Origins of English
Graham Forst, PhD
Examine the origins and development of the English language, including the origins of “loan words” in English, the issue of usage “correctness,” and the development of English slang (especially from computer usage). Learn about the science of linguistics as a tool to discuss how language changes.
UT341S13A

The Scattered Dreams of European Integration
Kurt Huebner, PhD
Where is Europe heading? The project of European Integration, though recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, seems to have run out of steam. A list of the various crises of members of the Eurozone is long – the open threat of the UK to leave the EU, social protests, fear about a new dominance of Germany – and can easily be expanded. Examine the future of Europe and the political, economic, and cultural trends in selected member states.
UT341S13B

Let’s Go Dutch: Wind, Water, Tulips and Art
Paula Swart, PhD

Learn about UNESCO World Heritage, with a special focus on the Netherlands. Look back at the Dutch East India Company’s involvement in the spice trade, the import of Chinese ceramics, and the discovery of new lands such as Australia and New Zealand. Learn about the development of Amsterdam’s famous Canal Ring and its magnificent canal houses. Take a look at tulip mania during the Dutch Golden Age and discuss modern-day issues such as the complicated case of Nazi-looted art recently restituted by the Dutch government.
UT341S13C

African Slavery in the Americas: A Comparison of Brazil, the Caribbean and the Southern United States
Eric Nellis, PhD
This course looks at the historical development of race-based slavery in Brazil, the United States, and the multinational colonies of the Caribbean. Interwoven throughout is an examination of the slave as a person, as a cultural actor, and as a survivor of the system while resisting its oppressions. Look at slave life and culture, the slave family, and the inevitable influence of slavery, slaves, and race on the respective nations that emerged in the Americas.
UT341S13D

The Papacy: Past, Present and Future
John Conway, PhD
The election of a new Pope provides an excellent opportunity to look at the current policies and practices of the Papacy, the world’s oldest continuous religious institution. Join in a discussion of the contributions of recent Popes, and look at the most significant factors likely to shape the Papacy and the Catholic Church in the years to come.
UT342S13A

How Dogs Think
Stanley Coren, PhD
Explore some of the new research that attempts to answer questions that we have all had about dogs. Just how intelligent are dogs? How do dogs communicate, and how much language can they understand? Do dogs have the same kind of emotions that humans have? Do they understand arithmetic? Are dogs capable of telling lies? In a richly illustrated presentation, Stanley Coren answers these and many other questions about canine behaviour.
UT342S13B

The Hidden Treasures of Italy: Chapels, Churches, and a Convent
Justin Newell
Discover some of the hidden treasures of Italy including many great works created as decorations for private residences or chapels in churches by some of the great painters of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Painters include Fra Angelico (The Convent of San Marco, Florence), Gozzoli (Medici Chapel, Florence and St. Agostino, San Gimignano), Signorelli (The San Brizio Chapel, Orvieto), Piero della Francesca (Cappella Bacci, San Francesco, Arezzo), and Caravaggio (The Contarelli Chapel and the Cerasi Chapel, Rome).
UT342S13C

Brazil: The Tropical Giant
Deborah Barros Leal Farias, PhD candidate
Brazil is one of the “big four” newly advanced economies; it is the B in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China). This emerging powerhouse has a strong democracy, is an agricultural sensation, and has the sixth largest GDP  in the world. Come to understand modern-day Brazil by learning the foundations of its history, politics, people, and economy.
UT342S13D

Mozart: A Life in Music
Rodney Sharman, PhD
Enjoy a musical and historical introduction to the work of Mozart. Listen to selections from Mozart’s operas; instrumental and vocal music, including the Symphony No.1, written when Mozart was only eight years old; and later sacred and profane works, including the sublime Ave verum corpus and the infamous naughty Canons for Voices.
UT343S13A

Where Did That Come From?
John Atkin
From Neo-classical to Georgian and Italianate, study Vancouver’s architectural styles and how they have been adapted to local conditions and materials. Look at the origins of styles, the meaning of ornament, and even how a brick wall is put together. Get a new perspective on the way you look at the city around you.
UT343S13B

What’s So Funny?
Douglas Abel
From the very beginnings of drama there have always been two central figures: the hero we feel for, and the fool we laugh at, or with. Take a light-hearted look at theatrical comedy, including its forms, styles, and themes. From complicated wordplay to the simplest of pratfalls, explore what we find funny on stage – and why.
UT343S13C

The Art of Michelangelo
Efrat El-Hanany, PhD
Explore the outstanding masterpieces in painting, sculpture, and architecture of Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), known to his contemporaries as ‘the Divine.’ In tracing the development of his personal style, turbulent life, and relations with influential patrons, we look at some of his most magnificent works, including the famous David, his three pietàs, the Medici tombs, designs for St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and the Last Judgment.
UT343S13D

Artists and the Genius of Place
Marina Sonkina, PhD
Explore the emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and often mysterious connection that many artists have with the cities in which they live. Together with Jorge Borges, explore the streets of Buenos Aires, the city that inspired some of the most beautiful poetry in the Spanish language; sneak into dark corners of Kafka’s Jewish Prague, with which the German-speaking writer had such an ambiguous relationship; and explore the wonderful world of Mahler’s Vienna. Old and new photographs, excerpts from diaries, letters, music, and paintings help us understand the creative relationship between artists and place.
UT344S13A

The Kennedy Assassination: Fifty Years Later
Allan Warnke, PhD
What really happened on November 22, 1963? Examine some of the accounts and reports, including the Warren Commission Report, which raised questions about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. From these documents, review the conspiracy theories, map the interconnections, and develop a realistic summation of what occurred that fateful day in Dallas.
UT344S13B

Celtic Mythology
Antone Minard, PhD
Ireland and Wales share a mythological tradition that once ranged over much of Europe. The names of the Celtic gods survive today in major rivers and cities: the Seine and the Marne, Lyon and Vienna. Explore the fragmentary but clear picture of the ancient druids and the gods they worshipped that emerges from the scholarship of the last century. Use archaeological data and classical ethnography to augment the stories of gods and heroes preserved in medieval literature.
UT344S13C

Handful of Keys: A Short History of Jazz Piano
Alan Matheson
Some of the earliest and most innovative jazz has been played on a “Handful of Keys.” Survey the greats of jazz piano from ragtime, New Orleans jazz, the swing era, be-bop, and modern jazz. Listen to many of the premier jazz piano stylists including “Jelly Roll” Morton, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Teddy Wilson, Marian McPartland, and Chick Corea. Great Canadian pianists are represented by Oscar Peterson, Renee Rosnes, and Diana Krall.
UT344S13D