Members of the Adult Learning Institute at Columbia-Greene
Community College in Hudson, NY recently attended a Lunch & Learn
all about Garden Humor. Two performers took turns telling humorous stories
about flowers and gardens and reading amusing excerpts.
Members of the Baylor Institute for Learning in Retirement
in Texas studied Causes, Course, Settlement this spring. After taking
a detailed look at the circumstances that combined to plunge Europe
into a veritable orgy of self-destruction in 1914, this course discussed
the strategies of the Center Powers and the Allies, key campaigns and
engagements on land and at seas, as well as the Paris Conference whose
efforts at peace-making fell woefully short in healing what one analyst
has called a broken world.
Boats & Men: The Creators of River Civilizations in Ancient
Egypt was the title of a spring program at the Berkshire
Institute for Lifetime Learning in Massachusetts. Members studied
the ships from the dawn of Egyptian history into the Middle Kingdom
period, at times comparing them with modern sailing or paddled ships
that still follow many of the rules and techniques used by the ancient
craft.
Three Frontiers was the title of a spring course given at
the Community Academy for Lifelong Learning in State
College, Pennsylvania. The American, Russian and Chinese frontiers have
some commonalities both past and present: unconquerable distances, indigenous
peoples with a genius for horsemanship and vast natural resources. This
course explored the similarities and differences among these three frontiers.
Members of Elderwise in Ann Arbor, Michigan recently
examined Solitude and Fate: A Brief Study in Contrasts. They
studied two stories by two great writers – The Old Man and the
Sea by Ernest Hemingway and Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx –
stories that are very different and yet are strangely comparable.
Introduction to Field Robotics is the title of a course given
recently at the ILR at Bradley University in Peoria,
IL. This course provided an overview of field robotics with applications
to advanced control, sensing technologies, and other necessary components
of autonomous machines operating in variable and hostile environments.
Many of these automated work machines are used in mining, agriculture,
forestry, construction, cargo handling, undersea, air and space.
Eleven Things You Can Do to Make Your Life Better
was the title of a course given at the L.I.F. E. program
at Mount Saint Mary’s College in New York this spring. This course
was a synopsis of the most important practices of successful people,
and learn how to manage yourself and your relationships with the people
and the world around you. Topics included: God, You, World, Paradigm,
Thinking, Baggage, Differentiation, Resourcefulness, Support, Relationships
and Planning.
Men in the Kitchen was the title of a program at Lifelong
Learning of Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. Limited to
10 men, this course covered such subjects as menu planning for dining
on the deck, in the garden or at the beach. Participants learned to
make Cobb Salad, Asian Lettuce Wraps, Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Lobster
Salad on the Half-Shell. Wine pairing was also discussed.
Major Crises Points of Jewish History was the title of a spring
program at the Learning Institute at New England College
in Henniker, New Hampshire. Led by a local Rabbi, the class explored
the points at which Judaism experienced a dramatic shift in its teachings
and its practice. Participants also identified the internal and external
circumstances leading to these changes.
The History of Political Cartoons, I & II was offered
this spring at the McGill ILR in Montreal. Participants
followed the developments of political cartoons from 18th century Britain
through the present all across the world. They also examined how contemporary
politics and the cartoons were always closely related and how present
day cartoons are often mild compared to those in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Middlesex Institute for Lifelong Education in
Connecticut has set aside a special Hobby Day. This day will
showcase the many hobbies of LLI members including Letter Boxing, Weaving,
Scrapbooking and many other activities.
Music of the Victorian Era…and More was the title of
a program given this spring at the Old Dominion ILR
in Virginia. Participants listened to and studied an engaging overview
of popular Victorian music from a century ago, then some ear-opening
examples of popular songs derived from classical music and finally some
critics’ woefully mistaken assessments of classical music masterpieces.
Participants of the Brown Bag Science program at OMNILORE
at California State University Dominquez Hills recently took on the
subject of Noah’s Ark. Led by a marine biologist and
local professor they discussed the difficulty of the task assigned to
Noah. They learned how many trees had to be felled, the number of workers
employed, the duration of the job, and the logistics of food and housing
for the animals, as well as consideration of waste removal and other
problems. They then discussed the source of all the water that flooded
the earth for 40 days and 40 nights. It was an entertaining lunch program
for all who attended.
Geisha, Gangsters, Samurai & Salarymen: Refocusing Hollywood
Images of Japan was the title of a course given at the Osher
Lifelong Learning Institute at Duke University this spring.
Through American films members looked at images of the Japanese as they
have been presented to movie audiences around the world. Brief lectures
and discussion helped to get a clearer view of the “real”
Japan.
Five Hundred Years of the Forgotten Women in Art was the title
of a course given this spring at the Osher Lifelong Learning
Institute at George Mason University in Virginia. This six-session
course explored forgotten women artists. Participants explored the women’s
art through slides and discussed the conditions under which they struggled
to express themselves as artists. Students also considered the artists
private lives and the culture that diminished their talents and treated
them as inconsequential.
The Rose Institute for Lifelong Learning at Menorah
Park Center for Senior Living in Beachwood, Ohio recently offered a
course called Critical Presidential Elections. Members considered
a number of presidential elections – who won – why they
won – and what happened because they won.
Senior Learning Unlimited at the University of California
Davis offered a course recently entitled Looking Back, Looking Forward:
Edward R. Murrow in the 1950s. The Edward R. Murrow collection
of broadcast excerpts – shown in the class in segments over six
weeks – framed the class discussion of the political and social
issues then, now and tomorrow.
The Seniors Education Centre at the University of
Regina, SK recently offered members a stimulating course entitled The
Celts and the Scandinavians. Two strong, virile, imaginative cultures
whose influence is still felt in our world of today were studied. Their
art, literature, religions and sense of adventure are similar in many
aspects, yet have distinct differences. This study compared and contrasted
their origins, cultural development, their movements throughout Europe
and beyond the ocean, as well as their legacy which surrounds us.
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