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Grace & John Horton Explorations in Learning

St. Mary's College of Maryland is proud to announce the latest offerings of the Grace and John Horton Explorations in Learning program. This program offers opportunities for intellectual enrichment to the members of the Southern Maryland community. The program has been named in honor of Grace and John Horton, whose tireless efforts were crucial to the creation and success of the College's pilot program at the Asbury community in Solomons.

The class offerings for Spring 2010 are listed below. The fee for each course is $75. Wildewood Retirement Village residents are able to register for the courses at no cost. All classes will be held at the Wildewood Village Community Center.

A full catalog of classes offered under the Horton program is available here.

Spring 2010 Class Offerings

Experience India
Professor Frank van Aalst
January 7 - February 11
Two sessions available: Thursdays 10:00 am-12:00 pm or 7:00-9:00 pm

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.

Crises in Presidential Elections
George Sparling, J.D.
January 20 - February 24
Wednesdays 7:00 - 9:00 pm

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. 

Millennium: A Visual History of the Last 1000 Years
Dr. Fred Czarra
March 11 - April 22 (no class April 1)
Thursdays 7:00 - 9:00 pm

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.

Pakistan and Kashmir: India's Challenge
Professor Frank van Aalst
April 7 - May 13
Two sessions available: Wednesdays 7:00 - 9:00 pm or Thursdays 10:00 am - 12:00 pm.

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 Smoke by the Pakistani author, Moshin Hamid