This class will examine the multifaceted talents of Zora Neale Hurston, a Renaissance woman: anthropologist, novelist, folklorist, short story writer, playwright, and feminist of the mid-twentieth century. You will read from primary texts and critiques to develop an understanding of place and history in the development of a writer with North Florida roots who has been characterized in many ways, one being that of “genius.”

Brenda Simmons is the recently retired Dean of Instruction and Student Services at FCCJ who wrote her doctoral dissertation on Hurston.

Learn how to cook delicious healthy dishes and enjoy a meal with your classmates at the end of each evening.  Six recipes will be reviewed and prepared with the class. The recipes will feature mostly meat-free dishes, assorted grains, vegetables and soy products. Gluten-free low sodium desserts will also be prepared.  Different cooking oils and other “healthier” cooking ingredients will be discussed.

Chef Castleberry teaches at the Institute of the South and has been the Culinary Professor at the Lewis “Red” Bean Technical Center at Florida Community College at Jacksonville in Yulee. He has taught geriatric nutrition for the State of Florida, has owned and operated Castle Catering for 15 years, has extensive experience teaching adult cooking classes, has authored two cookbooks and has been featured on HGTV.

This will be a fun, interactive course where oral traditions are examined and explored to uncover their value and how they enhance our cultural and human relationships. Source materials will include books, articles, CD’s, etc.  Reference will be made from sermons, spirituals and folktales, music CD’s, video presentations and live special guests.

Diane Holt Johnson is the Yulee Branch Manager for the Nassau County Library. She performed throughout Northeast Florida in a one-woman Harriet Tubman production that she wrote, performs with the Peck Ensemble, facilitates Diversity Study Circles and has taught classes on the history of the Negro spiritual.

This course is a basic introduction to using a computer and exploring the Internet. Topics include, basic operations, storing computer files, introduction to Microsoft Office WORD 2007, Internet basics including banking, shopping, blogs, security, etc., and factors to consider when purchasing a computer. Classes will be held in a computer lab.

Deborah Ballou is a computer consultant who has taught numerous computer-related classes in the CLL program.

This class will examine and discuss, in depth, the images students bring to class. Each week an assignment will be given to provoke using the camera in a distinct and personal way by encouraging the student to contemplate the difference between “taking” a photograph and “making” a photograph. The purpose of the seminar format is to allow students the time and opportunity to have their work responded to in a comfortable and meaningful manner. This class is open to all who are interested. 

Richard Olderman has an M.F.A. in photography from the Art Institute of Chicago and has taught at Northern Illinois University; Columbia College, Chicago; and The Art Institute of Chicago.  For more information, contact Richard Olderman at 904.261.2544.