Connect with others who share your interests, from painting in watercolor or the legacy of Francis Perkins, to a study of the moon and Mars. With a choice of eleven courses - 10 on Zoom and one in person-and four brown bag lunches on Zoom, inclement weather won’t preclude the camaraderie and stimulating learning prized by CSC participants. Below find brief descriptions to help you choose how many you wish to take; for complete course descriptions, instructor bios,class times, and registration information, visit coastalseniorcollege.org. Registration begins soon - January 17 for CSC members.

Four courses are offered on Tuesdays. For a look at the post-World War I literary scene in Britain, Maryanne Ward leads a study of E.M. Forster’s “Howards End” and Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway” in Bookends of the Early Novel. Interested in the brain? Joel Shapiro teaches a study of the mind, with an emphasis on Understanding the Many Varieties of Consciousness. Students explore the folk architecture of the Americas, with an emphasis on the small but fascinating traditional structures built using “architecture without architects,” with Arne Aho in “With PIck, Axe, and Trowel.” Join John Ward for conversations about W. B. Yeats and how his poetry offers “a momentary stay against confusion,” certainly as relevant today as in prior times, in The Worst are Still “Full of Passionate Intensity,” Right?

Three courses meet on Wednesdays. Michael Chaney invites students to study The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor, and the driving force behind the New Deal. Explore the history of visitors to Maine and the places they vacationed, led by Jayne Gordon in Coming from Away: A History of Visitors and Vacations in Maine. Set aside some time for painting and join Cynthia Dias in Creating the Perfect Palette in Watercolor.

Two courses take place on Thursdays. Bob Rackmales explores topics covered in the 2021 book (and his course title) “Rethinking American Grand Strategy.” Class members are encouraged to indicate particular areas of interest to them to facilitate class planning. Derek Webber leads discussions about space exploration and the burgeoning interest in getting into space in Why Moon? Why Mars? Why Asteroids?

Two courses are scheduled for Fridays. Steven Piker and Paul Doherty invite students to discuss the goodness found in individual lives and communities, with the 2018 book “Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America” providing material for “some lecture, more discussion.” Join Ted Williams in a voyage into the dark side of the cosmos, and learn about new discoveries by astronomers regarding the vast majority of the matter of the universe; mysterious stuff that is not part of our world in The Dark Side of the Universe.

Sign up soon for any or all of the four winter 2022 Brown Bag Lunch Series-free to members, and open to nonmembers for a nominal fee. The resilience and resourcefulness of our coastal community institutions will be discussed by Matthew Graf, the executive director of the Skidompha Library in Damariscotta; Heather Leslie, director of the Darling Marine Center in Walpole; Irene Barber, coordinator of the Horticultural Therapy Program at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, and Christina Belknap, executive director of the Lincoln Theater in Damariscotta. For complete descriptions of the presenters and their topics, visit coastalseniorcollege.org.

Registration opens on Jan. 17 for CSC members; renew your membership or join as a new member; a year’s membership remains a great bargain-only $25. Four-week courses are now $25, and longer courses only $35. As one of our members likes to say, “It’s the best deal in town!” We hope you will join us for a class or a Brown Bag Lunch discussion-what a welcome respite from winter’s cold and concerns.