Rainbow Lifelong Learning Institute Boston
Upcoming Courses
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Adult Education and Lifelong Learning for Boston's LGBT Seniors and Friends!
All Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender seniors and friends are welcome to register for Rainbow Lifelong Learning Institute Boston courses!
Our daytime courses take place on Tuesdays on the first floor of the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, located at 630 Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington, MA. Our classroom is wheelchair accessible. Please use the Mass Ave entrance to the church to attend both courses and Brown Bag talks.
The church is located on the 77, 79 and 350 MBTA bus lines. Directions and information on parking are available at the First Parish newcomers' page at http://firstparish.info/Newcomers/location.html
Parking is available in the following areas:
1. The municipal parking lot behind the commercial block across the street from the church’s main entrance. Pay at the kiosk. $1 for 2 hours.
2. The municipal parking lot kitty corner to the church, behind the Woods and Strings music store. Pay at the kiosk. $1 for 2 hours.
3. A small town parking area next to the Whittemore Robbins House behind the library.
4. Street parking on Mass. Ave. (metered) and Pleasant Street. Four-hour parking in some spots along Pleasant Street.Please see our registration page for more information on signing up for a Rainbow LLI Boston course today!
Brown Bag Speakers Series
Most Tuesdays, during the lunch period between our morning and afternoon courses for LGBT seniors and friends, Rainbow LLI Boston hosts a Brown Bag Speaker for a one hour talk. Speaker's presentations take place from 12:15pm to 1:15pm at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, 630 Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington, MA.
Brown Bag presentations are free and open to the public. Please see our speakers series page for a list of the Spring 2020 Brown Bag Speakers Series line-up.
Please use the Mass Ave entrance to the church to attend Brown Bag talks.
Course Descriptions
Morning Class - Session One
From Lesbian-Feminism to the Alphabet Generation: Liberation and its Discontents
Bursting upon the American scene in the late 1960s were lesbians demanding that the Women’s Liberation Movement recognize lesbianism as a valid choice of relationships and sexuality. Transgender politics and expanding identities would come later.
Participants will learn about the lesbian feminist movement that radicalized feminist protest, the emergence of transgender politics, and the rise of new identities (LGBTQQINS, sometimes called the “alphabet generation”).
There will be additional focus on the ongoing conflict between an older generation of lesbian feminists and transgender activists—and the possibility (or impossibility) of reconciliation.
The format will include presentation, discussion, and a documentary film.
Enrollment Limit: 15
Afternoon Class - Session One
Listening to Classical Music: How? Who? Why?
(This class is for the curious, perplexed, inexperienced, or already converted.)
We will explore how to listen to classical music through learning specific characteristics of music of the Baroque/Classical/Romantic periods, and by exploring the fundamental elements of music: rhythm, melody, harmony and tonal color, through lots of musical examples.
We’ll learn about classic forms, and learn a basic glossary of musical terms. You’ll begin to recognize pieces from a specific period, develop preferences, and hopefully discover some composers and pieces that you love.
We will explore primarily how to LISTEN. Listening to specific pieces for each class will be recommended.
Afternoon Class - Session One and Two (10 weeks in total - No class on April 14)
Who’s Afraid of Edward Albee: Reading Selected Plays
What does it mean to be a major American playwright? That’s Edward Albee whose plays ask all the hard, intimate questions about love, loss and marriage. Albee explodes the mundane moment on the page, and rips open the myths of domesticity. Simultaneously soul searching and deeply disturbing with a biting humor, Albee is a wizard with language.
A major focus will be “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf?”, seeing what makes it a masterpiece of technique and structure. Additionally, we’ll read several short plays. We’ll argue about the moral successes and failures of the characters.
A focused reading of the texts is important. Students will be asked to read scenes out loud. This will be a terrific journey into the imagination of a great, haunting mind.
Required Text: The Collected Plays of Edward Albee, Volume One, 1958-65, published by Overlook Duckworth Press, 2007.
New copies are available at IndieBound.org at: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781585678846
Online purchases at Indie Bound help to sustain a community of independent local bookstores.New and Used copies are also available on Amazon.com
ISBN: 978-1-58567-884-6 US
Please note that it is important that everyone use the same edition of the plays so we will all be on the same page in class!
Enrollment Limit: 15
Morning Class - Session Two
Slavery’s History of the World
Americans are beginning to grapple with the impact of slavery on the U.S., but we were far from alone. Slavery existed worldwide for millennia.
People enslaved people they considered different from themselves, and most enslaved people were women. Every country legally abolished slavery between 1800 and 1981, but just abolishing slavery never made everyone equal.
This course will place U.S. slavery in a global context. Lori will electronically share chapter drafts from her new book, Slavery’s History of the World.
Participants will be asked to come to discussions prepared to share observations, ask questions, and perhaps critique the drafts (constructively, please
).
Enrollment Limit: 35
Afternoon Class - Session Two
Mah Jongg Lessons
Have you always wanted to learn Mah Jongg and find out why so many folks are obsessed with this game? This is your opportunity!
If you can be kind to yourself while you are learning, come learn the challenging game of American/Jewish/Western Mah Jongg. It is wonderful for your mind, requiring mental flexibility.
There will be an additional $9 fee for materials payable to the teacher.
You will need to practice, so additional times will be set for the group to play together after the course is done.
Enrollment Limit: 20
Ellen M. Levy