Village University

This is the first of four “period classes” that will be offered in succession through the Village University. The Baroque Period (1600-1750) began with the madrigals, operas and ceremonial music of Claudio Monteverdi in Italy, and ended with the remarkable two composers, born in the same year in Germany, but following different career paths: George Frederick Handel and Johan Sebastian Bach. We will examine and listen to this great body of music, becoming familiar with many new genres, from sonatas and concertos, to keyboard music for the harpsichord and organ, to such important vocal works as cantatas, oratorios and, yes, even operas. This is a listening course, and there are no required peripheral materials. No class 11/22.

10 We | Sep 20-Nov 29 | 10 – 11:15 am | Online

In case you think the Bible is a book of “great men of God” – be ready to have a wider view of the Bible’s leading characters! Great women are major players in some of the finest Biblical stories. Their characteristics include power, survivability, loyalty, resistance to injustice, cleverness, and compassion. Our study will include: Sarah and Hagar, Rachel and Leah, David’s Wives, Ruth and Naomi, Vashti and Esther, women who encountered Jesus – and female villains like Delilah and Queen Jezebel. Our discussions will include historical background, literary analysis, and application to the modern world.

6 Th | Sep 28-Nov 2 | 10:30 am-12 pm | Online

This year, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed affirmative action, voting rights, sexual orientation, religion, free speech, water pollution, student debt and economic regulation. Did the justices honestly try to determine what the constitution, precedent and facts require? Or do their decisions just reflect the majority’s policy preferences or partisan behavior? As one justice says, to answer these questions, we must “read the decision.” For nine of the court’s 2023 decisions, we will do that. Did the court’s majority stay within its judicial lane in each case? Did it jump existing guardrails or put its thumb on the scales? Did it respect the Civil War Amendments’ equal protection guarantee, including abolishing the incidents of slavery? The instructor will draw on his experience as a recently-retired trial court judge and, previously, a lawyer who briefed and argued cases in state and federal appellate courts, including one U. S. Supreme Court oral argument.

4 Tu | Oct 10-31 | 10 am-12 pm | West Concord Union Church

Learn more about our newest Village University instructor, Douglas Wilkins. 

Have you looked at a painting and wondered what it was all about? How have artists made meaning or added to meaning using symbols that are often not clear to us? This course explores the history of symbolism and allusion in art from antiquity to the present. We’ll decode color and the use of flowers, fruits, animals, objects, religious and social iconography, and natural cycles to make deeper or specialized meaning. In the process you’ll learn a little of the history of western art.

5 Mo | Oct 16-Nov 13 | 10-11:30 am | Online