Course Schedule – Spring 2025 / Old Courses


The courses listed below were offered in previous semesters.

Click on any title to view the related course page.


ELIZABETH GASKELL

Coordinators: Arlene Curinga, Patricia Geehr, Susan Keohane

An English novelist, biographer, and short-story writer, Elizabeth Gaskell’s novels offer a detailed portrait of society, particularly the very poor.

EMILY DICKINSON CIRCLE

Coordinators: Martha Drezin, Mary Ann Donnelly, Sheryl Harawitz, Joyce West

Would you like to spend time digging into the poems of Emily Dickinson?

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.

FASCINATING NONFICTION

Coordinators: Harriet Finkelstein, Bob Reiss, Ruth Ward

At each session the presenter will tell you about a book you always wanted to read or about a book you never heard of but will be glad that you now have.

FLAWED GREATNESS OF THOMAS JEFFERSON

Coordinators: Sandy Kessler, Andrea Irvine

How should we regard Thomas Jefferson today? Should we consider him a great American founder, or someone who, in the words of one scholar, should be “knocked off his pedestal?”

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.