On Oct. 4, the Continuing Studies Department initiated the Center for Continuing Studies, which will offer five non-credit new liberal arts courses to adults in Middletown area.
Lori Hunter-Union, associate dean of Continuing Studies and director of the Graduate Liberal Arts Program, sees the new program as an effort to open up Wesleyan’s curriculum to adults who have previously been unable to study at Wesleyan.
“The biggest opportunity Wesleyan has in reaching out in the community is to provide individuals with the opportunity to participate in the learning experience at Wesleyan,” Hunter-Union said.
According to Robert Campagnuolo, assistant director of communication, there are no requisites for taking classes in Center of Continuing Studies.
“You don’t need a college degree to be involved in the program,” Campagnuolo said.
“We’re offering high caliber liberal arts courses to a wide range of people, without the pressure of getting a degree.”
Adults with a college and graduate degree are also encouraged to sign up for the classes, since the courses might also introduce students to a different discipline or allow them to expand their knowledge on a particular subject.
Of the five courses offered, one is in Creative Art, two are in Culture and Society and two are in Writing and Publishing. All courses are taught by Wesleyan professors or instructors of Wesleyan’s Graduate Liberal Studies Program.
The Art of Jazz Improvisation is a course in Culture and Society taught by Noah Bareman, a jazz pianist and author of “Beginning Jazz Keyboard” and the forthcoming “The Big Book of Jazz Improvisation.”
The other course being offered in Culture and Society is History of the Book, taught by University Archivist and Head of Special Collections at Olin Library, Suzy Taraba. This course explores early methods of printing, how manuscripts were made with movable type, and the progression of printing methods to modern day high-class book culture.
Feedback Salon: An Artist Workshop is a course taught by Peter Waite, who teaches in the University’s art department and has received the Guggenheim award. This course is designed around weekly discussions in which students share and critique each other’s artwork.
Under Writing and Publication is a writing workshop titled Recording Stories True and Fictive, taught by Charlotte Currier, a GLSP Instructor and published poet. The second course offered under this subject is Writing for Publication, a class specifically geared to help students begin a career in writing. Instructor Jamie Callan, who has published short fiction and memoirs, will help students learn how to tailor their work to specific publishing markets.
Tuition for each five week course is $250, except for The Art of Jazz Improvisation, which has an additional fee of $35 to cover the expenditures of performances.
Hunter-Union said that she hopes parents of students, alumni, and members of the Middletown community will participate in this program, so Wesleyan can build stronger connections with the city and expand the network of people associated with the University.
The Center of Continuing Studies also hopes to expand course offerings in the future.
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