Writing a memoir can be fun. It is a place to collect your thoughts or memorialize people and events in your life for future generations, or it is simply for your own pleasure. While we build community with our stories, there will be lessons on basic writing skills and a search for your individual style.

INSTRUCTOR: Lydia Bogar is a new teacher at WISE. She has taken classes at Coastal Carolina University and Brandeis University after retiring 8 years ago. For 3 years, she was the Co-Coordinator of the BOLLI Writers Guild at Brandeis University.

NO REQUIRED BOOKS

Optional Books:
Bird by Bird, Tips on Life and Writing by Lamont, Anne
On Writing, Memoir and Writers’ Guide by King, Stephen

The music of the great composers – Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Liszt – continues to be studied, performed, and enjoyed today. This course takes a look at the personal lives and important musical contributions of some of the greatest composers. Students will learn about the backstories, successes, failures, and times of these musicians. Students will also listen to some of their most important works and learn to analyze specific musical devices present in the music by looking at the scores (ie, sheet music). NOTE: Students do NOT need to be able to read music in order to take this course.

INSTRUCTOR: Paul Buono is a pianist who has toured internationally as a sideman for various pop/jazz artists and as a musical director for Princess and Cunard cruise lines. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in piano performance as well as a law degree. Paul teaches online through his online music studio (paulbuonomusic.com) and is a member of the music faculty at WPI, Clark University, and Assumption University (where he also serves as the director of the jazz ensemble). 

NO REQUIRED BOOKS

“Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Writings, Part 1 (1809-1841) is an online American Literature Course where no mortal students have ever gone before. It covers the highest level of reading and writing on Poe’s life and writings from his early years in Boston, London, and Richmond, where he defines poetry as the idea of beauty and advances the literature of science fiction, to his life in Philadelphia where he writes his greatest short stories, inventing the detective story and psychological realism in world literature.

INSTRUCTOR: Paul Macek has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in both history and English. He has taught U.S. History and American Literature at the high school level for over twenty-five years. He has also worked as a proofreader and copyeditor for thirty years. Paul is the author of seven books, five on history, one on education, and one on literature.  

NO REQUIRED BOOKS

OPTIONAL BOOKS:

The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. Vintage ISBN 0-30471678-7

Illustrated History of Edgar Allan Poe, Paul Macek author and publisher, ISBN 978-0-9670473-2-4

A legacy letter (also called an “ethical will”) is a written document that allows you to share your life lessons, express your values and transmit your blessings to future generations. A legacy letter is shorter than a memoir, typically just a few pages. Writing one is a rewarding experience that creates an enduring gift for children, grandchildren and other loved ones. This course includes discussion and brief writing exercises to help you examine your life history, explore your values and capture important insights. It offers advice and a model structure to help you draft and complete your own legacy letter.

INSTRUCTOR: Jay Sherwin has practiced law, given away money for five different charitable foundations and served as a hospital chaplain. In 2019, he created the Life Reflections Project to educate people about legacy letters, ethical wills and other legacy documents. Jay is a Worcester native who now lives in Portland, Maine; he has extensive experience facilitating online adult learning programs, and he has taught this course for adult learning programs nationwide.

NO REQUIRED BOOKS

This course will explore the filibuster rules in the United States Senate, which when invoked require a 60-vote supermajority to pass legislation or take other action. We will first review the history of the filibuster and examine some of the most significant historical uses of this mechanism. We will then examine the rules that govern filibusters and how those rules have been modified at times – particularly regarding confirmations of Supreme Court appointments. Finally, we will evaluate the merits of the filibuster, review current issues regarding the filibuster, and examine prospects for change.  

INSTRUCTOR: John S. Ross, III (Jack) received his A.B. degree from Yale University and his J.D. degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and served as Adjunct Professor of Law at Washington and Lee University School of Law. Jack has taught numerous courses in the WISE program focused on constitutional law and the Supreme Court, and he facilitates the WISE Supreme Court SIG. 

NO REQUIRED BOOK

OPTIONAL BOOK:
Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy   By Adam Jentleson (W.W. Norton & Co. 2021)