GOOD NEWS. Our nation teems with angry divisiveness. BUT, so also, does it teem with wholesome goodness, especially on the local level. This course asks: 1) Of what, in individual lives and communities, does this goodness consist? 2) How might building upon and nourishing the niceness diminish the nastiness? Real life cases — this will be the name of our game. We will draw upon the materials in the Fallows and Fallows volume (below), and our own experiences, which we will be invited to share. Some lecture, more discussion.
SUGGESTED READING: James Fallows and Deborah Fallows, Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America, Pantheon Press, 2018.
Instructor Steven Piker is an anthropologist by career, 44 years at Swarthmore College, including work with the college’s foreign study program, field research in Thailand and with religious conversion in the U.S. Over the past 10 years Steve has offered courses in three of Maine’s senior colleges, and looks forward to this introduction to Coastal Senior College. Steve now lives in Yarmouth, ME, two blocks from two of his three grandchildren, and heats his home mainly with a wood stove.
Instructor Paul Doherty studied piano at the New England Conservatory of Music (Boston), where he earned a Bachelor of Music in Education. He is now retired from careers in music education, radio broadcasting, and ministry. Paul currently enjoys volunteer work and lifelong learning and teaching in various Maine senior colleges.
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