NEWS

By STEPHANIE GUNTER
UNC News Services

CHAPEL HILL -- The U.S. Constitution, screenwriting and the Copernican Revolution – these and 11 other subjects are part of the spring Community Classroom Series sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education.

"Many of the spring faculty are nationally recognized for their expertise in their field," said Mary Morrison, continuing education specialist at the Friday Center. "We are pleased to offer such a wide range of courses taught by some of UNC’s most outstanding professors."

All courses will begin in March, and the registration fee is $100 before Feb. 27. After that date, the fee will increase to $115. Classes meet weekly for two-hour sessions at the Friday Center, located about three miles east of the UNC campus, just off N.C. 54. Enrollment is limited to 20 participants per course.

Courses in the series are:

· "World War II: The European Theater," Mondays, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., March 15, 22, 29 and April 12. The course, taught by Dr. Roger Lotchin, professor in UNC’s history department, will focus on the Battle of the Atlantic, the European air war and the ground campaign from the Normandy invasion to V-E Day. Topics discussed will be illustrated with photographs from the era.

· "The Copernican Revolution," Mondays, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., March 15, 22, 29 and April 12. Dr. James Rose, assistant chair of the physics and astronomy department at UNC, will teach this interdisciplinary course. By examining the Copernican Revolution, the course will show how the revolution affected understanding of Earth’s place in the cosmos.

· "The Civil Rights Movement," Mondays, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., March 15, 22, 29 and April 12. This course explores the African-American freedom struggles, focusing on events from 1954 to 1965 including the Brown decision, the Montgomery bus boycott, the sit-ins and the freedom rides. Robert Porter, a visiting lecturer in African and Afro-American studies at UNC, will teach the course.

· "The Poetry of Yeats," Mondays, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., March 15, 22, 29 and April 12. Dr. John McGowan, UNC English professor and founding member of UNC’s Program in Cultural Studies, will teach this course. W.B. Yeats’ poetry will be discussed in the context of Ireland’s historical and social movements of the time.

· "Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery – an American Legacy," Tuesdays, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., March 16 through April 6. With the 200^th anniversary of the Corps of Discovery approaching, David Long, a teaching assistant in UNC’s department of history, will focus on Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and their expedition. The course will emphasize the natural environment and the native populations that the group encountered.

· "Disco, Punk and Pop: That ’70s Music," Tuesdays, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. March 16 through April 6. Back by popular demand, Dr. John Covach, associate professor of music at UNC, follows up his overview of the ’60s with a look at popular music and culture during the 1970s. Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper and David Bowie will be the focus.

· "Reconnecting with Family and Community History: An Oral History Workshop," Wednesdays, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., March 17 through April 7. This workshop will provide comprehensive basic training to anyone interested in an oral history project, whether focused on family, local or community history. Joe Mosnier, associate director of UNC’s Southern Oral History Program and course instructor, will discuss oral history’s special contributions to historical understanding and examine the best ways to link family and local history to wider historical themes.

· "Southern Music," Wednesdays 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., March 17 through April 7. The course will survey the culture and history of traditional Southern music styles from North Carolina to Texas. Participants will learn about the music’s origins, history and roles in the modern South, through selected readings, films and recordings. Aaron Smithers, a graduate student in the department of history and UNC’s Center for the Study of the American South, will teach the course.

· "Religion in America," Wednesdays, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., March 17 through April 7. Lee Carter will introduce participants to the history, themes and issues in American religion from the precolonial period to the present. The class focuses on the ways that diverse religious movements have shaped American culture and on how American culture has shaped these rich traditions. Carter is a visiting lecturer in continuing education at UNC.

· "Introduction to Screenwriting," Wednesdays, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., March 17 through April 7. Hollywood screenwriter and playwright Bill Svanoe will concentrate on the fundamentals of screenwriting in this introductory course. Svanoe, an adjunct professor in the UNC department of communication studies and the department of dramatic art, has written for television series and movies. His plays have been produced in the United States and Europe.

· "Understanding Statistics," Wednesdays 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., March 17 through April 7. The course will help participants learn how to understand, interpret and compare the elementary statistics often used by the media. Topics include construction of a statistic, sampling techniques and inference, prediction intervals, confidence intervals and significance tests. Kimberly Ward, a graduate student in the department of statistics and operations research at UNC, will teach the course.

· "Embracing Conflict in the Workplace," Thursdays, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., March 18, 25, April 1 and 15. Participants will discover the potential opportunities that conflicts present and bring their own examples of tough workplace conflicts to serve as case studies. Joseph H. Hensley Jr., a UNC alumnus and professional mediator, will teach the course.

· "The U.S. Constitution," Thursdays, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., March 18 through April 8. The course will explore basic features of America's fundamental document of governance, the Constitution, and will focus especially on the role of the federal courts in interpreting the document. Taught by Jack Boger, a UNC law professor, the course will focus on the relationship between state and federal power and examine current debates about individual rights and liberties. 

· "The Geisha in History, Fiction and Fantasy," Thursdays, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., March 18 through April 8. This seminar explores how the geisha profession began in the age of Shogun and the samurai (1600-1868), examines her role in the modernization of Japan in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and considers why she has so fascinated the West. Dr. Jan Bardsley, associate professor for the curriculum in Asian studies, will teach the course.

To register or for complete course and instructor information, click on http://fridaycenter.unc.edu/cni/ccs.htm, or contact Mary Morrison at (919) 843-4483 or by e-mail at mmorriso@email.unc.edu.

- 30 -

(Gunter, of Raleigh, is a senior majoring in journalism and mass communication.)

Friday Center contact: Mary Morrison, (919) 843-4483 or mmorriso@email.unc.edu