Lifelong Learning Institute

“…so many have given so much of themselves— sharing their life experiences, learning from one another, and stretching their minds and hearts in pursuit of subjects and ideas, often completely new to them. I don’t know any other place where so many happy people gather together week after week. What a great joy it has been to watch this evolve." -- Memoir Project 1998

About the Institute • Membership • Calendar • Course Schedule • Registration Form

About the Institute

In 1992, the Alumni Association at Boston College established the Institute for Learning in Retirement, a program of personal enrichment for retired and semi-retired alumni and friends of Boston College. In so doing, the University recognized the importance of providing opportunities for continued educational growth. In 2005, the institute changed its name to the Boston College Lifelong Learning Institute. This change of name reflects a new vision of the institute as we begin to reach out to alumni of all ages. 

Classes are held at Alumni House Mondays and Tuesdays in the fall and spring. Active membership has grown to 450 over the last decade. Membership is drawn from alumni and the local community and includes professionals from such fields as art, business, education, health care, law, and technology. An administrator oversees the program. Institute members are given a membership card, which provides them with full borrowing privileges at the O'Neill Library and discounts at the BC Bookstore. Members are also entitled to visit many of the University museums and take advantage of the various cultural events offered by Boston College.

One of the keys to the institute is peer learning and active participation. Members assume responsibility for sharing their knowledge and experience with others. No outside or paid faculty is involved. Class leaders are recruited from the membership. There are no examinations and no degrees conferred.

Membership

An admissions committee consisting of member volunteers reviews application forms and interviews all candidates. The Institute looks to enroll members who will enrich the community with their talents and personalities. We value intellectual vigor, active participation, and the desire to pursue knowledge with creativity and independence. The admission process is ongoing, with a limited number of new members admitted each year.

For membership information, download the application form or contact the BCLLI office at 617-552-2950 or bclli@bc.edu.

Calendar for Spring Semester 2008

Spring 2008 Course Schedule

Monday Morning Classes
Monday Afternoon Classes
Tuesday Morning Classes
Tuesday Afternoon Classes
Evening Classes

Monday Morning Session (10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.)

Current Events
Course Leaders: Joseph Casey and Jack Casey
10 Mondays beginning February 18
The primary purpose of the course is to become more informed about the events that "make the news." To accomplish this goal, each class member must actively participate in the discussions. This will lead to a heightened awareness and deeper understanding of local, national, and world events.

Joe received his AB and MBA degrees from Boston College and worked in marketing and sales for Dow Chemical Co. for 28 years. Jack received a BA in economics from Boston College and spent 30 years as a sales representative with Rubbermaid Inc.

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Massachusetts and National Politics
Course Leader: Jim Hennigan
10 Mondays beginning February 18
Politics is the privilege to act. The political history of the Democratic and Republican parties in Massachusetts and nationally during the 20th and 21st centuries will be the focus of the class. We will concentrate on the election of presidents, governors, U.S. senators and representatives, as well as state representatives. The Boston mayoral campaigns will also be examined. Class members will be encouraged to describe their experiences in the political arena and discuss new ideas for future political candidates.

Jim holds a BS from Babson College and an LLB from Suffolk Law School. He was elected to office and served from 1953-1978 as a state representative, state senator, member of the Boston School Committee, and delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

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Monday Afternoon Session (1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.)

Two! Four! Six! Eight! Listen to Them Orchestrate
Course Leaders: Jonathan Young and Kay O’Halloran
10 Mondays beginning February 25
Alongside big symphonies and lavish opera is still a wealth of enjoyable music written for, and performed by, small numbers. Schubert’s Trout darts joyfully in these waters and Brahms’s Lullaby sends hundreds of children happily to sleep. Such is the music we shall explore together. Discoveries about cultural settings and musical styles will be made, but our main interest will be to listen--and be transported--to an often neglected, but unfailingly brilliant musical world.

Kay is a devoted member of her parish church choir. Jonathan’s professional life has involved the study and performance of liturgical music, and he has sung in secular choirs. Kay and Jonathan are personally inspired by listening to and performing music.

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World War II-Europe
Course Leaders: Robert Willis and Joe Lyons
7 Mondays beginning February 18
Well-known events on the European war front will be discussed, using the text No Single Victory: World War II in Europe by Norman Davies as the course guide. The author shares some surprising approaches and seeks to correct popular misconceptions about that “good war.” The course this semester will focus on Europe during the war, and we will concentrate on the Pacific theater next semester.

A 1953 graduate of BC with a degree in chemistry, Bob worked in various capacities at Itek and Exxon Corporation. Joe is a 1951 graduate of BC and is a retired international sales manager of United Electric. Both Bob and Joe are veterans.

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Best American Short Stories of 2007
Course Leader: Barbara Byron
6 Mondays beginning March 3
Eighteen short stories written by prominent authors will provide the content for this class. The course text is The Best American Short Stories of 2007, edited by Stephen King. It features works from a variety of publications including The Atlantic Monthly, The Paris Review, Tin House, The Kenyon Review, The New England Review, Granta, and Emerson College’s Ploughshares. The success of the class is guaranteed by your participation.

Barbara graduated from Emmanuel College with a BA in English and has an M.Ed. from Boston State College. She has taught for 27 years in Boston, Holliston, and Dedham at the middle school and high school levels.

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Catholicism: A Contemporary Understanding
Course Leader: Joseph T. Nolan, SJ
Two Classes:
7 Monday afternoons beginning March 3
7 Tuesday evenings beginning March 4
Using articles and handouts, the course will aim at achieving an adult understanding of what is essential to Catholic faith. The approach is neither liberal nor conservative but contemporary, relying on biblical scholarship, theological studies, and the lived experience of Catholics.

Fr. Nolan taught Catholicism and liturgy at BC from 1973 through 2001. He has two degrees from Boston College and a M.Th. from Harvard University. He is the author of four books, including a new one on liturgical renewal, which will appear in the spring. He preaches frequently at St. Ignatius Church. Class is held on Monday afternoons from 1-3 p.m. and is repeated on Tuesday evenings from 7-9 p.m. It is a “second semester” for those who took it in the fall, but new registrants are welcome.

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Anatomy of a Trial
Course Leader: Honorable Charles F. Barrett
4 Mondays beginning March 31
This class will be a Massachusetts state court mock trial exercise commencing with how jurors are called, jury selection at court, pre-trial motions and hearings, attorneys’ opening statements, witness examinations, judges’ role in the conduct of the trial, motions during trial and resolution of these motions, closing arguments, judges’ instructions to the jury, post-trial motions, and jury verdict.

Charles, a double eagle, received a BSBA in 1952 and an LLB in 1955. He clerked for the MA SJC, served as an assistant US Attorney, and worked as a trial lawyer for 35 years. Charles was appointed a MA Superior Court Associate Justice, a position he held for ten years prior to retirement.

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Tuesday Morning Session (10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.)

The Genius of Tom Stoppard
Course Leaders: Anne & Ron Pirrera
10 Tuesdays beginning February 25
Tom Stoppard’s plays challenge, teach, and entertain us with their lively style. In this class we will read and discuss eight of these contemporary yet classic plays. Witty and erudite, Stoppard’s plays lend themselves to intellectual, witty, and enjoyable class discussions. The reading should take between 2-3 hours per week. No previous background is required.

Ron has a BA in English literature from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, NY, and an MA from Boston College. Anne has a BA and MA in philosophy from The Catholic University in Washington, DC; an M.Ed. from UMass/Boston; and a Ph.D. from the University of Paris (Sorbonne) in Paris, France. They are the proud parents of Ted, who received a BA from Boston College in 1994.

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Dante and his Age
Course Leader: Frank Smith
6 Tuesdays beginning February 18
During this six-week course, we will study the world of Dante as seen through his life and his major work, The Divine Comedy. The Inferno will serve as the focal point for our discussions, with references to Purgatorio and Paradiso. The course will also include some discussion of works of art by medieval and Renaissance artists who were inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy. John Ciardi’s translation of The Inferno will serve as our principal text. Ciardi’s translation has excellent notes in the beginning and end of each Canto. A supplemental reading of Books I and II of John Milton’s Paradise Lost will also be part of our class discussion, and is therefore “required” reading.

Frank is a Fulbright Scholar, a former lecturer in the classics at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, and retired chair of Classics and Modern Languages at Wayland High School, where he was named Massachusetts Teacher of the Year in 1985. He is a 1959 graduate of Boston College and received the BC Alumni Award in Education in 2000.

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Tuesday Afternoon Session (1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.)

Torah
Course Leaders: Paul and Suzanne McNulty
9 Tuesdays beginning February 18
Jews and Christians alike share a common religious heritage. The Torah, or the Pentateuch as it is known to Christians, comprises the first five books of both the Hebrew and the Christian Bible. Although the two texts are essentially identical, there are significant differences in how each faith views and interprets their contents. Rabbi David Zucker’s text The Torah: An Introduction for Christians and Jews will provide a chapter-by-chapter description of each book, its history, as well as examples of differences in the perspective of each faith. This course is designed to assist Jews and Christians in attaining a clearer understanding of their shared scriptures and more fully appreciate each other’s traditions.

Suzanne and Paul McNulty are an inter-faith couple and are active members of their respective Jewish and Catholic faiths. Both leaders have been LLI members for ten years.

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The New Yorker Magazine Fictional Short Stories
Course Leaders: Ann Ainley and Margo Carey
6 Tuesdays beginning February 25
Short stories published in The New Yorker magazine, distinguished for its quality writing, will be the focus for this class. Preparation each week will involve reading a pre-selected story at least twice to encourage a varied and lively discussion in this study group. Anyone with an interest in literature should find the class enjoyable and fun!

Ann graduated from Boston University with a BA in business and worked for 20 years at a major information technology hardware company in sales and marketing. Margot graduated from Trinity College with a BA in mathematics and worked for MIT Lincoln Laboratory as a staff researcher for over 30 years.

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Creative Memoirs: Your Legacy
Course Leader: Mimi Aarens
8 Tuesdays beginning March 3
The goal of this course is to write creative memoirs (or other formats that the writer prefers). Participants may be new to the pen, curious about writing in a group, searching for a supportive environment to continue writing, or seeking a structured class to stimulate the creative process. We will provide incentives, prompts to write, and the opportunity to develop supportive critiquing skills. Through writing exercises, "free writes," visualization, time lines, and other modes of expression, students will write true life sketches, creative non-fiction, and/or short stories of any format that encourage the development of each writer’s voice. We will do most writing at home, and read and critique in class. So You Want to Write, by Marge Piercy and Ira Wood, will be our resource text. When purchasing the book, be certain that you buy the new expanded edition. Please bring a pen and notebook to class.

Mimi has lived in Lexington for more than four decades. Mimi holds a BA from Queens College in New York City.

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Literature off the Shelf
Course Leader: Ann M. Sibley
10 Tuesdays beginning February 18
This ten-week course will feature American and English authors of each century. The syllabus includes A Country Doctor by Sara Jewett, The Late George Apley by John Marquand, Main Street by Sinclair Lewis, Man of Property (book one only) by John Galsworthy, and Rise of Silas Lapham by William Howells. With five books to read in ten weeks, please read the first half of A Country Doctor before the first class. All of these books can be found in the library. There will be no presentations as the books provoke a great deal of discussion.

Ann has a BA and MA in English and American literature from Boston College, where she has taught. She has also led a variety of literature courses at the LLI.

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Online Opportunities
C21 Online Classes

The LLI is now a C21 network member. We have partnered with C21 Online so that alumni may register for up to three C21 Online classes through the LLI at a discounted rate of $35 per class plus registration fee. The designated classes include: "Encountering Mark, Matthew, and Luke: The Synoptic Gospels" (February–March); "Spirituality Matters" (February–March); and "What Makes Us Catholic, Part II" (April–May)—you can register for Part II without having taken Part I. Members who register for any of the three classes will be placed together in online conversation groups. For more information, contact the Lifelong Learning Institute at 617-552-2950 or bclli@bc.edu.

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LLI evening events are noted below. Additional events will be announced during the semester. Please check our website: www.bc.edu/alumni

History & Legend
Contemporary Religious Issues

Thursday, January 24, 2008
7:00 p.m.
Gasson Hall
With the release of the film version of The Da Vinci Code and the new book on the Judas gospel, discussions of the mysteries of the Bible, specifically those involving New Testament topics, are occurring everywhere. Examine these themes with Professor Bart Ehrman, James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of religious studies at the University of Carolina, a world-renowned scholar and noted author of 20 books including Truth and Fiction in “The Da Vinci Code” and Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. Kindly register by January 21, 2008, by emailing bclli@bc.edu. Attendance is limited.

February 11: Newton College Book Club presents March by Geraldine Brooks. Winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, March is the compelling story of the idealistic, absentee father in the classic novel Little Women. Dr. Judith Wilt will moderate the discussion.
Alumni House, 7:00 p.m.

March 4 - April 15: “Catholicism: A Contemporary Understanding” with Joseph T. Nolan, S.J.
Alumni House, 7:00 p.m.

March 13: John Mahoney, the Thomas F. Rattigan Professor Emeritus in English Literature, will read The Poetry of Ireland.
Alumni House, 7:00 p.m.

March 27: Skinner Auctioneers’ “What’s It Worth?” appraisal days have become a very popular way to find out the value of art, antiques, and undiscovered treasures. Skinner has been conducting appraisal days for over 25 years--most of which are staffed by the very same appraisers regularly seen on the PBS series Antiques Roadshow. A $25 fee includes a reception and one item appraised.
Alumni House, 6:30 p.m.

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