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Announcements for Fall Courses 2026

Most Fall Courses will begin the week of September 14, 2026 and run from 8-12 weeks

Reminder – PLATO members may register for more than one course each term. Non-members are invited to sample a course by attending the first two classes, however they are required to contact the course coordinator in advance via email or phone to make sure there is space, as some courses fill up. And if non-members want to continue to attend for the rest of the term, they are required to become a member. Visit the Join PLATO webpage to learn more about member benefits and how to join.

NEW! The Fall Course 2026 Schedule has a new format and some courses have a new registration process. Some courses will require you to register by contacting the course coordinator via email or phone, as you have done in the past, and others will require online registration, which will be new for members who didn't participate in any courses over the summer. To get started,
 watch this brief video tutorial to learn how to register online with this new system and then explore this video to learn how to register for a coordinator reserved seat. If you have further questions, check out this Online Registration Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document. Should you have further questions, please contact Kathie Burman at kburman@burmancoffee.com or Kathy Brown at kathytft@outlook.com.

Finally, experiment with these two "List Views" to see how you prefer to browse the Summer Courses Schedule:

Month at a Glance View

List View – Note that the courses in the List View are in ascending date order.



Fall 2026 Course DESCRIPTIONS - Sorted by Start Date

    • September 14, 2026
    • November 30, 2026
    • 12 sessions
    • Virtual Google Meet
    • 30
    Registration is closed

    Coordinators:

    Martha Henderson and Baxter Richardson  

    Email: madtowntarheels@mac.com and baxter.2614@charter.net

    Registration: Required, Register Online


    This discussion class aims at discovering and exploring what makes a film classic or significant. Is it narrative, acting, plot, character development, direction, cinematography, innovation, universal themes or some combination? To do this, the class will view one film per week, chosen by the coordinators, available on the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) channel with an on-line discussion the following Monday. Prior knowledge of film history is not necessary, only the willingness to view and discuss the film we have just seen. The Google Meet app is needed for this. Films are also available as discs from the Madison Library and on the many streaming services.



    Additional Information

    Meeting Day: Monday

    Meeting Location: Virtual – Google Meet

    Participation: Watching films & discussion expected

    Class Size: 30


    RETURN TO COURSE CATALOG


    • September 15, 2026
    • November 10, 2026
    • 8 sessions
    • Oakwood Village University Woods Campus
    Coordinator: Douglas Alexander

    Email: douglasWI1957@gmail.com

    Registration: Required, Register Online

    The course objective is to start with the basic documents: The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States, and get familiar with them. Then we’ll move on to the dynamics of our current government. The emphasis will be on the federal government, but we will invariably get into state and municipal government as well. Class topics will easily spawn conversions about current politics.

    Additional Information

    Meeting Day: Tuesday – Note no class on November 3

    Meeting Location: Oakwood Village University Woods Campus - Nakoma/Westmorland Rooms

    Participation: Reading and active participation expected

    Class Size: No Limit




PLATO is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization supported in part by:



info@platomadison.org

Facebook: @platomadison

608-572-6869

6209 Mineral Point Road #203
Madison, WI 53705








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