AFRICAN AMERICAN SHORT STORIES (0310)
10:00 Limited to 20
Coordinators: Corinne Butler, Carol Schoen
African-American writers have found in short fiction a genre that has allowed them to capture their heritage, their sentiments, and their aspirations. By selecting from a range of time periods, we can investigate their evolving perspectives. We read stories by Chestnutt, Ellison, Baldwin, Dove, and Danticat, among others. Reading averages 50 pages per week.
Text: Coursepack.
Corinne Butler's enthusiasm for all genres of African-American literature has led to the development of an anthology of interviews and dialogues that she hopes to publish in the future. Carol Schoen has taught short stories at the IRP for several semesters. She looks forward to this chance to explore the diversity of American literature.

UNDERSTANDING CRITICAL ISSUES IN THE RISE OF CHINA (0311)
10:00 Limited to 25
Coordinator: Steve Liebmann
Economic reform has rocketed China into world prominence. Drawing upon a broad range of sources, we seek to better understand this growth, its implications, and the extraordinary domestic challenges facing this nation of 1.3 billion people. This is not a broad survey course, but rather an intensive study of critical issues. The study group itself assists in determining the issues to be covered. Prospective subjects range from whether a conflict with China is inevitable to worldwide pollution from Chinese coal and why Taiwan matters. Class members are expected to stay current with news from China, with one hour of weekly readings from the coursepack and articles sent to them via email, and are encouraged to do in-depth research reports.
Text: Coursepack.
Steve Liebmann's ten-year fascination with China has included travel within the country and studies at The New School and Columbia University. He -previously co--coordinated two study groups on Understanding Contemporary China

FATHERS AND SONS OF MODERN DRAMA (0313)
10:00 Limited to 25
Coordinator: Harding Lemay
The great 19th-century European dramatists, Henrik Ibsen, August Strindberg, and Anton Chekhov, paved the way for three major American playwrights, Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, and Tennessee Williams. We explore one play by each of these six writers and trace the similarities and differences in their work and their illumination of the societies they lived in. Readings average 50 pages per week.
Texts: Ibsen, Henrik, The Wild Duck/Hedda Gabler (Norton, 1997, ISBN: 0-393-31449-9, $12.00); Miller, Arthur, Death of a Salesman (Penguin, 1996, ISBN: 0-14-118097-8, $12.00); Chekhov, Anton, The Cherry Orchard (Methuen, 2004, ISBN: 0-413-77403-1, $13.95); Williams, Tennessee, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (New Directions, 2004, ISBN: 0-8112-16012); Strindberg, August, Five Plays (Univ. of California, 1983, ISBN: 0-5200-46986, $19.95); Albee, Edward, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Signet, 2006, ISBN: 0-451-15871-7, $6.99).
Harding (Pete) Lemay has written 12 produced plays, two published memoirs, and -thousands of daytime television drama scripts. He has taught literature, drama, and television serial writing at New York University, Hunter College, and The New School.

ART HISTORY: THE ROMAN WORLD (0314)
12:20 Limited to 38
Coordinators: Hilde Jaffe, Kate Leff, Floranna Miller
The history of any period is reflected in the art produced by the people of that time and culture. We study the many forms of art produced in the Roman world, tracing the development of sculpture, architecture, and painting from the time when Rome was no more than a cluster of small villages until it became a powerful empire. Our focus will be on how Roman values of strength, order, innovation, military conquest, and luxury affected the art and architecture of the period. Slides are used at each class session to illustrate the topics discussed. In addition, independent museum visits are encouraged as appropriate.
Text: D'Ambra, Eve, Roman Art (Cambridge University Press 1998; ISBN 0-521-64463-1, $21.95).
Hilde Jaffe was an art and design professor and administrator before she retired, joined IRP, and began indulging her interest in cultural and political history. Kate Leff was an English literature major with many other interests: drama, art, and art history. She studied figure drawing, oil painting, and etching at The New School for a number of years. Floranna Miller is a retired college professor with a lifelong interest in history and the many ways it is expressed in art. Hilde, Kate, and Floranna have coordinated several years of art courses at the IRP.

THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS SEMINAR (0315)
12:20 Limited to 20
Coordinator: Sherryl Ann Feinstein
Each week a different member of the seminar takes full responsibility for leading an in-depth discussion of that week's assigned essay from The New York Review of Books. Provision of supplementary information based upon prior study and/or research stimulated by the assignment is encouraged. The essays selected reflect the range of subject matter in The New York Review, which covers politics, history, science, and philosophy, as well as the literary and visual arts.
Texts: The New York Review of Books, January and February 2007, $4.95 each.
Sherryl Ann Feinstein has taught philosophy and has coordinated this seminar in previous semesters. She looks forward to continuing these intelligent and informed conversations and starting new ones.

PLAY IT AGAIN (0316)
12:20 Limited to 28
Coordinators: Naomi Klein, Susan Koeppel, Janet Rogenstein
We follow the same format as the previous study group, The Play's the Thing, reading aloud scripts and scenes to fully appreciate the emotional tone of plays and their characters. Emphasis is on class discussion and analysis of contemporary short and very short one-act plays. We explore how the plays communicate the contradictions, conflicts, and absurdities of contemporary life and the human condition. Playwrights include John Patrick Shanley, David Ives, and John Guare, with three sessions devoted solely to Tom Stoppard. In addition to reading plays, class members prepare brief reports on the work and career of the playwrights. Videos are presented when available.
Texts: Coursepack; Lane, Eric and Shengold, Nina, eds., Take Ten: New 10-Minute Plays (Vintage, 1997, ISBN:
0-679-77282-0, $14.00).
Naomi Klein had a career as managing director of a law firm. Susan Koeppel was an account executive at Ogilvy and Mather and most recently was in real estate sales. Janet Rogenstein's careers were in elementary education and marketing management for Citicorp and the American Stock Exchange. Naomi and Janet coordinated The Play's the Thing for the last two semesters. Susan will be sharing her special interest in Tom Stoppard with the class. All three share their love for the theater.

MILESTONES IN BIOLOGY: MEN AND WOMEN WHO TOOK THE GIANT STEPS (0317)
12:20 Limited to 25
Coordinator: Norma Grossman
The biological sciences have advanced at a delirious pace during the past 150 years. In pursuing their visions, men and women of diverse backgrounds have overcome personal misfortune and gender and racial bias, as well as political, religious, and ethical pressures. Our goal is to understand them and their achievements and to gain insight into the changing nature of research. When applicable, we consider what has gone before and what is known today. A coursepack of biographical selections provides one component for discussion. The coordinator, with the help of qualified class members, offers a historical perspective and clarifies the scientific work.
Text: Coursepack; enclose a $15 check, made out to The New School, with registration for coursepack, available in the IRP office.
Following a career in research and teaching the biological sciences, Norma Grossman has been having the time of her life studying and coordinating for the past 13 years.