Center for Senior Citizens' Education to offer short courses this spring

Center for Senior Citizens’ Education to offer short courses this spring

The University of St. Thomas Center for Senior Citizens’ Education again will offer several short courses this spring on the university’s campuses in St. Paul and Minneapolis.

The courses are designed especially for those 55 and older and are taught by faculty members and experts from the community. The cost for each course is $60. Scheduled this spring are:

“Crucial Elections in American History” will be offered from1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays, March 25 to May 6, in the auditorium of O’Shaughnessy Educational Center on the university’s St. Paul campus. Dr. George Woytanowitz, of the St. Thomas History Department, will examine six crucial U.S. elections as well as the upcoming November election.

“Classic British Fiction” will be offered from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesdays from March 26 to May 14 in O’Shaughnessy Educational Center auditorium on the university’s St. Paul campus. Dr. Michael Mikolajczak, professor of English at St. Thomas, will discuss works by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Evelyn Waugh and James Joyce.

“China and America in History: The Formative Years” will be offered from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Wednesdays from March 26 to April 30 in the auditorium of O’Shaughnessy Educational Center on the university’s St. Paul campus. Dr. P. Richard Bohr, professor of history and director of Asian studies a the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University, will use film, slides, letters, diaries, novels and other documentary materials to survey the history of U.S.-China relations from 1850 to 1950.

“A Musical World Cruise” will be offered from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Thursdays, March 27 to May 15, in O’Shaughnessy Educational Center auditorium on the St. Paul campus. Nine acclaimed world musicians from the Twin Cities will explain and perform music from such cultures as Argentina, Ghana, India and Hawaii. Host of the series is Tim O’Keefe, a longtime performer in the Twin Cities international music scene.

“I, Claudius: Fact, Fiction, Film and Fantasy: Part 2” will be offered from 1 to 3 p.m. Mondays, March 31 to May 12, in Thornton Auditorium on the university’s downtown Minneapolis campus. “I, Claudius” originally was shown on PBS in 13 episodes in 1976. The second half of the series will be presented in this course, with commentary by speakers Dr. George Rochefort, who holds a doctorate in classics from Tufts University, and Dr. Charles Buzicky, a member of the history faculty at the College of St. Catherine.

“Corinthian Correspondence: A Window Into the Life of the Early Church” will be offered from 10 a.m. to noon Mondays, March 31 to May 19, in Thornton Auditorium on the university’s downtown Minneapolis campus. Dr. Catherine Cory, a member of the theology faculty at St. Thomas, will discuss the New Testament letters written by Paul to the early Christian church at Corinth. She also will discuss what life was like for first-century Christians.

“Lunch ’n Learn” Returning to downtown Minneapolis this spring are three “Lunch ’n Learn” programs sponsored by the Center for Senior Citizens’ Education and the Medica Skyway Senior Center.

  • Dick Rice, director of spiritual development at The Retreat, will discuss “Toward a Mature Spirituality” Thursday, March 13.
  • Art Rolnick, senior vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, will discuss “The U.S. Economy: An Optimist’s View” on Friday, April 18.
  • Virgil Wiebe, director of clinical legal education and a member of the St. Thomas School of Law faculty, will discuss “Cluster Bombs: Should We Ban Them or Keep Them?”

Each luncheon program runs from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Room 201 (the Great Hall) of Opus Hall on the university’s Minneapolis campus. Cost of each lunch and talk is $25.

The Center for Senior Citizens’ Education also offers one-to-one peer consultation services and a program that allows senior citizens to attend regular academic courses on a space-available basis. The fee to attend courses is $25 per semester.

For more information about the short courses or other programs, call the center at (651) 962-5188 or visit the center’s Web site at https://www.stthomas.edu/csce/ .