Ancient Romans in Modern Popular Culture: Fact vs Fiction Most people know the ancient Romans not through their own writings or relics but as they have been portrayed in modern popular culture, particularly in movies and television shows. This course examines the fact and the fiction in such portrayals, tackling such issues as costuming and gestures, gladiator spectacles and chariot races, pagan religion and orgies, as well as military techniques and slavery. While some aspects of the Romans are authentically replicated on the screen, for the most part Roman culture is simplified and misrepresented. Class Size: Max: 25 #1: Roman Society #2: Roman War #3: Roman Spectacles 3 Mondays 1:00 - 3:00 pm Mar. 7, 14 & 21 LOCATION: Chartwell Oak Park Residence 3955 13th St. LaSalle COURSE FEE: $45 + HST = $50.85 Instructor: Prof. Max Nelson Course Manager: Sue Peltier BIO NOTE: gaining his PhD at the U of British Columbia, Max returned to his alma mater, U of W, in 2001, where he teaches a variety of courses on Roman history & Latin. His research focuses on the history of pleasure, including food, drink, and games. This is Max’s 4th Semester with ElderCollege. Chariots of Fire – A History Of Fire Fighting Apparatus We are sure that throughout our lives most of us have been fascinated by fire trucks and fire fighting equipment. Many of us will have even followed fire trucks to calls because we were curious. Their sirens are like a clarion call awakening this curiosity. The equipment has evolved from the “bucket brigade” to sophisticated and complex vehicles performing a variety of specialized tasks. This course will provide an insight into that technological evolution as we look at the types of fire fighting apparatus which has been used in Windsor over the past 150 years. And, perhaps as a surprise to some, we will recount a very
they were once considered toys – and before that dangerous pieces of experimentation. This course will look at the world under the waves, and how it has developed since the early concepts of human beings travelling under the waves. The course will start in the 1700s, cover the distance until the First World War, and then through the Second World War and into the modern day. It will be a history of technology – but also of people. Class Size: Max: 25 # 1: History and Theory of submersibles up to 1914 # 2: The First World War and the Interlude # 3: The Second War to the Present 3 Saturdays 10:00am - 12:00pm Mar. 5, 12 & 19 LOCATION: Chartwell Oak Park Residence, 3955 13th St. COURSE FEE: $45 + HST = $50.85 Instructor/Course Manager: Charles Bain BIO NOTE: See Page 44 World Wars-Their Impact on Canada: Shadows of War World Wars have had a major impact on the course of Canadian history and, as you might expect, on world history. It has been often said that the First World War created Canada’s identity. Indeed, many historians argue that we as a nation were born on the battlefield at Vimy Ridge in France. But is this true? What effect did that brutal conflict really have upon Canadian identity? And, with the Second World War experience, what did our growing nation achieve? What historical memory did Canada construct? Did that war propel Canada to venture out into the world? This course will seek to answer all these questions. Furthermore, because it is important, we will explore the question of whether or not these wars were viewed differently in French Canada. We’ll also raise a question about how these wars were perceived by Canada’s First Nations Peoples. Class Size: Max. 25