Courses
Thursdays, 1–3 pm
7 weeks, Sept. 15–Nov. 3, no class Oct. 13
$40
Video lectures, slides, discussion, participant reports
If you love the French impressionists (and who doesn’t?), you’ll love this course. Here’s your chance to take a closer look at some of the artists who ignited one of the most exciting artistic revolutions in history. Lectures serve up a savory stew of cultural and political history, biography, and visual treasures to focus on the lives and careers of Degas, Caillebotte, Mary Cassatt, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Toulouse-Lautrec. You’ll see how this close-knit group of artists responded to Baudelaire’s call for paintings of “modern life” during a period rife with radical social and intellectual change.
Recommended titles: Francoise Bayle, A Fuller Understanding of the Paintings at Orsay (Art lys, 2001); Robert L. Herbert, Impressionism (Yale Univ. Press, 1988); and Editors of Réalités, Impressionism (Chartwell Books, 1971).
Facilitator: Despite his busy medical practice, David Wallack manages to maintain an active outdoor lifestyle and still indulge his interests in art, contemporary novels and biographies, and films as well as sports trivia.
Despite his busy medical practice, David Wallack (History of Impressionism II) has spent over sixty hours studying the impressionists in the last year. Born and raised in New York City, he grew up in sight of Yankee Stadium and just a subway ride away from great art museums. David got his first introduction to art history at Columbia College and continues to indulge his love for art at museums in cities across the U.S. and around the world. Like art, baseball has remained a lifelong interest (fixation?), so don’t be surprised when he drops baseball statistics into the conversation. “I maintain an active outdoor lifestyle, and, despite time constraints, I try to follow interests in reading (primarily contemporary novels and biographies), sports trivia, and film and art appreciation.”
Thursdays, 10–12 am
4 weeks, Sept. 22 & 29, Nov. 3 & 10
$30
Tours, gallery chats
Find out what’s happening on the local art scene to jump start Denver as a national mecca for artists, art lovers, and tourists. See with your own eyes the best work being done by artists living in the area today. We’ll be visiting the Museo de las Americas, galleries ( Rule Gallery, + Gallery, Pirate Contemporary Art Oasis, and Metro Center for Visual Art), the Dale Chisman studio, and the Dikeou Collection. Group meets on location. Participants will receive itinerary.
Recommended reading: Art in America magazine.
Facilitator: Karen Ringsby’s longtime love of art and decade of experience as a tour guide for the Denver Art Museum make her the ideal leader for these exciting viewing excursions.
Karen Ringsby (Denver’s Art Scene) has loved art for years. When she received her degree from CU in English literature, she also took the time to gather minors in art history and philosophy. A master’s degree in liberal arts from DU also provided opportunities to pursue her love of art. With
a son who is a political artist and professor and another son who is an architect, she is surrounded by discussions of the arts.
Wednesdays, 9:30–11:30 am
8 weeks, Sept. 21–Nov. 9
$40
Video, lectures, colloquy, slides, musical interludes
The third term of this hugely popular course showcases the cultural riches of some of the great cities of the world and seeks to understand why they deserve to be called “cities of destiny.” With stops at the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and Tiananmen Square, world traveler
Agatha Kessler introduces us to Beijing ( Peking ) in a whirlwind tour of 5,000 years of Chinese history. We’ll revisit today’s reunited Berlin in company with John Shell, who first saw the city in 1963, when it was divided between Naziism and freedom, Soviet dictatorship and democracy, ruin and hope, peace and war.
John Falconieri, who lived and worked in Rome for twenty-one years, guides us through the glories of a classical
Rome unlike any ever dreamed up in Hollywood. Archaeologist and photographer Inga Calvin helps us explore the enigma of ancient Teotihuacán, the once-teeming center that dominated Mexico and Mesoamerica without the aid of either a supreme ruler or a written language. St. Petersburg’s colorful past as Russia’s cultural capital and its modern rebirth as a European city will be
Connie Hyde’s focus as she takes us through the story of Peter the Great’s “Window on the West.” Along with native-born diplomat
Ramiro Silva and his wife, Ana Manrique, we’ll linger awhile in Peru’s historic “white city,” Arequipa, whose very name means, “Yes, stay.”
Coordinators: In this moveable feast for the armchair traveler,
Jane Yoder and Sally Kneser—both passionate sightseers of the imagination—offer a rich menu of knowledgeable experts.
Bridge nut and art groupie Sally Kneser (Cities of Destiny: Six More) (Intermediate Bridge) (Computers) (Learn to Facilitate) is always ready to learn something new and help teach others. “I love to learn, and it’s so much more fun with friends around.” Sally is particularly proficient on the computer and in the last two years has learned how to create and maintain a website and how to use a complex database system. For years she has kept the files for various charitable organizations. Now she maintains the Academy’s database of 1,300 names.
Lifelong learner Jane Yoder (Cities of Destiny: Six More) seeks out mental challenges in all her undertakings and happily keeps exploring new ideas to “quell the pangs of ignorance.” She has facilitated courses in great music, ethics, and Ayn Rand. During and after her child-rearing years, Jane went back to school to earn a master’s degree in education, which included a seminar in socialist education on both sides of the Iron Curtain. After various teaching posts in secondary schools, Jane took on clerical duties for a multinational construction corporation before her retirement. "Lifelong learning consists of sharing. It is much more exciting with a group of other interested individuals."
Presenters:
Archaeologist and photographer Inga Calvin (Cities of Destiny: Six More) teaches at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Having planned to conduct ethnographic fieldwork among the Navajo, her life was transformed after viewing one of the first exhibits of Maya art and writing, “Blood of Kings.” Inga has conducted archaeological research in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador—and regrets that her Spanish is not better. Her most recent studies have taken her to the basements of Guatemala’s bodegas and museums in search of Classic Period (AD 200-900) Maya ceramics. She served as director of the Center for Latin American Art and Archaeology and participated in the reinstallation of the New World galleries at the Denver Art Museum. Inga’s commitment to the dissemination of knowledge includes a “Maya Glyph Guide” that she’s made available on the web in both English and Spanish.
John Falconieri (Cities of Destiny: Six More) received his PhD. from the University of Michigan in Romance Literature and Theater--disciplines which he taught at Bowling Green State Univ. in Ohio, at Case-Western Reserve Univ. in Cleveland, at the State Univ. of New York at Albany. From Albany, at the behest of Governor Rockefeller who promoted international studies, he established extensive divisions in Coimbra (Portugal), Nice, Madrid, and Rome. In Rome he founded John Cabot University and served as its first president. He also presided over the American University of Rome. He has an intense love of history plus that wonderful ability to keep historical names, dates, facts and details straight. Having resided in Rome for twenty-one years he is eager to share his love of the city with others.
A passionate and messy gardener, Connie Hyde (First Amendment Rights) (Cities of Destiny: Six More) describes herself as a “recovering lawyer” who is now interested in exploring only “those things that move me, provoke me, challenge me, and enlarge my understanding of the human condition.” Connie took her undergraduate degree from Wesleyan College and master’s degree from Duke University, both in English literature. At one time, she envisioned herself as the rising Shakespearean scholar of the East Coast, but after a year in the rare book room of the Duke library she realized that she needed more human contact in her life. Returning to school after marriage and children, she earned a J.D. from Denver University and has practiced commercial real estate law ever since. Connie is a lively speaker. Those who know her appreciate her wit and ready laugh. Because she is a deal maker, she is very inclusive and certain to provide an atmosphere where everyone in the group will become engaged in the conversation.
During her international business career in electronic commerce, Agatha Kessler(Cities of Destiny: Six More) has lived and worked in Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, and North America. She developed and launched two financial products globally: Visa TravelMoney, the first international pre-paid card with an achievable market of US$12 billion; and VeriSmart, a multi-application smart card. Before working in the business world, Agatha was a marketing professor in Canada and the Caribbean. A music, art, and gemstone fanatic, she shares with her husband a fascination with world history, especially that of the United States, Europe, and China.
John Shell (The New Science of Happiness) (Cities of Destiny: Six More) became a student of the human condition out of perplexity. He got a good education and started a promising academic career, but it didn't bring the satisfaction he expected. Paradoxically, his path forward involved going back to school, this time to study psychology. That led to a career figuring out how people build meaningful and fulfilling lives. The latest scientific studies are particularly intriguing to him.
Ramiro Silva (Cities of Destiny: Six More) was born in Arequipa, Peru and will be able to discuss his love of the city and his country. He moved to Lima, Peru's largest city, at age 13. In 1996 he received his bachelor's degree in economics from the Pacific University. Two years later he received a Masters in Diplomacy at the Peruvian Diplomatic Academy. Since then he became a member of the Peruvian Diplomatic Service. He was assigned to work at the Consulate of Peru in Denver in 2002 and in the meanwhile earned a Masters in Global Studies from DU. His wife, Ana Manrique, also born in Arequipa, will join him in the presentation. She studied law and political science at UNIFE University. She earned a Masters in International Economic Law at Catholic University in Lima. She came to Denver in 2002 and graduated from the LLM Master program in Natural Resource and Environmental Law at DU Law School in 2004.
Tuesdays, 1–3 pm
8 weeks, Sept. 13–Nov. 8, no class Oct. 4
$35
Discussion
Great historical blunders inspired some of playwright George Bernard Shaw’s wittiest and most incisive social criticism. In this course we’ll delve into three plays that dramatize militarism and the role of individual conscience and see why Shaw won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1925. Shaw examines the seduction of a conquering hero in Caesar and Cleopatra, the paradox of military success and religious fervor in Saint Joan, and the impact of the military/industrial complex on social justice in Major Barbara.
Required reading: Any handy text for Caesar and Cleopatra, Saint Joan, and Major Barbara.
Facilitator:
Avid reader and lifelong scholar, Anne Yondorf finds plenty of food for thought in the works of the Irish-born British curmudgeon. She brings special insights to the texts from her extensive experience leading Great Books courses.
Anne Yondorf (The Wit and Wisdom of George Bernard Shaw) is a lifelong scholar. An avid reader, she reads not just for pleasure and information but for ideas and values. The people in the groups she facilitates always look eagerly forward to her classes. A wise and critical thinker, Anne respects and nurtures the perspectives of others. She has the great gift of making participants feel accepted. Anne usually begins with a good deal of historical background about her subject. Whenever possible, she sets up a small table-museum of pertinent objects and writings to give participants visual stimulation for what they are about to discuss.
Tuesdays, 9:30–11:30 am
6 weeks, Oct. 11–Nov. 15
$30
Discussion and video With a focus on literature and place, this ramble through the pages of English literature offers a virtual tour of Britain’s intellectual and historical landscape. This term, we’ll focus on three writers especially well known for evoking a powerful sense of place. We’ll visit nineteenth-century rural England with Thomas Hardy before moving north to Andrew O’Hagan’s post-World War II Glasgow and ending our tour in Wales with the Welsh poet and storyteller, Dylan Thomas.
Required reading: Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge, ed. Keith Wilson, reissue ed. (Penguin, 2003); Andrew O’Hagan, Our Fathers (Harvest, 2001); Dylan Thomas, The Collected Stories (New Directions, 1986).Facilitator: Veteran traveler and Anglophile
Jim Mingle has developed a leadership style as gentle as the rolling British countryside that he has roamed throughout his professional life in higher education. He argues that slowing to a walking pace, whether figuratively or literally, opens new perspectives.
Jim Mingle (More Literary Walks in Great Britain) has been a teacher, a college administrator, and association director. Throughout his life, he’s been an avid reader and traveler. Since retirement, he has made numerous walking trips in the British Isles and caught up on the English literature he missed in his younger days. Jim has led Academy members and friends on walking tours in Great Britain and serves as a national leader of service trips for the Sierra Club. He also volunteers for Jefferson County Open Space as a park patroller.
Thursdays, 1–3 pm
8 weeks, Sept. 15–Nov. 10, no class Oct. 13
$35
Video lectures and dramatizations, discussion
Today’s literary thrillers owe much to the nineteenth-century pioneers who conjured up the genre. We’ll revisit master American storytellers Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, compare their hair-raising narrative techniques and psychological effects, discuss their takes on good and evil, and try to figure out why film and video dramatizations often differ radically from the texts.
Required reading: Henry James, The Turn of the Screw and assigned critical essays in A Casebook on Henry James’s “The Turn of the Screw,” ed. Gerald Willen (Crowell, 1960). Any available texts for the following short stories: Edgar Allan Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Black Cat”; Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Rappaccini’s Daughter”; Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wall-Paper.”
Facilitator: After thirty years as senior editor and head of publications at the Denver Art Museum, Marlene Chambers has escaped to the Academy, where she is indulging her lifelong interest in literature, art history, music, and learning theory. She firmly believes that you can always “teach an old dog new tricks.”
After thirty years as senior editor and head of publications at the Denver Art Museum, Marlene Chambers (Classics of American Literature: Spine Tinglers) has escaped to the Academy, where she hopes to indulge her lifelong interest in literature, art history, and learning theory. She holds master’s degrees in both English literature and art history. Her literary, film, and exhibition criticism has appeared often in professional journals, and she currently serves on the editorial board of the journal Curator. She has taught high school English, college freshman English, and label-writing workshops and believes that "learning is meaningless unless it opens your eyes to fresh ways of seeing."
Tuesdays,
1–3 pm
9 weeks, Sept. 13–Nov. 15, no class Oct. 4
$45
Practice conversation, video, presentations
Vous êtes francophile? Then you’ll want to take advantage of this chance to pick up a “little bit of French” in the context of everyday French life and culture. Beginners and intermediate students alike will enjoy exploring French art, theater, politics, and cuisine while learning to function in the situations they’re most likely to meet while traveling in a French-speaking country.
Recommended reading: Jeannette Bragger and Donald Rice, On y va! (Level 1, Vol. 1) (Heinle & Heinle, 1993), ISBN 0838441424. A French dictionary is always useful.
Instructor:Karen Overton began her lifelong love affair with the language and culture of France when she read Madeline Goes to Paris as a child. After fifteen years’ experience teaching French at all levels, she’s convinced that the best way to learn to speak French creatively is by plunging right in with something to say.
Karen Overton (A Little Bit of French), who has traveled extensively in Europe and parts of Asia, has had an interest in language and culture since she was a small child growing up on a ranch. Reading Madeline Goes to Paris was the beginning of her lifelong love affair with French language and culture. She began her study of language in prep school and later earned an undergraduate degree from UNC with a double major in French and education. She went on to earn a master’s degree in French from the renowned Ecole de Langue of Middlebury College. Karen has much experience as an educator with a total of fifteen years teaching at the junior high, high school, and college levels. She has also worked as a commercial real estate broker and in her free time is no stranger to the tennis court!
Wednesdays, 1–3 pm
8 weeks, Sept. 14–Nov. 9, no class Oct. 12
$50
Guest speakers, discussion If you have a hard time following news reports about African countries, here’s your chance to ground yourself in the basics of the complex geography, politics, and culture of what still remains for most of us a “dark continent.” You’ll hear from experts who’ll introduce you to some of the issues facing the people of Africa today and find out why so many African problems defy easy solution despite a vast reserve of human and natural resources.
Required aids: Any recent world almanac or the CIA World Factbook on the internet.
Facilitators: Political science and geography enthusiast Margaret Hinman teams up with retired Social Security administrator Paula Kauffman to conduct this virtual tour of Africa. Paula brings personal insights to the topic from a short stint helping the government of Namibia set up a social insurance program.
Margaret Hinman’s (The African Continent: A Survey) journey to Denver from a farm in southeastern Montana was roundabout, taking her to Washington, D.C., for college and to Oklahoma City for a year of volunteer work in the inner city. She has worked in education for her entire professional life. At the same time Margaret raised five children and now has six grandchildren. Besides her involvement in lifelong learning opportunities, she is a volunteer Master Gardener for Adams County.
Although
Paula Kauffman (The African Continent: A Survey) has pursued the usual retirement pleasures—travel, new hobbies (a perennial beginning golfer), volunteer work, and learning—she has also had the uncommon experience of working for one-month in southern Africa, where she helped the government of Namibia set up a social insurance program. Having spent her professional career in the United States Social Security Administration, Paula has strong opinions about the privatization of the program and does public speaking on this subject from time to time.
Thursdays, 9:30–11:30 am
9 weeks, Sept. 15–Nov. 17, no class Oct. 13
$45
Workshop You needn’t have grown up in Lake Woebegone to have interesting stories to tell—and eager listeners. Learn how to stir up your memories and capture them for the entertainment of friends and family or simply for the pure pleasure of bringing the past back to life. There is no better way to start writing than by recalling the people and events that have made a difference in your life and no better time to begin than now.
Recommended reading: Participants will receive an annotated list of helpful books available in local libraries.
Facilitator:
Life-stories guru Kathy Boyer has taught countless beginning storytellers how to value and record their personal experiences in workshops that offer encouragement, exercises, and enjoyment.
Kathy Boyer (Writing Your Life Story) has conducted Life Story workshops for libraries, summer camps, churches, and community centers. As a child, she developed a love for the personal story while listening to neighbors recall tales of their childhood. Now a retired teacher, Kathy helps individuals record their memories on audiotape. As a workshop facilitator, she offers inspiration and ideas for individuals who want to begin a written collection of their own life stories.
Thursdays, 1–3 pm
8 weeks, Sept. 15–Nov. 10, no class Oct. 13
$35
Workshop, discussion, activities Want to take advantage of recent empirical studies that are suggesting new ways to make a good life even better? This course provides tools for “getting in the zone,” living so fully in the moment that you lose track of time and even, at times, awareness of your surroundings. We’ll go beyond the platitudes and happy-talk of the typical self-help guide to examine the behaviors and attitudes that research is discovering are crucial to fulfillment. This survey of the emerging discipline known as “positive psychology” offers techniques for setting new goals and drawing up an action plan.
Required reading: Martin Seligman, Authentic Happiness (Free Press, 2002).
Also recommended: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Perennial, 1991); Daniel Kahneman, Edward Diener, and Norbert Schwarz (eds.),Well-being: the Foundations of Hedonic Psychology (Russell Sage Foundation, 2002); Abraham Maslow, Toward a Psychology of Being [1969], 3d ed. (Wiley, 1998); Steven Johnson, Mind Wide Open: Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life (Scribner, 2004); and Jacob Needleman, Money and the Meaning of Life (Currency, 1994).
Facilitator: Psychologist John Shell became a student of the human condition out of perplexity about how people built meaningful and fulfilling lives. Most recently, he’s been helping frustrated managers figure out how to inspire top performances from workers.
John Shell (The New Science of Happiness) (Cities of Destiny: Six More) became a student of the human condition out of perplexity. He got a good education and started a promising academic career, but it didn't bring the satisfaction he expected. Paradoxically, his path forward involved going back to school, this time to study psychology. That led to a career figuring out how people build meaningful and fulfilling lives. The latest scientific studies are particularly intriguing to him.
Tuesdays, 1–3
pm
8 weeks, Sept. 13–Nov. 8, no class Oct. 4
$40
Guest speakers, video lectures, discussion Ever wondered how a signal finds your cell phone when you’re miles from home, how we carbon date an ancient artifact, how an MRI or CAT scan works, or how oil and natural gas are discovered and produced? Whether science has always been your strong suite or you count yourself among the scientifically challenged, this is the class for you. A healthy curiosity is all you need to learn more about how today’s technological “wonders of the world” work.
Required reading: Marshall Brain, How Stuff Works (Wiley, 2001).
Presenters: Science enthusiast Russ Haskell and various Denver area “lab” assistants.
Russ Haskell (How & Why Things Work: Science for the Nonscientist) is a business and oil and gas attorney, with an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering (back, he says, when vacuum tubes were in vogue). His love of the law almost eradicated his interest in science, but the science germ has begun to multiply at an astounding rate! Russ volunteers actively in the Denver community.
Tuesdays, 9:30–11:30 am
7 weeks, Sept. 20–Nov. 15, no class Oct. 4 or Nov. 1
$50, includes cost of copious photocopies
Lectures, discussion
You can’t read the paper or watch the news without hearing about economic indicators. We are bombarded with references to fiscal, monetary, and trade policies. Join us to find out what it all really means. This year we’ll be looking at macroeconomics, the study of economic behavior at the national and global level, with our focus this term on understanding the four overall goals of macroeconomic policy (economic growth, stable prices, high employment, and sustainable trade balances). Next term, we’ll take a closer look at the tools of macroeconomics: fiscal and monetary policies
Required reading: photocopy handouts
Instructor: Retired, but enthusiastic, economist Jim Kneser promises a lively class, intellectually stimulating yet accessible to all—with a minimum of graphs and charts and a maximum of examples from current headlines.
Wednesdays, 9:30–11:30 am
4 weeks, Sept. 14–Oct. 12 (skip Oct. 5)
$35
Lectures, discussion, and video Confused by investment jargon and disappointed by your attempts to beat the market? We’ll demystify terms like “efficient market hypothesis,” “modern portfolio theory,” and “strategic asset allocations” and discover why the most rational way to invest funds is also one of the easiest and least stressful. You’ll sleep better at night once you learn the secret that mutual fund managers don’t want you to know. The first in a series on investment strategies and decision-making, this course (or the original “Rational Investor” offered last winter) is a prerequisite for The Rational Investor II, scheduled in the same time slot for the final 5 weeks of the term.
Required reading: photocopy handouts
Recommended but not required reading: Jeremy Siegel, Stocks for the Long Run, 3d ed. (McGraw-Hill, 2002).
Instructor: Economist and CPA Jim Kneser says “learning to recognize financial decision-making traps—like flirting with hot stocks and falling for the next sure bet—is the first step on the road to avoiding them.”
Wednesdays, 9:30–11:30 am
4 weeks, Oct. 19, 26, Nov. 9, 16
$35
Lectures, discussion
Prerequisite: The Rational Investor I or equivalent
Once grounded in the fundamentals of asset allocation, we’ll explore current theories of investment strategy and learn why the “tried and true” always beats the “bold and new.” We’ll delve into the pros and cons of international diversification and study the principles driving a new emphasis on "return-enhancing strategies." Learn what you need to know to make choices that are likely to deliver the best results for the least risk.
Required reading: photocopy handouts
Recommended but not required reading: Jeremy J. Siegel, The Future for Investors: Why the Tried and the True Triumph Over the Bold and the New (Crown Business, 2005).
Instructor: With an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, economist Jim Kneser retired from a career devoted to mergers and acquisitions, speculative markets, and other lighthearted enterprises. His special interest lies in the way economic principles influence decision making in both personal life and public policy.
Thursdays 1–3
4 weeks, Sept. 29, Oct. 20, Nov. 3 & 17
$35, includes cost of copious photocopies
Seminar This free-form course is designed to help budding economists keep tabs on crucial national and international economic issues of the day. We’ll take an especially close look at the conflicting theories of fiscal and monetary policy that are making headlines this year—tax policy, social security, trade balances, and currency fluctuations. Here’s a chance to apply all your accumulated economic savvy to real world issues in a stimulating and friendly peer environment.
Prerequisite: Three classes in economics with Jim Kneser or the equivalent (if the latter, contact him for approval).
Required reading: photocopy handouts selected from the media
Instructor: Retired economist Jim Kneser is fascinated by the way public economic policies affect all areas of daily life.
After a career in financial management, Jim Kneser (Economics 201: Macroeconomics Made Easy) (The Rational Investor I & II) (Critical Economic Issues) (Colorado Ballot Issues 2005) has turned his attention to educating adults about the workings of complicated economic principles in the real world. In the past few years he’s taught classes in microeconomics, macroeconomics, globalization, and public policy. Hardly a Johnny one-note, Jim indulges his lifelong interest in music by facilitating courses showcasing some of his favorite composers.
Thursdays, 9:30–1130 am
5 weeks, Sept. 15 & 22, Oct. 20 & 27, Nov. 10
$35
Lectures, discussion
Unless we make informed decisions at the polls, we get the public policies we deserve. To solve its fiscal problems, the state of Colorado has increasingly turned to ballot initiatives and referendums that take the form of amendments to the state constitution. This November we’ll face new ballot proposals claiming to solve the state’s budgetary problems. We’ll scour these proposed amendments (and others if they make it to the ballot) to ferret out all their intended and unintended consequences before we have to decide how to vote. Our post-election session will assess the election results and their implications for state government.
Required reading: photocopy handouts
Facilitators: Legislative representative Toni Larson teams up with retired economist Jim Kneser to present a balanced analysis of some of this year’s ballot issues. Larson is executive director of Independent Higher Education of Colorado (the governmental affairs arm of Colorado College, Regis University, and the University of Denver). Economist and public policy junkie Kneser now pursues these interests through his work with the Academy.
After a career in financial management, Jim Kneser (Economics 201: Macroeconomics Made Easy) (The Rational Investor I & II) (Critical Economic Issues) (Colorado Ballot Issues 2005) has turned his attention to educating adults about the workings of complicated economic principles in the real world. In the past few years he’s taught classes in microeconomics, macroeconomics, globalization, and public policy. Hardly a Johnny one-note, Jim indulges his lifelong interest in music by facilitating courses showcasing some of his favorite composers.
As executive director of Independent Higher Education of Colorado, the nonprofit agency responsible for public policy research and lobbying for Colorado College, Regis University, and the University of Denver, Toni Larson (Colorado Ballot Issues 2005) keeps abreast of state and federal issues, especially as they affect higher education. To relax Toni enjoys biking, cross-country skiing, classical music, theater, and her grandchildren.
Thursdays, 9:30–1130 am
8 weeks, Sept 15–Nov. 10, no class Oct. 13
$55, includes cost of booklet
Video lectures, discussion
Does U.S. foreign policy weigh heavily on your mind these days? Based on the longest running world-affairs educational program of its kind, this class offers you a chance to study, exchange ideas, and formulate informed opinions on timely issues that affect us all. The video series brings together top experts to discuss U.S. intelligence, Russia, outsourcing, China, Sudan, the global poverty gap, the Middle East, and water concerns worldwide. Their reasoned and differing points of view are sure to jump-start class debate.
Required reading: The Great Decisions “Briefing Booklet.” Includes historical context, maps, photographs, discussion questions, and annotated reading and website resources for each topic. Booklets will be mailed to participants September 1.
Moderator: Vee Sabel, who led the Academy’s 2003 and 2004 Great Decisions discussion groups, says she can’t wait to get started on the 2005 program and share ideas with others interested in current events and foreign affairs.
Vee Sabel (Foreign Policy Decisions) is a confirmed foreign policy junkie and world traveler. She loves to hear the opinions of others and gain new perspective on issues. She is a skilled facilitator having been trained by and worked with Michael Doyle and Peter Strauss in their worldwide consultancy, Interaction Associates. While with them, she specialized in issues involving information flow and management structure. She has also worked with nonprofit boards throughout the United States on similar matters. Locally she is a member of the Institute for International Education, the Englewood Rotary Club, the Museum of Nature and Science, the Denver Art Museum, and numerous other nonprofit groups. Vee is also a designer with the Allred Architectural Group and often lectures at Arapahoe Community College.
Tuesdays, 1–3 pm
9 weeks, Sept 13–Nov. 15, no class Oct. 4
$40
Discussion Freedom of religion, freedom of speech and the press, the right to assemble and to petition the government for redress of grievances—none of these was even mentioned in the original text of the Constitution. With the rise of individualism in the twentieth century, the federal courts have struggled to define the limits of personal freedom, conscience, and privacy in the context of the rights of the majority and the need for an orderly government. We’ll consider such controversial issues as pornography and hate speech as we focus on the often-maddening complexities of striking a balance among competing visions of the First Amendment in a diverse society.
Required reading: Daniel Farber, The First Amendment ( Foundation Press, 2003).
Facilitators: Retired lawyer Connie Hyde, who once fancied herself as a rising Shakespeare scholar, now relishes the freedom to explore fresh intellectual interests. For this class, she’s joined by “lead learner” Keith Meagher, who loves ferreting out the connections between culture and history.
A passionate and messy gardener, Connie Hyde (First Amendment Rights) (Cities of Destiny: Six More) describes herself as a “recovering lawyer” who is now interested in exploring only “those things that move me, provoke me, challenge me, and enlarge my understanding of the human condition.” Connie took her undergraduate degree from Wesleyan College and master’s degree from Duke University, both in English literature. At one time, she envisioned herself as the rising Shakespearean scholar of the East Coast, but after a year in the rare book room of the Duke library she realized that she needed more human contact in her life. Returning to school after marriage and children, she earned a J.D. from Denver University and has practiced commercial real estate law ever since. Connie is a lively speaker. Those who know her appreciate her wit and ready laugh. Because she is a deal maker, she is very inclusive and certain to provide an atmosphere where everyone in the group will become engaged in the conversation.
A man for all seasons, Keith Meagher (First Amendment Rights) has special interests centering on the connection between culture and history. Keith loves delving deeply behind the surface and finding ways to encourage fellow students to do the same. He looks forward to hearing the thoughts of others as weighty and complex issues are examined.
DIVERTIMENTI
The Divertimenti are divided into the following categories: Just for Fun, BookNotes, and Skills & Frills
WINE & CHEESE KICK-OFF
Wednesday, Sept. 7, 5–7 pm
$5
Meet new friends and greet the old at this wine and cheese kick-off for the fall term. Scope out our class headquarters, get to know facilitators and fellow Academics, and pick up any hand-outs you’ll need before your first class sessions. (Can’t make it? We’ll mail anything you miss.) Bring your friends and neighbors to join in the fun and find out what the Academy is all about. They might hear of a great offering that hasn’t yet filled.
Tuesday,
Sept. 13, 9:30–11:30 am
$5 (nonmembers $10)
Booklover Verna Markert Caramelo was the 2005 selection for the "One Book, One Denver" program. If you missed out on the citywide formal and informal discussions of last spring, here’s a second chance to talk about this story of a Mexican-American girl's struggle to understand her roots. Author Sandra Cisneros fills her sprawling canvas with intricate details that twist and turn through three generations of truths, half-truths, and outright lies.
Vagabond Verna Markert (BookNotes: Caramelo) left Minnesota at twenty-one "to see the world.” Before returning to New Ulm, Minnesota, to rear her daughter, she lived in Washington, DC; Birmingham, Alabama: Hickam Field, Hawaii; Duluth, Minnesota; Fort Ord and San Francisco, California. Once settled, she worked for thirty years as a legal assistant in the County Attorney's Office, which was also a private law firm. In 1989, Verna moved to Aurora, Colorado, with her two cats, Pierre and Simone, to share the lives of her daughter and two grandchildren and to embark on a second career as "professional volunteer and lifelong learning student."
A PRIMATE'S MEMOIR
Thursday, Nov. 3, 9:30–11:30 am
$5 (nonmembers $10)
Science enthusiast
Cynthia Small Stanford biology professor and recipient of a MacArthur “genius” award winner Robert Sapolsky can really tell a story. His memoir is full of good information on primates and primatology. The primary primate story concerns his research subjects in Kenya, the baboons he patiently watched. The secondary primate stories feature Homo sapiens—Sapolsky’s Kilimanjaro climbing guide with an attitude, his Somali kidnappers, a Masai fundamentalist, and the Old White Man. You won’t soon forget Sapolsky or his fellow primates. Participants in the Africa class should find this discussion of special interest.
With an M.A. in international studies from the University of Denver, Cynthia Small (BookNotes: A Primate’s Memoir) taught political science and economics at the Community College of Denver. She facilitated a learning-in-retirement class in evolutionary biology. By the time this booknotes session takes place, she’ll have her third trip to Africa under her belt and will have met many more baboons and other primates.
Thursday, Sept. 8, 9:30–1 pm, Thursday, Sept. 29 11:30-1:00
$5 (nonmembers $20) 2 lunches are included
Academy Director, Sally Kneser
Facilitating is FUN! Have you enjoyed participating in The Academy? Would you like to become more involved? Here’s your chance to learn techniques to make you both a great facilitator and a better group member. This course is designed for both current and future facilitators. If you’re uncertain as to whether you’d ever like to facilitate, sign up to see what it’s like. Then you’ll be ready to say yes when the curriculum committee contacts you. If you have been a member at any time since The Academy began, the fee is only $5 for the two sessions. What you’ll learn: How to organize an Academy class, the best ways to ask questions, how to begin a group activity, how to keep a group focused, how to promote participation, and where to locate guest speakers and supplemental materials. What you’ll do: Listen to presentations, practice in a real life situation, analyze and offer comments on the techniques of others, take home material for review, and receive advice from former facilitators. What have others said? “I have two main reasons for facilitating. First is that I enjoy The Academy so much that I want to make a significant contribution. Secondly, facilitating gives me the nudge to study the subject in more depth than if I were just taking the class, and accordingly, I learn more.” The second session will be a round-table discussion of techniques you have observed, what works, what doesn't work, etc. Trained in the early 80’s by Michael Doyle, author of Making Meetings Work, Sally Kneser has since taught Girl Scout Leaders, PTO Presidents, Junior League Chairmen and Facilitators, and Lifelong Learning Facilitators.
Session I: Computer
Magic—Monday, Sept. 12; 1—3 pm
Session II: PowerPoint Made Easy—Wednesday, Sept. 14, 9:30—11:30 am
$5 (nonmembers $15) for each session
Instructor: Computer jockey
Sally Kneser
Session I: Spend one-third less time at your computer by learning some simple tricks. Right-click, the Ctrl key, and single letters of the alphabet will be your new best friends. It will feel great to walk away from the computer after creating a better-looking project in a shorter amount of time. BYO keyboard or laptop if you have one.
Session II: If you ever want to make a presentation, PowerPoint can help you do a better job. Your audience will learn more, and you’ll be more at ease knowing that you are totally organized and that your notes will appear on the screen. Google plus your brain can be a mighty force. Learn how to team them up. For your learning pleasure, this class will be a PowerPoint presentation. BYO keyboard or laptop if you have one.
Monday, Sept. 19; 1–3 pm, $15 or FREE!
Session II: Lessons—3 Mondays, Sept. 26, Oct. 10, Oct. 24; 1–3 pm
Session III: Practice—3 Mondays, Oct. 3, Oct. 17, Oct. 31; 1–3 pm
$20 each/Sessions II and III (nonmembers $30; single days $15)
Instructor: Bridge enthusiast Sally Kneser
You’ll be in good hands with Sally Kneser as you learn and practice some advanced-intermediate bidding. The series starts with a review of basic Standard American ACBL bidding as used by most current Denver players (FREE if registration is received by Sept. 13, $15 later). Session II meetings begin with an hour of instruction on bidding the weak two, the strong two, and transfers after no-trump—followed by an hour of practice hands. Session III meetings begin with a ten-minute review followed by practice hands—like a workout with the tennis-ball machine after a lesson from the pro. If you have a regular partner or bridge group, it’s good to attend together. It’s always fun, though, to meet new friends at the bridge table, and singles are welcome. Note that sessions II and III alternate weeks.
Bridge nut and art groupie Sally Kneser (Cities of Destiny: Six More) (Intermediate Bridge) (Computers) (Learn to Facilitate) is always ready to learn something new and help teach others. “I love to learn, and it’s so much more fun with friends around.” Sally is particularly proficient on the computer and in the last two years has learned how to create and maintain a website and how to use a complex database system. For years she has kept the files for various charitable organizations. Now she maintains the Academy’s database of 1,300 names.
Thursday, Sept. 15, 9 am–1 pm
$30 (nonmembers $40), includes book and certification
Instructor: Jane
Masterson, RN ACLS TNCC
Limited to 8 participants
CPR is so beneficial in helping others that all good citizens should learn or update their CPR skills. The letters CPR stand for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, a combination of rescue breathing (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation) and chest compressions. Emphasis will be on the ABC’s of Airway, Breathing, and Circulation, and you’ll be able to practice the techniques on mannequins, ask questions, and get individual instruction. After demonstrating CPR skills and taking a written test, you’ll be certified in adult, child, and infant CPR. There will also be a demonstration of the AED (Automated External Defibrillator). Wear comfortable clothing because we’ll be performing CPR on the floor.
Jane Masterson (Heartsaver CPR) holds the titles of RN (Registered Nurse), ACLS (Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support), TNCC (Trauma Nursing Core Course), and American Heart Association CPR Instructor. Beyond all those letters and experience, Jane is a fun-loving, delightful person who will engage you in the CPR experience. Her twenty-three years in ER medicine includes experience locally at Swedish, Porter, and St. Anthony Central Hospital, Level I Trauma Center, and Flight for Life. She received her education at Creighton University, St. Joe's School of Nursing, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
2 Wednesdays,
Nov. 9, 16; 9:30–11:30 am
$20 (nonmembers $30)
Leader: Ellen Hughes, Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist Learn the art of self-hypnosis, and find out how you can use it to create positive changes in your life. We will examine the workings of the triune mind and explore some of the more than two hundred uses for hypnosis—from pain control to weight loss. Take yourself to your own natural level of relaxation. Learn the correct use of affirmations. Identify subconscious patterns, and become aware of how they dictate your behavior. Homework assignments will provide practice so that you can ask questions and receive guidance for the future.
Ellen Hughes (The Art of Self-Hypnosis) took a class on self-hypnosis over twenty years ago. The more she practiced it, the more she noticed how powerful it was in changing her own behavior in a positive way. She then started teaching it to friends. Her next step was to attend school and become a certified clinical hypnotherapist. She currently has a practice in Denver and continues to teach others the power of their own minds and how to harness the mind through self-hypnosis. She is a professional lecturer and published author.
Session I: 4 Mondays, Sept. 12– Oct. 3; 11 am–12:15 pm
Session II: 4 Wednesdays, Sept. 14–Oct. 5; 11 am–12:15 pm
Instructor: Registered yoga teacher Rose Kauffman
Session III: 4 Mondays, Oct. 10–31; 11 am–12:15 pm
Session IV: 4 Wednesdays, Oct. 12–Nov. 2; 11 am–12:15 pm
Instructor: Yoga teacher Ellie Moller
$25 (nonmembers $35) for each session
Strictly limited to 15 participants
Have fun while increasing your activity level….boost your energy….tone your muscles….exercise with purpose…become more flexible by stretching. Yoga helps you nurture yourself by tuning in to your body and your heart. It promotes strength and balance. These four similar sessions will teach yoga postures for the beginner or intermediate practitioner. Wear loose, comfortable clothing that allows easy movement. No perfumes or scented lotions. Please refrain from eating two hours before class. Bring a yoga sticky mat and wooden or foam block if you have them.
Rose Kauffman (Getting Healthy with Yoga) has been a yoga practitioner for more than ten years. She is a registered yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance and has been teaching for three years in various nonprofit organizations in Denver. She teaches beginning and intermediate students and works with specific therapeutic applications of yoga. She has studied and practiced various styles of yoga including Iyengar, Anusara, and Kripalu.
Ellie Moller (Getting Healthy with Yoga) has taught yoga at YMCA of the Rockies Women’s Fitness camps for twenty-two years and is presently teaching for Wellbridge at the Colorado Athletic Club at Inverness. She has studied with Lilias and Pat Hansen and is a member of Yoga Teachers of Colorado. Having taught high school English for twenty-five years in the Denver Public Schools, she combines her love of yoga with a love of literature. She is enjoying the stimulation of Academy classes.
Session I: Artfor Fun—
4 Tuesdays, Sept. 20, Oct. 18, Nov. 1, 15; 9:30–11:30 am
$35 (includes some supplies) (nonmembers $45)
Limited to 15
Session II: Drawing: Portraits, People & Landscape—7 Thursdays, Sept. 22, 29,
Oct. 6, 20, 27, Nov. 10, 17; 9:30–11:30 am
$40 (includes a book) (nonmembers $50)
Limited to 12
Retired art teacher Diane Carrick
Assistants: art lovers Priscilla Dunbar and Gina Lind
Session I: Here’s a chance to unleash your creativity. Starting with the concept of “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain,” we’ll explore sure-fire strategies for luring your inner artist out into the open. We’ll be trying different techniques and media each week: pencil, marker, watercolor, oil pastel, colored pencils. All you need to do is relax and enjoy. The goal is to have a good time and learn several techniques without focusing on a final product.
Session II: We’ll practice drawing skills like shapes, perspective, composition, and shading in a supportive atmosphere that allows time for interaction. Nude models are strongly urged to attend.
For both classes, BYO pencil, eraser, and 8x10 to 11x14 sketch book.
Diane Carrick (Art for Fun) taught junior high school art classes for eight years in Ohio. She has published poetry in Windows to the Soul, and her art work and articles about art have appeared in 5280 and elsewhere. She enjoys taking Academy classes and teaches art to small groups in her home. She’s currently in the middle of writing her life story as she charges on to another adventure.
During the last four years Priscilla Dunbar (Art for Fun) has been learning the joy of art in the studio of Diane Carrick. She began with watercolor, moved to pastels, and is now branching out into oil. During her free time, Priscilla enjoys Tai Chi, needlework, meditation, and taking Academy classes.
3 Wednesdays, Oct. 26, Nov. 2 &16; 1–3 pm
$25 (nonmembers $35)
Instructor: Mary Sheron
Now you can make your own high-fashion bead jewelry or create custom gifts for family and special friends. Turn that broken string of beads from Aunt Lily or the wonderful piece of jade you brought back from China into wearable art. Course fee includes supplies for the first session at the Academy site, where you’ll learn about techniques and tools and complete two projects. Session two meets at a bead shop, where you can see inspiring examples, discuss design ideas, and buy anything you need for your final week’s masterpiece. Session three will be your opportunity to work on your own project with technical and design assistance available.
Mary Sheron (Designing with Beads) has a master’s degree in education and in a previous life spent eight years teaching art in elementary and high school. In her spare time, she travels the world taking photographs and collecting items to incorporate into the jewelry she creates. To share her love for travel and to support indigenous crafts, she organizes small groups of people to travel together, specializing in women's trips to Thailand and Southeast Asia.
4 Tuesdays, Sept. 27 (10–12 am), Oct. 11 & 25, Nov. 8, 9:30–11:30 am
$10 (nonmembers $20)
Lead knitters: Donna Belber, Wendy Davis, Jeanenne Stepelton
The knitters had so much fun that they’re coming back for more. This companionable group welcomes newcomers at all skill levels. The first session meets at A Knitted Peace knit shop, 5654 S. Prince in Littleton, for inspiration, pointers on the latest trends and yarns, and help in choosing a new project if needed. Other sessions meet at the church, where you’ll get plenty of encouragement and advice when you get stuck. Work on holiday gift projects, or make a felted purse or fluffy scarf for yourself.
Donna Belber (middle) (Knit Wits) is a retired middle school teacher and financial assistant. She loves having more time for her friends and dog, golfing, supporting the Dumb Friends League, and enjoying classes with the Academy.
As a seeker of goodness, beauty, and the divine, Wendy Davis (right) (Knit Wits) has turned from thirty years of litigation in Colorado to help solve disputes as an advocate for children and the disabled. A busy mother of two and grandmother of three, Wendy manages to pursue her interests in music, art, literature, and the beauty of Colorado.
Jeanenne Stepelton (left) (Knit Wits) is a retired elementary teacher who is really enjoying retirement. Knitting is a relatively new endeavor, but she's attacking it with gusto. In addition to the Academy's knitting group, Jeanenne has been taking classes on knitting sweaters and ponchos.