Phone: 240-895-3007
Fax: 240-895-4449
Anthony Guzman
Coordinator, Office of Lifelong Learning & Professional Programs
Catalog of Courses
The Grace and John Horton Explorations in Learning program offers opportunities for intellectual enrichment to the members of the Southern Maryland community. The following is a catalog of all the courses offered under the auspices of the program, either at the Asbury community in Solomons or the Wildewood Community Center.
The arrival of Alexander linked Afghanistan with the world to the west of Persia; Alexander’s successors maintained this link, and shortly thereafter the Silk Road trade established a link with China and India. Afghanistan became a center of world exchange in goods and ideas, and made it possible for the people of Afghanistan to have a view of World History. This included the origins of the Afghans with their existence between Persia and India, the impact of Greek and Buddhist civilizations on the continent, and the new challenges of Christianity. It is this evolving view that will be discussed in this course.
Professor Frank van Aalst
Asbury, Spring 2008
From 700 – 1700 the new religion of Islam gradually came to dominate Afghanistan and most of Asia outside of China. Participation in this culture changed the way Afghans viewed the world. Outsiders from Central Asia came to rule Afghanistan, culminating in the Mongol destructive conquests. Subsequent invaders recruited Afghans to join in the conquest of India. Within Afghanistan new tribal groups rose in the south and by the end of the period were dominant. This course will discuss these changing views of the world.
Professor Frank van Aalst
Asbury, Fall 2008
Wildewood, Spring 2009
As the British Empire expanded in India and the Russian Empire expanded in Central Asia, Afghanistan again found itself surrounded and infiltrated by competing world empires. A nation is born, and the outsiders are defeated, but the independence and stability of the country are difficult to maintain. Again the Afghans have an exceptional vantage point from which to view world history and interpret world affairs. This course will focus on a description of that view.
Professor Frank van Aalst
Asbury, Spring 2009
Wildewood, Spring 2009
This course focuses on the role of American political parties in the electoral process – and addresses the questions whether the ideals of U.S. democracy are being served. A short review of the changing history of political parties will enable us to better understand the nature and function of political parties in 21st century America. An understanding of how political parties do, and do not, influence the conduct, outcome and consequences of elections will help to explain why we “get” the government and policies that we do. Finally, a look at potential reform of the party/electoral system, including voter participation, campaign finance, providing better choice for voters and the style of political campaigns, will enable each of us to become better participants in the democratic process.
George Sparling, J.D.
Wildewood, Fall 2008
For several years, Robin Bates of the St. Mary’s English Department has been writing a book designed to make classics of British literature accessible and relevant to contemporary readers. If these works are timeless, he argues, it is because they still speak to the deepest issues that we face, giving us a profound understanding of our problems and providing us with powerful solutions. Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Dr. Fausus,for instance, give us ways for handling death, while Geoffrey Chaucer and Jane Austen provide invaluable relationship advice. A draft of Dr. Bates’s book, which includes lot summaries and enjoyable reflection exercises, will form the foundation of the course. If participants can read the books to be discussed ahead of class, they will get the most out of the course, but Dr. Bates will teach it in such a way that even those who just show up can follow along.
Professor Robin Bates
Asbury, Spring 2008
Dr. Ernest Willoughby, retired Professor of Biology, has introduced thousands of students and community persons to the birds of Southern Maryland. This class will begin with a preparation session, where equipment and expectations will be discussed. There will then be 4 two-hour field sessions at different nearby locations. Field session locations will include: St Mary's River Park; Calvert Cliffs; Myrtle Point Park; Elms Beach.
Dr. Ernest Willoughby
Asbury, Summer 2008
In 2000, Americans watched with fascination the struggle between George W. Bush and Al Gore over Florida's electoral votes, and with those votes, the White House. Although partisans on each side believed that the outcome was critical, little was at stake, in terms of Constitutional crises and systemic consequences, in comparison with six truly critical presidential elections examined in this course. In 1800 a tie in the electoral college between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tested the new Constitution of the United States. In 1824 the election was again thrown into the House, where John Quincy Adams prevailed over Andrew Jackson despite Jackson's clear victory in the popular vote, and the character of American politics was changed forever. In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected with less than 40% of the popular vote of the popular vote and would lead the Union through the Civil War. In 1864 it was widely perceived that Lincoln would be defeated and the South would be allowed to secede. In 1876 Samuel Tilden went to bed on election night with a clear majority of the popular vote, believing that he had been elected President. A commission subsequently awarded the contested electoral votes of five states to Rutherford B. Hayes, giving Hayes a margin of one vote in a "stolen" election that ended Reconstruction in the South. In 1912 Woodrow Wilson prevailed over Theodore Roosevelt among four candidates in a contest that would enable Wilson, with only 42% of the popular vote, to determine the future of progressive reform and lead America into World War I. All of these elections will be discussed in class.
George Sparling, J.D.
Wildewood, Spring 2010
Could it have been that long ago when the cold war ended? It was a time of concern and it was a time of euphoria. The Berlin Wall—that hated symbol of a divided Europe—melted away just over twenty years ago. Thomas Friedman reported in the New York Times that "...the postwar European order now seems to be coming apart, Washington finds itself more of a bystander—astonished, enthusiastic and concerned."
This series of lectures looks into the events surrounding the end of the cold war and considers what happened to Eastern Europe and Russia since that time. What were the causes of the political tsunami in Europe that resulted in the end of the Soviet empire? Should policymakers or politicians have predicted this? Once communism ended, what did citizens in post-communist countries want? What barriers did Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland face in becoming market democracies? Did Washington and Brussels ultimately get things right in Europe? What problems did policy makers fail to anticipate? Are East Europeans happy with their new governments and their new life?
This course will describe the political and social trajectory of Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall. This course will be jointly taught by Professor Klara Bilgin, who lived in Bulgaria and worked throughout Southeast Europe, and Professor Michael Cain, who taught at the University of Warsaw and worked for several US agencies following the fall of the Berlin Wall. These experts have both personal and professional experience on these topics. Join us for two fascinating perspectives on the aftermath of the Cold War.
Suggested Readings:
Timothy Garton Ash, The Magic Lantern: The Revolution of '89 Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin, and Prague, New York, Vintage, 1993.
Samantha Power, A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, Harper Perennial, 2002.
Steve Levine, Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia, Random House, 2009.
John Mason, The Cold War, New York, Rutledge Press, 1996.
Dr. Michael Cain & Dr. Klara Bilgin
Asbury, Fall 2009
Wildewood, Fall 2010
This course will focus on the response of westerners to Indian civilization. Each of the six sessions will begin with a showing of one part of Michael Wood's PBS Story of India,followed by brief lecture and discussion of Wood's interpretation of India compared with those of Gita Metha, Mark Tully, and the course Professor. Other media materials will also be presented to illustrate the major aspects of Indian Civilization. While this course will serve as an orientation for the persons planning to participate in the India trip this spring, its main emphasis will be to provide an alternative way for people unable to go on the trip to experience India.
Professor Frank van Aalst
Wildewood, Spring 2010
This course will survey the different health care systems operating in the world, and the distinctive characteristics of the American system. Alternative ways to improve that system, with details on current policy considerations, will be analyzed.
Dr. Todd Eberly
Wildewood, Fall 2009
Franklin D. Roosevelt is regarded, along with Lincoln, as America's greatest President. FDR is seen as having changed forever the role of government in America, and the relationship between government and the people. But all presidents are both enabled and constrained by the political terrain shaped by their predecessors. It is Theodore Roosevelt that may have been America's most revolutionary president. TR's vision and innovation were critical, even essential, to the ability of FDR not only to address the challenges of the Great Depression, but also to create a government with the energy to lead America into the modern economic and global world. Likewise, TR's legacy to FDR is intertwined with the presidency of Woodrow Wilson. This course will examine the interrelationship between "the Progressive Presidents," as well as their successes and failures.
George Sparling, J.D.
Wildewood, Fall 2009
This course will explore different spices and their histories, as well as historical legends, ancient trade routes, and the challenging encounters between the cultures of Western Europe and the spice lands of South and Southeast Asia. How spices are used in food and for health will also be examined as well as a look at present day issues in the spice world.
Text: Spices: A Global History,Fred Czarra
Dr. Fred Czarra
Asbury, Fall 2010
Wildewood, Fall 2009
The story of God's covenant with Abraham, Sara and Hagar gave rise to three monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This course will explore common theological beliefs, as well as differences, hostilities and rivalries between the three religious communities over time. Participants will learn about different approaches to sacred scripture(s), the nature of community, paths of salvation and understandings of God.
Dr. Katharina von Kellenbach, Dr. Björn Krondorfer, & Dr. Celia Rabinowitz
Wildewood, Spring 2009
This five part film series, narrated by Ben Kingsley, depicts the big ideas and major events century by century all over the world. These global films are the best ever produced and are both visually creative and spectacular. The films will be supplemented by selected readings, map handouts, and class discussions.
Dr. Fred Czarra
Wildewood, Spring 2010
We will read the six complete novels of Jane Austen, examining them in the context of the time and her life. Among the topics we will examine are 19th century marriage rituals, economic pressures on middle class women, Austen's favorite writers, and the dynamics of the courtship novel.
Dr. Robin Bates
Asbury, Spring 2010
Wildewood, Fall 2009
The creation of Pakistan and the continuing conflict over Kashmir have been the main cause of instability in South Asia for over 60 years, and now Kashmir has become integral to the war on terror. This course will consider the origins of the State of Pakistan, the basis for the conflict with India over Kashmir, and the special characteristics of Kashmir which make a resolution of the conflict particularly difficult. Alternative resolutions will be discussed. Persons interested in the course are encouraged to read the novel about Kashmir by Salman Rushdie, Shalimar the Clown, and either The Reluctant Fundamentalist or Moth Smokeby the Pakistani author, Moshin Hamid.
Professor Frank van Aalst
Asbury, Spring 2010
Wildewood, Spring 2010
In this course we will trace the effects of warfare and religious sensibility through the poetry of three modernist poets—Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, and David Jones. Each poet’s work was decisively impacted by the Great War (World War I). Taken together, their poetry reshaped how English-language readers could justify and sustain vigorous religious belief and an authentic comprehension of human suffering and evil in the wake of that war. Writing in the midst of a devastated Europe descending into further horrors in their own lifetimes, these poets reworked poetics, religions, and mythologies in order to make them adequate to this task.
Dr. Christopher Wilkins
Asbury, Fall 2008
Since the mid 19th century, Shanghai has been a world city, with all the wealth and urban decadence implied in that status. It has also been a center of military and political struggle of western imperialism, Japanese conquest, and the contest between Nationalists and Communists for control of China. Since 1990, it has been in the vanguard of the Chinese arrival on the world economic stage as a lead actor. This course will look at this complex background and focus on trying to understand Shanghai’s place in China and the world.
Text: New Shanghai: The Rocky Rebirth of China’s Legendary Cityby Pamela Yatsko
Supplemental Reading: Life and Death in Shanghaiby Nien Cheng
Shanghai: The Rise and Fall of a Decadent City by Stella Dong
Professor Frank van Aalst
Asbury, Fall 2010
Wildewood, Fall 2010
This course is intended both as an orientation for persons planning to go on the venture to the Silk Road in October and as a virtual experience for those unable to join the trip. The vast expanses of Central Asia were crossed by merchants with their caravans of camels for two thousand years, linking the major civilizations, creating lands of great wealth and adventure and facilitating the exchange of ideas that have influenced the course of history. Most of the emphasis will be on the China portion of the road which crosses vast expanses of desert and lands now inhabited by Central Asian peoples, mostly Muslim, who resist Chinese rule. Many of the old trading centers are rich in archaeological finds, long buried in the sands, which illustrate the spread of Buddhism.
Professor Frank van Aalst
Asbury, Fall 2007
In 2000, The United Nations adopted a declaration to reduce extreme poverty world-wide. There are eight goals that every country is encouraged to attain by the year 2015. These are: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability and develop a global partnership for development.
In each class we will discuss the challenges that countries face in their attempts to reach these goals. We will discuss the success and obstacles that hinder the elimination of poverty. Social policies and government aid are important components for reaching these goals. But, more important is an understanding of the cultural context where individuals make decisions that effect social change.
Since some countries have been more successful than others, we will not focus on any one country or region. We will take a comparative view and discuss, more broadly what works and doesn't and how social change only takes place when the culture and people come together. In other words, to paraphrase Elizabeth Pisani, "If you want to eliminate HIV/AIDS in Thailand, talk to the sex workers (prostitutes). They will not and can not accept a policy on abstinence."
Dr. Helen Daugherty
Asbury, Fall 2009
An introduction to the principles of foreign relations and diplomacy established by the United States at it founding and during its early years, and their development in the 19th century. The changes brought about in the 20th century as the United States increasingly becomes a major player in international affairs.
Professors L. Tom Stevens and Herb Winnik
Asbury, Fall 2005
The executive branch of the Federal Government as it exists today is a combination of the definition contained in the Construction and the experience acquired in the nation’s history since 1789. This course will begin with a consideration of the constitutional provisions establishing the Presidency and will proceed on a historical journey to examine how the exercise of presidential responsibilities through time has further shaped the nature of the office as we perceive it in our own time. In considering this issue we will focus on the major forces influencing Presidential leadership – politics, economics, personality, foreign affairs, etc.
Professors Michael Cain, Todd Eberly, Tom Stevens
Asbury, Fall 2007
Wildewood, Spring 2008
It is increasingly important, as China’s economic and political power increase in the world, that Americans understand the people with whom we interact in the workplace, in the marketplace and at the bargaining table. This course will address the diversity which the Chinese inherit from their cultural history. Topics will include Land and People. Grand Public Works, System of Government, the Arts, Science and Technology, and Social Stability.
Professor Frank van Aalst
Asbury, Spring 2006
Wildewood, Spring 2008
China’s history during the time that Europe became modern is a dramatic account of success and failure before the contemporary success that places it in the ranks of the superpowers. This course will consider that history, including topics such as China’s Response to the West, Attempts at Reform, the Communist Experiment, After Mao, America’s Workshop and Current Conditions.
Professor Frank van Aalst
Asbury, Spring 2006
Wildewood, Spring 2008
The ancient culture that developed in the Indian subcontinent was contemporary with the civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia, and produced distinctive expressions in all aspects of society: social, political, philosophical, economic, technical, etc. These characteristics continue to impact India today. This course will consider the most outstanding of these features. Topics will include the Indus Valley Civilization, The coming of the Aryans, the Beginnings of Hinduism, the Buddha and his followers, Classical Art, and Successive Invaders. It will conclude with the Muslim Empire in India.
Professor Frank van Aalst
Asbury, Fall 2006
Wildewood, Fall 2008
India today is the world’s largest democracy, founded in 1950 after obtaining independence from the British Empire. This course will briefly describe the years under the British and then summarize the developments in government, society, culture and economy that have resulted in the thriving India of the 21st century.
Indian National Congress and Gandhi
Professor Frank van Aalst
Asbury, Fall 2006
Wildewood, Fall 2008
The 2010 mid-term elections in the United States promise extremely competitive races throughout the nation. Because Democratic majorities at the national level appear to be at risk, the stakes in this election are especially high for both parties. Maryland is among those states that will have several closely watched electoral contests including the 1st district on the Eastern Shore and a competitive gubernatorial race.
This series of lectures provides philosophical, historical and contemporary perspectives on elections in democracy, with a special emphasis on Maryland politics. The lecture series will focus on a range of different topics about elections and democracy including the philosophical foundations of elections for democratic functioning, select historical issues in Maryland democracy, and contemporary perspectives on the 2010 elections in Maryland and the United States. The series will conclude with an analysis of 2010 election results by an expert panel in November after the midterm elections.
These lectures are intended to provide audience members with an understanding of elections that goes beyond journalistic interpretations of current affairs by grounding your perspectives of politics in recent scholarship on American democracy and elections. The goal of the course is to promote discussion and interest in the community about the role of elections in American democracy.
Faculty from the St. Mary's College of Maryland Departments of History and Political Science
Wildewood, Fall 2010
Our concern in this course is to understand better what an artwork is, how it affects us, how it is to be interpreted, and how it is to be evaluated. We will take examples primarily from painting as bases for our reflections and discussion. But this is not a course in art history or criticism. We will deal instead with issues that are foundational to these disciplines. We will discuss and try to formulate tentative answers to these questions: What do we contact besides the material object when we are perceiving a work of art? Is it best understood as in some way rendering what is true and important about the world? Or is it something of only personal or subjective significance? In any case, what is the best account that can we give of our perception and understanding that artworks have on us? What role do historical conventions play in our experience of artworks?
Professor Alan Paskow
Wildewood, Spring 2008
This series of courses will examine American political history through the lens of liberalism and conservatism. Neither “liberal” nor “conservative” was a significant part of the American political vocabulary prior to 1932. If America was created out of the vision of the Founders and forged in the fires of the Civil War, what came before Liberals and Conservatives? If so, who were they? If not, why did Liberals and Conservatives suddenly appear in the middle of the 20th century? The first course in this series will start in colonial times and work through the Civil War.
George Sparling, J.D.
Asbury, Spring 2009
Wildewood, Spring 2009
This course will examine American political history through the lens of liberalism and conservatism. Neither "liberal" nor "conservative" was a significant part of the American political vocabulary prior to 1932. If America was created out of the vision of the Founders and forged in the fires of the Civil War, what came before the Liberals and Conservatives of today? Were there liberals and conservatives known by other names? If so, who were they? If not, what political ideologies provided a foundation for 20th Century liberalism and conservatism?
George Sparling, J.D.
Asbury, Spring 2010
Each class session will introduce the basic beliefs and practices of one of the the world’s major religions. Brief selections from each religion’s sacred or foundational writings will be provided in order to examine the different conceptions of the world and paths towards human fulfillment, transformation and redemption. Each class session will focus on one of the following belief systems: Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism.
Professors from the, St Mary’s College Philosophy and Religious Studies Faculty
Asbury, Spring 2007
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