Featured Courses

The publishing editor of Coloradan BK Loren’s first book, The Way of the River, marveled that BK “wrote like she was raised by wolves.” “I try to live up to that daily,” BK says. And you instantly feel life’s wildness in both her writing and when she speaks–as she will on April 9^th, during this spring’s Experts & Entertainers series.

Her first novel Theft captures that animal energy and spirit so masterfully that it won two coveted prizes this past year, the 2013 WILLA award for fiction and the 2012 Reading the West award from independent booksellers in the West.

“I find that my writing is richer when I’m out in nature,” she says. But as a “writer trying to survive,” sh

e has tackled a host of challenging, unlikely and urban jobs—ranging from cook for a gourmet catering service in New York to college writing professor, an aide in a locked psych ward, as well as a hired hand on a small Taos cattle ranch. Her one criterion for any job: it had
to give her the “psychological space” essential for her writing. You can hear the triumph and delight in her voice when she notes, “But I’m just writing now.”

Currently she is working on two books simultaneously, a daunting task for any author. She devotes each morning to her new novel, “while I’m closer to the dream world.” She turns to her book of nonfiction in the afternoons. Occasionally she’ll offer a workshop, do a reading or speak to a lucky group like The Academy. To find out more about her appearances and writing, check out www.bkloren.com.

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It’s definitely an Academy first: TWO Colorado State Appeals Court judges will debate and discuss some of the most pivotal U.S. Supreme Court decisions that shaped American society, in this spring’s Great Debates course. Veteran Academy course leader Judge Steve Bernard will spar with Judge John Daniel Dailey, as they argue the opposing sides of landmark cases:

• Marbury v. Madison, which discussed the seminal concept of judicial review;
• Miranda v. Arizona, which gave rise to the now-familiar Miranda warning;
• New York Times v. Sullivan, which examined the balance of government and the media in a libel case;
• Mapp v. Ohio, which applied the so-called “exclusionary rule” to suppress evidence seized by the police;
• Dred Scott v. Sanford, Plessy v. Ferguson, and Brown v. Board of Education, which dealt with slavery and the rise and fall of the concept of “separate but equal;”
• Romer v. Evans, a case that analyzed Colorado’s “Amendment 2,” which precluded government action designed to protect the status of persons based on their “homosexual, lesbian or bisexual orientation, conduct, practices or relationships.”

Along with the specifics of each decision, the judges will examine the historical context in which it occurred and the effect it had on the evolution of the law and society as we know it today.

And you can get a ringside seat, if you hurry . . .

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Where is China headed? A highly impressive array of experts in the China Rising course will help illuminate the complex issues at stake. Among the nationally recognized guest speakers will be:

• Dr. Suisheng Zhao, DU, on foreign relations
• CEO Karen Gerwitz, World Trade Center/Denver, on trade
• Dr. Stephen Thomas, UCD, on Chinese development
• Dr. Douglas Allen, DU, on economics.

Historically, the United States and China have been allies, outright enemies, or cautious partners.  What will relations look like in the future?  As our nations evolve from their schizophrenic “friend/foe” relationship, it is important for citizens on both sides of the Pacific to learn more about each other in order to share our countries’ assets peacefully and benefit from mutual respect. To this end, we will examine the domestic as well as foreign policies of this big, bold and busy player in international affairs.

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Are you perhaps a little TOO awed when you visit the Denver Art Museum? Then the perfect Academy course for you this spring is DAM Great Art: European and Modern Masters—the eighth in the perennially popular series offered by two of The Academy’s most respected course leaders, Joanne Mendes and Marty Corren.

While this series has often focused largely on a current special exhibition or art collection from a single culture or period, this spring’s upcoming course will range widely across time, continents and genres, to unveil the unexpected connections and overarching themes in paintings from the 15th to 20th centuries, from Europe to the Americas.

How are families—sacred and secular—portrayed in the early Renaissance, during the 18th century and in DAM’s most popular painting, Bouguereau’s Childhood Idyll from 1900? (The painting from the DAM’s collection is on the right.)  What links Mexico’s Frida Kahlo to such modern iconoclasts as Picasso, Dali and Warhol? And what, if anything, do Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings owe to the impressionist landscapes of Monet, Pissarro and Sisley?

Museum staff and expert DAM docents will guide you expertly through these and many more art mysteries and discoveries. Tour highlights will include iconic paintings in DAM’s special exhibit Modern Masters from the Albright Knox Art Gallery, furniture and decorative arts in DAM’s Moore Gallery, and the recently rediscovered Venetian harbor scene by Canaletto, from 1724—among many other gems.

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Ever since Dr. Paulette Wasserstein began offering her Contemporary American Short Stories course five years ago, it has filled quickly every term. It’s easy to see why.

Participants examine one or two memorable stories every week, teasing out each story’s meanings and enriching their understanding of the short story as an art form. The stories—selected from the annual editions of the Best American Short Stories series—are all masterpieces of the latest short fiction. But it is Paulette’s insightful analysis, interactive approach and keen eye for short fiction’s unique appeal that keep longtime enthusiasts returning for her latest installment and newcomers racing to enroll.

Put aside that novel you’re devouring and take a few minutes to register for her course starting in September. You’ll open your next novel—or short story–with new eyes.

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