2025 Fall Semester

WALL2280-01    Tales of the Watergate Building
	Instructor(s):
		Donna Green
	Course Days:
		Tuesdays, September 2, 9, 16, 23
	Course Time:
		11:00-12:00
	Description:
		The course will emphasize the history, architecture and purpose of the iconic complex but will also include personal stories of my time living there. In addition, there will be stories about many of the famous people who have lived there. The last class will cover insider tips for visiting other Washington landmarks including some oft-missed sites. Learning to look and behave like a local might help avoid frauds and keep your tourist dollars safe. How did a small town girl from KY end up living at the famous Watergate complex? Donna Green lived at the Watergate complex for 7 years. During this time, she roamed the city with her constant companion, “Spanky, the world-famous dachshund.” Donna visited sites of interest while her husband worked with various government agencies. Prior to actually moving to Washington, Donna and her husband made frequent visits to D.C. with plenty of time for her to explore all the well-known landmarks important to our American history.

WALL2280-2    A Brief Survey of Maya Culture
	Instructor(s):
		Ed Vesley
	Course Days:
		Wednesdays, September 3, 10, 17, 24
	Course Time:
		1:30-2:30
	Description:
		The class will cover architecture, religion, numbering system, calendar and nobility of the Maya civilization. We will do some adding and subtracting using the Maya counting system and convert from the Maya calendar system to our calendar system.

WALL2280-3    Women of the Bible
	Instructor(s):
		Vivia Fowler, Ph.D.
	Course Days:
		Thursdays, September 4, 11, 18, 25
	Course Time:
		1:30-2:30
	Description:
		During four weeks in September, we will explore the fascinating stories of women in the Bible, focusing on two sections of the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament) and two sections of the New Testament. Each week we will explore a major section of the Bible. In each case, we will examine the biblical text, and then I will share one of my original monologues to illustrate a woman whose life and story illustrate the theme or section of the Bible that we are studying.

WALL2280-4    Eleven Groundbreaking Women Inventors
	Instructor(s):
		Vince Coughlin, J.D., LL.M
	Course Days:
		Wednesdays, October 1, 8, 15, 22
	Course Time:
		1:30-2:30
	Description:
		This course traces the contribution of women inventors from 1880 to 1998. The inventors are briefly described as well as their inventions.

WALL2280-5    Georgia’s African Brigade-Slave to Soldier
	Instructor(s):
		Lonnie Davis
	Course Days:
		Thursdays, October 2, 9, 16, 23
	Course Time:
		1:30-2:30
	Description:
		During the United States Civil War, 185 thousand United States Colored Troops (USCT) fought for the Union Army and the freedom of approximately four million people of African descent. The men of the Georgia’s African Brigade, which was composed of the 136th, 137th, and 138th, Infantry Regiments USCT, are some of those whose contribution has not been well publicized. All the enlisted men were former slaves that were given the opportunity to fight for their freedom and, in doing so, their right to be identified as American citizens. The majority of these men were recruited during Wilson’s Raid, but upon their arrival in Macon, by directions from Secretary of War Stanton via telegraph, Major General Wilson was to create three infantry regiments of 1,100 colored troops each. All the men of the Brigade were medically screened at Tattnall Square Park and organized as a 3-Regiment Brigade at a site 21 miles west of Macon in Crawford County. This site was identified as Colored Enlisted Relocation and Enumeration Site (CERES) under command of Brigadier General Andrew J. Alexander. This presentation will enlighten attendees with details of Wilson’s Raid and the creation of the regiments of the Georgia’s African Brigade.

WALL2280-6    Popularism: Rise of Capitalism, the Progressive Era
	Instructor(s):
		Patrick Bradley
	Course Days:
		Tuesdays, October 7, 14, 21, 28
	Course Time:
		1:30-2:30
	Description:
		This course will discuss the transformation of American economic and social structure during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to include: discussion of the factors leading up to the Progressive era, implications of the rise of trade unions, and implications of the rise of the women’s suffrage movement, discussion of the individuals involved in, and those opposed, to the movement, and constitutional amendments arising from the movement.

WALL2280-7    Echoes from the Past
	Instructor(s):
		Carolyn Garvin
	Course Days:
		Tuesdays, October 7, 14, 21, 28
	Course Time:
		3:00-4:00
	Description:
		“From the mountains to the Piedmont to the coastal plain to the sea, Georgia is rich in tales and legends of the supernatural and in stories of the spirits of some deceased individuals that linger on in our home state because of murder, because of some traumatic event, because of some emotion that ties them to a particular place, or even because of spirits who return to particular places for no reason at all.” (Troy Taylor) Debates continue about the nature of such hauntings and about the origins of ghosts or of spectres or of presences felt but not seen. According to Edgar Allen Poe, “The boundaries that divide life from death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends and the other begins?” This series of classes explores strange and unusual occurrences that have taken place in Georgia over a span of years. And so, if you are curious about unexplained mysteries, about “things that go bump in the night”, or about “what wicked thing this way comes”, join us for the legends, folklore, and stories of supernatural events that permeate our history, for “Georgia’s history is not dead, its merely wandering, rising, hovering, and drifting from place to place.” (Stephen Vincent Benet)

WALL2280-8    Psychology of Fun and Games
	Instructor(s):
		Brooke Bennett-Day, Ph.D.
	Course Days:
		Wednesdays, October 15, 22, 29, Nov. 5
	Course Time:
		11:00-12:00
	Description:
		This course explores the psychology behind fun and games, examining why humans engage with recreational activities and how these experiences shape us. Drawing from social, cognitive, and developmental psychology, topics may include: the developmental role of play and concept of 'flow', social and cognitive processes in video games and traditional games, psychological dimensions of game shows, and the formation of community in 'third places' and through parasocial relationships.

WALL2280-9    La Boheme Opera
	Instructor(s):
		Mary Keating, Ed.D.
	Course Days:
		Fridays, October 17, 24, 31, Nov. 7 // Optional Metropolitan Opera Live broadcast of La Boheme at the Douglass Theatre, Nov. 8 at 12:30 p.m.
	Course Time:
		1:30-3:00
	Description:
		Puccini’s masterpiece was based on Henri Murger's 1851 novel, Scènes de la vie de bohème, a collection of vignettes portraying young bohemians living in the Latin Quarter of Paris in the 1840s. The story is set in Paris around 1830 and shows the Bohemian lifestyle (known in French as "la bohème") of a poor seamstress and her artist friends. La bohème has become part of the standard Italian opera repertory and is one of the most frequently performed operas worldwide.

WALL2280-10    History of Jazz
	Instructor(s):
		Douglas MacMillan
	Course Days:
		Wednesdays, November 5, 12, 19, Dec. 3
	Course Time:
		1:30-2:30
	Description:
		Jazz has been called uniquely American music and one of America's original art forms. This course will trace the history of jazz from its origins in African music through the decades up to modern practitioners of jazz music. Milestone recordings and artists from every decade of the 20th century and beyond will be represented. Major forms of jazz will be explored including early Dixieland and Hot Jazz through swing, bebop and cool jazz to Latin jazz.

WALL2280-11    Textile Mill Life from Early 1800s to the Demise of the Industry
	Instructor(s):
		Ken Heller
	Course Days:
		Thursdays, November 6, 13, 20, Dec. 4
	Course Time:
		11:00-12:00
	Description:
		This class will trace the history of textile mill life from the beginning in the early 1800s when mill life was considered very attractive, through the decline beginning around 1920 and into the labor strife and strikes of the 1930s, and then to the demise of textile mills about 1960. Much of the discussion will center on the southern mills beginning after the Civil War. We will also discuss child labor.

WALL2280-12    Knowing Yourself through the Enneagram
	Instructor(s):
		Rev. Sarah Pugh-Montgomery
	Course Days:
		Thursdays, November 6, 13, 20, Dec. 4
	Course Time:
		1:30-2:30
	Description:
		What you don’t know about yourself can hurt you and your relationships. Do you want help figuring out who you are and why you’re stuck in the same ruts? The Enneagram is an ancient personality typing system with an uncanny accuracy in describing how human beings are wired, both positively and negatively. You’ll learn about each of the nine Enneagram types through an assessment and conversation. Through the class, you’ll learn more about yourself and will start to see the world through other people’s eyes, understanding how and why people think, feel, and act the way they do.

WALL2280-13    Angels in America - Part 2: Perestroika
	Instructor(s):
		Jim Crisp, M.F.A.
	Course Days:
		Mondays: October 20, 27, Nov 3, 10
	Course Time:
		3:00-4:00
	Description:
		Jim Crisp returns to give WALL members an inside look into Theatre Macon's upcoming play "Angels in America- Part 2: Perestroika".It is highly recommended class members see a performance of Angels in America: Perestroika before the last class where the Theatre Macon production will be discussed. Play dates are: Nov. 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16. Senior tickets are $25. Contact Theatre Macon at 478.746.9485 (General Reservations) or https://www.theatremacon.com/. Theatre Macon is located at 438 Cherry St., Macon, GA.