The Plato Society of UCLA

    I am very lucky to belong to a wonderful society comprised of retired and semi-retired people, who come together to learn about a myriad of subjects.  We call our meetings "Study/Discussion Groups," or SDGs.  I have been gone for 4 terms because of my orthopedic issues, but today I rejoined the group.  It was great to be back.
     Each study group – there are about 25 different ones each term – usually consists of 14 participants.  A volunteer Coordinator acts as the group leader, but everyone has the opportunity to lead, to learn and to participate in the discussions.

     The groups meet for two-hours during the day each week for 14 weeks.  Each member becomes the discussion leader for one meeting and is responsible for an in-depth investigation of some aspect of the course topic.  Reading materials are recommended or provided for each week so that all members are prepared to join in lively, well-informed, provocative meetings that make for a truly engaging learning experience.
     The topic for my SDG is "Taking to the Streets; American Social Movements and their Music."  I picked for my presentation, "Music of Oppression: Slavery, spirituals, blues, etc."  It should be very interesting studying (re-studying) the institution of slavery in America, and how the music of the slaves has worked it's way into all types of musical forms.