Update: The class scheduled to be taught by Rolf Winkes has been cancelled. Robert Rackmales’ classes will be held.

Interested in learning about history while enjoying the company of others who like stimulating discussion and no tests or quizzes? Consider signing up for this winter’s Coastal Senior College course on the Balfour Declaration with instructor Robert Rackmales or a class on athletic contests and spectacles during the Greek era with professor Rolf Winkes.

Robert Rackmales, whose 32-year career with the State Department included discussion of refugee and migration issues with senior officials in Turkey, the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, and the former Yugoslavia, will teach “Jewish and Muslim Refugees in Palestine From the First World War to the Six Day War” at the Camden Library on Wednesday and Friday from 1 to 3 p.m. for two weeks - a total of four classes - beginning Feb. 6. Rackmales worked closely with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, and nongovernmental organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Rescue Committee, to alleviate the suffering of those caught up in the wars in the Balkans.

Rackmales’ course begins by exploring the origins and aims of the Balfour Declaration, then examines how it was implemented in Palestine in the 1920s and 1930s. The second half of the course deals with the massive refugee flows resulting from the Second World War and the ensuing 1948 war in Palestine and the struggle of the international community to deal with the consequences. It concludes with the Six Day War of June 1967 which raised still further obstacles to the resolution of an already intractable problem.

Rolf Winkes, Professor Emeritus of Classical Archaeology, History of Art and Architecture and Old World Archaeology and Art at Brown University, will teach “Games and Spectacles” at the Skidompha Library in Damariscotta on five Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to noon, beginning on Jan. 29 and ending Feb. 26. Winkes excavated 12 summers on the Greek island of Corfu and afterwards at the site of Tongobriga, a national monument in Northern Portugal.

Winkes’ course will cover sites and sanctuaries associated with athletic contests and sports in general during the Greek era. Both ancient depictions and modern descriptions of events will be discussed, including all aspects of staging a spectacle, including animal transport from Africa to Rome.

We invite you to sign up for either - or both - of these fascinating classes. A yearly membership in Coastal Senior College is $25, and a course is $35. To register, call UMA Rockland Center at 207-596-6906, or download the registration form from the Coastal Senior College website at coastalseniorcollege.org, or pick up a print catalog, with registration form included, at local libraries and businesses in Knox and Lincoln counties.