PLATTSBURGH — Senior Scholar Fall 2024 starts next month, and it is off to a banging start.
One course on Queen Elizabeth by Dr. Vincent Carey, a history professor at SUNY Plattsburgh, has already sold out.
But there are two other challenging and informative programs for seniors.
“What They’re Reading in High School Today” will be presented by Jerry McGovern, adjunct faculty in Communications, SUNY Plattsburgh and a former P-R coordinator for Newspapers-In-Education.
McGovern’s inspiration for the course was a granddaughter’s reading assignment of a book he had not read.
“That book was the Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler,” he said.
“I picked the book up and read it, and then I thought about what books they are reading in high school today that might have been not present when I was teaching high school.”
McGovern has selected four other books besides Butler’s post-apocalyptic novel published by Four Walls Eight Windows in 1993, which was a New York Times best seller as well as winning a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and a Nebula Award for Best Novel.
McGovern’s book list:
– Oct.22: Life of Pi (2001), by Yann Martel (319 pages)
– Oct.29: Born a Crime (2016), by Trevor Noah (304 pages)
– Nov. 5: Parable of the Sower (1993), by Octavia Butler (352 pages)
– Nov. 12: Namesake (2003), by Jhumpa Lahiri (291 pages)
– Nov. 19: The Giver (1993), by Lois Lowry (240 pages)
“We will look at the books and discuss them in terms of an evaluation of it, what we think the theme is, what was the critical reaction at the time it was published, and then we’ll also discuss if we think it’s an appropriate book for high school students,” he said.
“Is it a good choice for them?”
The third course, “The Rise & Rise of Nuclear-Anxiety Cinema,” will be presented by Andy McDougal, former Adjunct Faculty, Clinton Community College and a former P-R film critic.
The afternoon program, “Insights into Creativity,” will feature artists from different fields discussing their inspirations and craft. Practitioners in studio art, print making, and songwriting will be among those featured.
Senior Scholar is a collaboration between Senior Citizens Council of Clinton County, Clinton County Office of Aging, JCEO, Clinton County Historical Association, and the Chapel Hill Foundation.
In its 13th year, Senior Scholar offers educational programs and social events to retirees and older adults. The fall program will be in-person, at West Side Ballroom. Sessions will begin on Oct. 22 and continue five consecutive Tuesdays, ending Nov. 19.
Format will be the same, with a choice of small group seminars in the morning, then lunch and a second program in the afternoon.
Morning sessions will begin at 10:30 a.m. with lunch around 12:15 p.m., and afternoon programs to start at 1 p.m. The $75 enrollment fee covers the morning seminar, lunch, and the afternoon program.
To sign up, send enrollment fee of $75 ($100 if received after Oct. 1), choice of morning seminar, phone number, and e-mail address to: Senior Citizen Council of Clinton County, 5139 North Catherine Street, Plattsburgh, New York 12901
For more information call Maria or Patricia at 518-563-6180.