session: Aerobics; painting and other media; folk and line dancing; choir. Beginners welcome.
5237 Clanranald. 514-488-0907, cscmtl.com
E.N.C.O.R.E. Educational Club for Seniors offers courses and activities covering a range of areas of interests.
The cost is generally $42 per semester, plus a $20 annual membership.
n Bridge; acrylic painting; Character and Circumstance, 1914-60; Ciné Club; Major Canadian Artists of the 20th Century; Montreal Theatre; Rise & Decline of Western Civilization; and The 20th Century Intellectual Migration are among offerings that stand out.
Teachers include former MNA Neil Cameron, Francis X. Charet, who holds a PhD in psychology and religion, and documentary film-maker Anne Henderson.
1857 de Maisonneuve W. 514-288-7971, encoreseniors.com
