The UA Humanities Seminars Program spring semester courses feature a wide range of subjects, spanning the globe from China to Africa and human history from antiquity to the turbulence of 1968.
Founded in 1984, the Humanities Seminars Program offers the community a wide range of classes, from astronomy to archaeology and from Shakespeare to film noir, taught by top UA professors. During the program's 33-year history, more than 20,000 community members have enrolled in more than 350 classes.
"It's a program that was created to spread the joy of learning," says Janet Hollander, chair of the Humanities Seminars board. "The variety of courses means you can expand your knowledge about a familiar topic or learn about something entirely new."
The spring semester includes a special class with six College of Humanities professors each devoting a lecture to topics of "Resistance and Revolution," the theme of the 2017 Tucson Humanities Festival.
Also in the spring is the third Humanities Seminars Program course to be offered in Oro Valley, at the town's council chambers. All other courses meet in the Dorothy Rubel Room at the UA Poetry Center.
Registration for the nine spring semester classes began on Nov. 20. Video previews featuring the professors introducing the course subjects are available at hsp.arizona.edu.
The courses are:
• Sense of Wonder: Stories of Fantasy and Science Fiction
Professor Richard Poss
Fridays, 9 a.m. to noon, Jan. 19 to April 6
• Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron and Bawdy Medieval Literature
Professor Fabian Alfie
Tuesdays, 1 to 4 p.m., Jan. 23 to April 3
Professor Malcolm Compitello
Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to noon, Jan. 24 to Feb. 28
• The Meaning of Freedom in Africa
Professor Phyllis Taoua
Wednesdays, 1 to 3 p.m., Jan. 24 to April 4
• Between World Wars: Germany's Roaring Twenties
Professor Barbara Kosta
Mondays, 1 to 3 p.m., Jan. 29 to Feb. 26
• Modern China and Its Literary Reflections
Professor Dian Li
Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to noon, Jan. 30 to Feb. 27
• 1968
Professor Thomas P. Miller
Thursdays, 1 to 4 p.m., Feb. 1 to Feb. 22
• Technological Wonders of Classical Antiquity II
Professor Eleni Hasaki
Thursdays, 10 a.m. to noon, Feb. 1 to 22
Professor Steve Smith
Fridays, 9 a.m. to noon, Feb. 2 to 23
(Oro Valley council chambers)