COURSES

Academy courses are divided into the following categories: Social Sciences, Humanities, and Fine Arts.

DIVERTIMENTI

The Divertimenti are shorter, less serious, or more craft oriented offerings.

SOCIAL SCIENCES

EVOLUTION, INTELLIGENT DESIGN & THE COURTS

Wednesdays, 9:30-11:30 am
8 weeks, Feb. 21-Apr. 11
$60, includes a large book’s worth of copies
Brief lectures, discussion

The effort of religious groups to control the teaching of science in public classrooms has become a major issue of our time. Like other great social debates, this one is fueled by the lack of agreement about the meanings of basic terms. We’ll see how words like theory, science, scientific law, scientific method, religion, dogma, creationism, scientific creationism, intelligent design, natural selection, empirical evidence, and controversy have been bandied about in a way that makes it difficult for interested lay persons, even judges, to understand some of the arguments. And we’ll examine court decisions—from the Scopes Trial to recent Georgia and Pennsylvania cases—that have helped to elucidate the meanings of these terms and arrive at standards regulating the ability of the government to endorse a specific religious viewpoint.

No required textbook

Instructor:
Larry Matten is a former professor of plant biology and nationally recognized expert on the evolution of early land plants. His second career as an attorney has spurred his keen interest in judicial decisions that affect the teaching of intelligent design and evolution in public schools.

THE SUPREME COURT FOR NON-LAWYERS, Part 2

Wednesdays, 1-3 pm 6 weeks
Feb. 21-April 4, no class Mar. 7
Price change: $50, includes copious copies
Brief lectures, discussion, participant reports
Part 1 is NOT a prerequisite

Every day we face fresh reminders of Tocqueville’s aphorism that “scarcely any political (or social) question arises in the United States that is not resolved, sooner or later, into a judicial question.” This is the second part of a two-part course designed for non-lawyers who want to learn more about the workings of the Supreme Court and its enormous power in our everyday lives. This term we’ll look closely at cases dealing with the right of privacy, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion. Rather than getting bogged down in tedious technical matters, we’ll focus on the issues before the Court, the gist of the Court’s rulings, and the historical importance of each decision. We’ll also touch on selection of members of the Court and other topical matters that interest the participants.

Required reading:
Irene Morgan, The Supreme Court in Action: An Introduction to American Constitutional Law for Non-Lawyers (1994), which will be distributed at first meeting.

Recommended reading:
Jean Edward Smith, John Marshall, Definer of a Nation (Henry Holt, 1996) (Order from Amazon); Alexander M. Bickel, The Least Dangerous Branch: The Supreme Court at the Bar of Politics (Yale Univ. Press, 1962) (Order from Amazon); and Anthony Lewis, Gideon’s Trumpet (Vintage, 1964) (Order from Amazon).

Facilitators:
Lawyers Irene (Rene) and Don Morgan spent many years in Washington, D.C., where Don was involved in a number of cases decided by the Supreme Court and Rene’s job reading petitions to the Court to review lower court decisions brought her into contact with the justices. Her later experience teaching American Constitutional Law at a Japanese university led to the development of the textbook used for this course.

WHAT’S UP WITH HIGHER EDUCATION IN COLORADO?

Thursdays, 9:30-11:30 am
10 weeks, Feb. 22-Apr. 26
$55
Presentations, guest speakers, field trips, discussion

Just as higher education is undergoing a sea change, Colorado finds itself floundering. Ranking at the top among states in average family income, we sink to 48th in per capita tax appropriation for higher education. And although Colorado is among the top three states in percentage of adults with bachelor degrees, it ranks near the bottom in sending its own current high school graduates on to college. How can we do better? We’ll be talking about improving access for underserved students as we examine such topics as the funding, governance structure, and accountability of public higher education in Colorado. We’ll hear from government officials, see a demonstration of online/distance teaching, and make three field trips: to the legislature, the Auraria campus, and the University of Denver.

No required textbook

Facilitators:
Toni Larson is executive director of Independent Higher Education of Colorado (the governmental affairs arm of Colorado College, Regis University, and the University of Denver). As a volunteer and community activist for many years, Lorie Young believes in the need for study before action. She has served as president of the League of Women Voters of Denver, the League of Women Voters of Colorado, and the City Club of Denver.

THE DILEMMA OF IMMIGRATION

Thursdays, 9:30-11:30 am
4 weeks, Feb. 22-Mar. 15
$50, no book to buy, generous handouts
Lectures, discussion

No issue has gripped America in 2006 like immigration. Who should be permitted to enter American society and in what numbers are hotly debated questions. Tom Tancredo, Dick Lamm, Samuel Huntington, and others suggest that current immigrants differ materially from those of the past and should therefore be repulsed. Immigration proponents maintain that the current wave of immigration is consistent with past patterns and is of great economic value to America now and in the future. Is America ready to turn its back on its 250-year history as a nation of immigrants? Can we afford to absorb all the new entrants, authorized and unauthorized? Can we afford to turn them away? We’ll review the history of American immigration and the laws governing immigration in the past and present. We’ll also compare relative rates of assimilation and changing attitudes toward immigrants. Finally we’ll look at the economic impact of immigration and weigh its costs and benefits.

Recommended reading:
Tamar Jacoby, Reinventing the Melting Pot: The New Immigrants and What It Means To Be an American (Basic Books, 2004) (Order from Amazon); Richard Alba, Remaking the American Mainstream: Assimilation and Contemporary Immigration (Harvard Univ. Press, 2005) (Order from Amazon).

Facilitator:
Jim Kneser, economist and public policy maven, leads this lively investigation into one of today’s hottest topics.

RATIONAL INVESTING ESSENTIALS

Wednesdays, 9:30-11:30
8 weeks, Mar. 7-Apr. 25
$60, includes cost of generous handouts
Lectures, discussion No prerequisite

This course covers only the most essential elements of the Academy’s three previous Rational Investing courses (Smart People, Rational Investor I, and Rational Investor II). So, whether you’ve taken the earlier classes and are looking for a refresher to drive home the important points or you’re new to these concepts and want only the most essential ideas from the series, this course will suit your needs perfectly. You’ll find out why the most rational way to invest funds is also one of the easiest and least stressful, and how emotions can scupper your rational decision-making. We’ll cover the fundamentals of asset allocation, explore current theories of investment strategy, and learn why the “tried and true” always beats the “bold and new.” We’ll also delve into the ins and outs of buying overseas stocks and study the principles driving a new emphasis on "return-enhancing strategies."

Recommended reading:
Gary Belsky and Thomas Gilovich, Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes and How to Correct Them: Lessons from the New Science of Behavioral Economics (Simon and Schuster,1999) (Order from Amazon); Jeremy Siegel, Stocks for the Long Run, 3d ed. (McGraw-Hill, 2002) (Order from Amazon); Jeremy J. Siegel, The Future for Investors: Why the Tried and the True Triumph Over the Bold and the New (Crown Business, 2005) (Order from Amazon).

Instructor:
Economist 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.”

MUSIC OF ACTIVISM IN THE 20TH CENTURY

Wednesdays, 9:30-11:30 am
8 weeks, Feb. 21-Apr. 11
$50, includes copious bound photocopies
Mini-lectures, discussion, lots of music listening

Like all the arts, music is a social product and a means of social expression. Protest music often crystallizes the anger and frustration of a significant portion of citizens in response to social, political, or economic injustice. We’ll use songs of protest and activism as our guide to some of the twentieth-century’s landmark social upheavals—from the first radical stirrings of unionization, to bloody coal mine and textile mill strikes, the mass migration of Dust Bowl farmers, the voter registration and freedom marches of the ‘50s and ‘60s, and the anti-war/peace protests of the ‘60s and ‘70s. We’ll see how this music encapsulated, and in some cases shaped, these popular movements and examine the ways in which that music and those movements color our own time. There will, of course, be music—lots and lots of music.

No required textbook

Moderator:
Recently retired from commercial real estate law, Connie Hyde has returned enthusiastically to her first loves—literature, history, politics, music, and art (and, most of all, gardening). “I am fascinated,” she says, “by the people and ideas that have shaped our world and the interconnectedness of literature, music, and art with history and politics.”

SPOTLIGHT ON THE MAYA

Thursdays, 1:15-3:15 pm
8 weeks, Feb. 22-Apr. 12
$45
Lectures, video, discussion, hands-on analysis of images

Pyramids, astronomy, the calendar, written history, ball courts, human sacrifice—all flourished in the Americas long before the Europeans “discovered” the New World. This term, we’ll look closely at the writing system, religion, and agricultural practices of the Maya and see how their great achievements and complex societies finally disappeared in the face of overpopulation, environmental degradation, and poor planning. Participants should bring at least five colored pencils to each class in order to examine complex icons in detail and learn to read these clues to the mysteries of the past.

Required reading:
Michael Coe and Rex Koontz, Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs, 5th ed. (Thames & Hudson, 2002) (Order from Amazon).

Recommended reading:
Mary Miller and Simon Martin, Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya (Thames & Hudson, 2004) (Order from Amazon).

Instructor:
Archaeologist and photographer Inga Calvin, teaches archaeology at the University of Colorado-Boulder. She’s excited about teaching adults motivated by the pure love of learning. Both her approach and her knowledge are fresh, having just earned her PhD.

GETTING YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER

Thursdays, 9:30-11:30 am
5 weeks, Feb. 22-Mar. 22
$40, includes cost of syllabus and handouts
Lectures, discussion

Do you really need a will? Is there an advantage to having a living trust? The answer is maybe. Why put off getting your house in order any longer? Here’s your chance to get an overview of estate issues and their tax implications from an experienced elder law attorney before going to see your personal lawyer. We’ll examine the Colorado laws governing estates, end-of-life health issues, and transfer of wealth as we explore various scenarios that could affect the decisions you make about your financial and health-care future.

No required textbook.

Instructor:
After a long career as a professor of biology and botany, Larry Matten began a second career in 2000 as an elder law attorney specializing in estate planning and Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security issues. He has recently retired from the practice of law and returned to his first love, teaching.

ECONOMIC GROWTH, EGALITARIANISM & INEQUALITY A Look at U.S. Policy, Part 2

Thursdays, 1-3 pm
8 weeks, Mar. 8-Apr. 26
$60, includes cost of stacks of photocopies
Lectures, discussion, video
Prerequisite: Part 1 or permission of the instructor

Does a “rising tide lift all boats,” as President Kennedy once promised? The debate has raged among economists for decades and is expected to become the biggest single issue in the 2008 national election. It is generally agreed that free markets and democracy combine to generate economic growth more effectively and efficiently than any other approach. But whether the American form of economic and political organization can also deliver income and wealth equalities that satisfy society is less well settled. To the extent that public policy goals that embrace both economic growth and egalitarianism are mutually exclusive, we will attempt to determine and analyze the social and economic tradeoffs of favoring either goal over the other.

Required reading:
Gene Sperling, The Pro-Growth Progressive: An Economic Strategy for Shared Prosperity (Simon & Schuster, 2005) (Order from Amazon).

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.

HUMANITIES

MORE ADVENTURES WITH GREAT IDEAS The Awareness of Being Human

Tuesdays, 1-3 pm
8 weeks, Feb. 20-Apr. 10
$60, no need to purchase a book, abundant photocopies will be distributed
Discussion, guest speakers, brief video clips

What makes us human? We’ll explore what great Western thinkers of the past have had to say about the meaning of humanity is passages excerpted from the Great Treasury of Western Thought (ed. Mortimer J. Adler and Charles van Doren) and other sources. We’ll see how eight key conceptions of our human condition have evolved through history; how these ideas, accreted and changed over the centuries, influence modern attitudes; how, in turn, they affect our understanding of ourselves; and, finally, how current views of humanity help or hinder efforts to reach our fullest human and societal potential. The readings—centered on specific topics like self-knowledge, honor and fame, and life and death—are sure to prompt personal reflection and spirited group discussions.

Recommended reading:
Richard Tarnus, The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas That Have Shaped Our World View (Random House, 1993). (Order from Amazon).

Daniel J. Boorstin, The Seekers: The Story of Man’s Continuing Quest to Understand His World (Vintage, 1999) (Order from Amazon).

Moderator:
Jim Hartmann has spent most of his career working in the world of ideas in the museum field as a researcher, writer, interpreter, curator, and administrator. In retirement, he enjoys having more time to explore great ideas in congenial company. His M.A. (history) introduced him to many great ideas, yet he enjoys exploring the thoughts of others. Past participants have ranked his courses A+.

THE ROMAN REPUBLIC & THE FIRST TWELVE CAESARS

Tuesdays, 9:30-11:30 am
8 weeks, Feb. 20-Apr. 10
$45, includes lots of handouts
Limited lectures, discussion, videos, participant reports

If you enjoy blood and guts adventure and find the story of the early American republic fascinating, you’ll like delving into the history of the world’s first republic. After looking at the background leading up to the emergence of the Roman Republic, we’ll begin our discussion of the caesars with Julius and Augustus, Rome's greatest movers and shapers, before turning to Nero, Caligula, and their successors. Inevitably, part of our focus will be on what went wrong with a system that seemed to hold so much promise.

Required reading:
Michael Grant, The Twelve Caesars (Scribner, 1996) (Order from Amazon).

Also recommended:
Michael Grant, The History of Rome (Prentice Hall, 1978) (Order from Amazon); Irwin Isenburg, Caesar (Horizon Caravel, 1964); Plutarch, The Fall of the Roman Republic: Six Lives (Penguin Classics, 2006) (Order from Amazon).

Moderator:
Tom Joy is a retired businessman whose first love was always history. He has taught many popular classes, with many focused on the larger-than-life personalities who dominate critical moments of the past.

BUDDHISM

Thursdays, 1-3 pm
4 weeks, Mar. 8-Mar. 29
$30
Discussion

Who was the Buddha? We’ll take a brief look at the life of the man who founded Buddhism in India more than 2,500 years ago before we turn to the history of how his teachings tended to develop into different schools of thought. We’ll compare these developments to the way various sects arose in such religions as Christianity and Islam. We’ll also examine the principles and practices of Buddhism and see why it has been considered a religion in spite of the fact that it requires neither belief nor adherence to dogma. Our discussions will touch on such larger questions as the efficacy of meditation or prayer, the role of a charismatic leader in religion, and the meaning of a “fulfilled life.”

Required reading:
John Snelling, The Buddhist Handbook: A Complete Guide to Buddhist Schools (Inner Traditions International, 1999) (Order from Amazon).

Also recommended:
Karen Armstrong, Buddha (Penguin, 2001); and Lama Surya Das, Awakening the Buddha Within (Broadway Books, 1997) (Order from Amazon).

Moderator:
Lifelong skeptic Darwin Rolens is a Renaissance man with a background in humanities, theology, and classical languages and a résumé that includes ten years as an American Baptist minister and twenty-two as a computer programmer in physics research. He has studied comparative religion and Humanism over many years.

PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY

Tuesdays, 9:30-11:30 am
10 weeks, Feb. 20-April 24
$50
Discussion, lectures

If you’re like most people, you probably think that philosophy has nothing to do with the real world. The fact is that the Hellenic philosophic schools of Greece and Rome—Epicureans, Skeptics, and Stoics—all looked at the philosopher as a caring physician whose art could heal many kinds of human suffering and deal with issues of urgent concern—everything from anger, aggression, and the fear of death to love and sexuality. We will examine these schools as examples of practical philosophy with a particular focus on the way they emphasize the influence of belief systems on emotions as the source of our flourishing or dysfunction.

Required reading:
Martha C. Nussbaum, The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics (Princeton Univ. Press, 1994) (Order from Amazon).

Moderator:
John Rupainis has a lifelong interest in history and philosophy that keeps him coming back to lead courses. As he explains, “There’s always something new to learn by talking about these subjects with others.”

HOMER’S ODYSSEY & THE SEQUEL TO THE TROJAN WAR

Tuesdays, 1-3 pm
8 weeks, Feb. 27-Apr. 24, no class Mar. 27
$40
Lectures, video lectures, discussion, participant reports

Rich in the folklore and myth of a pre-literate culture, Homer’s epic poems are still relevant after thousands of years. This discussion course examines The Odyssey in the context of the oral mode of composition, the Bard as singer of tales. We’ll use Professor Elizabeth Vandiver’s Teaching Company lectures sparingly to introduce essential background, but we’ll focus on the story of Odysseus’s wanderings and his hungering for home, the classical paradigm of nostos (a narrative of homecoming). Stories-within-the-story recount the returns of Agamemnon, Menelaos, and Helen and open a retrospect on the sack and burning of Troy (omitted from The Iliad). We’ll also take a look at Homer’s treatment of women, both mortal and immortal, and watch Odysseus’s wife Penelope match wits with him as an intellectual equal.

Required reading:
Robert Fitzgerald’s translation of The Odyssey by Homer (Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1996) (Order from Amazon). All participants must use this specific translation so that everyone will share the same experience of Homer and be on the same page during discussions.

Also recommended:
Eric Havelock, Preface to Plato (Belknap Press, 2005) (Order from Amazon); Essays on the Odyssey, ed. C. H. Taylor (Indiana Univ. Press, 1963); and “The Odyssey” of Homer, trans. by Albert Cook (W.W. Norton, 1967) (Order from Amazon), which contains many critical essays. See also the fine bibliography in the Fitzgerald translation.

Instructor:
Douglas Wilson, educated at Williams College, Oxford, and Harvard, has taught literature courses about everything from Homer to Hemingway for over thirty years at DU. His specialty is the English Romantic period and he taught a popular Jane Austen class for the Academy.

DETECTING THE DETECTIVES An Agatha Christie Primer

Tuesdays, 9:30-11:30 am
4 weeks, Mar. 20-Apr. 10
$35, includes lots of handouts
Lectures, video performances, discussion
Class limited to 12

You’re stuck on a desert island and can order one of three books from castaways.com—the Bible or Shakespeare or Christie’s complete works. Which will you plump for? If you’re seriously leaning toward the “divine Agatha,” this course is for you. Sure, detective fiction is entertaining, but is it merely fun? How is it put together, and what view of the world does it offer? Recent years have seen an explosion of books and articles that shed light on the structural, social, even feminist dimensions of Agatha Christie’s fiction. To borrow the title of one such book, we’ll try “detecting the detectives” by dissecting four works over four weeks. Bring along those gray cells, and get ready to investigate.

Required reading:
Any version of: And Then There Were None (Order from Amazon); Cards on the Table (Order from Amazon); Murder at the Vicarage (Order from Amazon); The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Order from Amazon).

Instructor:
Scholar, teacher, and lover of English literature, Irene Gorak holds a PhD in nineteenth-century literature from UCLA. Having only recently discovered the joys of detective fiction, she was amazed by the amount of serious critical attention showered on the Queen of Crime.

MORE LITERARY WALKS IN BRITAIN

Thursdays, 1-3 pm
6 weeks, Feb. 22-Mar. 29
$45, includes plenty of photocopies
Discussion, 1997 video dramatization of Hardy novel
Class limited to 14

Whether you’re a traveler of the imagination or are actually planning a trip to the British Isles, this course is for you. We’ll roam through the nineteenth-century English countryside with Thomas Hardy and William Wordsworth before catching up with our twentieth-century guides: W.S. Graham, Dylan Thomas, and Margiad Evans. We’ll share our own travel experiences in Britain and find out why getting there is half the fun.

Required reading:
Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd, any edition (Penguin or Modern Library recommended) (Order from Amazon).

Also recommended:
Thomas Hardy, Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets series (Alfred A. Knopf, 1995); Thomas Hardy: The Time-Torn Man by Claire Tomalin (Viking, 2006); William Wordsworth: An Illustrated Selection, ed. Jonathan Wordsworth (Wordsworth Trust, 1987); W.S. Graham, Selected Poems (Faber, 1996) (Order from Amazon); Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas 1934-1953, ed Walford Davies and Ralph Maud (J.M. Dent, 1996) (Order from Amazon). Good home viewing: Far from the Madding Crowd, 1969 video with Julie Christie (Order from Amazon).

Moderator:
In between walking trips in Great Britain, Jim Mingle leads outings for the Sierra Club. He is a retired director of a national association of public higher education officials and university administrators. With a PhD. in Higher Education, he currently consults with many colleges and universities.

FINE ARTS

MASTERPIECES OF EUROPEAN ART, Part 1 Looking with Fresh Eyes

Thursdays, 9:30-11:30 am
8 weeks, Feb. 22-April 12
$50, includes handouts, notebook, outline
Video lectures, slide presentations, discussion

Ever wonder why someone else lingers before a painting, apparently mesmerized by something that escapes you entirely? More than a catalog of images, artists, dates, and background information, this is the first part of a three-part course designed to give you the tools you need to look at paintings, sculpture, and architecture with greater understanding and pleasure. Professor William Kloss’s DVD presentations focus on ways to get inside an artwork and savor it to the fullest. We’ll begin our journey in the Middle Ages with the architectural monuments of the Carolingian Empire and the exquisite sculpture of the French Gothic before moving on to the early Renaissance and Giotto’s invention of illusionistic space and ending, for the time being, with Jan van Eyck and the Northern Renaissance.

Recommended reading:
H. W. Janson and Anthony Janson, A Basic History of Western Art, 7th ed. (Prentice Hall, 2005) (Order from Amazon).

Facilitator:
Laura Pardee has long been fascinated by European painting, sculpture, and architecture. She has spent 1 month in Europe for the last 5 years, gaining firsthand knowledge of many of these magnificent works of art. She adds a personal dimension to your virtual tour with art historian William Kloss. Sunny Wold, longtime Denver Art Museum docent, will attend as time permits and augment materials.

HISTORY OF THE THEATER

Wednesdays, 1-3 pm
6 weeks, Feb. 21-Mar. 28
$35
Lectures, slides

Theater and history buffs alike will find something to applaud in this quick tour of the theater from the days of the Greek chorus to today’s Chorus Line. Since, as theatergoers everywhere already know, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players,” we’ll focus on the human dimensions of this compelling art form and examine the intimate symbiosis between society and the theater throughout history. Our tour of theatrical genres will show that theater does more than mimic life; it is life itself, “poetry that leaves the page and becomes human.”

Recommended reading:
Oscar G. Brockett and Franklin J. Hildy, History of the Theatre, (Allyn & Bacon, 2002) (Order from Amazon); used copies available for half-price at Amazon. With more than 500 photos and illustrations, this is the definitive reference book on theater history.

Instructor:
John Falconieri is former editor of Theatre Annual and a retired professor of Romance languages and literature. His lifelong love affair with the stage began in graduate school, when he directed plays in English, Spanish, and Italian. He lived and taught in Rome for over 20 years.

TUNING UP FOR THE OPERA Spring & Summer

Tuesdays, 1-3 pm
7 weeks, Feb. 20-Apr. 3
$65, includes copies of librettos and $20 tax-deductible donation to Opera Colorado and Central City Opera Lectures, video performances

With this course under your belt, you’ll be ready to enjoy to the fullest the Central City, Opera Colorado, and Santa Fe spring and summer offerings. Deborah Morrow offers insights into Central City Opera’s seventy-fifth anniversary season with an emphasis on Verdi's popular La Traviata, and Leigh Holman of Opera Colorado introduces Un Ballo in Maschera, Verdi’s burning tale of guilty passion and murderous jealousy. After each presentation, you’ll have a chance to preview the operas in carefully selected video productions and even follow along with the librettos. To prepare for the Santa Fe season, we’ll watch a performance of Puccini’s La Bohème and, after video lectures by the Teaching Company’s popular Robert Greenberg, view a performance of Mozart’s witty Cosi fan Tutti. Note: A limited number of group tickets for Elixir and Un Ballo in Maschera are available to Academy members. Check them out in the Divertimenti section of this brochure.

Presenters:
Deborah Morrow brings her passion for opera to her current position as director of education and community programs for Central City Opera. Leigh Holman, new director of education & outreach for Opera Colorado, sang professionally with various regional companies and toured with the National Opera Company before completing a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Moderator:
Retired CPA Richard Timberlake has been broadening his opera database since age sixteen, when he attended his first opera. Jim Kneser will also add comments when he is able to attend.

MAHLER: HIS LIFE & MUSIC, Part 2

Wednesdays, 1-3 pm
8 weeks, Feb. 21–Apr. 11
$55, includes copious handouts
Video lectures and performances, voluntary participant reports, discussion

Music critic Harold Schonberg has called Mahler “a prophet for an age riddled with doubts and anxieties.” And, indeed, understanding Mahler’s angst-ridden life is essential to understanding his complex music. Freud himself counseled Mahler, who remained tormented by his love/hate relationship with his wife, the notorious Alma. We’ll unravel Mahler’s personality in more detail than he would certainly have liked as we explore its expression in music that brought the Romantic period to an end and launched the modern world of more complicated tonalities. If you’re ready to move beyond Mozart and Beethoven, the study of Mahler is a good next step. This is the second in a series of three courses devoted to exploring Mahler’s symphonies and song cycles in depth.

Recommended reading:
Jonathan Carr, Mahler: A Biography (Overlook Press, 1997) (Order from Amazon). Other good sources: Michael Kennedy, Mahler, 2d ed. (Oxford Univ. Press, 2001) (Order from Amazon), a thorough biography with some musical analysis; David Hurwitz, The Mahler Symphonies: An Owner’s Manual (Amadeus Press, 2004) (Order from Amazon), focuses on Mahler’s music and includes a CD of highlights mentioned in the text; Françoise Giroud, Alma Mahler: Or the Art of Being Loved, trans. R. M. Stock (Oxford Univ. Press, 1992) (Order from Amazon), a recent biography showing the influence of Mahler’s tempestuous wife.

Presenter:
Jim Kneser, a retired economist with a passion for Western high art music, has facilitated courses on both Mozart and Beethoven for the Academy. He says that the study of Mahler’s life and music is one of the most interesting musical explorations he has ever undertaken.

DIVERTIMENTI

WINE & CHEESE OPEN HOUSE

Thursday, Feb. 15, 4:30–6:30 pm
$5 (No cover charge for first-time potential members!)

Kick-off the spring term with a party. Sip, nibble, and chat. Check out the Academy’s digs, schmooze with facilitators and fellow Academics, and pick up any hand-outs you’ll need to get ready for your first classes. (Can’t make it? We’ll mail anything you miss.) Bring along friends and neighbors to join the fun and find out what the Academy is all about. First-time potential members are free.

FLAT WORLD DISCUSSION

Tuesday, February 20, 1-3 pm
$5 (nonmembers $10)
Discussion leader: Ralph Plimpton, who led the Flat World fall course

“The world is flat,” according to award-winning journalist Thomas Friedman, whose best-selling book raises as many questions as it answers. Friedman warns that the technological and social tremors that have leveled the economic world will crush Americans underfoot if they don’t adapt to the new digital landscape. We’ll review and critique Friedman’s analysis and talk about what we can do to deal with the challenges of the world’s new “connectedness.” No need to read the book to join what promises to be a lively discussion.

IN PRAISE OF IDLE TIME

5 Thursdays, Feb. 22-Mar. 22, 9:30-11:00 am
$25 (nonmembers $35)
Facilitator: Joseph Kandel Class limited to 12

Bertrand Russell believed that “the time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time." Explore your personal take on wasting time and creative living, and find out whether you need to adjust your idling speed to improve the balance between doing nothing and doing everything. How do you most enjoy spending your time? Where do leisure, planned activities, and keeping busy merge? Set your "doing" dial on low and your "thinking" dial on high as we ponder these interesting questions.

ARTIST’S AND TRAVEL JOURNALS Explore the Possibilities

4 Tuesdays, Feb. 20-Mar.13, 9:30-11:30 am
$25 (nonmembers $35)
Guide: retired art teacher Marybeth Anderson

Keeping an artist’s or travel journal is an easy, fun way to tap into your creativity while playing with an infinite variety of art materials. We’ll explore simple drawing, painting, collaging, and writing exercises for daily use, as well as for documenting exotic travel. Bring your sense of humor and an open mind to this fast-paced workshop. Absolutely NO art training needed! The inexpensive materials necessary will be discussed at the first meeting.

YES, YOU CAN DRAW!

6 Thursdays, Feb. 22-Mar. 29, 1-3 pm
$35 (nonmembers $50), includes book
Leaders: Retired art teacher, Diane Carrick; assistant, Priscilla Dunbar Guaranteed:

You can draw. Drawing helps us appreciate the charm, harmony, and beauty of real forms and offers a rare opportunity for originality in a world that becomes more and more conventional every day. Using the book, Drawing Made Easy (included in course fee), you’ll explore such drawing skills as proportion, shading, and perspective. By practicing between sessions, skills will grow rapidly.

KNIT WITS & BEADING BUDDIES

4 Tuesdays, 9:30–11:30 am Feb. 20, Mar. 6 & 20, Apr. 3
$15 (nonmembers $25)
Lead knitters: Donna Belber and Jeanenne Stepelton
Lead beader: Lynn Couch

This friendly group welcomes both knitters and beaders, as well as newcomers at all skill levels. The first session for knitters meets at Knitty Cat, 7475 E. Arapahoe Rd., for inspiration, tips about the latest trends and yarns, and any help you need in choosing or augmenting a project. Across town at 10:00 am the beaders will meet at Desert Gems, 457 Wadsworth Blvd., to select items and discuss projects. Other sessions meet at the church, where you’ll get plenty of encouragement and advice if you get stuck.

YOGA: GET HEALTHY NOW

6 Mondays, Feb. 19-Apr. 2 (no class Mar. 19), 11:00–12:15 pm
$35 (nonmembers $50)
Instructor: Rose Kauffman, registered yoga teacher
Strictly limited to 16

Increase your activity level….boost your energy….tone your muscles….exercise with purpose…become more flexible…and have fun. Learn to nurture yourself by tuning in to your body and your heart. These sessions teach yoga postures for the beginning or intermediate student. Wear loose, comfortable clothing that allows easy movement. No perfumes or scented lotions. Best not to eat for two hours before class. Bring a yoga sticky mat, a foam or wooden block, and a strap if you have them.

THE ART OF SELF-HYPNOSIS

2 Wednesdays, Apr. 4-11, 9:30–11:30 am
$10 (nonmembers $20)
Leader: Ellen L. Hughes, certified clinical hypnotherapist

Learn how to make positive changes in your life with self-hypnosis. We’ll see how the triune mind works and explore some of the common uses for hypnosis—from pain control to weight loss. You’ll learn how to reach your own natural level of relaxation, how to use affirmations correctly, and how to identify subconscious patterns that dictate your behavior. Homework assignments provide practice so that you can ask questions and get pointers for future use.

HEARING LOSS: FIXES, CURES & MIRACLES

Wednesday, Mar. 28, 9:30–11:30 am
$5 (nonmembers $10)
Lecturer: audiologist Linda Van Dyke

Technological advances happen so fast in the complex area of hearing loss that it is hard to keep up. In just a couple of hours, you can learn about the latest technologies for treating hearing problems. We’ll discuss implantable and digital hearing aids, cochlear implants, and more. You have to hear it to believe it.

DENVER ART MUSEUM ARCHITECTURE TOUR

Thursday, February 22, 1-2 pm OR Thursday, March 15, 1-2 pm
$7 for DAM members and $16 for nonmembers (nonmembers add $5)
Must RSVP 3 weeks before tour Write museum membership number on Academy form.

Explore the legacy of bold architecture at the Denver Art Museum with a knowledgeable museum docent. Works of art in their own right, the thrusting new Hamilton Building by Daniel Libeskind and its older fortress-like neighbor by Gio Ponti both set new standards for museum architecture. Find out what makes each so special. Tour limited to 30 people on each day. Meet just inside the Acoma Plaza entrance of the North Building.

THE LAB AT BELMAR FIELD TRIP

Wednesday, April 25, 1-3 pm
$5 (nonmembers $10)
Guide: Adam Lerner, master teacher

The Lab at Belmar is a new contemporary art center that bills itself as “part art museum, part public forum, wholly mackerel.” Director Adam Lerner will talk about the exhibition on view—more than 15,000 sculpture heads by Chinese artist Fang Lijun. He’ll also explain the philosophy behind The Lab and discuss an approach to culture that combines serious intellectual inquiry with irony and whimsy.

INTERMEDIATE BRIDGE REVIEW

10 Tuesdays, Feb. 20-Apr. 24, 1-3 pm
$45 members only (nonmembers $10/day)
Instructor: bridge enthusiast Sally Kneser

By popular request: each day will include a 30 to 40 minute review of modern bridge basics followed by plenty of time to practice bidding and playing hands. Audrey Grant’s Basic Bidding: The Club Series is required reading for those who have not yet switched to and mastered modern bidding methods. The final two weeks will have longer lessons on the Negative Double and Transfers after notrump. As always, you can come with a group of four, with a partner, or as a single who will be matched up with others.

Recommended reading:
Audrey Grant, ACBL Bridge Series: Bidding, Baron Barclay Bridge; Spiral edition (January 25, 1990)
(Order from Amazon); Fun and easy way to learn the game of bridge. Focuses on bidding.

OPERA TICKETS

Sun., Feb. 18, 2 pm
The Elixir of Love,
$80 (nonmembers $90); must order by Jan. 15
Ellie Caulkins Opera House

Wed., May 2, 7:30 pm,
Un Ballo in Maschera
$65 (nonmembers $75); must order by April 1
Ellie Caulkins Opera House

If you don’t have a season ticket, this is the perfect opportunity to follow up the opera course at discounted prices. The seats were set aside LONG ago, so this is the best you can get in the price range. For The Elixir of Love, the seats are on the main floor, right side, rows H through M. For Un Ballo in Maschera, the tickets are in the center loge (second balcony), rows B and C.