This spring, the noncredit SCS Odyssey Program returns to its roots metaphorically, taking students back to the glittering centerpiece of Homer's epics, ancient Troy, in a fascinating, nine-part lecture series that addresses the age-old question: Did Troy really exist? (Mondays, March 1- April 9, 6:15-7:45 p.m.)

Participants in Odyssey can also venture back to Renaissance Florence to learn about the astounding explosion of art, culture--and cuisine--in that captivating Italian city between 1400 and 1600. (Tuesdays, March 2-April 20, 7-8:30 p.m.)

In addition, students can learn how modern cities have been planned and built by journeying to 19th- and 20th-century Paris, Berlin and Los Angeles via architectural appreciation and urban planning analysis in Architecture of the City. (Thursdays, March 4-April 29, 6:15-7:45 p.m.)

Parents, teachers and would-be writers can attend Words in the Web: A Celebration of Children's Books and engage in lively conversations with award-winning authors, illustrators and publishing professionals. (Mondays, March 8-April 12, 7-8:30 p.m.)

Six Artists in Search of an Exhibition, a lecture series, spotlights the works of Sargent, Homer, Monet, Matisse, Innes and Rodin that are readily available for viewing at the Baltimore Museum of Art and Walters Art Gallery or in Washington at the National Gallery, the Smithsonian and the Corcoran Gallery. (Tuesdays, March 2-April 6, 7:30-9 p.m., with a Saturday tour of the National Gallery.)

Discovering 10 things neither you nor your doctors previously knew about emergency medicine are just a few of the insights participants will gain in The Real E.R.: Emergency Medicine Today. (Thursdays, March 4-April 29, 7-8:30 p.m.)

Focusing on eight critical global trouble spots that threaten international stability--from the Balkans to Indonesia, Mexico to Israel--will provide valuable insights to participants in Flashpoint: Global Trouble Spots and U.S. Foreign Policy. (Wednesdays, March 3-April 21, 7-8:30 p.m.)

And in The Man Machine: Cyborgs and Sci Fri Cinema, students will view such films as Blade Runner, The Terminator and Johnny Mnemonic in which cyborgs--cybernetic organisms--are prominent, then discuss the radically different views presented of our "post-human" future. (Tuesdays, March 2-April 20, 6:15-8:45 p.m.)

For more information on these and other courses, visit Odyssey's Web site at www.scs.jhu.edu/odyssey/index.htm or call 410-516-4842.