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ILR 55+
Registration now open
ILR584 Crossroads of Culture: The Enduring
Legacy of the Moors
5 sessions, 10 hours
Join us as we journey back in time to Moorish Spain, a society
where Christians, Jews, and Muslims coexisted for more than
seven centuries. While much of medieval Europe was besieged
by famine, wars, and pestilence in the “Dark Ages,” the cities
of Seville, Cordoba, and Granada flourished in an atmosphere
of relative wealth and unprecedented tolerance. Inspired by
the wisdom of the ancients, scholars and artisans of Andalusia
produced a substantial body of philosophy, science, literature, and
art… a priceless intellectual and cultural legacy that would inspire
the European Renaissance. This course will examine not only
the unprecedented multiculturalism and interfaith cooperation
that gave rise to such creativity but also the “counterculture”
of the Reconquista that introduced a narrative of religious
exclusivity that prevails to this day. From Spain, participants
will cross the Strait of Gibraltar, if only vicariously, to Morocco,
a bridge between Europe and Africa and a land that shares a
common heritage with its Iberian neighbor to the north. Through
commentary, films, and travel anecdotes, the history, geography,
art, architecture, and culture of the Moors and their descendants
on both continents will be explored.
5-Digit Number: 16337
Tue, 2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., 10/2 – 10/30
Location: Sweadner Hall
Tuition: $40.00
Fee: $109.00
Total: $149.00
MD residents age 60+ pay fee only
SEN473 Current Issues in the Middle East
5 sessions, 10 hours
New content each term.
One of the longest-running and
most popular courses in ILR’s 55+ program, this ongoing series,
featuring new content each term, presents and analyzes the
latest news from the Middle East. Each week the instructor
will highlight current issues as they unfold, framing them in
a historical context, identifying key players, exploring the
tangled web of interrelationships, and analyzing their impact
on regional dynamics and world order. Among the issues under
consideration for the fall term are the implications of U.S.
withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement, the dismantling
of the Gulf Cooperation Council, leadership within the House of
Sa`ud, the disintegration of the Yemeni state, the future of Syria,
and the 100-year-old conflict between competing nationalisms
in the Holy Land. In each, the role of the United States in the
Middle East, both historically and currently, will be considered.
Through lectures, selected readings, films, guest speakers, and
group discussion, it is expected that participants will be better
equipped to understand and address, with a greater level of
confidence, some of the most important issues of our time.
5-Digit Number: 16270
Tue, 2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., 11/6 – 12/4
Location: Sweadner Hall
Tuition: $40.00
Fee: $109.00
Total: $149.00
MD residents age 60+ pay fee only
Instructor:
Linda Pappas Funsch is a career specialist in modern Middle Eastern history and Islamic studies.
With an MA in Near Eastern Studies from New York University, she has studied, worked, and traveled
extensively throughout the region. A freelance writer, consultant, and author, Ms. Funsch’s latest book,
“Oman Reborn: Balancing Tradition and Modernization,” was published 2015 and has been translated into
Arabic. She has taught at both Hood College and Mount Saint Mary’s University. She is a frequent speaker at
scholarly symposia across the U. S., including Georgetown University, the World Bank, the National Council on
US-Arab Relations, the National Defense University, and the Council on Foreign Relations, Santa Fe, NM, as
well as the World Affairs Councils of Washington, DC, Albuquerque, NM, and Brookings, SD. Ms. Funsch has
escorted several small-group study visits to the Middle East, including Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Oman.
Do you enjoy getting out and learning about the world around you? Check out page 24 for our
Learning on Location
programs.