TOPICS OFFERED FOR SUMMER 2021

 

Classes start May 3rd and end August 27th.
Holiday periods are adapted to by individual class voting.

 

1.    (AMS) THE  BEST  AMERICAN  MYSTERY  STORIES  2020

Once again, mystery maven and “Best American” series editor Penzler brings a collection of the year’s best short-format mysteries to tantalize readers. This edition is guest-edited by Box (“Joe Pickett” series). Box’s selections are surprisingly sunny considering the monster 2020 has turned into. Many of them celebrate human ingenuity, and the stories cover a lot of ground, from “All This Distant Beauty,” Ryan David Jahn's tale of human trafficking in Mexico; to a woman's fight for freedom in Afghanistan in Jake Lithua's “The Most Powerful Weapon”; to Lisa Morton's old Hollywood mystery, “Whatever Happened to Lorna Winters?”; to an Appalachian gang of “Baddest Outlaws” run by little people in Rick McMahan’s story. Standouts include “The Surrogate Initiative,” Brian Cox's thought-provoking exploration of future uses of artificial intelligence, and Jeffery Deaver’s “Security,” the story of the rise of a divisive politician. Also included is a lengthy list of “Other Distinguished Mystery Stories of 2019” and copious “Contributors’ Notes.” Presenters can enjoy snacking on bite-sized twisty mysteries and authors who almost write their own presentation.

Common Reading:   The Best American Mystery Stories 2020, edited by C. J. Box and Otto Penzler (November 2020)

 

2.    (ASO) ANTISOCIAL:  ONLINE  EXTREMISTS,  TECHNO-UTOPIANS,  AND  THE  HIJACKING  OF  AMERICAN  CONVERSATION   

A very dark landscape has been painted expertly, in Andrew Marantz’ new book, Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation.

Ever since a group of innovative tech entrepreneurs and geeks rolled out social apps, the world of socially acceptable sadism has grown concurrently and enormously. Andrew Marantz, the author, has jumped into the toxic stew to chronicle the scene. And what a Thunderdome it is, with players ranging from the digital equivalent of carnival barkers to — perhaps even scarier — true believers.

In the name of research, Andrew Marantz bravely went into the darkest corners of the internet and encountered the celebrities of this awful antisocial universe, from the Proud Boys’ Gavin McInnes to the American neo-Nazi and white supremacist Richard Spencer to the deeply cynical Mike Cernovich.

Only nine days after the 2016 election, Marantz notes that, “like an arsonist running away from a burning building, Facebook’s C.E.O. Mark Zuckerberg was already insisting that the claim that fake news had influenced the election was a ‘pretty crazy idea’.”

Marantz also travels to the DeploraBall during the Trump inauguration, where he meets Lucian Wintrich from The Gateway Pundit (“a font of viral misinformation, half-baked hypotheses and the sort of cloddish race-baiting that was beneath even Breitbart’s standards”).

As one reviewer said, “The troubled yet worthwhile journey this book takes us on matches the mood of Yeats’s poem ‘The Second Coming’ — and it’s a journey rife with depressing detail that also depresses Marantz.”

Still, after his long time hanging with the worst of digital humanity, Marantz appears to believe that the arc of history does bend. To get it to point back to justice, he notes, we will have to do the heavy lifting ourselves.  Heave ho.

Possible research topics: Facebook’s Current Policies; The Gateway Pundit; Breitbart;

Proud Boys’ Gavin McInnes; American neo-Nazi and white supremacist Richard Spencer; Mike Cernovich; Best ways to decrease their popularity, if there are any.

Common Reading:   Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of American Conversation, by Andrew Marantz (October 2019)

 

3.    (BAT)    BRINGING  AMERICA  TOGETHER

In the 1830s Tocqueville observed that while Americans were fiercely committed to personal freedom, they also commonly came together for mutual purposes. He termed this “self-interest, rightly understood.” But, by 50 years later, during the “Gilded Age,” the country was suffering from excessive political polarization, winner-take-all economics, racial tensions, and various social and cultural disconnects. A description of those times sounds much like today. In a new book, Robert Putnam has analyzed some of the most important issues facing us today and shows how America has gone through a great upswing from the Gilded Age to a relatively benign condition in the 1950s and back down to a condition of widespread dissatisfaction. He argues that we can again bring the country to a much better functioning system and community.

This S/DG will consider the various areas of current dissatisfaction and possible actions that can be taken to improve our society’s operation. We must be willing to seriously consider opposing viewpoints and strive for consensus. Possible study/presentation topics might include alternative ways of selecting candidates for public office, more effective ways of funding government operations, more efficient processes of education, more uniform health maintenance, admission of immigrants, etc.

Common Reading:   The Upswing – How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again, by Robert Putnam and S. R. Garrett (October 2020)

 

4.    (BLA)  LOCKING  UP  OUR  OWN:  CRIME  AND  PUNISHMENT  IN  BLACK  AMERICA 

In recent years, America’s criminal justice system has become the subject of an increasingly urgent debate. Critics have assailed the rise of mass incarceration, emphasizing its disproportionate impact on people of color. As James Forman, Jr., points out, however, the war on crime that began in the 1970s was supported by many African American leaders in the nation’s urban centers. In Locking Up Our Own, he seeks to understand why.

Forman shows us that the first substantial cohort of black mayors, judges, and police chiefs took office amid a surge in crime and drug addiction. Many prominent black officials, including Washington, DC Mayor Marion Barry and federal prosecutor Eric Holder, feared that the gains of the civil rights movement were being undermined by lawlessness.

A former DC public defender, Forman tells riveting stories of politicians, community activists, police officers, defendants, and crime victims. He writes with compassion about individuals trapped in terrible dilemmas — from the men and women he represented in court to officials struggling to respond to a public safety emergency. Locking Up Our Own enriches our understanding of why our society became so punitive and offers important lessons to anyone concerned about the future of race and the criminal justice system in this country.

Possible research topics:

Common Reading:   Locking up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America, by James Forman, Jr.  (April 2017)

 

5.    (BTW)   ESCAPE  WITH  BEST   TRAVEL WRITING   

Escape to other places and experiences by reading the best travel writing published during 2019.  According to one reviewer, “Each striking selection showcases a traveler who was seeking something authentic locally or abroad”.  Stories include the cost of global warming on Iceland, histories and peoples of Jamaica, a dive into memory by revisiting locations in Iran, and an experience with Rick Steves.  Another review says, “This is a collection for travelers, not tourists…If you are looking for tension-free stories set in beautiful hotels and five-star restaurants, pick up a copy of Travel + Leisure.”

Possible presentation topics:  Further exploration of a locale or issue taken from one of the stories in the common reading, a personal travel experience that goes beyond just being a tourist, further background on the writer of the story.

Common Reading:   Best American Travel Writing 2020, edited by Robert MacFarlane (November 2020)

 

6.    (BWS) BRAIDING  INDIGENOUS  WISDOM  WITH  SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE

How would you go about asking questions of nature with the tools of science? Using the book written by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a member of the Potawatomi Nation--a botanist, a teacher, and a mother--this S/DG will discover how a factual, objective approach of science can be enriched by the ancient knowledge of the indigenous people.  The author combines her training in Western scientific methods and her Native American knowledge about sustainable land stewardship to describe a more joyful and ecological way of using our land. 

Members’ presentations can cover a multitude of related topics such as the success stories of improving our relationship with the environment and the horror stories of when we didn’t, heroes in the ecological world, forests, rivers, feeding the world.

Common Reading:   Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer (August 2015)

 

7.    (CHN)    CHINA’S  RISE  AND  WHAT  IT  MEANS  TO  ASIA 

This course will look at present-day China and how its surrounding neighbors are affected by China’s tremendous economic and military growth, rising political influence, and increasing involvement in regional multilateral institutions. Some of the S/DG members may want to address China’s expanding use of energy and other limited natural resources along with China’s impact on the environment and global warming. The discussion group will also examine how China’s rise will impact the United States and the World.

Retired Air Force Brigadier General Robert Spalding reveals China's motives and secret attacks on the West. Chronicling how our leaders have failed to protect us over recent decades, he provides shocking evidence of some of China's most brilliant ploys, including:

Spalding's concern isn't merely that America could lose its position on the world stage. More urgently, the Chinese Communist Party has a fundamental loathing of the legal protections America grants its people and seeks to create a world without those rights. There are similar attacks on Asian nations.

Despite all the damage done so far, Spalding shows how it's still possible for the US and the rest of the free world to combat - and win - China's stealth war.

Emphasis in the discussions will focus on China’s relationship to the surrounding countries of Asia and the US. Many topics for presentations exist. Namely, each of the main Asian nations attacked by China and how they responded could be a source for several presentations. Also, a look at China's turn back to a Mao type of authoritarianism under the present leadership and its impact in business, science, and trade could support other presentations.

Common Reading:   Stealth War: How China Took Over While America's Elite Slept, by Robert Spalding  (October 2019)

 

8.    (CST)  CIVILIZATION  AND  THE  STARS

An historically unprecedented disconnect between humanity and the heavens has opened. Jo Marchant's book can begin to heal it.

For at least 20,000 years, we have led not just an earthly existence but a cosmic one. Celestial cycles drove every aspect of our daily lives. Our innate relationship with the stars shaped who we are—our art, religious beliefs, social status, scientific advances, and even our biology. But over the last few centuries we have separated ourselves from the universe that surrounds us. It's a disconnect with a dire cost.

Our relationship to the stars and planets has moved from one of awe, wonder and superstition to one where technology is king—the cosmos is now explored through data on our screens, not by the naked eye observing the natural world. Indeed, in most countries, modern light pollution obscures much of the night sky from view. Jo Marchant's spellbinding parade of the ways different cultures celebrated the majesty and mysteries of the night sky is a journey to the most awe-inspiring view you can ever see—looking up on a clear dark night. That experience and the thoughts it has engendered have radically shaped human civilization across millennia. The cosmos is the source of our greatest creativity in art, in science, in life.

To show us how, Jo Marchant takes us to the Hall of the Bulls in the caves at Lascaux in France, and to the summer solstice at a 5,000-year-old tomb at New Grange in Ireland. We discover Chumash cosmology and visit medieval monks grappling with the nature of time and Tahitian sailors navigating by the stars. We discover how light reveals the chemical composition of the sun, and we are with Einstein as he works out that space and time are one and the same. A four-billion-year-old meteor inspires a search for extraterrestrial life. The cosmically liberating, summary revelation is that star-gazing made us human.

Common Reading: The Human Cosmos: Civilization and the Stars, by Jo Marchant, (September 2020)

 

9.      (DGR)   THE  STORY  BEHIND  CHAVEZ  RAVINE  AND  DODGER  STADIUM

Dodger Stadium is an American icon. But the story of how it came to be goes far beyond baseball. The hills that cradle the stadium were once home to three vibrant Mexican American communities. In the early 1950s, those communities were condemned to make way for a utopian public housing project. Then, in a remarkable turn, public housing in the city was defeated amidst a Red Scare conspiracy. Instead of getting their homes back, the remaining residents saw the city sell their land to Walter O'Malley, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Now LA would be getting a different sort of utopian fantasy -- a glittering, ultra-modern stadium.

But before Dodger Stadium could be built, the city would have to face down the neighborhood's families. The ensuing confrontation captivated the nation - and the divisive outcome still echoes through Los Angeles today.

This S/DG will study the history of the land now occupied by Dodger Stadium, the people that occupied that land and those that tried to influence how the land would ultimately be used.

Possible presentation topics:  Los Angeles history on topics such as public housing, racism, local 1950’s politics; baseball stadiums; the Dodgers; Walter O’Malley

Common Reading:   Stealing Home: Los Angeles, the Dodgers, and the Lives Caught in Between, by Eric Nusbaum (March 2020)

 

10.  (DOC) THE  DOCUMENTARY  MOVIE

Not long ago, if you wanted to see a documentary film, you had to take a course, go to a movie festival, or catch it on PBS.  Nowadays we can find documentaries on our TVs through the magic of the Internet, Netflix and other on-line sources or from our libraries. While your basic Hollywood studio movie is primarily made to make money, a documentary is the expression of its creator's personal passion.  This S/DG will explore the world of modern masters of the documentary.  Presenters will choose a film that class members can view at home before each class session, and then present for discussion whatever facets of the film they choose – the contents or subject, the techniques, the background, the director’s focus on the subject, and its effect on public opinion.  Many Omniloreans after taking this class have been amazed at the diversity of what is available and how many of these films are unexpectedly enriching.

No Common Reading.

 

11.  (FFL)   WHAT  THE  FOUNDING  FATHERS  LEARNED  FROM  THE  GREEKS  AND  ROMANS 

Is America today what the nation’s founders designed or intended? Or is it something else altogether?

We explore this question by following four founding fathers from their youths to their adult lives, as they study the Greeks and Romans, and grapple with questions of independence and of forming and keeping a new nation.

Our text (written by a Pulitzer Prize winning author and contributor to Foreign Policy magazine) draws directly from the philosophy and literature that shaped the founders’ thinking, and the letters they wrote to each other debating those crucial works—among them the Iliad, Plutarch’s Lives, and the works of Xenophon, Epicurus, Aristotle, Cato, and Cicero. For though much attention has been paid the influence of English political philosophers, like John Locke, closer to their own era, the founders were far more immersed in the literature of the ancient world.

Our first four presidents came to their classical knowledge differently. Washington absorbed it mainly from the elite culture of his day; Adams from the laws and rhetoric of Rome; Jefferson immersed himself in classical philosophy, especially Epicureanism; and Madison, both a groundbreaking researcher and a deft politician, spent years studying the ancient world like a political scientist. Each of their experiences, and distinct learning paths, played an essential role in the formation of the United States.

Possible presentation topics: the four presidents, the various aspects of their times, ALL the philosophers that influenced them, the founding documents (including the Federalist Papers), comparisons with classical (or other) influences on other founders such as Hamilton or Franklin.

Common Reading:   First Principles: What America's Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How that Shaped Our Country, ,by Thomas Ricks (November 2020)

 

12.  (FOC)    FABRIC  OF  CIVILIZATION  

Textiles are a major component of material culture. They may be viewed as the products of technology, as cultural symbols, as works of art, or as items of trade. The textile arts are a fundamental human activity, expressing symbolically much of what is valuable in any culture.

This S/DG will look at the fascinating history of textiles from their Paleolithic beginnings to the present and future -- from the earliest plant fibers plucked from weeds to synthetic fabrics with computer chips in the threads. It is a history of technology, economics, and culture, told through the thread of textiles, humanity's most indispensable artefacts. It makes the case that ‘textiles made the world’.

Using the analytical mindset of the economic historian, the humanist sensibilities of the art historian, and the social sensitivity of the sociologist we will explore the human experience touched by textiles.

The group will read and discuss the current book by Virginia Postrel, “The Fabric of Civilization” and supplement the content with personal research presentations on such topics as: Fabric research; Industrialization – shirtwaist factories; Growing silk; King Cotton; History of Lowell, MA; Development of Looms; Weaving; Knitting; Dyes in the Middle Ages; Various uses for textiles; Types and sources of fibers; Textiles as an exchange medium; Textiles and the Silk Road; and the Communal Aspect of fiber crafts.

Common Reading:   The Fabric of Civilization : How Textiles Made the World, by Virginia Postrel   (November 2020)

 

13.  (GOV) RECONSIDERING  AMERICA’S  GOVERNMENT   

USA government has several unique characteristics making it different from any other in the world. (1) It is a democratic republic with elected representatives and chief executive. (2) It has three (not quite) independent branches with:  a powerful executive; a bicameral legislature representing the people and, separately, the states; and a judicial branch made up of nonelected legal technicians with lifetime tenure. (3) The “unified” country is composed of politically independent states; a rigid structure that was necessary at the formation but is questionable now as it leads to highly undemocratic representation and distribution of political power. (4) Voting is conducted in an archaic manner suited to former, low technology times, e.g., Tuesday elections, winning without clear consensus, the electoral college, heavy bias toward a two-party system, etc., and also susceptible to various types of corruption, e.g., gerrymandering, miscounts, etc. No other country has succeeded with such a structure and now the workability of the USG is questionable. Unfortunately, it appears that most of these structural characteristics would be impossible to modify without a violent revolution. Fortunately, some can be. We should consider doing so.

The aspect of USG practice that is most amenable to modification and experimental improvement is the voting system. There are various methods of eliminating the practice of gerrymandering, i.e., legislators picking their voters, but the politicians prefer it as it is so that voter referendums have often been required for reform. There are several ways of providing a clearer indication of voter wishes than being forced to pick only one candidate from a list, e.g., ranked choice or approval voting. Ranked choice voting (RCV) is currently used in more than 15 cities, the state of Maine, and many university and organization elections. It is also used in numerous national, state and local governmental elections around the world. Many countries have proportional representation so that legislatures better reflect the positions of the voters. Electronic voting is used in some other countries with success.

We might also consider having a judicial review of legislation for constitutionality prior to implementing it as law; this is done in some other countries and eliminates many problems.

This S/DG will consider some of these and other possible ways of improving the operation of the USG. Possible research/presentation topics include: dissatisfaction with aspects of the present system; results of implementing alternative processes and structures, theoretical studies of alternative voting systems; consideration of modifying the US judicial structure and operation.

Common Reading:   Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America, by Lee Drutman, (January 2020)

 

14.  (HAP)  THE  ART  OF  HAPPINESS:  A  HANDBOOK  FOR  LIVING

Nearly every time you see the Dalai Lama, he is laughing, or at least smiling. He is the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and an increasingly popular speaker and statesman. He believes that happiness is the purpose of life and that despite suffering and loss it is possible to defeat day-to-day anxiety, insecurity, anger and discouragement. 

At this time of uncertainty in our world, this S/DG will peruse the Dalai Lama’s handbook and explore many facets of daily life such as relationships, loss and how to ride through life’s obstacles on a source of abiding inner peace.

Members will supplement the reading material with research presentations on such topics as the country and politics of Tibet, the life of the Dalai Lama, the physiology of Meditation, examples of people who have risen above their circumstances and suffering, the appeal and examples of other spiritual leaders, what is altruism, the Dalai Lama’s political significance, the succession of Dalai Lamas. and the Dalai Lama’s take on the pandemic.

Common Reading:   The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living, by the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, M.D. (July 2020)

 

15.  (IAM)   INEQUALITY  IN  AMERICA

From the jacket cover:  “Across the country, communities are struggling to stay afloat as blue-collar jobs disappear and an American dies of a drug overdose every seven minutes.  Stagnant wages, weak education, bad decisions and a lack of health care force millions of Americans into a precarious balancing act that many of them fail to master.”

From Amazon:  “Drawing us deep into an ‘other America,’ the authors tell this story, in part, through the lives of some of the people with whom Nicholas Kristof grew up, in rural Yamhill, Oregon. It’s an area that prospered for much of the twentieth century but has been devastated in the last few decades as blue-collar jobs disappeared.

“About a quarter of the children on Kristof’s old school bus died in adulthood from drugs, alcohol, suicide, or reckless accidents. While these particular stories unfolded in one corner of the country, they are representative of many places the authors write about, ranging from the Dakotas and Oklahoma to New York and Virginia.”

Nicholas Donabet Kristof (born April 27, 1959) is an American journalist and political commentator. A winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, he is a regular CNN contributor and has written an op-ed column for The New York Times since November 2001. Kristof is a self-described progressive. According to The Washington Post, Kristof “rewrote opinion journalism” with his emphasis on human rights abuses and social injustices…

Common Reading:   Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope, by Nicholas D. Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn  (September 2020)

 

16.   (MFL)  MORE  FROM  LESS

People naturally wish for a better life, better health, diet, housing, etc. We have made great progress in this over the last 10,000 years and particularly over the last 200 years. However, in doing so we have chopped down forests, dammed rivers, fouled the air and water, and endlessly dug out natural resources. It seems obvious that we must transition to less destructive ways of maintaining and improving our lives. Some people argue that this means radically changing course: reducing our consumption, tightening our belts, learning to share, and reuse. Our common reading argues the opposite: that we need to continue our general approach of growing technologically sophisticated market-based economies around the world. Certainly, there is substantial evidence to support this approach. America, about 25% of the world economy, is now generally using less of most resources each year. Opponents of this view argue that America is only outsourcing the “dirty work” to poorer and less developed countries. This is countered by the fact that poverty has declined massively around the world. Most negative reviews on the book seem to oppose employing a capitalist, market-based economy more than they do advancing technology.

Common Reading:   More From Less: The Surprising Story of How We Learned to Prosper Using Fewer Resources – and What Happens Next, by Andrew McAfee (October 2019)

 

17.  (OPR) THE  HISTORY  OF  OPERA  FOR  BEGINNERS

This class is designed for those who might not know very much about opera, but were curious to find out why so many patrons enjoy it. Together we will begin to learn that opera is not only for the “elite”, but also for those who like intriguing stories of characters who have human qualities, some good, some evil. The class will focus on opera history and composers, like Verdi and Wagner and other French Dudes. Researching about opera singers, such as Caruso and Callas, will be the highlight of this class, as we will listen to famous arias that no doubt you have heard already. This will be a listener-friendly experience with presenters choosing an opera, composer and singers to help the class understand the backstories of well-known operas. Formulating discussion questions will open up insightful conversations. You will find in the book that the author has made every attempt to avoid any kind of snobbery that turns people away from opera. We might even have an occasional “sing-a-long” to make this class even more enjoyable. The goal is to better understand opera and even decide that it is worth “tuning in” more.

Common Reading:  The History of Opera for Beginners, by Ron David and Sarah Woolley (published by For Beginners LLC, First Edition; December 2013)

 

18.  (PPW)   TEN  LESSONS  FOR  A  POST-PANDEMIC  WORLD  

Even as more people get a COVID-19 vaccination, and we, hopefully, begin to emerge from the isolation of 2020, we know that the world will never be the same. “There are decades when nothing happens, and weeks when decades happen,” said Vladimir Lenin. Might decades have passed since March 2020?  This S/DG uses the pandemic as an inflection point in history to consider HOW our world will change in the future:

Written in the form of ten lessons covering topics such as: health, climate change, social equality, natural and biological risks and the emerging bipolar world order, we move far beyond the immediate effects of COVID-19.   In our common reading, written by best-selling author Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN’s International Program, GPS, Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World speaks about the past, present, and future.  This book is sure to become an enduring reflection on life in the early 21st century, as well as a runaway bestseller.

Presentations may include: Rebuttal to one of the author’s predictions; current leaders who are leading change; other pandemics and what followed; how the U.S. might become more resilient; the future of work or leisure; economic and societal impacts; cyber-attacks on government systems; international relations.

Common Reading: Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World, by Fareed Zakaria (October 2020)

 

19.  (RPN)  THE  RESTORATIVE  POWER  OF  NATURE

It isn’t a quirk that during the virus quarantine many turned to nature.  Daily local walks became the norm, pictures of flowers, vistas, and gardens flooded social media, excess zucchini was left on doorsteps. From the science of the brain’s own “gardener cells” to the beauty of flowers and the grounding effects of working with nature’s rhythms of growth, decay, and regeneration, this study/discussion group will provide a new perspective on the power of gardening. 

The common reading will use contemporary neuroscience, psychoanalysis, and compelling real-life stories to investigate the effects of nature on our health and well-being.

Members’ presentations can cover such topics as: gardening in schools, communities and prisons; impacts of gardening on the elderly; gardening during times of stress; Liberty Gardens of WWII; garden shows on TV; community gardens; urban vs rural gardening; Green Spaces; specific city efforts to bring nature to urban areas; poets and writers who have shared their love of nature.

This S/DG will help our understanding of nature and its restorative powers to flower!

Common Reading:   The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature, by Sue Stuart-Smith (July 2020)

 

20.  (SAP)  A  COLLECTION  OF  SHORT  STORIES  AND  ONE-ACT  PLAYS

The art of the short story has been an American staple for centuries. Inspired by writers ranging from Charles Dickens to John Cheever, this class will explore a thought-provoking collection of short stories to engage and amuse us. After enjoying surprise endings of these stories, we will then go on to critique the intricate twists of the one-act plays. Presenters will formulate relevant discussion questions for the class and encourage, but not require, class thespians to “act out” chosen plays as a reader’s theatre activity. This class is perfect for those who enjoy quality bite-sized reading that stands the test of time.

Common Reading:   American Variety: A Collection of Short Stories and One Act Plays, by Bill Barnett  (November 2020)

 

21.  (SFN)  SCIENCE  FICTION  NOVELLAS

This S/DG will continue where the one in Fall 2020 left off: The best science fiction of all time, up until the 1962 that is! With renowned authors like Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, H.G. Wells, Theodore Sturgeon, Frederick Polh, etc.

Presentations will be on one of 24 novellas and will discuss the author, his times, his books, etc., and present the members with discussion questions.

Common Reading:   The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume 2, edited by Ben Bova (1974)

 

22.  (SOU) HOW  THE  SOUTH  WON  THE  CIVIL  WAR   

While the North prevailed in the American Civil War, did the culture and systems that had sustained the South disappear, change, or move to more receptive areas in the U.S.?  The book for this S/DG will be used to look at and discuss how economic opportunities in the West afforded an on-going continuation and expansion of the white male oligarchy and mind set of the ‘Old South’.  Land, cattle, railroads, oil, gold/silver – all offered opportunities for wealth and power as movement to the West rapidly took place after the Civil War.  But did it bring these new possibilities with equality to everyone despite the guarantees provided by the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments?  With the influx of people into the West all the way into the 1940’s and 1950’s, the power and influence of the area grew while carrying the ‘ideals and image’ of the strong Western individualist in industry and politics.

Possible presentation topics could cover the Mexican-American War; the Western cowboy; the ‘rugged individualist’ persona; industries that grew from the land and flow of people; political attitudes then and now.

Common Reading:   How the South Won the Civil War:  Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America, by Heather Cox Richardson  (April 2020)

 

23.  (SRV)    SURVEILLANCE  CAPITALISM

Surveillance capitalism describes a market-driven process where the commodity for sale is your personal data, and the capture and production of this data relies on mass surveillance of the internet. This activity is often carried out by companies that provide us with free online services, such as search engines (Google) and social media platforms (Facebook).  These companies collect and scrutinize our online behaviors (likes, dislikes, searches, social networks, purchases) to produce data that can be further used for commercial purposes. By tracking our every click, our every digital expression of interest, ambition, longing and desire, the surveillance capitalists can climb inside our heads and sell those behavioral insights onto their real customers, the advertisers.  And it’s often done without us understanding the full extent of the surveillance.  We will study this phenomenon and explore what can be done to mitigate its harmful effects, as guided by the common reading.

Possible presentation topics:

Common Reading:   The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power, by Shoshana Zuboff (March 2020)

 

24.  (TPS)    THE  POISON  SQUAD

The Poison Squad by Deborah Blum was the September selection for the Omnilore Best-Sellers SIG. It is an interesting historical recount of one chemist’s single-minded efforts to identify and control the dangerous food additives/preservatives and adulteration of food and beverages in the United States, around the turn-of-the-20th century.  It features a cast of famous political figures and offers many ideas for presentation topics, including:

Common Reading:    Poison Squad: One Chemist's Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century, by Deborah Blum (2018)

 

25.  (TWP) THE  WEIRDEST  PEOPLE  IN  THE  WORLD

The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous by Joseph Heinrich is my recommendation for consideration for S/DG for the summer Trimester.

The New York Times assessed The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous to be a “Notable Book of 2020”, characterizing it as a bold, epic account of how the co-evolution of psychology and culture created the peculiar Western mind that has profoundly shaped the modern world.

Amazon Book Description: “Perhaps you are Weird raised in a society that is Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. If so, you're psychologically peculiar.

“Unlike much of the world today, and most people who have ever lived, WEIRD people are highly individualistic, self-obsessed, control-oriented, nonconformist, and analytical.

“In the Weirdest People in the World, Henrich draws on cutting edge research in anthropology, psychology, economics, and evolutionary biology to explore these questions. He illuminates the origins and evolution of family structures, marriage, and religion, and the profound impact these cultural transformations had on human psychology. Mapping these shifts through ancient history and late antiquity, Henrich reveals that the most fundamental institutions of kinship and marriage changed dramatically under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church. It was these changes that gave rise to the WEIRD psychology that would coevolve with impersonal markets, occupational specialization, and free competition - laying the foundation for the modern world”.

Common Reading:   The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous, by Joseph Heinrich (September 2020)