What is a Napier Course?

Since 2012 the Napier Initiative has been partnering with the five undergraduate Claremont Colleges to offer intergenerational courses related to fostering justice for all people, caring for the earth, or nurturing peace and reconciliation. The courses provide a platform for bringing theory and practice together, enrolling undergraduate students with an interest in learning more about justice issues and how to bring their knowledge to bear on making real world change. Retirees from Pilgrim Place and local communities may enroll as fully participating co-learners at no cost.

 

Napier Courses Aim to:

 

1. Maximize the mutually rewarding possibilities unleashed by collaborative learning between elders and undergraduates.

2. Develop intergenerational interactions that encourage undergraduates to form and act upon vocational and avocational commitments to leadership in a variety of arenas for justice oriented action.

3. Provide opportunities for transformational learning through participation in real world change-making.

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Napier Courses Offered for Fall Semester 2026:

1. COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE:  Organizational Studies 173 – Pitzer

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Schedule: Tuesdays, 2:45 to 5:30 pm.  

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Faculty: Prof. Barbara Junisbai

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Description: “Being human together is inescapable. we must collaborate to achieve shared goals and to be part of something bigger than ourselves. being human together is also messy, sometimes frustrating, sometimes harmful. while we long for healthy organizations—workplaces, classrooms, clubs, families, dorms, committees, co-ops, and research teams that foster belonging, voice, creativity, connection, and growth—many of us experience the opposite: collectives that are plagued by the normal “human stuff” of misunderstanding, miscommunication, gate-keeping, disappointment, and resentment. organizational developer, Professor Gervase R. Bushe, calls this all-too-common state of affairs ‘mush.’  where there are humans, there will be mush!”.

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2. INFRASTRUCTURES OF JUSTICE: Politics 134.  Scripps – Prof. Nancy Neiman

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Schedule: Mondays, 2:45 to 5:30 pm.  

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Faculty: Prof. Nancy Neiman​

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Description: “This research seminar focuses on the question, ‘Do markets result in just outcomes?’ Most answers to this question seem to be virtually predetermined, but focus little attention on the question, ‘Under what conditions do markets result in just or unjust outcomes?’ The premise here, to be explored through the students’ original case study research projects, is that markets as deeply embedded societal structures simply perpetuate underlying social conditions, be they just or unjust. Examples include white supremacy, patriarchy, land and asset distribution derived from colonial and slave plantation systems. However, markets can also reinforce social justice whether through, for example, community-based development projects or marketable permits for industrial pollution.”

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For more information or for a hard copy of the application form, contact:

Pilgrim Place: John Howell – jhowell@earlham.edu

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Mt. San Antonio Gardens & Community:  Paula Hui – huihouse@gmail.com.

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The Napier Initiative courses are open to students at all five Claremont Colleges.

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Elders and Professor share their enthusiasm about Napier Courses: 

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“I was totally enriched by the experience.” - Class elder

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“Elders in the class bring unique perspectives to class discussion…..as they bring a lifetime of experience and achievement to what would otherwise be simply intellectual discussions.”   - Professor

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“…undergraduates were curious about older adults and open to questions and additions to class discussion from the elder students.”   Class elder

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Click here to link to an article, by David Mann, about a Napier course.