Come in out of the cold! Coastal Senior College invites you to take one or more of the following eight winter classes and join folks who find the stress-free environment — no homework, no tests — and daytime schedule both fun and intellectually stimulating. Whether you choose to take a class because of the instructor, the topic, the convenience of the class location, or the camaraderie of discussion with like-minded peers, and whether this is your first class or your seventeenth, we welcome you to our winter offerings!

If the origins of the collapse of the Soviet Union and its contemporary relevance to events in Putin’s Russia intrigue you, then sign up a class with instructor Louis Sell, who has had a 28-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service, including six years at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. He witnessed the collapse of the USSR and its aftermath. “Soviet Collapse: How it Happened and its Meaning Today — the View of a Participant” begins on Feb. 8 and continues for six Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to noon at University College in Rockland.

If an armchair visit to Venice, Italy, to learn about Renaissance art appeals to you, then consider the following class. Instructor Antoinette Pimentel, who attended the Kunsternes Hus in Oslo, Norway and the Volksuniversiteit in Amsterdam, Netherland, and enjoys teaching art history classes for CSC, offers “Tales Told With a Brush: Venetian Painters of the Renaissance.” The privileged location of Venice during the Renaissance gave artists access to exotic pigments from the East and new technologies from Northern Europe which allowed them to tell amazing tales of ancient legends and myths with their brushes on canvases. This class begins on Feb. 6 and meets for four Mondays from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at the Bremen Library.

If poems with an autobiographical focus set in Maine and New England sound interesting, then consider “Robert Lowell’s Poetry: Troubled, Troubling and Troublesome but Still Great.” Did you know that Lowell and his wife lived for a time in Newcastle? Instructor John Ward has been professor and chair of Kenyon College English Department, and has taught many popular literature courses for CSC. This class begins on Feb. 9 and runs for four Thursdays from 10 a.m. to noon in the Media Room of the Lincoln Home in Newcastle.

Perhaps you remember the romance between Cathy and Heathcliff in Emily Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights” or Jane and Rochester in Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre”? In the class “The Brontes: ‘Is This the Same Book I Read When I Was Young?’” participants will re-read and discuss these well-crafted Victorian cautionary tales with Gothic conventions. Maryanne Ward, who leads this course, says “Sex, madness, the moors and a couple of ghosts; just what you need to keep warm on a winter night.” Ward has 40 years’ experience in small college education and has also taught many literature courses for CSC. This class begins on Feb. 9 and meets for six Thursdays from 1:30 - 3:30 at the Schooner Cove Library on the Lincoln Health campus in Damariscotta.

CSC members will be happy to know that Byron Stuhlman is also offering a course this term titled ”Exploring the Parables of Jesus.” The course will focus on the interpretation of the parables by Jeremias who in the mid-twentieth century did major work enabling us to recover “the authentic voice” of Jesus. If you haven’t taken a course from Byron, a retired Episcopal minister with a doctorate in theology and the author of six books who also served on the faculty of Hamilton College, now is your chance. This class will meet at Chase Point on the Lincoln Health Campus in Damariscotta for six Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to noon, beginning on Feb. 7.

If you enjoy architecture and often find yourself thinking about the relationship between design in nature and structures made by humans, then enroll in “Form in Nature and Design.” This course explores how archetypal patterns form the foundations for what we call harmony and beauty in built form and in nature. Architect professor Arne Aho, who taught architecture and basic design for more than 40 years at North Carolina State U., Mississippi State U., and Norwich U., offers this class which will meet from 1:30-3:30 in the afternoon in the Porter Room of the Skidompha Library in Damariscotta for six Tuesdays beginning on Feb. 7. Aho is also the subject of the feature article in the CSC winter catalog.

For those interested in Australia and indigenous art, let art history professor Lucie Bauer, whose annual visits to Australia and New Zealand in recent years have inspired her deep respect for indigenous art, engage you in “Art + Soul,” a six-part television series that captures the remarkable energy and diversity of contemporary indigenous Australian art. Discussion is sure to be fascinating and lively, and although this class is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon, Lucie welcomes those who wish to stay and continue the discussion to remain in class until 12:30 p.m. This class will meet at the First Universalist Church in Rockland for six Tuesdays beginning Jan. 24.

Whether or not you were fortunate enough to have taken Rolf Winkes’ fall class, “Immortals We Are!,” you now have the opportunity to take the sequel and to study Greek and Roman mythology and the impact of these myths on ancient art, theater and literature. “Immortals We Are! II” will also focus on the impact of these myths on later periods in history up to the 21st century. Winkes is Professor Emeritus of classical archaeology, history of art and architecture and Old World archaeology and art at Brown University, and has taught many well-received courses for CSC.

Registration for CSC winter courses is open. Complete instructions for registration by phone, mail, or in person, as well as a registration form can be found online at www.coastalseniorcollege.org, and also in our printed CSC winter catalog, available at many local businesses and libraries throughout Lincoln and Knox counties. In addition, both the CLC and the Five Town CSC adult education catalogs have brief CSC winter course descriptions.Coastal Senior College is affiliated with University College at Rockland. Class size is often limited by the size of the venue, and sometimes by the instructor for participation in a discussion. Register on time to reserve your spot in the class(es) you wish to take. Membership, which runs from July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017, is $25. The fee for each class is $35.

CSC scholarships are available for one course per term (not for membership), with a maximum of two per academic year. Call 207-596-6906 for more information. We hope to see you in class!