Circle of Scholars

SPRING 2008 SEMINARS

The Circle of Scholars is no longer accepting registrations for spring 2008 seminars.

Seminars begin approximately one month after the start of the undergraduate program each semester. For the first semester, the program extends from late September to the week before Thanksgiving. The second session begins in early February and extends to a week before Easter. Each seminar consists of two to eight meetings in the morning or afternoon. Classes generally meet in the Young Building, although the university provides space in other buildings if necessary.

For more information, please call the Circle of Scholars office at (401) 341-2120.

THE NEWPORT JAZZ FESTIVAL: 54 YEARS AND COUNTING!

With Anthony Agostinelli

The Newport Jazz Festival is 54 years old and still counting. The festival has been a significant part of the revitalization of jazz, jazz artists and Newport. Recordings and films have been created. The international media has made Newport in August a regular locale for creating and reporting news. The seminar will discuss the history of the Newport Jazz Festival in four parts: the birthing pangs, the youthful years and adolescence; the maturing years and the departure; the return and current vitality.

Anthony Agostinelli is a retired university professor and a jazz historian. He has published many articles about jazz artists and jazz research. He is an internationally-known resource for the music of Stan Kenton, Don Ellis and various other jazz artists and has written a history and discography about the Newport Jazz Festival. He has edited a jazz newsletter and has hosted jazz radio programs. He currently produces a cable access television program called "JazzBash" and in 2007 won a Rhode Island "Peggy," awarded to television programs of merit.

DANTE'S "PARADISO" PART TWO

With Len DeAngelis

The seminar will concentrate on cantos 18-33 of the Paradiso, the third canticle and the final section in Dante's "Divine Comedy." The seminar can be taken by new participants as well as former participants – the only prerequisite is interest. No other work of literature forms a cycle so perfectly allowing the student to begin here and continue one's study. A review and handout will be provided. The translation by John Ciardi is the suggested text, as well as Joseph Gallagher's "Guide to the Divine Comedy."

Len DeAngelis retired as head of the English department at Middletown High School. In 1990, he was the Rhode Island Teacher of the Year and received Disney's American Teacher Award. He is currently an instructor at the Edward King Senior Center and is on the board of the Art League of Rhode Island and Stopover Services of Newport County.

SEEING MODERN VISUAL ART THROUGH OPEN EYES

With Johannes von Gumppenberg

Modern artists taught us early that line and shape and shapes as fields of tone and color deserve attention. Yet 20th-century art traveled so many paths – Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Dadaism, Abstract Expressionism and more – that what those undivided parts of pictures can perform was not closely studied. These, however, are like the sounds we utter and the letters that we write to speak and spell out words. Obeying the requirements of their tasks, artists compose to express what they mean to say. Thus visual design is really visual speech. It is the way artists talk. The seminar will help participants discover how that is achieved.

Johannes von Gumppenberg came to America from Germany in the winter of 1949-1950. He studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design and turned to painting in Munich and at Yale, where he received an MFA in 1962. He has taught at the University of Illinois, spending several years as head of basic design, and at Kalamazoo College in Michigan, where he chaired the art department. A summer fellowship to pursue studies in form perception with the Center for Cognitive Studies at Harvard may point to the main line of his work.

TOLSTOY: PROPHET AND/OR ARTIST

With David McCarthy

Tolstoy often seemed to think himself as much a religious prophet as a novelist. Was he a prophet, and if so, of what was he a prophet? Or was Tolstoy simply a great artist, a crafter of supreme fictions, seeking to transcend the conventions of fictional form? The seminar will examine this question through a reading of selected works from "The Short Novels of Tolstoy."

David McCarthy taught at Assumption and Stonehill colleges for 13 years and at Portsmouth Abbey for 31 years before retiring in 2002. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame and a master's degree from Columbia University. He is a longtime reader and admirer – as well as a teacher – of the great Russian writers of the 19th century.

ASIAN INVASIONS OF EUROPE: THEIR INFLUENCE ON WESTERN CIVILIZATION

With Dr. Ronald Barks

Our perspective of history is very Euro-centric. However, we are essentially unaware how close our Western civilization came, on a number of occasions, to being overcome by invading Asian powers (Huns, Arabs, Mongols and Turks) and of the influences these Eastern civilizations have had on the West. The seminar will explore the conflicts, cultures and contributions these Asian powers have brought to Western civilization.

Dr. Ronald Barks spent most of his professional career in technology management and marketing, including 18 years with the Norton Company, five years with the Los Alamos National Laboratory and a number of years as principal of his own consulting firm. During his retirement, he has actively pursued an interest in history, particularly that of cultures in conflict, and lectured on the fields of science, business and law. Barks holds a doctorate in geochemistry from Pennsylvania State University.

CURRENT INTERNATIONAL EVENTS IN REVIEW

With Ralph Misto

The seminar will be a workshop-style review and discussion of current international events and related topics such as country and region reviews. The Foreign Policy Association's "Great Decisions 2008" is used as the framework for this seminar. Approximately one hour of the class is devoted to discussion of current international events, while the second hour will be guided by the book.

Ralph Misto is a retired hospital president and has 45 years of technical and administrative experience. He has sponsored this discussion group for the past several years.

THE HISTORY OF THE IRISH AND JEWISH POPULATIONS IN NEWPORT

With Dr. John Quinn and Dr. Stephen Kaplan

The seminar will examine the history of the Irish and Jewish populations in Newport, including what brought them to the city, their work, neighborhoods and contributions to the community and the part their religions played.

Dr. John Quinn is a professor and chair of the history department at Salve Regina. He has taught courses related to Ireland and published extensively on the topic. Dr. Stephen Kaplan has participated in numerous lectures offering his broad knowledge of the history of the Jewish population in Newport and Rhode Island.

NEARBY ARCHITECTURE OF THE 19TH CENTURY

With Richard Grosvenor

The seminar will look at the architecture of the area in terms of its place in describing the reaction to the industrial revolution during the 19th century. Please note: Except for the time and dates, this course is identical to the fall 2007 semester to accommodate those who could not enroll in that course. Members who were enrolled in last fall's course are not eligible to take this course.

A well-known watercolor artist, Richard Grosvenor taught art at St. George's School for 40 years and served as head of the art department for 20 years. He holds a bachelor's degree in fine art from Harvard University.

SUB-SAHARAN VOICES: AN HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

With Michelle Frisbie-Fulton

The seminar will offer an impressionistic study of Africa south of the Sahara. Focusing on transcribed oral history and the writings of African authors, students will travel from the pre-colonial era through the latter part of the 20th century. Lectures, music and film will contextualize the readings while illustrating the complexity and diversity of African societies. Active participation and discussion is encouraged. Students will be required to obtain most of the reading materials for the course.

Michelle Frisbie-Fulton has lived and worked in several African countries. She has taught at Burlington College, Ball State University, Indiana University and the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics and the Humanities and will be an adjunct history instructor at Salve Regina during the spring 2008 semester. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees from North Carolina State University and has completed doctoral coursework at Indiana University.

THE HISTORY OF ISLAM AND THE CHRISTIAN WESTERN WORLD

With John Speer

The seminar will focus on the interactions between the Islamic Middle Eastern world and the Christian Western world, beginning with the seventh century and carrying forward to the present. Topics to be covered include the foundations and theology of Islam, the Arab and Ottoman empires, the Age of Imperialism, World War I, the rise of Arab nationalism, World War II, the Cold War and the emergence of militant Islamism. While the emphasis will be on the Middle East, the seminar will include the region known as the Mediterranean Basin. The seminar will be based on an unpublished book, "The Crescent and the Cross," which will be available for participants.

John Speer is a retired naval officer and Naval War College professor who has written op-ed piece for the Newport Daily News. He is the author of the book on which these lectures are based.

THE ARCHITECTURE OF FURNITURE

With Stephen Rosasco

The seminar will explore many aspects of architecture and its relationship to antique furniture design and construction. Several restoration projects of historical significance will be highlighted. Identification of antiques, the art of marquetry and design elements from nature will be discussed and demonstrated.

Stephen Rosasco is the owner of Rosasco Restorations and the founder of the American Institute for Restoration Education. He has spent 34 years restoring and conserving antiques and fine art, including eight years at the Preservation Society of Newport County. A member of the American Institute of Conservation, Rosasco also served on the Redwood Library's art committee for 12 years.

A WORLD FULL OF TEACHERS

With Patti Cassidy

The seminar will screen movies about teachers from around the world as they work with their students. From the back country of China, where a 13-year-old is assigned to teach for a year, to the hopeful returning GIs of post-war America, participants will see what makes the experience of teaching universal.

Patti Cassidy has been making short documentaries specializing in public art for the past 10 years. She has taught production courses in the Berkshires and for the past seven years has discussed films with a monthly movie group. In her capacity as a freelance writer, she has reviewed videos for Library Journal.