An Intro to Belfast Senior College

Course Synopsis: Anton Chekov’s Plays Out Loud. This course is primarily focused on reading aloud a few of Chekov’s plays, both one-act comedies and one full act serious play. The course promises to be both fun and thoughtful. We shall explore the short-lived Russian Renaissance of the 19th century and Anton Chekov’s part in its literary scene, and his influence on the modern theater.

We shall read the hilarious one acts The Bear, and The Marriage Proposal. The two full act plays under consideration are The Cherry Orchard and Uncle Vanya. Time permitting we could read them both. Chekov was a master at understanding and revealing the internal motivation of his characters against the background of the changing Russian society.

Three men alike in grandiose spirit. Three plays different in setting and story. Three stand-out characters teetering in harm’s way. What happens when reality bites and their lives are rocked. Will they fall? Will they tread water? Or will they rise, stoop to conquer, reinvent themselves, assume new roles, travel in new directions? Will they become different men with grandeur calmed and purpose re-envisioned? Explore the worlds of MALVOLIO in “Twelfth Night”, SIR JOHN FALSTAFF in “Henry IV, Part 1” & PAROLLES in “All’s Well That Ends Well.”

The Biosphere is a concept of the Earth that is the sum of geology, climatic zones, vegetation, food chains, and soil processes where life exists. It is derived from the scientific discoveries based on Von Humboldt’s Cosmos and his observation of ‘Naturgemälde’, which in 1803, described the relationships between elevation and vegetation. The subject of Ecology is its modern discipline. World soils, biogeographic cycling within forests and other biomes, and studies the influences of issues like water pollution by fertilizer, pesticides, erosion, septic systems, and stormwater management, are topics that will be discussed in this course.

A limited number of citizen and veterans’ groups follow the history of the American Civil War with a passion, whether this be in formal lecture series or social media groups. However, to perhaps make this subject more interesting to a broader audience, for my Fall of 2026 lectures I will expose a more mystical side show of Civil War history rarely discussed in traditional classrooms or chat rooms, that is, paranormal and supernatural activities associated with Civil War battlefields and landmarks.

We will begin this lecture series by discovering a few long-forgotten common Maine soldiers buried at City Point Cemetery in Hopewell, VA, near the massive battlefields around Petersburg and Richmond where so many soldiers died and were hastily buried, their tortured spirits still allegedly roaming the area. We will tell these soldiers’ personal stories, where they fought, where they died, and why their bodies were never returned home to Maine. One lost Confederate common soldier is also revealed. This will give us the historical background we need to understand the fallen men behind the paranormal phenomenon some claim exists.

We then study the observations of multiple observers over the years who claim to experience paranormal activity near these areas around City Point, Petersburg, South Richmond, and other Richmond area haunts. Videos prepared by paranormal investigators will also be shown throughout the lecture series.

You, the audience, will make up your own minds as to the validity of these paranormal phenomena, or otherwise enhance your preexisting beliefs in the supernatural.  If the dead can in fact communicate with us through paranormal media, what better place to go looking for them than a massive Civil War battlefield where thousands died of wounds or disease and whose graves and their remains were never recovered after the war, leaving the tortured spirits of fallen soldiers to roam old homes, cemeteries, and battlefields for all eternity!

Winston Churchill is not only a witness to the great events of the 20th century, he is part of the events. Fortunately for us and history there is much written about his life and times including his own great writings. We will see the course to be a study of how decisions, events and happenings in the early 20th century have subsequently impacted and shaped our world today. We will supplement the course with poetry and music of the times. Sometimes Poetry and Music is a better window to capture the feelings of people than a newspaper story.