Before the end of the 19th Century the exploration and development of the world depended in significant part on the ability of countries and civilizations to develop what they believed were accurate and convincing maps. This SDG will review and discuss approximately sixty of the most important maps prepared by and often purloined from the most important cartographers in the world. Each SDG will discuss the map, its maker(s), the era and the reasons maps were created. Some maps had a significant impact upon the world during that era in terms of global trade, colonization and the settlement of geo-political boundaries. Other maps were created to curry favor of their sponsors, rulers or the Church. For some maps, the Church and State provided an influence, often negative, upon the mapmakers and their craft. Our discussion will review how astronomy, mathematics, science and information supplied by that era’s explorers and navigators impacted map development. Mapmakers became the technology leaders of their era, opening new vistas and opportunities for their sponsors and users. Copies of all maps not in the core books will be provided by the Class Coordinator.
David Copperfield / Demon Copperhead
In this 14 week SDG, we will embark on a literary adventure! We'll begin in the first week with the classic film (1935) adaptation of Charles Dickens' beloved autobiographical novel, David Copperfield. Immerse yourself in a world populated by unforgettable characters like the scheming Uriah Heep, the eccentric Miss Betsey Trotwood, the perpetually optimistic Mr. Micawber, and the warmhearted Peggotty family, all alongside the young David himself.
Then for the remaining 13 weeks, prepare to be captivated by Barbara Kingsolver's brilliant reimagining. At only 43 pages per week, in her novel Demon Copperhead, Kingsolver takes the heart of Dickens' story and transplants it to modern-day Appalachia, ravaged by the opioid crisis. We meet Demon, a young foster child facing abuse and hardship. Yet, his wit, compassion, and unwavering spirit for survival echo the strength of David Copperfield. Prepare to be as enthralled by Kingsolver's Demon as you were by Dickens' classic, together we will compare and contrast these works
The Burgundians: A Vanished Empire
Burgundy is a red wine. Burgundy is a dark red color. Burgundy is a former administrative region in France. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is a 2004 comedy film. But who were the historic Burgundians?
Our core book, The Burgundians: A Vanished Empire, is the story of a thousand years, a compulsively readable narrative history of ambitious aristocrats, family dysfunction, treachery, savage battles, luxury, and madness. It is about the decline of knightly ideals and the awakening of individualism and cities, the struggle for dominance in the heart of northern Europe, bloody military campaigns and fatally bad marriages. It's kind of a Game of Thrones but without the dragons because it really happened.
At the end of the 15th century, Burgundy was extinguished as an independent state. It had been a fabulously wealthy, turbulent region situated between France and Germany, with close links to the English kingdom during the Hundred Years' War in the Middle Ages. It was Burgundian troops who captured Joan of Arc and turned her over to the English for trial and execution. This region became the cradle of what we now know as the Low Countries, modern Belgium and the Netherlands.
Our core book also traces the remarkable cultural history of great art and architecture and music which emerged despite the violence and the chaos of the tension between rival dynasties.
Rightly compared to great narrative histories written by authors like Barbara Tuchman, this work has been described as a popular and scholarly masterpiece. It has been praised in many reviews such as the following:
"A sumptuous feast of a book" The Times, Books of the Year
"Thrillingly colorful and entertaining" Sunday Times
"A history book that reads like a thriller" Le Soir.
Plate Tectonics & The Supercontinent Cycle
Several hundred million years ago, Earth's continents fit together snugly in the supercontinent Pangea. The jigsaw puzzle-like parts separated and move along Earth’s surface as tectonic plates. On world maps, the bulge of South America fits Africa's concave Gulf of Guinea, because their plates were apposed in Pangea. The Himalayan mountains are the buckling of the crashing Indian and Eurasian plates. In 200 million years, our continents will again form a single land mass in the ongoing supercontinent cycle.
Geophysicist Mitchell’s engaging core book explains the stories of Pangea; its predecessor supercontinents, Rodinia and Columbia; and the next supercontinent, Amasia. Dr. Mitchell clearly explains paleomagnetism; the structure and dynamics of our planet; seismology; rock cycles and dating; and much more.
You’ve Got to Read This: Contemporary Writers Introduce Stories That Held Them in Awe
Writers Jim Shepard and Ron Hansen had a unique idea for a short story anthology--rather than selecting the stories themselves, they asked contemporary writers to pick one story that "you've got to read." The stories themselves are wonderful, but the passages that introduce each are what sets this anthology apart. Each writer explains why he or she chose a particular story, providing insights you won’t find anywhere else. Fully a third of the authors picked "the story that made me want to become a writer," and their introductory essays are as fascinating as the stories themselves. Many of the stories are classics, while others are lesser known. In this 12-week SDG, we will be encountering a diverse range of voices, time periods, experiences and styles, but all with a common devotion to story.
Kafka
Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer based in Prague, who is widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature.
The poet W. H. Auden called Kafka "the Dante of the twentieth century". The novelist Vladimir Nabokov placed him among the greatest writers of the 20th century. Gabriel García Márquez noted the reading of Kafka's The Metamorphosis showed him "that it was possible to write in a different way". Others, such as Thomas Mann, see Kafka's work as allegorical: a quest, metaphysical in nature, for God
In this SDG, we will start with reading Kafka’s Letter to his Father and then Dostoevsky’s Notes from The Underground in order to start getting to know him and keep Dostoevsky in mind who heavily influenced him - Kafka called him his blood relative. We will then dive in reading his work starting with Metamorphosis while comparing and discussing similarities and influences and analyzing and trying to understand his role in existentialism and absurdism of life.
The Bully Pulpit: Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and Golden Age of Journalism
The Bully Pulpit, the Pulitzer Prize winning book by Doris Kearns Goodwin, is a multiple biography of two former Presidents, their personal sagas and their turbulent times- Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. It is also a tale of the Progressive Era and its crusades against the trusts, corruption and the rising inequality of income, and for the working people. It is also a tale of the famous muckrakers, the editors and writers who were indispensable allies of progressive politicians, both Republican and Democrats- Sam McClure, Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, Ray Baker, William White, Upton Sinclair. But the book is much more than this. It is the story how two Presidents used the media they had available to get their message out to the public. Theodore Roosevelt was an impactful speaker: while Taft was not. Teddy was full of himself, full of boundless energy. Taft was not. Yet the two formed a unique alliance in the history of the presidency- until it foundered. The book also provides us with stunning parallels to our own times, and the opportunities to compare and contrast the use of presidential power, the role of political parties, the influence of the media and investigative journalism. This study of a turning point in our history (1880-1912) will illuminate our own times as well: the balance of power between governments and corporations, conservation of natural resources, power of money in politics, concern about powerful banking and corporate interests, the interplay between labor, capitol and government, trade policy, inequitable taxation, the growing gap between rich and poor, the power of the press and the significance of personal relationships.
Germany: A History 1500-2000
Although the German state did not exist until 1870 when Bismarck unified the various German states under Prussian leadership, we begin our study of “Germany History” in 1500 as it was then that people began to refer routinely to the Holy Roman Empire as the German Nation. This is also when a common form of the language emerged. Equally important, this was the time when humanists began to write about a place called “Germany” inhabited by people called “Germans.”
Using Germany in the World: A Global History, 1500-2000 by David Blackbourn, we will approach our subject by looking at Germany in a global context. Far from being a landlocked country interested in its own affairs, we will see Germans as involved in the expanding worlds of Europe. We will find German soldiers, ship gunners, merchants, surgeons, and scientists on the ships of European exploration. Germans helped shape the Atlantic world. However, with no German state, there was no German Empire, and we will see how this fact influenced how Germans viewed themselves and their culture. By looking at German history from a global view, we will see familiar events, such as the Reformation, in a new light. Likewise we will study the rise of German nationalism, as a failure in 1848 and finally a success in 1870, as part of a worldwide nation building during a large shift that reset the global order in the last half of the 19th century.
Join us for lively discussions as we look at German history with fresh eyes and a new view.
Haruki Murakami’s Short Stories and Films
“I think memory is the most important asset of human beings. It’s a kind of fuel; it burns and it warms you.” --Haruki Murakami
Japanese writer Haruki Murakami’s work is often philosophical and haunting, touching on themes of sexual identity and love, loss and detachment, nostalgia and memory. As a young writer, Murakami was greatly influenced by the Western canon of writers that he admired; so much so that his fresh, direct and raw style changed the face of Japanese fiction writing that followed. He counts such diverse writers as Kafka, Dostoevsky, Raymond Chandler and Kurt Vonnegut as major influences. Murakami is that rare literary writer who revels in telling an exciting story without sacrificing his unique, singular vision. His use of magic realism, surrealism, the fantastic and a sly sense of humor are all signs of his fearlessness as a writer. Murakami has won numerous literary awards including the coveted Kafka Prize, and his legions of international fans wait expectantly year after year for the esteemed 74-year old writer to be awarded the Noble Prize in Literature.
In this 10-week SDG, we will be visiting stories from one of Murakami’s earliest collections, as well as two of his latest compilations. We will also watch two highly acclaimed films based on two of his short stories, Burning (2018) from Korean director, Lee Chang-dong and Drive My Car (2021) from Japanese director, Ryusuke Hamaguchi. Expect the usual mesmerizing atmosphere and a wry sensibility that might leave you with more questions, perhaps, than answers.
