Spring has finally arrived and Coastal Senior College is offering its members 12 Zoom courses on a variety of topics with spaces still available in seven of them. We are also excited to offer, free to our members. a new Brown Bag Lunch Series, “Local Artists in Their Studios.” If you are not yet a CSC member, consider joining to take full advantage of CSC programs this year.

Below is a brief description of each available course. To read full course descriptions, visit coastalseniorcollege.org

A four week course on the “History of Rug Hooking” begins on Friday morning, April 9 with instructor Janet Williams, who has been rug hooking for over 40 years. Students will discover Nova Scotia and New England traditions, well-known designers, and modern trends. Learn about this process which is both an art and a craft. An eight week course on “Love and Change in Shakespeare’s ‘As You LIke It’” will be taught by veteran CSC teacher Ann Nesslage in the afternoon also beginning on April 9. Participants will engage in lively discussions of the text and enjoy listening to their peers read passages out loud.

Three courses are offered on Wednesdays, beginning April 7. For six mornings, instructor Sara Shute will ask students to explore the question “Why Is It So Hard To Be Rational?” Learn about the three general impediments to being rational. For five mornings, Brett Donham will explore the pursuit of creating ideal forms of cities and towns in the Western tradition in his course “Chasing Utopia: Ideal Cities and New Towns” using examples from ancient Greece up through the late 20th century. If you’d like to learn more about economic principles and trends and how they will impact Maine’s economy, economist Stephen Fuller invites you to join his class, “The U.S. and Maine Economies: Post-Pandemic Outlooks.”on Wednesday afternoons for five weeks.

Two morning classes are offered on Tuesday. Beginning on April 6, the six week course “Living Well for Better Health” is taught by Jen Paquet, the Healthy Living Program Coordinator at Spectrum Generations. Students will learn how to better address and manage health issues and how to boost energy. Those who have chronic health conditions will find this course especially helpful. Also beginning on April 6, veteran CSC instructor Byron Stuhlman returns to teach “The Traditional Stories of Faust and Goethe’s Faust,” a revised version of his fall 2019 course. Join this class to discover and discuss the various ways Faust, the medieval alchemist and necromance, has been portrayed in books and plays.

CSC membership is only $25 for a full year; each course registration is $35, and registration for all or any of the Brown Bag Series is free to members who may invite one guest. To become a member and to register for courses and each of the presentations in the Brown Bag Lunch Series, visit coastalseniorcollege.org