Courses2016-2017

Jan 17, 24, 31, Feb 7, 14, 21 10 am – 11:15 am
 * 1709 - Yoga for Seasoned Adults **

Location: Yoga Santa Cruz, 428 Front St. Instructor: Abbey Asher

The practice of yoga has been medically proven to enhance balance, protect joint health, inhibit weight gain, improve emotional well-being, and much, much more. Now, OLLI members are invited to their own six-week introductory Iyengar Yoga class, taught by UCSC’s Abbey Asher. Students will learn basic postures, improve strength and flexibility, and be introduced to the philosophy that underlies this ancient practice. Abbey Asher has studied and practiced yoga in the US and in India. She’s been teaching for 15 years at UCSC and at Yoga Center Santa Cruz. She is passionate about yoga and looks forward to sharing her love of this practice with you. “Yoga is a gift for older people. One who studies yoga in the later years gains not only health and happiness, but also freshness of mind since yoga gives one a bright outlook on life. One can look forward to a more healthful future rather than looking back into the past. With yoga, a new life begins, even if started later. Yoga is a rebirth which teaches one to face the rest of one’s life happily, peacefully and courageously.” Geeta S. Iyengar  February 6, 13, 20,27, March 6 1 pm - 3 pm
 * 1710 – Opera - Out of the Shadows **

Location: Lounge, Peace United Church Instructor: Miriam Ellis

CELEBRATING THE CHORUS AND ITS VITAL ROLE IN OPERA 

An integral part of opera since the art form's earliest days, the chorus is often overlooked or underestimated in performance, despite its valuable contributions to development of character and/or plot. We will be examining the history, form, and function of this important element of lyric theater and consider choral excerpts, ranging from works by Monteverdi, Purcell, Mozart, and Gluck, through examples from Verdi, the Romantics, French, German, & Russian composers, and conclude with verismo excerpts of the 20th century. We will also have a brief look at the challenges and experiences of choristers in one of the major houses in the US.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Miriam Ellis, Ph.D, has offered classes for Lifelong Learners and OLLI for many years, both before and since her retirement from UCSC, where she taught French language and theater, as well as other courses, for over 30 years. In 2001, with Language colleagues, she founded The UCSC International Playhouse (now the Miriam Ellis International Playhouse), which will be presenting its 17th annual season of multilingual theater in May, 2017. Her new book, The Flexible Figaro (with co-author Sherwood Dudley), an innovative piano-vocal score of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, has recently been published.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">February 28, March 7, 14, 21 10 am – 12 pm
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1711 – Shakespeare **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Location: Museum of Art and History <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Instructor: Michael Warren

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">We are fortunate to again have Prof. Michael Warren, a very knowledgeable and vastly entertaining Shakespeare scholar, presenting a course for us. He will be discussing the two plays that Santa Cruz Shakespeare will be presenting next summer. The plays will be announced before the beginning of this course. His courses for OLLI for the previous six years have been enthusiastically praised by our members.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">The four lectures will be devoted to the plays of the 2017 Santa Cruz Shakespeare season: The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Measure for Measure. Two Gentlemen is one of the earliest of the Shakespeare plays, a lively comedy of male friendship, young love, and betrayal. Measure for Measure is a great play that is performed too rarely. Written around the same time as Othello, it is a comedy both deeply serious and very funny, an unromantic exploration of sexual desire, law, justice, and mercy in a tough urban setting.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">We will devote the first meeting and half the second to Two Gentlemen; the remaining hours will be devoted to Measure for Measure. Members of the course should read the first four acts of Two Gentlemen for the first class.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Michael Warren is Emeritus Professor of English Literature at UCSC. He serves as Textual Consultant and dramaturge for Santa Cruz Shakespeare. He is a past president of the Shakespeare Association of America. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">March 9, 16, 23 10 am – 12 pm
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1712 – Espressivo **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Location: Music Room, Peace United Church <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Instructor: Michel Singher

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">OLLI’s special relationship with Maestro Michel Singher and his ensemble — Espressivo — A Small Intense Orchestra — will continue this Spring. Our members have been thrilled with the three Espressivo concerts and with the three courses Maestro Singher offered to OLLI members. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">In this course Michel Singher will introduce the Espressivo orchestra concert of March 30th--"An American Heritage." He will elucidate a work each by Charles Ives, Ned Rorem and Aaron Copland. In an additional talk, he will give an insider's view of what a conductor does. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">March 23, 30, April 6, 13, 20 10 am – 12 pm
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1713 – Gravity **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Location: Museum of Art and History <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Instructor: Roger Knacke

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">This course will explore our ideas about gravity, its role in the Universe, and the recent remarkable discoveries about Black Holes and Gravitational Waves. No background in Science is necessary. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Meeting 1. Newtonian Gravity <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">2. Einstein’s Relativity Revolution <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">3. Black Holes and their Role in the Universe <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">4. The Mystery of Dark Matter <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">5. Gravitational Waves <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Dr. Roger Knacke is Emeritus Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Penn State Erie, where he retired as Director of the School of Science in 2010. His research interests are in interstellar matter and planetary atmospheres. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">April 24, May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 10 am – 12 pm
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1714 - Mark Twain **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Location: Lounge, Peace United Church <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Instructor: Forrest Robinson

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">We will read Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn closely and critically. I want to give special attention to the ways in which the novels afford us a window on key issues and problems in the America of their day. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Forrest Robinson is POrofesor Emeritus of Distinguished Professor of Humanities Emeritus. He taught at UCSC for 44 years in literature and American Studies. He has written extensively about Twain and has offered both graduate and undergraduate courses on him and his work. OLLI students were very appreciative of his class on Melville's Moby Dick in the Fall. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">February 21, March 21 1 pm – 3 pm
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1715 – 2017 World Affairs Update **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Location: Fellowship Hall, Peace United Church <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Instructor: Ronnie Gruhn

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">We are very fortunate to have Ronnie Gruhn, Professor Emerita of Politics at UCSC, as one of our teachers. She has a passionate and undiminished interest in reading, writing, and talking about world affairs. Her courses offer powerful insights into what is happening today. Ronnie has been very generous in sharing her knowledge with OLLI members, and her past courses have been exceedingly well attended. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">February 18, 25, and March 4 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1716 -- The BioChemistry of Food **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Location: Physical Sciences Building, Rm 240 UCSC <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Instructor: Barry Bowman

In this course we will look at food from the perspective of a biochemist. What is the chemical composition of different types of food and how are these chemicals processed in our body? Why do some foods have more calories (energy) than others, and what exactly is a calorie? What kinds of molecules are vitamins and what is their function?

Barry Bowman is Emeritus Professor of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology at UCSC. He has taught biochemistry at UCSC for more than 30 years.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">This course would address questions such as <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">- How do we convert food to energy? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">- What are the basic chemicals in our food? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">- What are vitamins and what is their function? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">- Why do we need omega3 fatty acids? March 3, 10 and 17 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
 * 1717 -- Graduate Course -- Advanced 3Rs of Retirement **

Location: 320 Keystone Ave., Santa Cruz, Ca. Instructor: Jill Steinberg

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">This is The Graduate Retirement Class for students who have already taken the introduction course and want to reconnect, share their experiences and further their exploration and learning in this advanced course on successful retirement.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">We will: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.05em;">1. identify what each of us has learned, issues that have emerged, and what we've wondered about since our last class. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.05em;">2. explore in depth a more longitudinal and resource perspective on retirement -- so that we each can best prepare and deal with major changes that come during this developmental stage - e.g., social connections, going solo, health, finding and re-finding purpose.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">The course will involve readings and other resources to prepare us for a thoughtful discussion so that we can continue to learn from each other -- we can mentor each other so that we can have the best retirement possible.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Jill Steinberg is an OLLI member, Emeritus Professor, SJSU, Clinical Psychologist, Author and Founder of [|MyRetirementWorks.com]. You can contact Jill through her website or at: jillasteinberg@gmail.com
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.05em;">You cannot register online. You must register with Jill Steinberg and send in a registration form with payment which you can download as shown above or get the form from Jill when you attend the first class. **


 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.05em;">Enrollment is limited to 12 people. **

March 15, 22, 29. April 5, 12, and 19 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
 * 1718 -- Spotlight - Theater and its Elements! **

Location: Lounge at the Peace United Church, 900 High Street, Santa Cruz Instructor: Margot Hoffman

Exposes students to dynamic discussions and engaging activities to learn about all elements of theater! In a student-driven learning environment students will explore the vocabulary, major players, history and fundamentals of theater and performance that spark their own interests. Through scene study, fun improvisation, and skill-based games, students will reconnect with their creative impulses and improve self-confidence. With specific emphasis on imagination and collaboration students will learn skills transferable to their everyday lives. No memorization required. Come and play an active role in the creative process and learn about what interests you in theater!

*Additionally this year, we will be including a small ‘performance presentation’ at the end of the course. You do not have to participate in the presentation to take this course and as a reminder there are other ways to take part in performance that is not acting. Again, no memorization is required.

Margot Hoffman, theater enthusiast and rogue explorer, has been an arts educator in Santa Cruz County for 4 years. She is involved with a variety of theater professionals and arts endeavors around Santa Cruz. She is an International Thespian of the CA Thespian Society and received the Presidential Scholarship of the Arts at George Washington University. She has performed at the Broadway Playhouse, on Cabrillo Stage, with the Shakespeare Theatre Company of DC, and in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. She is currently an associate teaching artist at West Performing Arts, which puts on more than 80 children’s shows a year. April 3, 10, 17, 24 8:00 am
 * 1719 Spring Birds Around Monterey Bay **

Location: To be determined, the first class will meet in the front parking lot of the UCSC Arboretum Instructor: Prof. Todd Newberry

Professor Todd Newberry, a UCSC professor emeritus, lifelong birdwatcher, and author of “The Ardent Birder,” has again agreed to teach his very popular lifelong birdwatching course, Spring Birds around Monterey Bay. Todd emphasizes how to look for and listen to birds, and you will finish the course with a new awareness of the natural world. It will involve easy walking, but a considerable amount of standing absolutely still. If this is a problem, bring a small folding chair. Also, remember to bring binoculars.This class will meet on four Monday mornings promptly at 8:00 a.m.Please enroll in this course only if you will be able to attend all four classes **. The first class will meet in the front parking lot of the UCSC Arboretum, and Todd will arrange meeting places for subsequent classes. ** This course is limited to 12 students **. In order to be fair, the only way to enroll in this class is to send an e-mail to Lois Widom, (Lowidom@yahoo.com ). If you are among the first 12, she will send you a registration form. She will also create a waiting list. ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.05em;">You cannot register online. You must register with Lois Widom and send in a registration form with payment which you can download as shown above or get the form from Lois. **


 * 1708 – Better Living through Chemistry**

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.05em;">Better Living Through Chemistry is a new OLLI course covering new developments in Chemistry and Biochemistry and how our lives benefit by them, taught by UCSC faculty.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.05em;">Professor Bakthan Singaram,

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Sugar and Spice and Everything Not Nice. Development of Boronic Acid Based Fluorescent Assay for measuring Blood Sugar and Gut permeability"

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.05em;">Professor Rebecca Braslau, "More than Just One Word on Plastics"

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.05em;">Plastics: we love them and hate them. Organic chemistry professor Rebecca Braslau will discuss the history of plastics, what they are made of, health, environmental and societal issues, and exciting developments in emerging bio-sourced and biodegradable plastics.

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.05em;">Scott Oliver, "Nanotechnology"

<span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;">Nanostructures can have amazingly interesting and useful properties. How can we build nanostructures with controlled architecture and scale? This talk will describe progress to date.

1705. Melville’s //Moby Dick// — Forrest Robinson, Distinguished Professor of Humanities
Another UCSC Professor Emeritus has stepped forward to share his knowledge and passion with us. In this eight week class students will be expected to read // Moby Dick // steadily and carefully. Professor Robinson’s approach will be closely textual, on one hand and broadly contextual, on the other.

Professor Robinson would like students to use the Norton Critical edition of // Moby Dick //, both because it will substantially enhance your reading experience and because it includes required secondary materials. It will be available for you to purchase at the Literary Guillotine on 204 Locust Street.

Forrest Robinson is a Distinguished Professor of Humanities Emeritus. He taught at UCSC for 44 years in literature and American Studies. He has written extensively about Melville and has offered both graduate and undergraduate courses on him and his work.

The course will be taught on 8 Monday mornings, from 10 to noon, starting September 12 and ending October 31 in the lounge at the Peace United Church of Christ, 900 High Street. === 1701. The U.S. Elections: International Dimensions — Ronnie Gruhn, Professor of Politics, Emerita ===

Session 1. The US elections in international context

Session 2. A critical look at the positions of the candidates: world views and foreign policies

Session 3. Post-election: Now What?

We are very fortunate to have Ronnie Gruhn, Professor Emerita of Politics at UCSC, as one of our teachers. She has a passionate and undiminished interest in reading, writing, and talking about world affairs. Her courses offer powerful insights into what is happening today. Ronnie has been very generous in sharing her knowledge with OLLI members, and her past courses have been exceedingly well attended.

The course will meet at the Fellowship Hall of the Peace United Church of Christ, 900 High Street on three Tuesday mornings from 10 to 12, on September 20, October 18 and November 15.

Please carpool to alleviate parking problems. 

1702. Expressivo Concert — Webern, Janáček and Schubert — Michel Singher
OLLI’s special relationship with Maestro Michel Singher and his ensemble — Espressivo — A Small Intense Orchestra — will continue early this Fall. Last year members were thrilled with the two Espressivo concerts and especially with the two courses Maestro Singher offered to OLLI members on Mahler and Schoenberg, whose music the orchestra played.

Espressivo’s Fall concert this year, entitled “From the Musical Heart of Europe,” will occur on October 6 at 7:30 at the Peace Church on High Street. The music will be by Webern, Janáček and Schubert.

Maestro Singher’s OLLI Fall Course will meet on Thursdays, September 22 and 29 from 10–12 in the Music Room of Peace United Church of Christ, 900 High Street. As was the case last year he will insightfully and entertainingly explore these composers and the three pieces that will be presented by the orchestra on October 6.

Sign up for this course soon, as space is limited. Registration information will be posted shortly.

Stay tuned for an announcement of the OLLI’s Spring Espressivo course. The Spring concert, “From the East Coast” will feature 20th century composers based in the Boston-New York cultural axis. It will be held on March 30, 2017.

The courses will take place in the music room of the Peace United Church of Christ on September 22 and 29 from 10 to noon. === 1703. The 3 Rs of Retirement: Read, Reflect and Re-invent — J ill Steinberg, Ph.D., and Donna Baldini ===

When thinking about successful retirement, most people and the research literature focus on financial planning. Although having enough financial resources is necessary, it doesn't by itself lead to a successful retirement. Instead of emphasizing financial preparedness, this course deals with the personal and interpersonal factors in creating a successful retirement. We will:

1. identify the key factors associated with retirement adjustment and happiness

2. discuss how retirement impacts men and women differently, and explore issues affecting couples as well as some ways to resolve these issues

3. discuss how to find one's purpose.

With all that one learns and the resources earned, one can have a successful retirement, but without reflection and planning, one's retirement can be disappointing.

The course will involve some readings to prepare us for a thoughtful discussion so that we can learn from each other – whether we are enjoying our retirement or planning for one, we can mentor each other so that we each can have the best retirement possible.

Jill Steinberg is an OLLI member, Emeritus Professor, SJSU, Clinical Psychologist, Author and founder of MyRetirementWorks.com. You can contact Jill through her website or at: jillasteinberg@gmail.com

Donna Baldini is an OLLI member. She had a long career at UCSC, where she coordinated an internship program. A long time Santa Cruz resident, she is currently an instructor for a service learning course at UCSC and is enjoying her first year of semi-retirement.

This seminar course will take place on three Fridays, October 28, November 4, and November 11, from 9:30 –11 a.m. at Jill’s house; 320 Keystone Ave., Santa Cruz.

Enrollment is limited to 12 people. To register for this course, contact Lois Widom, lowidom@yahoo.com. The first 12 applicants will be accepted and we will maintain a waiting list. 

1704. The Stalin Phenomenon — Peter Kenez, Professor Emeritus of History
Session 1: What made Stalin possible?

Session 2: What was Stalinism?

Session 3: The aftermath

Peter Kenez is Emeritus Professor of History at UCSC and a founding faculty member of Stevenson College. Peter's research and teaching have focused on Russian and Eastern European History, Soviet film, and the widely acclaimed interdisciplinary course on the Holocaust taught with Murray Baumgarten. He is the author of nine books including the autobiographical “Varieties of Fear” and most recently “The Coming of the Holocaust: From Antisemitism to Genocide.” A native of Hungary, Peter left in 1956 and has returned often to teach and do research.

The course will take place on three Wednesday mornings, November 30, December 7, and December 14 from 10 to 12 at the Museum of Art and History, 705 Front Street in downtown Santa Cruz. 

1706. Modern Molecular Biology, Year 7
Saturdays, October 22, 29; November 5*, 12*, 19*; 10 a.m. to noon. Physical Sciences Building, room 240.

Four Professors from UCSC present an overview of current research, addressing fundamental questions about how living creatures grow and reproduce. They will also describe how discoveries in molecular biology are used to develop treatments for human diseases. A background in science is not necessary. Everyone with an interest in biology and medicine is encouraged to attend. Many of us have found the course fascinating as we learned about cutting edge research at UCSC.

The Molecular Biology Course will be offered on five consecutive Saturday mornings, beginning October 22nd at 10:00 a.m. in the Physical Sciences Building, room 240, the same classroom as last year.

22 October — Professor Barry Bowman Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology

A basic review of genes, proteins and cells will be provided. This first lecture will be a primer in molecular biology. Participants will have ample opportunity to ask questions about how the function of genes directs the growth of cells.

29 October—Professor Barry Bowman

Virtually all creatures are solar-powered, using energy from the sun for growth, movement and consciousness. How do plants convert sunlight into a useable, portable form of energy?

5 November*—Professor Michael Stone Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Individual proteins are so tiny that they cannot be observed with the best light microscopes. However in recent years technologies have been developed that allow us to see and study individual proteins. Professor Stone is using this technology to investigate proteins that cap and protect the ends of DNA molecules.

12 November*—Professor Needhi Bhalla Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology

Our chromosomes (genes wrapped in proteins) need to be precisely copied and then split when we form new egg and sperm cells. In humans 30% of miscarriages arise from errors in chromosome sorting. Professor Bhalla has been investigating the mechanisms by which chromosomes are sorted into egg and sperm cells.

19 November*—Professor Manny Ares Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology

Our genes are made of DNA, but when “activated” the DNA must be copied to make RNA, a closely related molecule, that carries the message sent by the gene. The RNA is then edited so that a single gene can produce different type of messages in different cells. Errors in this editing are responsible for a significant number of human diseases.

=== 1707. Women in Western Civilization: Renaissance and Reformation — Gail Greenwood ===
 * *The exact order of these lectures has not yet been determined. **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">This is the third segment of Gail’s interesting and very popular course, “ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Women in Western Civilization. ” <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">However, you will be able to appreciate this course even if you were not able to attend the two earlier courses.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">This next segment of the examination of women’s lives and powers or lack thereof, will focus on Western Europe during the Renaissance and Reformation. Women who claim equality with men are often asked if women are equal to men, where are your Michelangelos, your monarchs, your Popes and saints. This class will gallop at break neck speed in just four weeks over the face of Europe and begin to answer those questions. What happened to the Goddess when the Protestants sought to reform the Catholic church? Was She burned? Was women’s art solely the creation and nurturance of the human race? Did princesses rule as Queens or just produce Kings? Did women progress or regress at the dawn of the modern era?

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">Gail Greenwood is a retired community college history teacher. For thirty -four years, she taught survey courses in American History, Western Civilization, and Women in both American and Western Civilization. In the 1970s she created the first Women in American History classes at American River College. We all found her to be a talented, well-prepared and knowledgeable teacher

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.7px;">This class will take place at the Museum of Art and History, 705 Front Street in downtown Santa Cruz on 4 Thursday mornings, October 27, November 3, 10, and 17, 10 a.m. to noon.