[toc]

1. Language: The Bridge between Sound and Meaning

Instructor: Dr. Jaromira Rakusan

Professor Rakusan received her M.A. in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Charles University in Prague and her Ph.D. in Slavic Studies from the University of Ottawa. She is currently a professor of Theoretical Linguistics within the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at Carleton University. Her research examines Slavic and Germanic metaphors and language contacts.

Language is considered the most valuable single possession of the human race, yet it is a strange phenomenon. On one hand, language is easily mastered by all children by their fifth year. On the other hand, it is by far the most perfect and complex form of communication we ever encounter. The task of the course is to introduce basic elements of language, as well as the ways how these structural elements are organized into a system enabling us to arrive at meanings. The theoretical study will be accompanied by illustrative examples and exercises from various languages.

Lectures and discussions

2. Immigrant Vines: Wines of the New World

Instructor: Dr. Dennis Forcese

Dr. Dennis Forcese is a retired Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, formerly Dean of Social Sciences and Vice President Academic, and co-founder of the Centre for Initiatives in Education at Carleton University. Presently, he is Chapter Master of AMICI DELL ‘ENOTRIA (Italian Wine Society).

An examination of the origin and character of wines being produced in “new world” or “settler societies,” including selected tastings. Wines of Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and Argentina will be explored.

Lectures, discussions, videos, wine-tasting

NOTE: A $15.00 supply fee applies for wines sampled. You must bring your own wine glass to each class.

3. Turning Your Life Stories into Memoir (Course full)

Instructor: Laurie Gough

Lauded by Time magazine as “one of the new generation of intrepid female travel writers,” Laurie Gough (www.lauriegough.com) has written two travel memoirs: Kiss the Sunset Pig, and Kite Strings of the Southern Cross: A Woman’s Travel Odyssey, shortlisted for the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award, and silver medal winner of ForeWord Magazine’s Travel Book of the Year in the US. Nineteen of her stories have been anthologized in literary travel books. She contributes regularly to The Globe and Mail, and has written for The L.A. Times, salon.com, The National Post, The Vancouver Sun, Canadian Geographic, and The Daily Express. Before taking up her career as a writer and editor, she taught high school English for ten years.

Everyone has a unique and compelling story to tell. This course, concentrating on writing from personal experience, offers you the tools to give your life story shape and form. Through lectures on specific topics and in-class exercises that are fun and inspiring, you’ll learn how to craft your life story into a valuable narrative. In a supportive environment, you’ll explore the creative doors that open as you commit those memories to paper. The homework given will build toward your own memoir.

Lectures, discussions, memoir writing

NOTES: Course enrollment is limited to 20 students. The fee for this course is $130.00 per person.

Back to Top

4. Spirituality in the 21st Century (Course full)

Instructor: Dr. William Lawlor

Dr. William Lawlor is a former Associate Dean of Education at McGill University where he taught in both the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Religious Studies.

For many people, to live authentically means to acknowledge a spiritual dimension or quest in their lives. What constitutes authentic spirituality? What is the relationship between spirituality and religion? Does the search for an authentic spirituality reflect the need of humanity to transcend the cultural limitations of the great religions? Might an authentic spirituality, as Bede Griffiths suggests, reflect a “universal wisdom” that underlies diverse religions? What is the relationship between spirituality and social justice? This course will explore these questions in a format of lectures, readings and discussions. (Please note that this course was previously offered in the spring of 2007.)

Lectures and discussions

NOTES: Course enrollment is limited to 40 students. A $15.00 coursepack is recommended and will be available for pick-up during the first class.

5. The Threat of Climate Change and How We Might Respond

Instructor: Dr. John Stone

John Stone is an Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Carleton University. He spent most of his professional career in the federal government working at the interface between science and policy, mostly on climate change. He has served on the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for both the Third and Fourth Assessment Reports. Since retiring, he has also been a visiting Fellow at the International Development Research Centre. He continues to advise and give a number of talks to government and the private sector on climate change.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, warming of the climate system is now unequivocal. The threat of climate change has become a concern for many Canadians and a critical issue of public policy. This course will introduce the scientific basis for the threat. It will explore some of the potential impacts on Canada’s environment, society, economy and security. The course will conclude with possible options to address this threat through individual and collective actions.

Lectures and discussions

6. Is Autobiography Fraud?

Instructor: Dr. Michael Gnarowski

Professor Emeritus in the Carleton University English Department. His areas of particular interest include Canadian literature, modernist writing and Canadian poetry (19th century and modern). His work has been published widely by McGraw-Hill Ryerson, McClelland & Stewart, University of Toronto Press and Oxford University Press. He has contributed to the Canadian Encyclopedia, McGraw-Hill Dictionary of World Biography and Oxford Companion to Twentieth Century Poetry among others. Formerly Director of Carleton University Press, he is presently Series Editor of Voyageur Canadian Classics with the Dundurn Group and General Editor of The Fiction of Hugh MacLennan with McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Canadian Life Writing looks at John Glassco’s Memoirs of Montparnasse, Patrick Slater’s The Yellow Briar, Hugh Garner’s One Damn Thing After Another, and Stephen Leacock’s The Boy I Left Behind Me* (see note below). The first week will feature an introductory talk on the nature of “life writing,” focusing on autobiography and the various kinds of autobiographical self-expression. The middle four weeks will each address one title, exploring the varieties of Canadian experience and outlook revealed by the authors. The final week will be a “wrapping up” of what had been discussed, developing comparisons and/or contrasts of the works.

PLEASE NOTE that the book entitled The Boy I Left Behind Me by Stephen Leacock has been replaced by Pilgrims of the Wild written by Grey Owl.

Lectures and discussions

Back to Top

7. Himalayas: War, Faith and Economics (Course full)

Instructor: Jeff Fuchs

Living in Asia for a decade, Jeff Fuchs’s written/photographic work has focused on indigenous mountain cultures and tea (www.jefffuchs.com). Feature work has included a Penguin-Viking book “The Ancient Tea Horse Road,” as well as feature stories in the China Post and Toronto Star newspapers, the Kyoto Journal, Spanish Geographic, Outdoor Exploration and Outpost amongst others. His work has appeared on three continents and he has appeared on CBC television, CTV’s Canada AM and Chinese national television. Fuchs is the first westerner to travel all 5,000 kilometres of the Tea Horse Road that extends through four countries and the Great Himalayan Range.

This course offers an in-depth look into the world’s greatest mountain range, its great struggles, its profound cultures and its rarely documented importance as a great trade conduit. The course will explore Tibet’s true representatives, the fierce nomads (drokpa), trade routes that extended from the trade centres of the Chinese Dynasties deep into ancient Persia, and the changing “faiths” of the Greater Himalayan Range. It will seek to dispel some myths and encourage a more profound understanding of the “highest of highlands” – not just Tibet but the entire Himalayan fold.

Lectures, discussions, videos, hands-on learning

8. Classical Music Inspired by Legends, Fairy Tales and Literature – Part I

NEW section opened: Fridays, September 18 – October 23

10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Location: Room 118 Leeds House

Instructor: Barbara Rabatin

Ms. Rabatin studied psychology and visual art at the University in Budapest. She is a trained vocalist and music instructor in the Kodaly Method. She has taught music history and art appreciation for over 30 years.

Course full

New section opened

The first half of each lecture will concentrate on a legend, poem or novel while the second half will look at the composers and their pieces inspired by the literary work discussed. The course focuses on lectures about operas and ballets that coincide with the performances at the National Arts Centre and with “Live performances from the Lincoln Centre” at the Cineplex Movie Theatres. In this session, among other shows, “The Magic Flute,” “Tosca,” “Aida,” “Rusalka” and “Tristan & Isolde” will be discussed and available for the students to attend outside of class time.

Lectures, music, videos

9. Japanese Brush Painting: Introduction and Review of the Four Gentlemen

Instructor: Rebecca Cragg

Professor Rebecca Lyn Cragg has completed over 4,200 hours of Japanese brush painting during the last eleven years which she spent teaching in Japan and Canada. In 2005, 20 of her scrolls were exhibited in a solo show in Wakayama City, Japan. Her focus is natural scenery, including rocks/mountains, water and flowers. Since her return to Canada, she has conducted painting workshops through her private art gallery, The Stepping Stones Art Gallery (www.steppingstonesgallery.net). Through her gallery, she has featured over 25 artists in 35 exhibitions since 2005.

Explore the ancient Art of Traditional Japanese Brush painting in this introduction to The ‘Four Gentlemen’ (bamboo, orchid, chrysanthemum, plum). These subjects form the basis of all brush strokes in East Asian painting. Once these are introduced through images and theory (history, symbolism, techniques in application), the second half of the class will give students the opportunity to try painting. Each class will cover one of the Four Gentlemen. With the support of online videos prepared by the instructor and downloadable class notes, students will be able to practice in advance of each session if desired, as well as once the class is completed.

A $5.00 supply fee applies for returning students and a $10.00 supply fee applies for new students (additional cost is for new paint brush).

Lectures, discussions, videos, painting

10. History of Africa (Course full)

Instructor: Dr. Mohamed Ali

Professor Mohamed Nuuh Ali earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in African history at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is former Dean of the College of Education at Somali National University and presently teaches at the Department of History at Carleton University. His area of specialization is Medieval and Modern History of Africa.

This course is designed to acquaint the beginning student of African history to the peoples, cultures and civilizations of Africa from the origins of humanity to the era of the slave trade. The objectives of this course are to give the student a better understanding of the past as it affects the present and to help the student to acquire knowledge of the interpretations that scholars have given to African history since 1800. Too often our understanding of Africa is shaped more by myths and misconceptions generated by old movies and the literature of an earlier era than by a sound knowledge of Africa’s past and present.

Lectures, discussions, videos

Back to Top