Music and Composition

This last seminar in the series brought listeners along the awful, inhumane journey on the slave trading ships to their destinations. Nitty-gritty details were related with even a film quip to make it real to viewers. The revolt actions by the brave mutineers were described, the attempts to end their suffering (suicide, drowning, hunger strikes) were related, and the likely outcome to these actions rounded out the presentation. This entire series was information unknown to me in detail and will impact my thoughts and feelings about slavery from now on.

This second seminar in the 3-part series took a different direction with the comprehensive examination of the origins of the transatlantic trade in 1700s followed by the strategies attempted at resistance to capture and transport across the ocean. Dr Bell encouraged listener interaction to discuss the strategies (pre-emptive, defensive, offensive). This framework was successful in presenting the many factors, actions, and outcomes to the resistance endeavors. Opened my eyes to this travesty so much more. Well-done.

Fabulous!

Dr. Bell's courses are filled with interesting tidbits. He is a very engaging professor. One day, I would like to take a trip with him. Thank you Dr. Bell for sharing your talents with those not in college!

This was a great new topic taken on by Dr. Ballard. I have seen a number of his tours relating to the Third Reich, But this one was also lovely as he was sharing his home country and hometown. He went into a lot of the history that has played out in my lifetime in northern Ireland, it was lovely to see the various highlights and personal history and stories about them. I have never been to Belfast, but will certainly add it to my list now.

While I struggled mightily with Ulysses, I never struggled with Professor Luzzi’s explanations of Ulysses. He clearly laid out what Joyce was doing, and, consequently, redeemed him. My frustration and anger with Joyce were rescued by Luzzi’s clarity and enthusiasm. His love of classic literature is infectious and, again, redemptive. I will give Joyce a second chance.

I have taken a number of courses with Dr. Luzzi and all have been excellent. This course was no exception. In three sessions, he was able to distill the important aspects of this difficult novel, and help the reader to understand why the novel has become a cultural icon.

This webinar was exactly what I wanted. The teacher gave an excellent summary of historical information and added a great intro to the area and what one can do on a visit. Excellent!

This was a wonderful, well-planned part of a larger course. Bolton-Porciatti is very well-informed, and presents views both of a Tuscan insider and of a scholar. The Siena material was particularly helpful to us, since our visit to Siena under the burning summer sun wasn't a successful one. Highly recommended.

My husband and I have tried to catch practically every show that Mr. Amroussi hosts on Context. He is is erudite, witty and humorous. Great pedagogue

Maria is very engaging and enthusiastic. Her cooking demonstration was easy to follow and it was fun to see the results amongst the participants. Highly enjoyable experience! Would definitely recommend.

Smaro did an excellent job of giving a lot of info, while using effective visuals to show us and covered the material with deep knowledge. The time moved quickly and she covered everything. I would sign up for her sessions anytime.

The images of the cities were absolutely beautiful and the historical information was very interesting. I would love to go see these places and I hope I am able to do so in the not too distant future.

Maria was a great teacher and did a very good job multitasking between cooking and managing the chat. Camera view worked really well so we could tell what she was doing. Definitely would love to take another class from her.

As always, this was wonderful.