Meeman Center Spring 2022

The Constitution 101
Dr. Tim Huebner

Three Tuesdays: February 15, 22, and March 1
5:30-7:30 P.M. CST
Tuition: $165
Register

The U.S. Constitution stands out as one of the most remarkable documents in modern human history. In continuous operation for more than two hundred and thirty years, it outlines our system of government and affects all of our lives on a daily basis. Unlike the Bible or Shakespeare, the Constitution is the one text that all Americans have in common – whether they realize it or not. This course will explore the basics of the U.S. Constitution and its history. At a time when democratic institutions worldwide seem more fragile than at any moment in recent history, we will think critically about what it means to be an engaged citizen. Topics will include the writing of the original U.S. Constitution, its transformation during the Civil War era, and how, during the past century, the U.S. Supreme Court has played an especially important role in determining its meaning.

Schedule:
February 15 – The Constitution of 1787 and the Bill of Rights
February 22 – The Civil War and the “Second Founding”
March 1 – The Constitution Today: Reforms, Amendments, and the Role of the Supreme Court

Tim Huebner, Ph.D., University of Florida; Associate Provost and Irma O. Sternberg Professor of History

Addiction, Recovery, and Spirituality
Dr. Steve Haynes 

Three Tuesdays: February 22, March 1 and 8
5:30-7:30 P.M. CST
Tuition: $165
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In this course we will study the history and ongoing development of the addiction recovery movement, as it is manifest in classic texts such as Alcoholics Anonymous (the AA “Big Book”) and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, as well as texts spawned by the 12-Step fellowships to which AA has given rise. We will situate the recovery movement in the context of American religious and cultural history and look at the ways it reflects current trends in religion and spirituality.

Steve Haynes, Ph.D., Emory University; Albert Bruce Curry Professor of Religious Studies

Alexandria in Late Antiquity
Dr. Ariel Lopez

Four Tuesdays: April 5, 12, 19, and 26
5:30-7:30 P.M. CST
Tuition: $220
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Late antiquity was, in general, an age of religious conflict and intolerance. Nowhere in the Mediterranean were those conflicts as dramatic or as well publicized as in Alexandria. Pagans, Jews, Christians (of different types) and the government were constantly at odds with each other. This course will analyze some of these conflicts in detail, particularly those that culminated in the destruction of the temple of Serapis - the most famous temple destruction of late antiquity - and in the murder of Hypatia, a female platonist philosopher. Almost all the readings will be primary sources.

Ariel Lopez, Ph.D., Princeton; Assistant Professor of Greek and Roman Studies

Healing Remedies of Early Medieval England
Dr. Lori Garner

Two Mondays: April 18 and 25
5:30-7:30 P.M. CST
Tuition: $110
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Þu wundrast hu hrædlice he byÞ gehæled.
You will wonder at how quickly one will be healed.

                                                entry for Mandragorum, Old English Herbarium

While early medieval England is most renowned for the heroic epic world of Beowulf, manuscripts from the period also include a wealth of lesser-known but fascinating medical material. In this course, we will read and study representative examples from several major medical texts, including the Leechbooks, the Lacnunga, and the Old English Herbarium, as well as remedies found in such unlikely places as the margins of Bede’s Ecclesiastical History.  Across these eclectic texts we will see tremendous diversity in healing methods, including herbal remedies, songs and incantations, elaborate rituals, and dietary prescriptions. This wide-ranging body of healing lore assists with an equally vast assortment of problems—not only physical ailments but also challenges ranging from swarming bees and dangerous travel to hailstorms and even stolen cattle. These complex and often beautiful texts blur modern distinctions between science and folklore, oral tradition and literate culture, medicine and poetry and challenge us to think about health and healing in entirely new ways.

Lori Garner, Ph.D., University of Missouri; Associate Professor of English

Contemporary Issues in US Foreign Policy in the Middle East
Dr. Esen Kirdis

Four Thursdays: February 17, 24, March 3 and 10
5:30-7:30 P.M. CST 
Tuition: $220
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This course will discuss four contemporary issues affecting the future of US foreign policy in the Middle East:  

1. How did the Afghanistan War become the longest war in US history? 
2. What are the continuing effects of the US War in Iraq today? 
3. Why is the US withdrawing from the Middle East, and who will fill the power vacuum the US is leaving behind?: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Russia
4. Who are the new players in Middle East Politics and what does this mean for the US?: Turkey, Qatar, and China

Esen Kirdis, Ph.D., University of Minnesota; Associate Professor of International Studies

Zuleikha: A Muslim Woman in a Soviet Labor Camp
Dr. Alexandra Kostina

Three Mondays: March 7, 21, and 28 (please note there is no class March 14)
5:30-7:30 P.M. CST
Tuition: $165
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Winner of the Big Book award, the Tolstoy Yasnaya Polyana award, and the Best Prose of the Year award, Guzel Yakhina’s novel Zuleikha tells the powerful story of a Muslim woman in a Soviet labor camp who paradoxically finds freedom in imprisonment, survives, and triumphs. Join us as we explore this big, bold, expressive work of art.

“Written in a rich and highly visual prose... Zuleikha's story is one of injustice and pain, but also of a woman's emancipation and renewal.”
– Associated Press

“Guzel Yakhina's novel hits the heart. It’s a powerful anthem for love and tenderness in hell.”
– Ludmila Ulitskaya, Russian author

“While many writers have attempted to comprehend Soviet history's darkest moment, Yakhina finds a way to make it new.”
– Russia Beyond the Headlines

“Cinematic… The cast of characters is kaleidoscopic, from all walks of life and all drawn with a visual detail that makes them inhabit the page… Yakhina has a beautiful feel for the natural environment.”
– Rights in Russia

Alexandra Kostina, Ph.D., Gornyi University and Herzen State Pedagogical University; Associate Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures (Russian)

Covid 19: Responses and Consequences
Dr. Nikolaos Zahariadis

Three Tuesdays: March 8, 22, and 29 (please note there is no class March 15)
5:30-7:30 P.M. CST
Tuition: $165
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While you are probably sick and tired of hearing about Covid-19 and wish, like me, for it to be over, this class will make the time go a little more quickly. The course is designed to introduce the audience to the multifaceted elements of national responses to the Covid-19 pandemic and their consequences. We will examine the politics behind the launch of very different responses across countries, such as the US, the UK, China, Sweden, and Greece, and international organizations, such as the WHO and the UN. We will also look at the economic, social, and political consequences that the pandemic has left for the world to ponder.

Nikolaos Zahariadis, Ph.D., University of Georgia; Professor of International Studies

The History of Soul Music
Dr. Charles Hughes

Four Tuesdays: April 5, 12, 19, and 26
5:30-7:30 P.M. CST via Zoom
Tuition: $220
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Soul music transformed the popular culture of the United States and the world. From Motown to Memphis to Philadelphia and beyond, soul not only became one of the most popular and enduring forms of American music, but also a soundtrack for Black political movements from Civil Rights to Black Lives Matter. This course will discuss the sounds and stories of soul from its emergence in the 1960s through today. We’ll look at key artists and recordings, discuss important stylistic shifts, and think about how soul continues to reflect and shape the world around it. Using a variety of materials, including plenty of music, we’ll think about this crucial music and its larger consequences. 

Charles Hughes, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin; Director, Lynne and Henry Turley Memphis Center