ETSU’s Institute for Continued Learning will offer a wide range of seminars and activities during the fall session beginning Tuesday, Sept. 26.
Participants may investigate an extensive variety of topics, including “Reconstructing Main Street, Limestone, Tenn.: 1900-1957” by Johnson City Press columnist James Brooks; “Bristol Motor Speedway and the NASCAR Experience” with Kevin Triplett of BMS public affairs; “Slick Tomatoes, Greasy Beans, and Pages from a Notebook Stained by Nehi” featuring the perspective of ETSU’s senior writer and resident food writer Fred Sauceman; and “The Phenomenon of the Da Vinci Code” offered by John Martin, the retired minister of Elizabethton’s First Presbyterian Church.
Among the many other topics available are cave archaeology, preparing for a pandemic, Melungeons, laughter as a health resource, Jane Austen, writing an autobiography, and a demonstration of Middle Eastern dancing.
A number of field trips are planned, among them a demonstration of the pipe organ at Johnson City’s First United Methodist Church; a visit to Oak Hill School in Jonesborough, with the option of then attending a session with a master storyteller at the nearby International Storytelling Center; a tour of several Andrew Johnson sites in Greeneville; and an excursion to Elizabethton’s Carter Mansion.
To give new members an opportunity to become acquainted with the group, the ICL will host an informal coffee Sept. 26 at 9 a.m. on the campus of the James H. Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center in the Carnegie Library.
The institute will be held every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from Sept. 26 through Nov. 2, with morning sessions from 10 a.m.-noon and afternoon courses from 1-3 p.m.
Sponsored by the ETSU Office of Professional Development, the ICL is “member-empowered, member driven, and member governed.” Participants decide upon the study groups, forums, classes, and other activities to be held, find leaders for the sessions, and elect officers.
Most courses will be held on the campus of the VA Medical Center. Parking is available in Lot 178 behind the Johnson City Medical Center on Med Center Drive North or in the Carnegie Library parking lot.
There are no educational pre-requisites, no examinations, and no grades involved in the courses – just a love of learning. A $30 fee allows participants to attend any or all sessions.
For further information or to obtain a schedule of classes, call the ETSU Office of Professional Development at 439-8289.