OLLI Central Schedule

Spring 2008

MONDAY

WORLD GARDENS AS AN ART FORM

1:00- 3:00
Lorraine Sherry, Rosemary Fair
The garden provides a vision of paradise on earth. It is an expression of our ability to transform nature into art. This course covers the story of the garden’s evolution over more than 2000 years, exploring some of the most beautiful gardens in the western world – from antiquity, medieval Europe, Renaissance Italy, Classical France, 18th-19th century England, and the modern day. The focus of the course is the art of garden design rather than the craft of horticulture. Participants will gain an understanding of the historical evolution of world gardens as a reflection of the prevailing culture and the spirit of the times.
Books/Materials: Recommended textbook is The Garden, Visions of Paradise, by Gabrielle van Zuylen, ISBN 0-500-300550.
Class Type: Lectures with overheads/PowerPoint Presentations/Selections from the Nature Perfected and the Audrey Hepburn series of VHS tapes/Guest Speakers/Field Trip/Ten-minute Class Reports.

JAZZ APPRECIATION

1:00- 3:00
Larry Washburn
Once again, join Larry and his guest performers to learn about and enjoy jazz. No need to have taken previous classes, always some new and old guests and information. This session, Larry will deconstruct the various jazz forms and demonstrate how the jazz musician is able to improvise based on the harmonic structure presented by these forms. Also, new handouts and optional field trips to Denver’s jazz venues with Larry. Remember, the class is in the chapel and can accommodate many participants.
Books/Materials: No book. Handouts will be provided.
Class Type: Lecture/Discussion/Live Performances/CDs

THE FIFTIES – DAVID HALBERSTAM’S WORK

1:00- 3:00
Gerald Henderson
The decade began with the shadow of a man who, wasn’t there, Franklin Roosevelt, and ended with Camelot. We lived the decade, some of us grew up in it, others came to maturity within its times. We use the work of David Halberstam, The Fifties as he chronicles in detail our experiences, from Korea to Little Rock to rock and roll to the opening drums in Southeast Asia. We learn or remember the Fifties not as a time of innocence as frequently assumed, but as a time of viciousness, meanness, and loss of whatever remaining innocence America might possess. We hold up a mirror and reflect on the major events and especially the major figures of the decade. Bring your memories, we’ll talk, share, maybe shed a tear or two, watch some film, listen to voices and music. Someone may even dance! In any case, literature and our lives intersect in this course.
Books/Materials: The Fifties, David Halberstam
Class Type: Discussion

HISTORIC PRESERVATION in DENVER: WHAT IS IT AND WHY SHOULD WE DO IT?

1:00- 3:00
Alan Gass,Pam Mathews
This architectural study course will examine Historic Preservation of both traditional and contemporary buildings in Denver and Colorado. The class will meet on Monday afternoons. In April or May, depending on weather, Alan Gass will lead a walking tour of historic buildings in Downtown Denver in the format of his popular Doors Open Denver Tours and OLLI tours. There is no reading requirement. A bibliography of suggested sources will be distributed during the class. A good introduction will be the Website
Books/Materials: Historic Denver’s Series on Denver landmarks and other books about landmarked districts and landmark laws. These are available at the Tattered Cover but will not be reserved for this class so please plan ahead.
Class Type: Discussion

TUESDAY

WRITING THE MEMOIR II

9:30-11:30
Tricia Forbes
Personal stories live within each of us. Experienced memoir writers know that creating a vignette about one personal incident leads to other memories long forgotten. By putting our thoughts on paper we discover universal feelings which help us understand those around us. More important, we grasp insight into ourselves. Whether we write to publish or to keep these histories for our families, we will develop new ways of looking at our lives and the people that helped form our experiences. We will study the craft of writing and write extemporaneously for the first half of class. This is done with care and encouragement. You will learn how to unlock your memories and have fun doing it. Homework is usually read the second half of the class.
Books/Materials: LEGACY: A STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO WRITING PERSONAL HISTORY by Linda Spence. Swallow Press/ Ohio University Press, Athens, Ohio, 1977
Class Type: Discussion/Writing

IN SPITE OF GODS,STRANGE RISE OF MODERN INDIA

9:30-11:30
Indira Ketkar, Asha Mangalik
India remains a mystery to many Americans. It is a land of contradictions. It is poised to become the world’s third largest economy, taking advantage of most sophisticated science and technology. Yet, a fourth of its population lives in dire poverty, and it holds on to its 3000 years’ of traditions and superstitions. In this course we will look at some of these contradictions e.g. abject poverty in spite of rapid growth, caste system, diversity and survival of democracy in spite of all odds.
Books/Materials: None
Class Type: Discussion

HIDDEN POWER: PRESEDENTIAL MARRIAGES that SHAPED HISTORY

9:30-11:30
Dorothy Dalquist, Barbara Benedict
Since the end of WWI, presidential wives, with a few exceptions, have assumed increasingly influential roles in shaping American culture and policy. Individual personalities, privileged access and high visibility in the public eye have made them powerful, not just as partners but in their own right and in their own style. Today we see the culmination of this trend in the aspiration of one former first lady to succeed her husband. Using a text by a Peabody Award-winning journalist, this class will explore 12 presidential marriages and the contributions wives made to their husbands’ careers from Edith Wilson to Laura Bush. No two partnerships/unions have been alike. Instead, unique styles and personalities have shaped American society to their personal visions.
Books/Materials: Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped Our History by Kati Marton. Anchor Books, 2001, paperback. Handouts/Videos.
Class Type: Discussion/(possible voluntary reports)

VIVA L’OPERA

9:30-11:30
Bob Montgomery, Bob Samuels, Mo Mathews
This course has been offered for years, but since we don’t repeat our talks, the material is always fresh and new, allowing you to sign up every quarter. Through DVDs, VHS, audio tape, and lectures by guest experts from Opera Colorado, Newman Center, DU/Lamont, CU, Central City, and Santa Fe (with a few now and then by the enthusiastic facilitators), you’ll increase your knowledge and appreciation of this wonderful art form, no matter where you start from. This is not a discussion class, because of its size, but questions and comments are always welcome. We will cover the operas currently being presented by Opera Colorado, Central City, and Santa Fe, as well as operas from the top 150 (out of 25,000 operas composed in the last 400 years of its history.) We cover not just the stories of the operas, but musical devices used by the composers to heighten the drama, biographical info on the composers and performers, and opera gossip.
Appropriate videos and handouts will be included within this framework.
BOOKS/MATERIALS: Handouts will be provided
Class Type:  Lecture/ DVDs/VHS/Audio Tapes

TUESDAY 1:00-3:00

STUDIO ART TOUR

1:00-3:00
Millie Roberg
We will be traveling to eight different artists in the metro area. Many have studios in their homes. This will enable us to see how they use art in their daily lives. There will be a large selection of styles presented- pottery, fabric, oils, water color, acrylics and mixed media. A list of artists and locations will be given at the first class. Class is limited to 20. There will be a materials fee for handouts of $5.00, payable to OLLI by separate check when your class is confirmed.
Books/Materials: none
Class type: Discussion

LOST CHRISTIANITIES: THE HISTORY OF VERY EARLY CHRISTIANITY

1:00-3:00
Steve Mill
During the first three centuries after the time of Jesus the practices and beliefs found among people who called themselves Christians were so varied that the differences between today’s Roman Catholics, Fundamental Baptists and Seventh Day Adventists pale by comparison. This class will be a study of the history of early Christianity. Through lectures and discussion, we will try to more thoroughly understand some of the wide diversity and contradictions between the early Christian’s many sacred books. The twenty seven New Testament gospels, epistles, acts, and revelations that make up the Christian Bible were only a handful of the letters, arguments, visions, and accounts of Christ's life in wide circulation in the early centuries. The rest were rejected, attacked, suppressed and some even destroyed. Recent finds have helped scholars reconstruct some of the original words of the New Testament Canon books. We will examine some translations of noncanonical writings, see what they can tell us about the various forms of early Christian faith and determine the reasons why one early Christian group established itself as dominant, and determined for us what today’s Christian shall believe, practice, and read as sacred Scripture.
Book/Materials: Lost Christianities, The Battles for Scriptures and the Faiths We Never Knew, Bart D. Ehrman, Oxford University Press 2005. ISBN10: 0195182499
Class type:Video Lectures / Discussion

GREAT DECISIONS 2008

1:00-3:00
Harry Cullis
Again this year the Foreign Policy Association has prepared a briefing book that will cover some of the major issues facing America. However, difficult questions confront us as we try to understand these issues. How can a President provide effective leadership abroad if Congress blocks his policy initiatives? How can Congress give the President full rein over foreign policy without abdicating powers vested in it by the Constitution?  In making foreign policy, should the President lead or be a coequal partner?  Some of the issues that will be discussed:  What will be the end-game for the U.S. in Iraq? How should the U.S. engage its “enemies” like Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah?  With the 2008 Russian presidential election expected, what course will Russia take? How should America’s military be structured and deployed to meet new security challenges?  These and other issues concerning China, the European Union and Latin America will be discussed. There will be a $20 book fee payable by separate check to OLLI when your class is confirmed.
Books/Materials: Great Decisions – 2008 Briefing Book, Foreign Policy Association. Books will be given out at the first class.
Class Type: Discussion/Study

ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE

1:00-3:00
Thomas E. Joy
During the Middle Ages when women were treated like chattel and had almost no rights, Eleanor of Aquitaine became one of the key political figures of the 12th century. She was the mother of Richard the Lionhearted and the villainous King John. Eleanor was responsible for disturbing the balance of power in Europe by divorcing the king of France to marry Henry Plantagenet - a disruption that required 300 years of warfare to remedy. She may have been the catalyst for the European feminist movement. COME TO THE CLASS AND WE’LL HAVE A GOOD TIME! We will use Marion Meade’s book, Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography. That’s the only book you will need to acquire. I will also use excerpts from Barbara W. Tuchman’s book, A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century. In addition, I will use Barbara H. Rosenwein’s book, A Short History of the Middle Ages.
Books/Materials: Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography, by Marion Meade
Class Type: Discussion/Video/Class Participation

THE "OBSTINATE UNFASHIONABLE HUMANISM" OF KURT VONNEGUT

1:00-3:00
Faye Ono, Vivian McCullough
Beginning with his last published book, A Man Without A Country, and other biographical and autobiographical materials, the class will consider any or all of Kurt Vonnegut’s writings. This is to be primarily a discussion group, not an exercise in literary criticism, although our appreciation of Vonnegut’s body of work will be supported by a Teaching Company videotaped lecture on Slaughterhouse Five, a novel that has been called his masterpiece. We will also view a movie made from that book and a video of his one play Happy Birthday, Wanda June. Active participation is a requirement. Each participant will select one of the author's other works to read and talk about. As commentators the participants will bring to the class interesting ideas, insights, and passages from the chosen reading. The objective is for all to enjoy lively discussion of Vonnegut’s personal testament to Humanism.
Books/Materials: Handouts (fewer than 75 pages) and two books Slaughterhouse Five and one other.
Class Type: Discussion

WEDNESDAY

HOW THINGS WORK

9:30-11:30
Russ Haskell, Vern Schoep
How does the technology behind DVDs relate to rainbows, optical fibers for communications, musical instruments, and laser vision correction? How does the Global Positioning System work? Why are your electric toothbrush and a power plant essentially the same? How the people wave in a stadium is, in principle, the same as how solar energy warms the earth. These and other topics are explained without mathematics by Professor Richard Wolfson in the Teaching Company DVDs that will be used in this course. The lectures will be supplemented with hand-outs, facilitator explanations, and class discussion. There will be a materials fee for handouts of $5.00, payable by separate check to OLLI when your class is confirmed.
Books/Materials: No book required/handouts
Class Type: Discussion

E.L. DOCTOROW: A VISIT (Previous Class "El Doctorow: A Visit" not required.)

9:30 - 11:30
Nancy V. Miller
Participants in this class will continue to read and explore the works of EL Doctorow. In this class we will read THE MARCH, BILLY BATHGATE, and THE BOOK of DANIEL. We will examine the emotional and lyrical aspects of these writings, as well as reflect upon Doctorow’s ability to weave historical figures and backgrounds into the lives of his fictional characters. The facilitator will pro-vide additional historical materials related to the periods covered in the writings. To augment the reading we will view several films.
Books/Materials: The March, by EL Doctorow, Random House, Inc., New York, 2005, Billy Bathgate, by EL Doctorow, Plume/ Penguin Books, 1998- copyright, 1989, The Book of Daniel, by EL Doctorow, Plume/Penguin Books, 1996- copyright, 1971.
Type of Class: Discussion/Film

ALAN GREENSPAN: Did his policies as chairman of the Federal Reserve help calm or create the “Age of Turbulence?”

9:30 - 11:30
Les Jordan
Because of the popularity of the subject, this course will be a repeat of the course offered in winter quarter. Content will be updated to accommodate current economic issues such as those revolving around the ongoing housing/credit problems plaguing our economy as well as the Fed’s attempt to ameliorate them with what some economists are predicting will be highly inflationary policies. As in the winter class, we will closely examine the career of Greenspan as described in his new book The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World. We will ask questions such as: What IS the Federal Reserve? Why was it created? Is the Federal Reserve an engine of financial turbulence, or stability? Does its function cause the boom, bust cycles so detrimental to economic growth? Has it increased the hidden tax of inflation? Why did Greenspan once write an essay entitled: “Gold and Economic Freedom” in which he proves that without a monetary gold standard welfare-stateism inexorably marches on and in time destroys a free market economy? Why is Greenspan thought by some economists to be the savior of our economy while others think he is an opportunistic hypocrite whose polices have created “the age of turbulence”? Some of the latter experts say that the Fed and Greenspan assisted our politicians in imperiling our economic future because of inconsistent monetary policies that helped perpetuate an age of cheap money and therefore, economic instability. Historically, other nations that have adopted similar policies eventually were destroyed by them. Congress has the power to abolish the Federal Reserve System and, as Greenspan advocated long ago, return to a monetary gold standard. Should the Fed be abolished?
Books/Materials:The Age of Turbulence: Adventures In a New World, by Alan Greenspan. The Penguin Press-2007, 375 Hudson St. NY, NY 10014
Class Type: Discussion

MUSIC IN FRANCE AND GERMANY BETWEEN 1800 and 1900

9:30 - 11:30
Robin McNeil
If you really would like to know what Romantic music is and its genesis, this is it. Musical Romanticism in Germany was inseparable from literary and philosophical concerns and the music spread to France because of the new virtuoso musicians. Learn about Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Gouvy, and many more. Learn the “romantic sound.”
Books/Materials: None
Class type: Lecture/Discussion

WEDNESDAY 1:00 - 3:00

HOW to LISTEN TO AND UNDERSTAND GREAT MUSIC

1:00 - 3:00
Pam Mathews, Bev Blecker, Marilyn Heller, Bill Waggener
The spring 2008 term of How to Listen to and Understand Great Music will cover the second 16 tapes of this acclaimed series. It is not necessary to have taken the winter 2008 section. The lecturer, Professor Robert Greenberg is well known to OLLI (VIVA!) audiences as the series was first offered in the inaugural year of VIVA!. Each class covers two tapes (45 minutes each). Subjects covered range from The Enlightenment and Classical Era through Beethoven. Students will learn about various Classical-era forms – minuet, Rondo, Sonata, Symphony and Concerto in addition to the beginnings of Opera Buffa. The lectures include many musical excerpts and relate how music reflects the cultures and values of the time.
Books/Materials: None
Class Type: Discussion/Teaching Company Videos/Participation

FATEFUL CHOICES

1:00 - 3:00
Jim Hautzinger
Kershaw’s book posits ten decisions made by the World War II powers that reshaped human destiny. The decisions were made between May 1940 and December 1941 in London, Berlin, Tokyo, Rome, Washington, DC, and Moscow. We will consolidate the ten chapters into eight weeks by spending two weeks each on the decisions of Germany and the United States and one week on those of the other belligerents. As to each decision we will ask how it was made; were viable options available; who made it; what influences bore on the decision maker; how rational was it; would there have been a different decision if it had been timed differently; what individuals contributed to the decision; what were its consequences and many more questions.
Books/Materials: Fateful Choices, Ten Decisions That Changed the World, 1940-1941, Ian Kershaw, The Penguin Press, 2007.
Class Type: Discussion/Study

ECONOMIC DEPRESSION: COULD IT HAPPEN AGAIN?

1:00 - 3:00
Russell Randall
The course objective is to understand how we have achieved the greatest disconnect in the history of our Republic between the “Real Economy” and the “Financial Economy”, and how the severity of this “disconnect” will lead us into our next Great Depression within the next three years. Hence, not only “Could It Happen Again?”, but unfortunately “It Will Happen Again!” Further, we will review the “Austrian Enginomic” macroeconomic logic of how maligned monetary policy encouraged systemic, massive malinvestments and misallocation of resources. Challenges to this leading edge, bold logic are encouraged to liven the discussions! The course curriculum will primarily focus upon use of a new macroeconomic theory called “Austrian Enginomics” in contrast to Neo-Classical, Monetarist, and Keynesian theories to help determine the magnitude of the bubbles that exist today in Stocks, Bonds, and Real Estate. The logic requires a new paradigm perspective that will allow one to recognize “Real Wealth” in contrast to “Financial Wealth”, “Real Debt” in contrast to “Financial Debt”, “Real Taxes” in contrast to “Tax Revenue Collected”, “Real Trust Funds” in contrast to existing “Social Security, Medicare, and Government Retirement Trust Funds”, and “Real Inflation, Productivity, and Output (GDP)” in contrast to numbers reported by our government. The course will include discussion and tools to win psychologically and financially against challenges in a depression environment, assuming it happens, of course.
Books/Materials: DVDs /Handouts
Class type: Study/Discussion

GREAT DECISIONS

1:00 - 3:00
Dale LeNoue
Perhaps this popular longstanding program should be relabeled “Great Dilemmas,” since few problems discussed lend themselves to easy solution. So in the absence of clear-cut decisions, we will aim as usual for lively discussion and hopefully become better informed citizens of the world. This year’s dilemmas are: The role of the US in the Middle East, climate change and global warming, Mexico-neighbor in turmoil, massive migration and immigration, South Africa-facing new challenges, war crimes, Central Asia-resources and rivalries, and helping the world’s endangered children. There will be a $20.00 book fee payable by separate check to OLLI when your class is confirmed.
Books/Materials: Great Decisions, 2008
Class Type: Discussion

THURSDAY

ESSAYS OF MONTAIGNE

9:30 - 11:30
John Rupainis
In the introduction to his essays Montaigne states that he wrote them for his descendants to paint a portrait of himself by musing on various topics that came to his mind. His essays are thoughtful, well written (often quoted), at times humorous, and have proved enduring through the many centuries. They also paint a picture of a French Renaissance humanist, giving us a good insight into the spirit of the times in which he lived. In class we will read a selection of his essays and reflect on the man, his thoughts on various topics such as self, relationships, politics, philosophy, and on the times in which he lived(16th century France).
Books/Materials:The Complete Essays of Montaigne. Translated by Donald M Frame. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-0486-4.
Class Type: Discussion.

CARRIERS!

9:30 - 11:30
Bix Bicknell
In this class we will discuss the history and development of aircraft carriers and carrier task forces. We will explore the early design and politics of carriers including the USS Langley and the HMS Ulysses, as well as the court martial of Billy Mitchell. We will spend an inordinate amount of time on the carrier heyday of WWII, including antisubmarine carriers. The class will conclude by visiting the modern super carriers and carrier diplomacy.
Books/Materials: Handouts
Class Type: DVD tapes/Guest Presenters

THE HISTORY OF RUSSIA FROM ITS BEGINNINGS TO THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

9:30 - 11:30
Mary Schaeffer Conroy
This course aims to help participants better understand present-day Russia by examining the geography of the space we call Russia, the ethnic groups that lived in or came to live in this space, and the political, economic and cultural institutions that developed there from the first centuries of our era until the eighteenth century. The first session will focus on prehistoric Russia. A film will provide information since the facilitator will be out of town. In the second session we will discuss the incursions of Slavs, Germans and Scandinavians, and Turkic tribes from the west, north and east respectively, into the space we call Russia. We also will note indigenous Finno-Ugric and other tribes in eastern European Russia and Siberia and the influence of Islam wafting up the Volga River from the south. The next two sessions will deal with Kievan Russia (9th through the 12th centuries). We will examine the political and economic features of the conglomerations of principalities and city states that comprised Kievan Russia and the importance of Byzantine Eastern Christianity or Orthodoxy to the culture of Russia and to the Russian psyche. The 5th and 6th sessions will deal with the entrance of the Mongols on the world stage in the 13th century; the appending of Russia to the Mongol Empire, one of the largest ever to exist, during the 13th and 14th centuries and the downfall of the Mongol Empire. These sessions will attempt to dispel some common misconceptions about the Mongols. The last two sessions will be devoted to the rise of the Muscovite principality during the Mongol period; the gradual subordination of other principalities and city states in Russia west of the Urals to Moscow in the 15th and 16th centuries; the conquest of Siberia in the 16th century; and the “return” of the Ukraine from Poland that began in the 17th century. This last period saw the emergence of a unified Russia, a de-facto empire that Peter the Great and successive monarchs would enlarge and strengthen. We will examine the political, economic and cultural institutions of Muscovy that remain visible in the Russia of Putin.
Books/Materials: Required Text, Walter G. Moss, A History of Russia, Volume I, Second edition (London: Anthem, 2002). Optional Books: Basil Dmytryshyn, Medieval Russia: A Source Book, 900-1700, Second Edition (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973), Serge A. Zenkovsky, Medieval Russian Epics, Chronicles, and Tales (NY: E P Dutton, 1974), David Morgan, The Mongols (London: Blackwell, 2007) or Charles J. Halperin, Russia and The Golden Horde: The Mongol Impact on Medieval Russian History (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987), Andrei Pavlov & Maureen Perrie, Ivan the Terrible (London, NY: Longman/Pearson, 2003)
Class Type: Discussion

THE FALL OF FRANCE IN FACT AND FICTION

9:30 - 11:30
Gil Hermann, Mo Mathews, Art Strasburger
This course is so interesting that all three of us wanted to facilitate it! It deals with the rapid and overwhelming invasion of France by the Germans in 1940. Our primary text will be Francine Mathews’ espionage novel, The Alibi Club, which was named one of the fifteen best 2006 works of fiction by Publishers Weekly. (In the interest of full disclosure, she is Mo’s daughter-in-law). She uses a mix of fictional and real characters to tell the story of the successful efforts of Joliot-Curie and many others to prevent the Germans from seizing the French heavy water for their atom bomb project. We will also study excerpts from other sources to learn about the events in Europe prior to, and during, the invasion. Class members will be encouraged to present a number of special topics on such varied subjects as America’s involvement in the rise of Nazi Germany, Joliot-Curies’ Nobel Prize, Alan Dulles and the OSS, Coco Chanel, etc. Francine has agreed to speak with us near the end of the course.
Books/Materials: The Alibi Club by Francine Mathews, 2006, Bantam Dell
Class Type: Lecture/Discussion/Reading/Reports

GOLDEN AGE OF THE DUTCH MASTERS: THE AGE OF REMBRANDT

9:30 - 11:30
Eugene Heller, Maxine Richard
This continuing course will further expand on the religious, social and economic influences which gave birth to this magnificent production of Dutch Art. We will focus on the unique genius and talent of such artists as Gerard ter Borch, Jan Steen, Pieter de Hooch, Johannes Vermeer, Jacob van Ruisdael and of course the master himself Rembrandt.
Books/Materials: None required
Class Type: Discussion/Video Lectures by Professor William Kloss or the Smithsonian Institute/Speakers

THURSDAY 1:00 - 3:00

CURRENT EVENTS

1:00 - 3:00
Amy Truby, Jack Truby
What’s happening in this country and in the world around us? What does it mean to you and other OLLI participants? What trends are developing and where are they going? Local, state, national and international news items that stimulate discussion will be selected from daily media and analyzed in group dynamics. Analysis will include trends, perceptions, and potential impacts. Participants will receive articles by mail for discussion on the first day of class. All will be encouraged to express their views and to bring in articles. Emphasis throughout will be placed on keeping discussion moving and on subject, involving all in discussion and summarizing where appropriate. Class will be limited to 30.
Books/Materials: News Items
Class Type: Discussion/Study/Guest Speakers

BLEAK HOUSE

1:00 - 3:00
Hilary Carlson, Kathleen Stokes
Most critics think that one of Dickens’ best novels is this extended attack on the legal system and the values it supports. Long, but witty and filled with wonderful characters (such as Tulkinghorn, Chadband and Mrs. Jellyby—lawyer, preacher, do-gooder), this novel fulfills the dictum “Make ’em laugh; make ’em cry; make ’em wait.” This course hopes that participants will rediscover (discover?) how much pleasure there is in Dickens. This offering is modeled on the fall course in which we read Our Mutual Friend; some of those participants wanted yet another Dickens’ novel! We will spend part of each class reading aloud. To complete the novel in eight weeks a participant needs to read about 100 pages a week - but there is a BBC dramatization that can be rented and an unabridged audiobook.
Books/Materials: Charles Dickens, Bleak House, Modern Library edition, paper, 0-375-76005-9
Class Type: Discussion

THE UNITED NATIONS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

1:00 - 3:00
Bill Baldaccini
In the course of the 20th century, there occurred a development unique in the story of humankind. States, which had defined themselves from Thucydides to Bismarck by their claims to sovereign independence, gradually came together to create international organizations to promote peace, curb aggression, regulate diplomatic affairs, devise an international code of law, encourage social development, and foster prosperity. The best known and most ambitious of these bodies is the United Nations organization. Established in 1945 by the victor states of the Second World War, it inherited many of the features of earlier experiments in global cooperation. This study traces the evolution of the United Nations, assesses what it has done well and where it has failed, and considers its prospects in the years to come. It therefore follows that an understanding of how and why the United Nations was established, what it can and cannot do, and what potential exists to enhance its usefulness should be the common property of every educated man and woman.
There will be a materials fee for handouts of $5.00, payable by separate check to OLLI when your class is confirmed.
Books/Materials: The Parliament of Man: The Past, present, and Future of the United Nations, by Paul Kennedy, Vintage Books, 2006
Class type: Study/Discussion

ANCIENT EGYPT III

1:00 - 3:00
Gary Knapp
This course will present video tapes of “The History of Ancient Egypt” as presented by Professor Bob Brier of Long Island University. Dr. Brier has successfully included three thousand years of the history of Ancient Egypt in 48 half hour programs. His style of presentation is more like story-telling rather than lectures which is much more pleasing to the audience. He combines the precision and care of a scientist with a novelist’s feel for plot, action, and character. This course is broken down into three terms each covering 16 programs. Ancient Egypt III will include such topics as the decline of the civilization beginning with the XIX Dynasty; Ancient Egyptian Magic; the Nubians; the Saite period; the Persians; Alexander the Great; the Ptolemies; Cleopatra’s family; and the Grand Finale.
Books/Materials:  Videos/Handouts/Guest Speakers
Class Type: Lecture/Discussion