Metropolitan Los Angeles has numerous iconic buildings representing architectural styles utilized since the founding of El Pueblo de Los Angeles in 1781. This innovative SDG will not only study and discuss these styles but will also visit iconic exemplars for additional in-person viewing. The core book was written by eminent architectural historians, originally as a guide for the Society of Architectural Historians that was meeting in LA in 1964. Many professionals in the field have considered the core book, now in its fully revised 6th edition, the standard reference in the field. The field trips will be significantly longer than the standard two hours and involve carpooling, public transportation, and walking.

This SDG will introduce the main areas and theories of ethics, including life and death, freedom and responsibility, false consciousness, God, evolution, happiness, relative vs universal ethics, and human rights. The core text is Ethics by Simon Blackburn, formerly Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge. The second edition was published in 2021. There are 20 short chapters which we will group together over the first 10 weeks of term, with each member preparing one or two topics. The last two weeks will consider specific issues in depth which have arisen during the first ten weeks. We will meet in person at Gayley for lively discussion about some of the biggest questions in life. No prior knowledge of philosophy is required - just openness and an interest in working with ethical theories and issues.

Introduce yourself to the men and women who have resisted religious dogma and fixed ideologies to carve out a way of thinking in which individuals occupy center stage. Humanists are freethinkers, following no predetermined path. They are committed to inquiry and formal education and believe that “the meaning of our lives is to be found in our connections and bonds with others.” 

In the 14th century, Petrarch and Boccaccio strove to cultivate “the joy in writing” and worked to enlarge and salvage the “wrecked or sunken knowledge” embodied in classical manuscripts. They were followed by the northern humanists as Erasmus and Montaigne, whose famous essays embraced “both [the] philosophical and personal,” along with the Enlightenment thinkers Voltaire, Diderot, and Hume, “the most intellectually merciless thinker of his time.” During the 16th century, humanists became “less naively adoring of the past, and ever more interested” in human complexity, fallibility, and uncertainty.  Anti-humanism has its day as well—fascists in Italy, blasphemy laws, the contemporary zealots of artificial intelligence—all reflect on the challenges that a turbulent 20th century posed to overcoming injustice through independent thought, moral inquiry, and mutual respect. Humanism is always a “work in progress.” and “history and the human world are neither stable and good on the one hand, nor hopelessly tragic on the other, according to the author.  

If the human world is our own work, and  if we want it to proceed well, how do we exert ourselves to make it happen?  If this question interests, this SDG will fill your soul.

From King Saul to Shakespeare’s Macbeth to Jules Verne’s Captain Nemo, we don’t lack for depictions of insanity. And, since the first diagnoses of “madness” and “insanity,” we have tried to cure and care for the mentally ill. But what, in the past, have we deemed “madness” and how is it connected with modern views on mental health? How has humanity reasoned and understood its existence throughout the course of history? From supernatural causes to unbalanced fluids to past-life trauma, all kinds of explanations for mental “abnormality” have been postulated.

Madness is part of the human experience. The history of how society deals with “madness” and mental health issues has, however, been less than glorious. People experiencing mental health problems were often pushed to the fringes of society, and even today their problems are largely ignored by politics and the media.

Our core book Madness in Civilization "takes readers from antiquity to today, painting a vivid and often harrowing portrait of the different ways that cultures around the world have interpreted and responded to the seemingly irrational, psychotic, and insane. From the Bible to Sigmund Freud, from exorcism to mesmerism, from Bedlam to Victorian asylums, from the theory of humors to modern pharmacology, the book explores the manifestations and meanings of madness, its challenges and consequences, and our varied responses to it. It also looks at how insanity has haunted the imaginations of artists and writers and describes the profound influence it has had on the arts, from drama, opera, and the novel to drawing, painting, and sculpture." (Amazon description)

Awards and Recognition of core book

Honorable Mention for the 2016 PROSE Award in Psychology, Association of American Publishers.

One of Kirkus Reviews' Best Nonfiction Books of 2015 in History.

One of the New York Post's Favorite Books of 2015.

One of Paste Magazine's 30 Best Nonfiction Books of 2015.

The core book is entitled King: A Life by Jonathan Eig  and is the first biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. in thirty years and is the 2024 Pulitzer Prize Winner in  Biography.  It draws on a landslide of recently released sources including White House telephone transcripts, F.B.I. documents, letters, oral histories and other material. The book is vividly written and exhaustively researched.  He makes it plain that King was not acting in a vacuum, and he traces the work of organizations like the N.A.A.C.P., CORE and SNCC, and of men like Thurgood Marshall, John Lewis, Julian Bond and Ralph Abernathy. He shows how King was too progressive for some, and vastly too conservative for others.  The author provides a sober and intimate portrait of King's life that captures the ferocity of the forces that opposed King: dogs, bombs, Klansmen and segregationists wielding legal and political authority  and the ideas, tactics and strategy used to fight them. Join us in studying the movement whose demands for racial and economic justice remain as urgent today as they were during King's lifetime.  

This is an SDG in which we will both write our stories and read those of others. The SDG is 12 weeks and will be limited to 12 Regular members, each acting as Discussion Leader for one of the 12 weeks. There will be no auditors. (We also want to give any associates who join us an opportunity to share their personal writing. We are still figuring out how to do this.)

Discussion Guides will be due 2 weeks prior to the Session being led. This deadline is important as there is prospectively a lot for people to do. The Guides will have 3 sections:

1. Every week the 2 Coordinators will assign a writing prompt, such as a memorable grandparent or  job. Those who wish to do so, will be invited to write on this topic – roughly 2 double-spaced pages (5 or less minutes when read aloud) based on the prompt. 

2. The Discussion Leader will select an accessible memoir, provide background material including a chapter or a few pages that can stand alone, in a machine-readable format, to the group, and state why the book was selected.

Reading more than the pages provided will be optional, except for, obviously the Discussion Leader.

3. The Discussion Leader will provide personal memoir material they wish to share and discuss with the group. (Anyone who does not wish to do this, should not be in this SDG.)

Each week, the Discussion Leader will cover these same 3 sections. The time allocated to each is at the discretion of the Discussion Leader, with the exception that all who wish to read what they wrote based on the writing prompt, may do so.

1. Have all members who wish to read what they wrote, do so. Discuss as you see fit.

2. Introduce and discuss your selected memoir.

3. Introduce and discuss your personal material.

There are no restrictions on the memoir you chose. It must be written in the first person and, a true, or purportedly true, story by the author. It may be about anything you like. Of you chose a shorter, easier to read book, odds are more will read it. But it is not required. A list of memoirs will be provided but you are not limited to the books on this list.   

Your personal material may also cover any ground in your life that you wish. @gaon, no restrictions, no rules. However, consider the willingness of your fellow members to read anything too lengthy.

With over 100 museums to visit and explore in LA County alone, it's all we can do to visit the larger museums once a year much less seek out the smaller, niche museums that have long been on our "someday-I'll-get-there" list.  The "Museum Madness" SDG will be a great way to finally visit some of these niche museums in and around Los Angeles. 

This 12-week SDG will be organized differently from standard SDGs.  One week will be focused on discussing the history, collections, artists and special exhibitions at a particular museum and the following week will be spent visiting that museum and seeing the art up close and personal.  

There will be no textbooks.  Each participant will research the exhibits for their assigned museum and select topics, artists, representative works and study materials for distribution to the group.  Discussion Outlines can be submitted separately or combined with PowerPoint presentations so we can see and discuss specific works prior to seeing them in person. 

Have no fear--the discussions will have the usual rigor expected of PLATO SDGs with the added bonus of field trips!  And for those of you who can spare the time, we can arrange to get together before or after the field trips and enjoy lunch or happy hour at a local eatery.  

Modern life, from the dishwasher to the International Space Station, depends on some combination of the nail, wheel, spring, magnet. lens, string and pump.  With the invention of the nail, houses, boats, weapons, and other vital things could be built.  The ingenious wheel enabled wheeled transportation which conquered much of the world nearly overnight about 6,000 years ago. Springs store and release energy in forms ranging from the bow to dampers.  The magnet, although a natural phenomenon, is the basis for essentials from light bulbs to the internet.  Curved glass (i.e. lenses) was known since the dawn of civilization, but hit the jackpot when the 17th century produced the microscope and the telescope.  The pump... think of the heart.  Roma Agrawal is an expert guide, who emphasizes the big picture.  If you are looking for simple explanations of how things work, this SDG is not for you.

This SDG will be an entertaining riff on the building blocks of engineering.  Remember there is a reason why the phrase 'nuts and bolts' has passed into our everyday language to signify what's really important about any situation.

SCHEDULING NOTES: We will not be starting the week before Labor Day with the rest of the SDGs to avoid absences for those taking a long week-end holiday or traveling.  October 3 is the first day of Rosh Hashanah, a PLATO holiday, We will shift that day to Wednesday October 2 unless the group agrees to an alternative.

The increasing skewness of the distribution of wealth and income has been debated intensely over the last few decades. Our SDG takes a novel perspective. We focus on the connections between economic and political oligarchy, across multiple countries and over time. The common thread binding oligarchs through history is that wealth defines them, empowers them, and inherently exposes them to threat. The existential nature of all oligarchs is wealth defense. How they respond varies with the threats they confront and how directly they are involved in supporting the coercion underlying property claims. Their response also depends on their capacity, or lack thereof, of collective action. These variations yield four types of oligarchy: warring, ruling, sultanistic, and civil.

Oligarchy may, at times, be displaced by democracy or fused with it. The award winning book concentrates on the United States but also  considers ancient Athens and Rome, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, medieval Venice and Sienna, mafia organizations and feuding Appalachian families. The author Jeffrey A. Winters argues that the concentration and protection of wealth are central in understanding politics throughout history.

     All of us know that the United States is politically polarized. Most of us believe that such polarization has become more entrenched in the past 20 years or so and that it is terrible for the country. It tears apart friendships, families, political parties, the ability of government to function and the sense of community which is the foundation of our political system and way of life. Some believe that it has the potential to destroy the country. It is arguably the most critical issue facing the country. On the other hand, there are some who applaud the current polarization. They regard ideology and political group loyalty as more important than social and political cohesion.

     The purpose of this SDG is to explore the origins of polarization in the U.S., both historically and in more recent years, to analyze the current reasons for, and results of, polarization, to analyze its seriousness and to consider what can be done to reduce it. The descriptions in the schedule of weekly topics suggest subjects which deal with these issues.

     The bibliography suggests books and some articles. The Klein book and the Blanchet book will be required. There are many articles in newspapers, in magazines and on-line, and the number is increasing. Many are well reasoned and will become part of the readings.

Woody Allen, controversial cinematic auteur, has gifted the world with a tapestry of films that seamlessly blend wit, neurotic charm, and poignant storytelling. Allen has become synonymous with NYC's intellectual and cultural landscape, and as one of history's most prolific moviemakers, his style and comic sensibility have been imitated but never replicated by countless other filmmakers over the years. We'll examine Woody's use of sharp dialogue, versatility and exploration of complex relationships, which invite audiences into a realm where comedy and existentialism coalesce, and which probe moral quandaries and journeys into the human psyche. Join us to enjoy the absurdities, provoking twists and profundities of Sleeper, Annie Hall, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Match Point and Vicky Cristina Barcelona- just to name a few of our 14 films.

No prior knowledge of Woody Allen or filmmaking is needed to discuss some of today’s most enjoyable movies that have become cultural and cinematic reference points. BYOP! Coordinated by Stan Dorfman.

The movie musical had its start in 1927 when Al Jolson in the first talking feature film, "The Jazz Singer" said “You ain’t heard nothing yet” and proceeded to sing Toot, Toot, Tootsie! (Goo'bye).

From this simple beginning the movie musical has evolved cinematically and matured in its content. It’s morphed from 90 minutes of mindless singing and dancing to an art form that embraces diverse musical styles and is unafraid to tackle serious subject matter such as race, gender and the media.

This purpose of this SDG is to show the evolution of the "movie musical". Some are original works for the screen, some adapted from hit Broadway shows and others have looked to television and other sources. However, whether original or adapted, the movie musical is a unique art form unto itself; grounded in the fluidity of the camera and all of the other conventions that differentiate cinema from other art forms.

The most enduring feature of U.S. history is the presence of Native Americans, yet most histories focus on Europeans and their descendants. The long practice of ignoring indigenous history is changing because a new generation of scholars insists that any full American history address the struggle, survival and resurgence of American Indian nations.  Indigenous history is essential to  understanding the evolution of modern America.  Ned Blackhawk interweaves five centuries of Native and non-Native histories, from Spanish colonial exploration to the rise of Native American self-determination in the late twentieth century.  In this synthesis he shows that European colonization in the 1600s was never a predetermined success; that Native nations helped shape England's crisis of empire; the first shots of the American Revolution were prompted by Indian affairs in the interior; California indians targeted by federally funded militias were among the first casualties of the Civil War; the Union victory forever recalibrated Native communities across the West; twentieth century reservation activists refashioned American law and policy.  Blackhawk's retelling of of U.S. history acknowledges the enduring power, agency and survival of indigenous peoples, thus giving us a truer account of the United States.  Blackhawk's book was the winner of the National Book Award for non-fiction this past year.

According to popular belief, dinosaurs ruled the Earth until they were wiped out by a meteor strike 65 million years ago, whereupon mammals succeeded them. This is correct except that mammals not only succeeded dinosaurs; they existed alongside them back to their beginning. In fact, both share a common ancestor that appeared perhaps 325 million years ago. This small lizard like creature evolved into two major lines, one eventually becoming reptiles and birds, the other, mammals. Mammals survived the asteroid that claimed the dinosaurs: bats took to the air, elephants evolved into a riot of tusked giants, monkeys and rodents rafted across the Atlantic to join them, metatherians migrated across Antarctica to Australia and spawned a spectacular marsupial radiation, grazers diversified as grasses went global, and somewhere at the end, hominins evolved and repeatedly spilled out of Africa. What a wild ride!

Scientists have done much detective work using fossil clues and cutting-edge technology to piece together our current understanding of the origin and evolution of mammals. These scientists' personal stories also will add to our appreciation of our subject. 

Although written for the non-scientist, a sharp pencil and a notebook – or an ipad - will come in handy to keep the scientific nomenclature straight.

Our 39-nine-year author, Steve Brusatte, is an excellent paleontologist with a gift for writing. He is a bestselling author and is currently a Reader in Vertebrate Paleontology at the University of Edinburgh. 

Tom Stoppard is widely regarded as our finest living playwright. His play are celebrated for the depth and subtlety of their philosophical and scientific inquiry, their historical awareness, their literary sophistication, their comic wit and their emotional impact. In this SDG, we will read - in chronological order - his nine most powerful and widely performed plays: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead; Jumpers; Travesties; The Real Thing; Arcadia; Indian Ink; The Invention of Love; The Hard Problem; and Leopoldstadt. These plays invoke writers as diverse as Shakespeare, James Joyce, and A. E. Housman, and treat such "hard problems" as the nature of consciousness, the randomness of human experience, the meaning of love, colonialism, quantum mechanics and the existence of God. We will also watch two films, Stoppard's own film of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead,  and John Madden's film that was co-written by Stoppard, Shakespeare in Love. 

We shall study cultural history of the 17th century illustrated by remarkable paintings of Vermeer. The text provides new ways of thinking about the origins of commonplace objects. Course length - 7 weeks.

In one painting, a military officer in a Dutch sitting room flirts with a laughing girl. In another, a woman at a window weighs pieces of silver. Vermeer’s images haunt us with the beauty and mystery - what stories lie behind this stunningly rendered moments? These pictures, which seems so intimate, actually offer a remarkable view of a rapidly expanding world. The dashing officer’s hat is of beaver fur from Canada, while the pieces of silver, mined in Peru, might be used to purchase the Chinese porcelain seen in other Vermeer paintings. Moving outward from Vermeer’s studio, we trace the web of trade that was spreading across the globe in the 17th century. Vermeer’s Hat shows just how rich is the vision and how the urge to acquire such things was refashioning the world more powerfully than we have yet understood.