Course Schedule – Fall 2024 / Old Courses


The courses listed below were offered in previous semesters.

Click on any title to view the related course page.


FABULOUS FIFTIES

Coordinators: Michael Wellner, Ellen Gottfried, Bob Gottfried

It’s safe to say that every single one of us at Quest remembers the Fifties pretty clearly. If there is any single word that describes that decade it’s transformative.

FASCINATING ISLANDS

Coordinators: Stephen Baker, Pete Weis

In this course we will explore some fascinating islands. These are widely scattered throughout the world in oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers as well as scattered in time with references from antiquity to the future.

FOLK MUSIC AND MELLOW ROCK

Coordinators: Bob Gottfried, Michael Wellner

Each class will be devoted to one or two Folk/Rock artists or groups. We will learn about the artists and listen to and sing along with them.

FOOD: BEYOND JUST CALORIES

Coordinators: Andrea Irvine, David Bartash, Marion Schultheis

We all eat it. But how we grow it, process it, cook it, or consume it raw are significant definers of who we are as a society.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Coordinators: Bob Gottfried, Sandy Frank, Glenn Johnston

Each Foreign Affairs class will explore issues of global importance, inter-national relations, or our national interests abroad.

GREAT CONVERSATIONS

Coordinators: Jane Lubin, Larry Shapiro

Great Conversations offers works by both contemporary and classic authors across many genres and disciplines, ideal for promoting discussion among readers.

HARLEM RENAISSANCE

Coordinators: Richard Byrd, Stuart Parker

The Harlem Renaissance was a period of great change in America, and in the African-American community in particular.

HISTORY OF GERMANY

Coordinators: Caroline Thompson, Steve Allen, Linda Downs

The German people have a long and complex history that has had a profound impact, both good and bad, on all of Europe and on the world. This three-term course examines this political, religious, and cultural history from the time of The Holy Roman Empire in 800 CE up to the current day.

HISTORY OF MEDICINE

Coordinators: Karen Cullen, Donna Ramer, Michael Wellner

We interact with the medical world all the time, from our daily vitamin pill, to annual check-ups, to the occasional surgery or perhaps even treatment for a serious illness.

HOUSE OF MIRTH

Coordinators: Patricia Geehr, Arlene Curinga

Edith Wharton, the first woman to win a Pulitzer, is known for depicting the “tragedies and ironies” of life among members of the middle class and aristocratic New York society in the 19th and 20th centuries. We will read The House of Mirth, her first literary success. Through themes of gender, class, love, and friendship, Wharton depicts the destructive results of the pursuit of wealth and misplaced values that are still evident today. Recommended text: Scribner, paperback edition 2020.