Constitutional Law: The Current Supreme Court Term

Few things have a more far-reaching impact than decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court. This class, which also was offered in 2004, 2005, and 2007, will look at the issues the court chooses to confront, explore the legal and political viewpoints of the justices, and make some educated guesses about how cases will eventually get decided. It may be especially appealing to those who enjoyed "Judge Judy We Art Not: Your Courts in Maine" in the fall of 2007. Maximum 30, Minimum 10. Morning.

Solomon Goldman has served as a staff attorney for Pine Tree Leagal Assistance, directed the paralegal studies program at Beal College in Bangor and taught a variety of courses on law at Husson College in Bangor. He has a law degreee from George Washington University.

The Ecology and Management of Maine's Wildlife

The ecology, behavior and management of many of Maine's wildlife species will be explored in this course. Subjects to be examined include large raptors, waterfowl, wetlands, beaver, island nesting birds, and large carnivores. Maximum 40. Morning.

Bucky Owen, professor emeritus and part-time instructor in the Department of Wildlife Ecology at the University of Maine, has taught wildlife ecology for Penobscot Valley Senior College in 2004 and 2006. He served as commissioner of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife from 1993 to 1997. Other presenters will be Bill Krohn, of the Wildlife Ecology Department at UM, an expert in large carnivore ecology, and Jerry Longcore, a retired UM faculty member and specialist in wetlands and waterfowl; he taught Maine Wildlife Diversity for PVSC in 2005.

Enhancing Personal Relationships and Growth

Principles that contribute to enhancing human relationships and personal psychological growth, leading to a greater sense of fulfillment in life, will be discussed. Participants will have opportunities to raise issues in their own lives that they want to understand better. This class has developed a loyal following who take it every year, and has also attracted new members. Maximum 15. Morning.

Max Hammer taught graduate and undergraduate courses in the Psychology Department at the University of Maine from 1961 to 1989. He has served as part-time clinical director of the Houlton Mental Health Center and has written a number of books and articles in the field of psychotherapy.

Hot Enough for You?

The important issue of climate change will be explored by University of Maine faculty, with sessions focused on the theory of human-induced climate change; forest soils, carbon, and climate change; the response of glaciers and ice sheets to climate change; paleoecology and the study of climates past; and carbon footprinting - what you can do to limit climate change. Maximum 40. Morning.

Mark Anderson is senior instructor in the School of Economics and coordinator of the B.S. program in Ecology and Environmental Sciences at UM. A graduate of Bowdoin, he has studied at Durham University in England and earned his master's degree from UM. He has given courses for Penobscot Valley Senior College in 2004 and 2006. Other presenters will include Ivan Fernandez, professor of Forest Soils; George Jacobson, former director of the Quaternary Institute; and Leigh Sterns, Ph.D. candidate in the Climate Change Institute.

Living Well

Highly participative, this Living Well workshop enhances confidence in the ability to manage health and maintain an active, fulfilling life. The tools learned in this class are especially useful for those with chronic health conditions. The program was developed by Stanford University, and class members will be asked to give evaluation feedback to Stanford. Maximum 14, Minimum 6. Morning. At the University College, Bangor.

Amy Cotton is a registered nurse with a specialty in gerontology and more than 20 years of practical and administrative experience. She is director of operations at Rosscare and adjunct faculty at Husson College, both in Bangor. Marcia Young is a registered nurse with more than 30 years experience in a variety of healthcare settings, including senior health care and mental health care. She is administrator of Sylvia Ross Home, a 13-bed assisted-living retirement facility in Bangor.

Meet the Mystics

What makes a mystic? Who are they? How are they different? Do they have any relevance in today's world? Using the text Ordinary People as Monks and Mystics by Marsha Sinetar, these and other discussion questions will be addressed, and some of the answers may surprise us. An open mind, a tolerant disposition, a healthy sense of humor on the part of participants will nicely season the class content into a tasty intellectual, and perhaps spiritual, six-course meal. Maximum 22, minimum 6. Morning.

A lay preacher in the United Methodist Church, Joyce Lovely has a master's in education from the University of Southern Maine and has worked as a teacher and administrator in schools in Maine and Connecticut. She has long had an interest in mysticism, and has engaged in reading, classes and retreats while exploring the contemplative movement.

Short Poem, Short Story

This workshop looks at haibun, a Japanese form now practice worldwide that incorporates short poetry, including haiku, into short story (poetic narrative). We'll first examine short poems, including haiku, and short stories, including prose poems. The remaining classes will concentrate on haibun, putting poetry and poetic narrative together in forms such as the diary, travel journals, and nature sketches. Maximum 20, minimum 6. Morning.

Bruce Ross is a past president of Haiku Society of America. He is the author of one collection of poetry, three collections of haiku, and one collection of haiku and haibun, summer drizzles… haiku and haibun. He has also written How to Haiku,A Writer's Guide to Haiku and Related Forms, and edited Journey to the Interior, American Versions of Haibun. He is coeditor of the annual Contemporary Haibun. He has taught haiku classes for Penobscot Valley Senior College in 2003 and 2007.

The Art of Film Food: Transformation and Transcendence

Food connects us to our deepest thoughts, senses and memories. This course will explore how we experience and talk about food in our culture and how filmmakers transform that experience and language into a metaphor for art, sex, and spirituality. In that context, an introductory lecture (1:10 PM to 3:10 PM, February 29th) will be followed by five three-hour sessions (1:10 PM to 4:10 PM) during which we'll view and discuss The Scent of Green Papaya, Mostly Martha, Like Water for Chocolate, Tampopo and Babette's Feast. Maximum 40, Minimum 10. Afternoon.

Retired as vice president of Bangor Theological Seminary, Esther Rauch has master's and doctoral degrees from Ohio State University, as well as an honorary degree from Husson College in Bangor, where she inaugurated the Constance H. Carlson Distinguished Lectureship in the Humanities. She has also taught at the University of Maine and the Maine Maritime Academy.

Ethics When it Matters

Recent catastrophic and widespread failures by our business, political, military and religious institutions have led to substantial economic and human costs. What are the factors contributing to these failures and what needs to change? After a brief introduction to four moral theories often used for addressing ethical issues, we will discuss some of the factors that led to personal and institutional ethical failures. Essays by a variety of writers will be used to focus discussions. Maximum 15, Minimum 7. Afternoon.

John Alexander, who taught this course for Penobscot Valley Senior College in 2007, has had a long time interest in the importance of ethics to business and political discussions. He's taken several ethics courses and has taught professional ethics to undergraduate engineering students for over 25 years. He has a Ph.D. in civil engineering from M.I.T. and most recently served as vice president of academic affairs and provost at the University of Maine.

Faith of Our Neighbors: Religous Belief in Local Context

Guest presenters will describe their faith traditions and how they exist and interact in our locality. Among faiths to be presented are Judaism, Evangelical Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Greek Orthodoxy, Anglican Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. A variety of views and interplay between religious faith and broader social and cultural issues will emerge from presentations followed by question and answer dialogue. Relevant readings will be suggested. Maximum 40, Minimum 15. Afternoon.

James L. Haddix has been pastor and teacher at All Souls Congregational Church in Bangor since 1990. He has a doctorate from Boston University in biblical studies and is an adjunct professor of Old Testament at Bangor Theological Seminary. He holds numerous directorships and plays saxophone in the klezmer band Tzena! Tzena!

Introduction to Memoir Writing

Memoir, a form of creative nonfiction, is about gathering pieces of memory and illuminating their meaning on the page. This course is for the novice inerested in trying out the genre of memoir writing. We will read and discuss examples of excellent writing and explore exercises designed to help you write down your memories creatively and effectively. Students will be invited to share and comment on one another's work. The class will be informal, relaxed and confidence building. Maximum 12, minimum 4. Afternoon.

Elizabeth Johns has worked for many years as an editor in the book publishing industry, and she is a former director of the University of Maine Press. She is working on a Ph.D. in gerontology from the University of Massachussetts Boston, where she has been a graduate research and teaching assistant since 2003.

Understanding Mutual Funds

Successful investing requires understanding long and short-term objectives, and how accepting risk affects the likelihood of realizing financial goals. Mutual funds help to control risk without requiring knowledge of specific securities investments. Anyone who understands the characteristics of stocks, bonds and cash, along with the choices made available by mutual funds, can manage investments, or better understand the advice provided by advisers. This class will focus on the "big picture" that accounts for 80% of investing success. Maximum 25, Minimum 5. Afternoon. University College, Bangor.

Stan Marshall began investing more than 40 years ago with no great success. Through study and experience as a trustee for several nonprofit endowments, he has learned basic investing principles and subsequently has achieved better investment results, some of them through good luck and some from understanding how to manage risk.

Women of China

In just a few decades, China has gone through tumultuous upheavals, with many changes aimed at improving the position of women. This course will explore these efforts, focusing on kinship, ethnicity, marriage and the family, ritual and religion, work, health and sexuality. Readings will include women's stories as well as scholars' and observers' accounts. Discussions will provide an opportunity to reflect on gender in the U.S. as well as in China. Maximum 30, minimum 6. Afternoon.

Sociologist Dair Gillespie (Ph.D from the University of California at Berkeley) has taught a number of courses for Penobscot Valley Senior College. Passionate Pastimes (2004), Women of the Middle East (2005), Women of Africa (2006) and Women of India (2007). Before coming to Maine, she held administrative positions and taught at the University of Utah, offering courses on international gender systems at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.