UCONN Adult Learning Program - Seminars Spring 2012

Programs are given at:
Seabury Retirement Community
200 Seabury Drive
Bloomfield, CT 06002

Duncaster
40 Loeffler Road
Bloomfield, CT 06002

Office:
85 Lawler Road,
West Hartford, CT
06117
Coordinator:
Bertina Williams
(860) 380 5038
Email: alp@uconn.edu

Seminars Spring 2012

	SS-01 THE MEANING OF LIFE - Duncaster Ivan Backer, Presenter * Starts on January 30th, 2012 and occurs every week on Mondays until March 12th, 2012. * 10:00 AM-Noon This seven week course is a continuation of the series started in Fall '11, featuring lectures on DVD by Professor Jay L. Garfield of Smith College subtitled 'Perspectives from the World's Great Intellectual Traditions.' This spring the lectures will focus on more recent and contemporary thinkers including Hume, Kant, Mills, Tolstoy, Nietzsche, Gandhi, Lame Deer and the Dalai Lama XIV. Two lectures will be screened in each session with discussion following each lecture.
	SS-02 THE POETRY OF ROBERT FROST Karl Mason, Presenter * Starts on February 1st, 2012 and occurs every week on Wednesdays until February 22nd, 2012. * 10:00 AM-Noon Frost said, “An educated man knows when to take a hint.” So is “Stopping By the Woods” a Freudian death wish, a recollection in tranquility of a moment in the poet’s past, or...? We’ll read or, as Frost himself preferred, say a number of his poems, experience their power and linguistic skill and who knows, perhaps agree or agree to disagree on what hints (of meaning?) or lack thereof are embedded in these words. This seminar is open only to those who were excluded in the fall because the course was oversubscribed.
	SS-03 FOR ART'S SAKE II Ruthanne Hartzheim, Presenter * Starts on February 1st, 2012 and occurs every week on Wednesdays until February 22nd, 2012. * 1:00 PM-3:00 PM Continuation of Fall seminar. We will be working with linoleum block prints for this 4 week project. Class critiques will be included at the end of each session
	SS-04 MOVIE BUFFS James Hanley, Presenter * Starts on February 2nd, 2012 and occurs every month on the first Thursday of the month until May 3rd, 2012. * 10:30 AM-Noon Participants view films at Cinestudio on the campus of Trinity College or elsewhere, at a time of their choosing, and then discuss them in class at Seabury with the knowledgeable director of Cinestudio.
	SS-05 OPERA Joe Panitch, Coordinator * Starts on February 3rd, 2012 and occurs every week on Fridays until March 9th, 2012. * 9:30-Noon Class members select and present operas on video or DVD from the standard or lesser known repertoire. Maximum class size, 30.
	SS-06 CREATIVE WRITING Dorothy Sterpka, Presenter * Starts on February 9th, 2012 and occurs every week on Thursdays until March 15th, 2012. * 1:00 PM-3:00 PM This course, led by Dorothy Sterpka, a professor of writing at Central Connecticut State University, will focus on continuing to hone our writing skills in different modes — memoirs, fiction, poetry—by reading the works of others and by sharing the writings of each participant, followed by discussion of what has been read.
	SS-07 GREAT AMERICAN BEST SELLERS Walter Mayo, Coordinator * Starts on March 6th, 2012 and occurs every week on Tuesdays until March 27th, 2012. * 10:00 AM-Noon THE BOOKS THAT SHAPED AMERICA: Six participants will each show a Teaching Company lecture (30 minutes) on a chosen bestseller and then lead a half-hour group discussion. Two lectures/books will thus be covered each session. Possible choices are:The Last of the Mohicans; Uncle Tom’s Cabin; The Adventures of Huck Finn; The Jungle; Main Street, etc. Choices will be selected and made known at the first session. All participants will be expected to read or be familiar with the chosen books.
	SS-08 WRITING YOUR MEMOIRS Leta Marks, Presenter * Starts on March 6th, 2012 and occurs every week on Tuesdays until March 27th, 2012. * 1:00 PM-3:00 PM Write and share your stories with a friendly writers’ group. Each week we write short memoirs, bring them to the group to read, and delight in hearing one another. You too can come and participate in writing, talking about good writing, and giving/receiving positive, constructive conversation about your piece so we all feel energized to write more. Maximum class size, 18.
	SS-09 SHORT STORIES Carol Matzke, Coordinator * Starts on March 12th, 2012 and occurs every month on the second Monday of the month until May 14th, 2012. * 1:00 PM-3:00 PM Discussion of two short stories at each session, chosen in advance by a volunteer member of the group; Participants will also learn about the authors of the stories. A fee of $2 will be collected at the first meeting to cover any necessary mailing costs.
	SS-10 MUSICAL THEATER Joe Panitch, Presenter * Starts on March 16th, 2012 and occurs every week on Fridays until April 13th, 2012. * 9:30 AM-Noon Musical theater is a form of theater containing music, songs, spoken dialog and dance. Members of the class will select and present by videotape or DVD performances from the extensive repertoire. The shows to be presented with commentary will be selected from among: Gypsy, Fiddler on the Roof, Candide, Anything Goes, West Side Story, A Chorus Line, and a few surprises. Maximum class size, 25.
	SS-11 WHAT IF? Fannie Gabriel, Coordinator * Starts on March 21st, 2012 and occurs every week on Wednesdays until March 28th, 2012. * 10:00 AM-Noon The Coordinator will explore with participants problems of alternative history, such as: What if the South had won the Civil War? What if the North had won, but Lincoln had not been assassinated? How would our lives be different today?
	SS-12 THE WORLD'S GREATEST PAINTINGS Joan Sereda, Coordinator * Starts on March 21st, 2012 and occurs every week on Wednesdays until April 25th, 2012. * 1:00 PM-3:00 PM The World's Greatest Paintings explores one of the supreme legacies of human life, opening rich perspectives on Western civilization through your encounter with these daring and sublime works of art. This is a series of 24 lectures; 12 will be shown in spring in six seminars. The balance will follow in fall 2012. Each session will show two 30 minute programs followed by discussion. The lecturer is Professor William Kloss from Oberlin College.
	SS-13 SPOTLIGHT ON DANCE Dorothy Silverherz, Presenter * Starts on April 4th, 2012 and occurs every week on Wednesdays until April 25th, 2012, excluding 04/11/12. * 10:00 AM-Noon Through presentations of performances on film supplemented by lectures and discussion we will gain insights into the training, styles and careers of numerous professional dancers. Dorothy Silverherz is a graduate of Smith College with a graduate degree from Wesleyan University. She danced on Broadway with the New York City Ballet, performed with Storybook Theatre and is currently the Administrator of Momentum Images of Dance, an international photo contest.
	SS-14 BIOLOGY - THE SCIENCE OF LIFE - Duncaster Jim Yaeger, Coordinator * Starts on April 12th, 2012 and occurs every week on Thursdays until May 24th, 2012, excluding 5/3/12. * 10:00 AM-Noon We will view and discuss Teaching Company videos subtitled "Information and Evolution." We will explore how information about the structure and organization of living things is transmitted and modified. One important conclusion is that species inevitably change over time; that is, that life evolves. The lecturer, Stephen Nowicki, is Professor of Biology at Duke University and a recipient of Duke's Distinguished Teaching Award.
	SS-15 BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY OF UCONN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Joe Panitch, Coordinator * Starts on April 23rd, 2012 and occurs every week on Mondays until May 21st, 2012, excluding 5/14/12. * 9:30 AM-Noon This program offers over a century of action-packed, thrill-seeking sports highlights, plus the remarkable stories of one of college basketball's most endearing teams. Five DVDs will be shown,covering the history of UConn Women's Basketball and its various teams.
	SS-16 CATHEDRALS Peter Cruikshank, Coordinator * Starts on April 16th, 2012 and occurs every week on Mondays until April 30th, 2012. * 1:00 PM -3:00 PM Pete Cruikshank will show DVDs describing cathedrals, two at each session, to be followed by discussion. The introductory DVD is titled “What is a Cathedral“, to be followed by presentations on Notre Dame de Paris, Reims – the Royal Cathedral, and the final three will show the cathedral at Chartres.
	SS-17 SPRING HIKES Betty and Dick Carlson, Coordinators * Starts on April 20th, 2012 and occurs every 2 weeks on Fridays until May 18th, 2012. * 9:30 AM-Noon Explorations of interesting sites in our area. Participants should be able to walk five miles over uneven terrain.
	SS-18 THE PLAY'S THE THING Nancy Kramer, Facilitator * Starts on May 3rd, 2012 and occurs every week on Thursdays until May 24th, 2012. * 1:00 PM-3:00 PM Continuing this popular seminar, Nancy will lead participants in reading plays aloud, and discussing the lives of the authors and the ideas in the plays.
	SS-19 CONNECTICUT FORUM Bill OLds, Coordinator * Starts on May 16th, 2012 and occurs every week on Wednesdays until May 30th, 2012. * 9:30 AM-Noon First Session - "Global Affairs - A World of Revolution" with panelists Tom Ridge, the first Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; Robin Wright, foreign affairs expert and award-winning journalist and author; and Anne Marie Slaughter, a former Director of Policy Planning for the State Department. The moderator is Michael Martin. Second Session - "Creative Minds: Explore,think and Wonder with Artists and Visionaries. Where does creativity come from?" The panelists on this DVD are Lyle Lovett, singer, actor and composer; Dave Eggers, a celebrated writer, publisher and innovator; July Miranda, filmmaker, artist, writer and creative force; Johah Lehrer, journalist, Rhodes Scholar, and author of "How We Decide". The moderator is Randy Cohen, humorist and ethicist, former New York Times columnist. Third Session - To be announced.