From gender identity to the music hall: new topics to explore in Lifetime Learning

The fifth week of the Lifetime Learning Fall session beginning on October 25 will include the following eight courses:

On Monday afternoon from 1:30 to 4 p.m., Marc Strauss presents the second in a four-part course on "Classic Films Noir." Film noir is a term that describes stylish Hollywood crime dramas, emphasizing cynical attitudes and motivations, and filmed in black and white. In this class, Professor Strauss will introduce and show "Murder, My Sweet (1944)." A discussion of the film will follow the screening. This course is zoom only and will not be recorded.

On Tuesday, Oct. 26 from 10:30 a.m. to noon, Steve Reynolds, director of plays and musicals at Eventide Theatre and Cape Rep, concludes his four-part course on "The Model of a Modern Musical: Gilbert and Sullivan’s Nautical Comic Operas; H.M.S. Pinafore and the Pirates of Penzance." The class will listen to and watch production videos and then discuss each operetta. This course is a hybrid.

On Tuesday, Oct. 26 from 1:30 to 3 p.m., clinical psychologist Dr. Maureen Osborne presents the first of two classes on gender identity. She will discuss gender expression, terminology, and related issues. In the first class she will explain the steps in the transgender journey and how relational ties can be maintained in the midst of changes in gender expression. This course is a hybrid.

On Wednesday, Oct. 27 from 1:30 to 3 p.m., John Whalen presents "A Close Look at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame." The first of four classes will focus on The Founders, pioneers who made up Rock n’ Roll’s first Hall of Fame class. This course is a hybrid.

On Thursday, Oct. 28 from 10:30 a.m. to noon, Kerry Brown concludes his four-part course on Shakespeare’s "The Tempest." This class will explore how Shakespeare blends tragedy and comedy into a genre called romance. This course is a hybrid.

Thursday afternoon from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m., Paul Kelleher concludes his course on "Fifty Years of Affirmative Action: Remedy for Oppression or Reverse Discrimination?" This class considers Supreme Court decisions in college admission cases. It examines the legal conflict between those who believe that laws must be color-blind and those who believe that constitutional decision-making must take race into account. This course is Zoom only.

On Friday, Oct. 29 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Mary Ann Eaton concludes her course on Irish Literature. This course is a hybrid.

The architecture of performance venues is the subject of a new Lifetime Learning course, “Famous Buildings and Their Music,” led by Cape Symphony assistant conductor Joseph Marchio.

On Friday afternoon from 1:30 to 3 p.m., Joe Marchio presents the first of four classes on how the architecture of performances venues influences the musical experience and vice versa. Part one of “Famous Buildings and Their Music” will focus on San Marco in Venice. This course is a hybrid.

Register by mail, at the library, or online. Registration is ongoing. Please register at least 24 hours before the class. You can pick up brochures and a registration form and register at Snow Library, 67 Main Street, Orleans. Your registration and donation can also be mailed in. Course information and registration is also available online at www.friendsofsnowlibrary.org/lifetime-learning-program. There is a suggested donation of $10 per course.