Registration begins on December 20, 2012. Online registration ends January 18, 2013.
Humanities
Cultural and Global Savvy Through Film
Udo Fluck
Wednesdays, 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm January 23, February 6 and 13, Todd Building, UM
This MOLLI course will use one of the most powerful forms of media - film - to help the participants develop a cross-cultural sensitivity and become cultural savvy. Film has the ability to mentally transport people to locations and remote regions, providing a unique insight into the way people communicate, collaborate, etc. We will examine both sociotypes and stereotypes and compare style, plot and characters to uncover the hidden ways of communicating cultural difference and dispelling common myths about other cultures.
About the instructor: Udo Fluck was born, raised and received his primary education in Germany. During the past decade, he worked as a curriculum developer, faculty member, and cross-cultural researcher in Germany and the United States. In 2004, Udo created Multicultural Learning Solutions at The University of Montana and has developed and taught courses in cross-cultural and global competence building across campus.
My Love Affair with Montana
Hal Stearns
Thursdays, 9:00 am-10:30 am, Todd Building, UM
Montana has a history as rich as our beloved big sky: early explorers and trappers, cows and cowboys, Indian tribes inhabiting the plains and mountains, folks famous and infamous, politics good and bad, railroaders and town builders. Each and every one has contributed to making this very special place our home.
About the instructor: Hal Stearns is a native of Harlowton with generations of ranchers, homesteaders, newsmen, and educators in his family. He holds a BA from the University of Notre Dame, as well as a MA and doctoral degrees from The University of Montana. He taught for 34 years at Sentinel High School, as well as in Wiesbaden Germany and at UM. Honored as Montana’s Teacher of the Year and Outstanding U.S. History Teacher, Hal was the recipient of two grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additionally, Hal was a Keizia Koho Fellow to Japan and recognized as one of the 40 Humanities Montana “Heroes” in 2012. He also served in the Montana Army National Guard for 35 years, attaining the rank of Brigadier General.
Masterpieces of 20th Century Central European Literature
Anna Dulba-Barnett
Thursdays, 11:00 am-12:30 pm, Todd Building, UM
Optional Textbooks:
Process by Franz Kafka,
Index Card by Tadeusz Rozewicz* and
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgahov
*Instructor can provide participants with the electronic version of this text as it may be difficult to obtain.
What makes a novel or a play a masterpiece? Is it its form or content? Maybe it’s the author himself who secures the greatness of the work? We will look for the answers to these questions as we read three works representing three different countries: Poland, Russia and the Czech Republic. These lands have witnessed the trauma of two world wars, Nazi concentration camps, and political oppressions. Out of this troubled history, great minds have produced literature that ranks among the best of world literature
About the instructor: Anna Dulba-Barnett got her BA from Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland. She acquired her MA in theater studies from The University of Montana. Anna gives guest lectures at UM and she serves the School of Theatre and Dance as an Assistant Director and Dramaturg in various productions.
Culture and Agriculture
Josh Slotnick
Thursdays, 1:00 pm-2:30 pm, Todd Building, UM
Maximum Number of Students: 30
Course participants will have the opportunity to consider farming through a humanities lens. We will look at notable points in the history of American agriculture, with special attention paid to writers, artists, poets and social historians. We will also trace the production techniques of specific crops and discuss the social and historical ramifications of these choices.
About the instructor: Josh Slotnick is a faculty member in Environmental Studies Program at The University of Montana. He is a co-founder of the PEAS farm and the non-profit Garden City Harvest. Josh manages the PEAS farm and has been farming in Missoula for 20 years.
The Philosophers’ Government
Richard E. Walton
Thursdays, 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm, Todd Building, UM
Maximum Number of Students: 25
Optional Textbook:
The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the U.S. (Pocket edition) by the Cato Institute
Course Website URL:
http://www.rewalt.me/TPG/index.html
The United States’ government is the first and longest lasting of modern governments - governments explicitly based on a set of ideas. In particular, the “words we live by” are to a notable extent the product of European philosophy in the 150 years before they were enshrined. Controversies and shortcomings in those philosophical theories persist in American political discourse to this day. Thus, we will undertake a systematic examination of the seminal documents of American government, especially
The Declaration of Independence and
The Constitution of the U.S., supported by selected readings from the philosophical background of these monumental works.
About the instructor: Richard E. Walton is a native of Montana. He has earned degrees in mathematics and philosophy from The University of Montana, and did his graduate work at the University of Oregon and the Claremont Graduate School. Richard joined the UM faculty in 1969, retiring in 2008. He was honored with the UM’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 1989. Richard co-founded the UM-St. Patrick Hospital Institute of Medicine and Humanities, and served on its Board for several years. He also served as a member of the St. Patrick Hospital Ethics Committee. Richard has published papers in ancient philosophy and medical ethics, as well as numerous papers on issues in higher education and several book reviews. He also served as a journal chief editor for several years.
Stalin’s Russia
Robert H. Greene
Fridays, 1:00 pm-2:30 pm, Todd Building, UM
Textbook:
Sofia Petrovna by Lydia Chukovskaya
This course will examine the political, social and cultural history of the USSR at the height of the Stalin years (1929-1941). How did a relatively obscure Georgian seminary dropout rise to power and maintain tight control over the Soviet state and party for nearly 30 years? How did a revolution that promised equality for the toiling masses and an end to political and economic exploitation result in a one-party dictatorship whose leaders made use of terror and state-sponsored violence against their own citizens? Was Stalinism, as its opponents charged, an aberration from the principles of 1917, or a natural outgrowth of the system Lenin and the Bolsheviks established after the October Revolution? And what similarities and differences can we see between the totalitarian regimes of Stalinist Russia and Hitler’s Germany? Through a combination of lecture and discussion, we will address these questions and more.
About the instructor: Robert H. Greene completed his PhD at the University of Michigan and is an Associate Professor of History at The University of Montana, where he teaches courses in Russian, Soviet and East European history. He is the author of
Bodies Like Bright Stars: Saints and Relics in Orthodox Russia and
The Story of a Life: The Memoirs of a Young Jewish Woman in the Russian Empire.
Brazil and the Promise of Order and Progress: 1500s-Present
Silvia Lazo
Fridays, 3:00 pm-4:30 pm, Todd Building, UM
This class will provide a panoramic view of Brazilian civilization as it surveys a body of cultural and intellectual materials, including scholarly and literary publications (news and book chapters) and art (architecture, paintings, music, film). A goal of this course is to develop a critical understanding of the history, economic development, culture, religions and contemporary challenges of this dynamic country.
About the instructor: Silvia Lazo holds BA degrees in Theater and Music from Whitworth University and an MM degree from The University of Montana where she is also completing her PhD in Musicology. Silvia was raised in São Paulo, Brazil. She has worked as Assistant Executive Director for Spokane Opera, performed Latin American classical and popular music, and served the Washington State Arts Commission.
Winter 2013 Refund and Cancellation Policy
Course tuition costs may be refunded on a case-by-case basis on or before the third week of the Fall term. Refunds may be applied as a credit towards a future MOLLI course. Refunds are not granted after the third week of the Fall term. Membership cost is non-refundable. If paying by check, social security numbers must be provided to the MOLLI office to receive a refund and may take up to six weeks. Social security numbers are not required for refunds processed from credit card payments.
