BRIDGTON — Spring Classes for the Senior College at Bridgton meet from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, from April 19 to May 12. All classes meet at the Magic Lantern Theater Pub, 9 Depot Street in Bridgton. For members or non-members, the classes meeting three or four times have a fee of $18 for each class. The single-session courses on May 4 and May 12 are free to members and have a fee of $10 each for non-members. Masks and proof of vaccination are required of all registrants.
Democracy and its Discontents
Dee Miller
Tuesdays, April 19, 26, May 3, 10
Many Senior College members fit their lives between December 7, 1941 and January 6, 2021. In 1941 the United States accepted a challenge, becoming the “Arsenal of Democracy” but by 2021 democracy itself seemed to be under challenge. What forces contributed to these vastly dissimilar historical markers? This class will examine several themes, political, economic, and social to seek answers.
Literature with a Dystopian View of the Future
Ken Gibbs
Wednesday, April 20, Thursday, April 21, Wednesday, April 27
A pessimistic view of the future of society is now so prevalent that even Netflix has a separate category, “Dystopian Future Movies & TV”. Few authors have so famously and effectively written dystopian literature as George Orwell. We will discuss 1984 and Animal Farm, and finish with Kurt Vonnegut’s Galapagos, a novel that perversely envisions a future paradoxically both dystopian and utopian.
An Unanticipated Experience – Pandemic Inspired Reflections
Andrea Dodge Patstone
Wednesday, May 4
The President of Stephens Memorial Hospital discusses and reflects on healthcare following the start of the pandemic in March 2020. After what seemed our apparent recovery, then dealing with variants Delta and Omicron, how are we now different? What
have we learned? Looking ahead in healthcare, the role of community hospitals and the importance of leadership will be addressed.
Bridgton & Saco River Railroad
Adam Cook
Wednesday, May 11
This class will include an overview of the Bridgton & Saco River Railroad from 1881-1930 and the Bridgton & Harrison Railway from 1930-1941. Topics covered will include construction, technological innovations, major wrecks, and the transition from being a private company to a subsidiary of the Maine Central Railroad, reorganizing into the B&H, and the causes behind the closure of the railroad. Mr. Cook will conclude with a brief explanation of the current efforts to rebuild the railroad.
Verismo in Italian Opera
Joseph DeVito
Thursdays, April 28, May 5, May 12
A brief exploration of how the Naturalism literary movement influenced Giovanni Verga and others to create “realistic” prose which, in turn, became Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana”, Giordano’s “Andrea Chenier”, and Puccini’s “Tosca”. Each class will include a brief lecture, including detailed synopses of these operas and the viewing of extended excerpts from each one.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
