Course+Archive

=Archive of Courses=

Planets, Black Holes, Universe — Prof. Roger Knacke.
Explore several of the most pressing questions in astronomy — the things that you read and hear about in the media, often as front-page news. We’ll develop overviews of some of the fundamental issues, how they came to the forefront through observations and theory, and of the new and radical ground-based and space-based telescopes and instruments being developed to explore them. We’ll also discuss how astronomy overlaps with other fields, including biology and physics, and raise some political and cost issues facing science. A preliminary outline of the class meetings follows.
 * 1) Mars and the Search for Life in the Solar System
 * 2) Planets around other Stars and the Search for Life outside the Solar System
 * 3) Black Holes, Galaxies, and New Telescopes
 * 4) The Expanding Universe and Cosmology
 * 5) Dark Matter, Dark Energy, Higgs, and all that great stuff.

At the end of the course we’ll be left with many questions only partially answered or unanswered — reflecting the current state of astronomy — questions that confront science today.

Dr. Roger Knacke is Emeritus Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Penn State Erie, retiring as Director of the School of Science in 2010. He received his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in 1969, and has held positions at SUNY Stony Brook, Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Heidelberg, NASA Ames, NASA Huntsville, and a postdoctoral position at UC Santa Cruz. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 papers on interstellar and circumstellar matter, and planetary atmospheres; held numerous NASA and NSF grants; and initiated or participated in the development of courses, outreach, and teaching methodologies at Penn State and Stony Brook. Asteroid 4312 was named “Knacke,” in recognition of contributions to the understanding of protoplanetary matter surrounding young stars.

This course will meet from 10 to noon on five Tuesday mornings, October 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30, at the Museum of Art and History, 705 Front Street in Santa Cruz.

Ronnie Gruhn on U.S.Foreign Policy, Pre and Post Election.
Ronnie Gruhn, Professor Emerita of Politics at UCSC, will conduct two classes for us, one before and one after the election. The first, on Thursday, October 18, is “Foreign Policy Issues and Options, Obama and Romney.” The second, on Thursday, November 15, is “Now What? The President’s Options in the World That Is.” Classes are 10 to noon at the Museum of Art & History.

Prof. Gruhn’s areas of research and teaching focused on international affairs, (international law, international institutions, human rights, etc.) especially on Africa and other less developed parts of the world. She has a passionate and undiminished interest in reading, writing, and talking about world affairs. She has given two Sunday talks for OLLI and on both occasions we found her to be engaging, knowledgeable, fair, and certainly relevant.

A Look at Modern Molecular Biology, Year 3.
Four Professors from UCSC present an overview of current research topics, 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 found the first two years of this course fascinating as we learned about cutting edge research at UCSC.

The speakers were:

Barry Bowman — The concept of the gene and the gene as a molecule Susan Strome — What is “epigenetics”? Can environment change your genes? Dave Feldheim — The molecular biology of vision. How do you connect your eyes to your brain? Glenn Millhauser — “Mad-cow” and other prion diseases — proteins that behave like genes.

The course will take place on Four Saturday mornings, November 10th and 17th,, December 1st and 8th, from 10 to 11:30 in Room 240 of the new Physical Sciences Building across the street from the Core West Parking Structure. Parking is free.

November Birds Around Monterey Bay.
Todd Newberry, a UCSC professor emeritus, lifelong birdwatcher, and author of “The Ardent Birder,” has again agreed to teach his very popular birdwatching course, November 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.

The course will meet on four Tuesday mornings promptly at 8:00 a.m. on November 6, 13, 20, and 27. The first class will meet in the parking lot of the UCSC Arboretum, and Todd will arrange subsequent classes.

This course has a limit of 12 students, and we will accept the first 12 registrants. You will be notified if you are not enrolled in the class and of course your donation intended for the class will not be processed. Please note that a separate coupon and payment are required to register for this class so we can return payments to overflow registrants.

Opera Talk — Miriam Ellis
This course is for you opera aficionados who plan to attend the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD Series at the Santa Cruz Cinema 9. On the Wednesday preceding the Saturday screening, Miriam Ellis will lead a lecture–discussion, along with appropriate videos, about the opera. Miriam’s classes for OLLI have always been interesting, lively, and very informative. She has been teaching classes in French, opera, theater, and literature for over thirty years. She has been honored by the French government. She is the founder and guiding light of the very successful International Playhouse.

The classes will meet on Wednesdays from 11 to 1 at the Museum of Art and History on Front St.

March 13: Francesca da Rimini April 24: Giulio Cesare

The Chinese Novel: The Dream of the Red Chamber, or The Story of the Stone, by Cao Xueqin (1724?-1764).
Dale Johnson, Professor of Chinese at Oberlin College and UCSC, now emeritus, who gave us an engrossing course on early Chinese poetry last year, has kindly offered to teach a course on an important Chinese novel. This is an unusual opportunity for us to develop more understanding of Chinese culture.

Considered China’s greatest novel, it is a vast panorama of a great and privileged Chinese family with a principle cast of some thirty main characters and at least four hundred other secondary roles. Presented in a realistic manner, it chronicles the decline of this great family, describing in intimate detail clan solidarity, honor, respect for old age, parental authority, filial obedience, sexual relationships, the position of women, the role of concubines and servants and other domestics. The tale is suspended on the lives and loves of the twelve young girls and Baoyu, a young boy, who is, in fact the human incarnation of a stone in heaven who asked to come down to earth as a mortal to taste the delights and the tragedies of human life. They each live in a magnificent garden called Grand View Gardens, built so that one of the girls who was taken into the Imperial Palace as a concubine could return home to her family for a 24 hours period and be housed in a manner appropriate to her station. During the course of the novel, Baoyu grows up and faces the two most important events in his life: marriage and the Imperial Examinations.

The course will use __The Dream of the Red Chamber__, translated by Isabel and Florence McHugh, published in 1958. You can get the book at [|Bookshop Santa Cruz], where it is available print-on-demand for $13.99.

The course will be taught on four Thursday mornings January 17, 24, 31, and February 7 from 10 to noon at the Museum of Art and History on Front Street.

Learn to Play the Recorder — Mary Ann Franson.
Are you looking for a way to make music with family and friends? You’ll enjoy learning to play this sweet-voiced instrument (the Italians call it “flauto dolce”) in our introductory course. Previous musical experience is not required — the fundamentals of reading musical notation will be introduced as you learn to play.

Mary Ann Franson has been an enthusiastic player of the recorder for 40 years. She received a Level III performance certificate from the American Recorder Society (ARS) in 1990, and taught beginning and intermediate-level recorder courses for many years at Vancouver Community College and Richmond Community Music School near Vancouver, British Columbia. She is an active member of ARS and Monterey Bay Recorder Society.

To allow for adequate individual attention, class size will be limited to 12 (first applying, first served; you will be notified of acceptance). If you already have a soprano, alto, or tenor recorder in good condition, you may wish to use it in class. Otherwise, once you have been notified of acceptance, a recorder can be ordered for you. Typical cost for a good-quality plastic soprano is about $20 and for an alto about $40. In addition, instruction books will be ordered for all participants (about $17 each).

The class will meet on ten consecutive Thursday afternoons, 2 to 3:30 p.m., starting January 17, in the Fireside Lounge (adjacent to Founders’ Hall; use upper parking lot), First Congregational Church, 900 High Street, Santa Cruz.

Music of the Early Romantics, 1810–1865. Prof. Robert Kraft.
The romantic era in literature began already in the latter part of the 18th century, but did not flower in music until the early part of the 19th. We will explore this development in the music of Schubert, Berlioz, the bel canto opera composers (Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti), Mendelssohn, Schumann, Chopin, early Brahms and Verdi, on through Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde which debuted in 1865.

The sessions of 3 hour length will be held weekly for 11 weeks at the home of Professor Robert Kraft, 830 Pine Tree Lane, Aptos beginning Mon, Jan. 14, 2013, from 1:30 to 4:30.

Robert Kraft is professor emeritus of Astronomy and Astrophysics at UCSC. From 1970 to 1980, Prof. Kraft gave a Stevenson College course called //Beethoven’s Music//.

Art in Spite of Philosophy — Prof. Robert Goff Starts Feb. 26, 2013
During four illustrated sessions, we'll focus on the uneasy relation between art and philosophy in the Western tradition, shown at its beginning in Plato’s banishment of poets from his ideal society (REPUBLIC, 4th c. B.C.E.), and also to be found between present-day works of art and philosophy.

Robert Goff is retired from UCSC where he taught philosophy for many years. In addition to courses in the standard philosophy curriculum, his seminar offerings included Comic Embodiment; Element, Thing, and Metaphor; Philosophical Autobiography: and Philosophy and the Holocaust.

Tuesdays, February 26, March 12, 19, and 26, from ten to noon at the Museum of Art & History. **Note: There is no class on March 5.**

Two Shakespeare Plays: Shakespeare Santa Cruz — Prof. Michael Warren
This summer, world-renowned Shakespeare Santa Cruz will present several plays, two of them by Shakespeare. We are fortunate to have Prof. Michael Warren, a very knowledgeable and vastly entertaining Shakespeare scholar presenting a four-session course on the plays. His Shakespeare courses for us the previous two years have been enthusiastically praised by our members.

Michael Warren is an emeritus professor of literature at UCSC, and has been a consultant to Shakespeare S.C. for many years. When he was awarded the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Teaching Award he was described as follows:

“Warren teaches his courses with a sense of humor, a love of his subjects, and a great desire to see his students learn. He strives to make Shakespeare’s plays and other literature understandable, exciting, and accessible.”

Thursdays, March 7, 14, 21, and 28 from l0 to noon at the Museum of Art & History on Front Street, Santa Cruz.

Professor Warren will devote the first and much of the second class to //The Taming of the Shrew,// and then all the rest of the time to //Henry V// (a longer play than one thinks, and much in prose).



Spring Birds Around Monterey Bay. Prof. Todd Newberry.
Todd Newberry, a UCSC professor emeritus, lifelong birdwatcher, and author of “The Ardent Birder,” has again agreed to teach his very popular 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. The course will meet on four Tuesday mornings promptly at 8:00 a.m. on, April 2, 9, 16, and 23. The first class will meet in the parking lot of the UCSC Arboretum, and Todd will arrange subsequent classes.

The course has a limit of 12 students, and we will accept the first 12 registrants. You will be notified if you are not enrolled in the course and of course your donation intended for the course will not be processed. Please note that a separate coupon and payment are required to register for this course so we can return payments to overflow registrants.



Jumpstart Your Writing: A Class for Beginners & Continuers.
The first thing you should know about creative writing is that it should be fun. Fun to read. Fun to write. If the writer is having fun, some of that will shine though into the reader’s life. It’s true that good writing requires hard work, but as much as possible, make it enjoyable for yourself. Let your passions ignite the reader’s response.

There will be lectures, discussions, and feedback from the instructor and from other students. This is how we learn to improve. We must always consider the effect our writing has on the reader. There will also be assignments to be done at home and brought to the next class.

Pamela Urfer will be teaching this course. She has a master’s degree in literature from UCSC and has taught English Literature at Bethany College. She has published a number of books, as can be seen at Amazon.

The course will be on seven Wednesdays, starting April 3, from 3 to 5 p.m. It will meet in the Senior Commons Room at Cowell College on the campus. It will be limited to the first 20 registrants, so register early, and Pamela will talk with you about location and parking. You will be notified if you are not enrolled in the course and your donation intended for the course will not be processed. Please note that a separate coupon and payment are required to register for this course so we can return payments to any overflow registrants.



Africa: Now What? Discussion of Africa’s Present & Future Prospects.
Ronnie Gruhn, Professor Emerita of Politics at UCSC, will conduct two classes for us about Africa. Prof. Gruhn’s areas of research and teaching focused on international affairs, (international law, international institutions, human rights, etc.) especially on Africa and other less developed parts of the world. She has a passionate and undiminished interest in reading, writing, and talking about world affairs. She has given two Sunday talks for OLLI and on both occasions we found her to be engaging, knowledgeable, fair, and certainly relevant. Her classes this past fall on U.S. Foreign Policy, Pre and Post Election, were very well attended and widely enjoyed. Thursdays, May 2 and 9, 10 to noon, at the Museum of Art & History.

=Academic Year 2011 – 2012=

Listening to Jazz for Pleasure

 * Jim Brown’s Jazz Page**

This course, intended as an ongoing series, focuses on listening to quality mainstream jazz of all eras, from the music of Armstrong and Beiderbecke, the big bands that played jazz, bebop, modern jazz, West Coast jazz, to the best of today’s artists. The great jazz soloists have always made extensive use of the Great American Songbook as a basis for improvisation, and we’ll take advantage of that as a “hook” that can help listeners follow (and enjoy) more adventurous improvisation.

Over the past few decades, an increasingly rich library of video recordings of performances by many jazz greats has surfaced, and extensive use will be made of this resource to provide a more “in person” view of these artists. Where good video is not available, the gaps will be filled with audio recordings from the course leader’s extensive collection.

This course is mostly about listening, but occasionally we’ll have something to say about the artists, their music, and their lives. Suggestions will also be made for individual listening and reading.

About the leader: Jim Brown received his BSEE from the University of Cincinnati in 1964, and recently retired from a long career as a sound engineer and consultant. He began listening to jazz on the radio and collecting LPs while in junior high school; his collection now includes more than 3,000 LPs, 4,000 CDs, and more than 200 jazz videos on VHS, Laserdisc, and DVD. He has worked with hundreds of major jazz artists as a engineer for live sound and recording, including four major jazz festivals and two dozen “Jazz Alive” sessions for NPR. A 1976 recording of Carmen McRae received 4½ stars in a Downbeat review. Jim has been elected a Fellow of the Audio Engineering Society, and lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains. He is also active in ham radio as K9YC. Sept. 20 & 27, Oct. 4, 11 & 18.

El tango: Argentine Tango Lessons
Join us in this very exciting and fun three-week new class. We will learn to dance tango, the traditional dance of the Río de la Plata: Argentina and Uruguay. We will also learn about its origins and history. Our instructor, Brenda Barcelo, a native of Uruguay, is a lecturer in Spanish at UCSC. She has taught tango for many years and is also an accomplished artist.

No partner necessary. Flat soled shoes recommended. Thurs., Sept. 22 & 29, & Oct. 6, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Louden Nelson Community Center, room 4.

Early Chinese Poetry
Many of us feel the need to have a better understanding of China. Here is an opportunity to learn about and reflect on very early Chinese poetry. The class will include: ●The lst collection of Chinese poetry: 2000–1500 BCE; ● Han Dynasty Ballads: 200 BCE–200 CE; ● Poetry of Tao Qian, great poet of 3rd century CE.

Dale Johnson has been a Professor of Chinese at Oberlin College and UCSC, where he is now Emeritus. He has written seminal books about Chinese literature and language, and has translated Chinese poems and stories. In his retirement he is an active volunteer and board member of CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates for abused and neglected children. Sept. 23 & 30, Oct. 7, 14, 21 & 28.

A Look at Modern Molecular Biology, Year 2
media type="custom" key="10293465" align="left" Four Professors from UCSC will present an overview of current research topics, 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 for this course. Everyone with an interest in biology and medicine is encouraged to come.

media type="custom" key="10293573" align="left"Barry Bowman is Professor and Chair of the Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology (MCD Biology). His research is focused on the proteins that transport minerals and small molecules across biological membranes. Professor Bowman will give a primer on the basic knowledge useful for understanding modern biology: What are genes? How are the proteins and other parts of cells assembled? What is the structure and function of cells?

Professor Bill Saxton is also in MCD Biology. His area of expertise is molecular motors, tiny complexes of proteins that function like locomotives, hauling cargo from one part of the cell to another. These molecular motors are particularly important in nerve cells, which can be very long. Defects in molecular motors have been linked to degenerative diseases of the nervous system.

Professor Al Zahler, also in MCD Biology, has made important discoveries in the area of gene splicing. An amazing feature of higher organisms like humans is that the information in genes is subject to extensive editing, with different parts of the information cut out or spliced together in different types of cells and at different stages of development. Defects in the splicing process has been shown to be the cause of a number of serious diseases.

Karen Ottemann is Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology. For many years she has been investigating a bacterium that grows in the human stomach, Helicobacter pylori. It infects three billion people and can lead to serious disease, including ulcers and cancer. This bacterium has a molecular mechanism (chemotaxis) that allows it to swim towards favorable environments. Chemotaxis aids bacterial infection. Blocking chemotaxis may help to treat the diseases caused by this bacterium.

Many of us found this class fascinating last year as we learned about cutting edge research at UCSC.

Dates: Four Saturdays, Oct. 22 and 29, Nov. 5 and 12, from 10:00 to 11:30 in Room 240 of the new Physical Sciences Building, next to the Core West Parking Structure. Parking is free. For directions, [|click here], and zoom out two levels. You will see the Parking Structure and to its right, the Physical Sciences Building.


 * [[file:ucsc-osher/Bowman, Mol Bio course.ppt|Prof. Bowman's Slides.]]**
 * [[file:ucsc-osher/RecommendedBooks.pdf|Prof. Bowman's Recommended Reading.]]**

Opera Talk
This class (replacing last year’s group) is for all you opera aficionados who plan to attend the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series at the Santa Cruz Cinema 9. On the Wednesday preceding the Saturday screening, Miriam Ellis or (for one opera) John Dizikes will lead a lecture- discussion about the opera. Their many classes for OLLI have always been interesting, lively, and very informative. The class will take place in the meeting room of the Museum of Art and History from 11:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. as follows:


 * 2011**: Donizetti’s Anna Bolena: Oct. 12; Mozart’s Don Giovanni: Oct. 26; Glass’s Satyagraha: Nov. 16, Handel’s Rodelinda: Nov. 30;


 * 2012:** Verdi’s Ernani: Feb. 22; Massenet’s Manon: April 4; Verdi’s La Traviata: April 11.

November Birds Around Monterey Bay
Todd Newberry, a UCSC professor emeritus, lifelong birdwatcher, and author of The Ardent Birder, has again agreed to teach his very popular bird watching class, November birds around Monterey Bay. Todd emphasizes how to look for and listen to birds, and you will finish the class 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, bring binoculars.

Nov. 7, 14 and 21.

Three Women Poets — John Dizikes
The lyric poetry of three poets you have (probably) never heard of: Sara Teasdale, Amy Lowell, and Genevieve Taggard.

Professor Emeritus John Dizikes will share his understanding of the lives and poetry of these three poets.

John has taught many classes for Lifelong Learners and we are always impressed with the breadth of his knowledge, his enthusiasm, his love of poetry, and, of course, his charm. This is your opportunity to take a class from a master teacher and to heighten your appreciation of poetry.

January 10, 17, and 24.

Music in the Time of the Enlightenment, 1725 – 1825 — Robert Kraft
Professor Kraft will conduct a 13-week course of listening to music from the time of Bach and Handel through Gluck, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. The class will meet for three-hour sessions beginning Thursday, January 12, in the home of Prof. Kraft, 830 Pinetree Lane, Aptos, at 1:30 p.m. (831-475-5660, kraft@ucolick.org).

There will be some discussion of the philosophy of the enlightenment, the role of the European Freemasons, as well as the formal musical structures and forms of the period. Keyboard music, chamber music, orchestral music, masses, and opera all will be heard.

Robert Kraft is professor emeritus of Astronomy and Astrophysics at UCSC. From 1970 to 1980, Prof. Kraft gave a Stevenson College course called Beethoven’s Music.

Philosophers Encounter Works of Art — Robert Goff
During four illustrated sessions, the class will discuss how certain works of art shaped the thinking of four important philosophers.
 * 1) Kierkegaard: Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”
 * 2) Nietzsche: Wagner’s Ring
 * 3) Heidegger: Van Gogh’s “Shoes” and the 5th Century BCE Temple of Aphaia.
 * 4) Wittgenstein: the Palais Stonborough (Vienna) and Tolstoy’s Russian Folk Tales

Robert Goff is retired from UCSC where he taught philosophy for many years. In addition to courses in the standard philosophy curriculum, his seminar offerings included Comic Embodiment; Element, Thing, and Metaphor; Philosophical Autobiography: and Philosophy and the Holocaust. February 7, 14, 21, and 28.

Spring Birds Around Monterey Bay
Todd Newberry, a UCSC professor emeritus, lifelong birdwatcher, and author of The Ardent Birder, has again agreed to teach his very popular bird watching class, Spring birds around Monterey Bay. Todd emphasizes how to look for and listen to birds, and you will finish the class 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, bring binoculars.

March 5, 12, 19, and 26.

Two Shakespeare Plays: Shakespeare Santa Cruz — Michael Warren
This summer, world-renowned Shakespeare Santa Cruz will present several plays, two of them by Shakespeare. We are fortunate to have Prof. Michael Warren, a very knowledgeable and vastly entertaining Shakespeare scholar presenting a four-session course on the plays. His Shakespeare courses for us the previous two years have been enthusiastically praised by our members.

Michael Warren is an emeritus professor of literature at UCSC, and has been a consultant to Shakespeare S.C. for many years. When he was awarded the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Teaching Award he was described as follows:

“Warren teaches his courses with a sense of humor, a love of his subjects, and a great desire to see his students learn. He strives to make Shakespeare’s plays and other literature understandable, exciting, and accessible.”

The plays are //Twelfth Night// and //Henry IV, Part 2//. Please read the first four acts of //Twelfth Night// before attending the first class.

March 6, 13, 20, and 27 at the Museum of Art & History on Front Street, Santa Cruz. Please read the first four acts of Twelfth Night before the first class and bring your copy of the play.

The Upanishads (Philosophy in Ancient India) — Paul Kashap
This series of three talks will explore the ancient Indian classical treatises, The Upanishads. We shall discuss and articulate some of the significant concepts in the Upanishads, such as the self, action, knowledge, and ultimate reality. The discussions will focus on the philosophical aspect of these notions and not their religious context within Hinduism.

Paul Kashap grew up in India and studied in Bombay, Edinburgh, and Oxford before coming to the U.S. He taught in the Philosophy Departments at Brown University and UCSC before retiring. His particular interest was Spinoza, and he taught many courses on Western philosophy. He also gave lectures and seminars on Gandhi, and on the Bhagavad Gita.

April 3, 10, and 17, from 10:30 to noon, at the Museum of Art & History on Front Street, Santa Cruz.

=Completed Classes, Academic Year 2010 – 2011=

Michael Warren
This summer, world-renowned Shakespeare Santa Cruz will present several plays, two of them by Shakespeare: “The Comedy of Errors” and “Henry IV, Part One.” We are fortunate to have Michael Warren, a very knowledgeable and vastly entertaining Shakespeare scholar presenting a four-session short course on these plays in May. His course for us last spring has been enthusiastically praised by our members.

Michael Warren is an emeritus professor of literature at UCSC, and has been a consultant to S.C. Shakespeare for many years. When he was awarded the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Teaching Award he was described as follows:

“Warren teaches his courses with a sense of humor, a love of his subjects, and a great desire to see his students learn. He strives to make Shakespeare’s plays and other literature understandable, exciting, and accessible.”

The class will meet on Tuesday mornings, May 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 24th, from 10 to noon, at the Museum of Art & History on Front Street, Santa Cruz. It will cover the two plays to be performed by Shakespeare Santa Cruz this summer: “The Comedy of Errors” and “Henry IV, Part One.” Students should bring either copies of the individual plays or a collected works (preferably with numbered lines) to each class. The first class will be devoted to a brief introduction to the two plays in the context of Shakespeare’s career, and then to studying “The Comedy of Errors,” which students should have read before the class meets. “Errors” is the shortest of the Shakespeare plays; at least the first three acts (and perhaps four) will be covered at the first meeting.

Most of the last three sessions will cover “Henry IV, Part One.”

The video clip below, Act I, scene 2, introduces, from “Henry IV, Part 1,” Prince Hal and Falstaff. (The next scene sets up the conflict between nobles and the king that drives the overlying plot of rebellion against the title character (Henry IV) and introduces the outspoken character Hotspur, rebel, egomaniacal war lover, and loving husband.)

Act I, scene 2, below, sets up a “jest,” the payoff of which is in Act II, scene 4. [|Click here to watch the video of Act II, scene 4]. The text of the play is here.

media type="custom" key="9176086"

A Look at Modern Molecular Biology, Oct. 2010
What promises to be an exciting class will be led by four professors in this outstanding UCSC Department. They will talk about their present research as well as what is happening in their particular fields.

The class will meet on four Saturday mornings, October 2, 9, 16, and 23, from 10 to 11:30 a.m., at the Baskin Auditorium in the Engineering Building. There is free parking in the Core West Parking Structure on the corner of McLaughlin and Heller Drives. Walk across McLaughlin Drive to the engineering building.

2 Oct. — Assistant Professor Amy Ralston: //Stem cell biology: milestones and breakthroughs.// Dr. Ralston is an expert on stem cells. She is trying to unravel the biochemical processes by which cells in the embryo develop into specialized cells such as nerve cells or muscle cells. see http://www.mcd.ucsc.edu/faculty/ralston.html.

9 Oct. — Professor Barry Bowman: //How is research on simple model organisms used to develop drugs for human diseases?// Dr. Bowman is a cell biologist with a focus on the function of proteins in cellular membranes. see http://www.mcd.ucsc.edu/faculty/bowman.html.

[]. The parking structure is off the map, just to the left of the Physical Sciences Building. Leave the structure from the 2nd floor East, go down the steps, and follow the path in front of you which goes to Thimann and the lecture hall beyond it. There are some steps on the path. You will know you are there when you see a sculpture of sea lions. We will be in Lecture Room 3 right in front of the sea lions. Handicapped parking spaces are indicated on the map.
 * This class only will be held at the Thimann Lecture Hall**. Here is a map of the area:

16 Oct. — Assistant Professor Ed Green: //What we have learned from Neanderthals?// Dr. Green’s research is focused on genomics, with one project on ancient DNA. see http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/people/ed

23 Oct. — Professor Lindsay Hinck: //Recent advances in mammary gland development and breast cancer//. Dr. Hinck is unraveling the biochemical processes that control the development of the mammary gland, a research topic that overlaps with investigations of breast cancer. see http://www.mcd.ucsc.edu/faculty/hinck.html

Wellness Within and Without, Oct. 2010. Ellen Kimmel
This new class will be taught by Ellen Kimmel, one of our members and an emerita professor of psychology at the University of South Florida.

Wellness seems to be a 21 st Century craze reflecting a shift in focus on health away from illness avoidance to a general state of well being. But what exactly does that encompass? The workshop explores a model of wellness derived from multiple approaches and model development research.

In the course, members will complete an inventory that asks questions about nine aspects of wellness which show up in the literature. You will be able to chart your Wellness Wheel by connecting the nine spokes (scores on the nine dimensions of the model). The inventory, like any psychological inventory, is not so much a definitive diagnostic tool as a means to expand our concept of wellness and suggest multiple avenues to enhance our “golden years.”

There will be group and individual analyses of the results. The second session will allow for further reflection and “action plans” developed in small group discussions. Regardless of the shape of your wheel, all should roll along just fine !

Because Universities now offer courses on wellness, there is a need to teach the subject to graduate students. While she was a distinguished professor of psychology at the University of South Florida, Tampa, Ellen responded to this need by creating a new course for a graduate program she was directing. This experience, along with Ellen’s extensive readings related to the improvement of life quality, especially in its last stage, informs the contents of the course she is now offering for us.

November Birds Around Monterey Bay, Nov. 2010. Todd Newberry
Todd Newberry, a UCSC professor emeritus, lifelong bird watcher, and author of //The Ardent Birder,// has again agreed to teach his very popular bird watching class for our members.

It will meet on four Mondays at 8 a.m., November 1, 8, 15, and 22.

The class will emphasize how to look for and listen to birds. It will involve easy walking but a considerable amount of standing absolutely still. (If this is a problem, you may bring a small folding stool.) You should also bring binoculars.

Japanese Art, Dec. 2010. Coeleen Kiebert
Coeleen Kiebert, who gave an extraordinary class on Chinese art last year, will talk with us about Japanese art this year.

She will present her experience of attending the Japanese school outside of Kyoto. Because of the way they teach the traditional Japanese arts, she has since taken over 100 people there. It is also the birthplace of Aikido. Of course, there will be a great emphasis upon Japanese ceramics and the arts and crafts movement during the early 1900’s.

Coeleen was motivated to go to Japan to learn to understand the meaning of “rugged” tea bowls—what did the Japanese see in this art which was such a deviation from the traditional way we have learned to see and do ceramics in this culture? Why is such an unfinished looking piece so precious? Why is a line of calligraphy so meaningful? Why do tea ceremony?

As there were last year, there will be examples and visuals, as well as active participation by the members of the class.

Coeleen Kiebert is a renowned Santa Cruz sculptor working in both ceramic and bronze. Her work has been shown nationwide. Her search for the spiritual in art has taken her to extensive travel in both China and Japan, which has left a decided impression on her work. Coeleen is a member of our Institute.

The Work of T.S. Eliot, January 2011. John Dizikes
John Dizikes is going to devote four sessions to the poetry (and perhaps a word or two about the plays) of T.S Eliot. The first will be devoted to the early poems and to “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”; the second, “The Wasteland”; and the final, two of the “Four Quartets.”

John Dizikes, an emeritus professor of American Studies at UCSC, has taught many classes for Lifelong Learners. We are always impressed by his ability to engage us and the depth of his knowledge. He was a winner of the UCSC Alumni Association’s Distinguished Teaching Award — well deserved indeed.



How to Live with Talking Furniture, February 2011. Robert Goff
We will view three comedies in which sound (from noise to voice, listening, and silence) becomes a laughing occasion: Charlie Chaplin’s first “talkie,” City Lights; the Marx Brothers’ poly-lingual treatise on international politics, Duck Soup; and Ernie Kovacs’ joyously disinhibiting television sketches from the 1950s.

There will be three sessions of three hours each, with opportunity for questions and discussion.

Robert Goff is an emeritus professor at UCSC where he taught philosophy for many years. He has lectured widely on humor in silent film and philosophy, most recently at the Chicago Humanities Festival in 2009 and for the our group in 2010.



Michal Aizenman
Explore the world of dreams in this class, which presents a broad view on dreams with an emphasis on the work of C. G. Jung, as we ask ourselves: What are dreams? How do we understand them? What is their function? And how do we best utilize them in our lives?

Beginning with an overview of theories on dreams throughout history, starting with antiquity and arriving at the most recent research on the brain, sleep, and dreaming, we’ll explore dream material in light of the theories presented and learn to unravel the language of dreams and their imagery. By the end of our exploration we’ll understand how to connect with and make good use of dreams in our daily lives.

Michal Aizenman, MA, IAAP, was born in Israel where she trained and worked as a Clinical Psychologist and Jungian Analyst in different settings—psychiatric hospitals, clinics, and in private practice. She taught courses at Dartmouth College and at UCSC. She is a member of the International, Boston, and Israel Jungian Institutes. Michal currently lives in Santa Cruz.



Robert Kraft
A listener’s progression through the new music in which the old forms, structures and tonality handed down from the 17th through the 19th centuries are gradually but sometimes suddenly overthrown, for better or for worse. We will hear selected works by Mahler, Debussy, R. Strauss, Sibelius, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, Bartok, Messiaen, Copland, Carter, Britten, and others.

As background, a textbook will be required, Alex Ross’s “The Rest is Noise,” which is available as a paperback for about $20, or used at a cheaper price over the internet. Alex Ross is the music critic for the “New Yorker” and the book is very amusing and informative.

Robert Kraft is Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and Astrophysics at UCSC. From 1970 to 1980, Prof. Kraft gave a Stevenson College course called Beethoven’s Music. His class for our members last year, called Music of the Enlightenment, received rave reviews from our members.



Todd Newberry
Todd Newberry, lifelong bird watcher and author of //The Ardent Birder//, has kindly agreed to teach a class for Osher UCSC lifelong learners. It will meet on five Tuesday mornings in March, the 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, & 29th. The first class will meet at 8:00 a.m. sharp in the parking lot of the UCSC Arboretum.

The class is intended for lifelong birders and will emphasize how to look for and listen to birds. It will involve easy walking but a considerable amount of standing absolutely still. (If this is a problem, you may bring a small folding stool.) You should also bring binoculars. 

Miriam Ellis
Last year’s class was an investigation into the art of some of Italian operaʼs greatest stars through the centuries, starting in the 17th. This year we will explore works by Boileau, Massenet, Thomas, Saint-Saëns, Offenbach, Delibes, Bizet, Gounod, as well as operas written in French by Donizetti and Rossini. We will study seminal representative styles of arias, duets, ensembles, and choruses, which reflect the astounding riches of the human voice and the genius of selected composers. There will be video and recordings of the artists.

Miriam Ellis’ work in teaching French language has been recognized by the French government which awarded her one of its highest academic honors, the //Palmes Academiques//. She combines her lifelong interest in drama and opera with the teaching of French and has staged a number of theatrical and musical productions at UCSC. She has translated French operas for productions here. Miriam’s classes for Lifelong Learners have been lively, interesting, and informative.

Classes of Previous Academic Years
include component="page" page="2010WinterClasses" wrap="1"

Winter Courses 2009

 * **German Romanticism.** Miriam Ellis, Lecturer in French emerita and our favorite renaissance woman, continued her popular class on Romanticism. This year she focused on the German romantic writers, Goethe and others. She discussed how French and Italian composers, including Gounod, Massenet, Thomas, Boito, and Verdi, have adapted these German texts to the operatic stage. In addition, recordings of various art songs and DVDs of the operas illustrated basic Romantic elements in the musical interpretation


 * **Can Religion Be Understood?.** This class, taught by Robert Goff, emeritus professor of philosophy at UCSC, focused on the philosophical interpretation and explanation of religious life. Topics addressed included “proofs” for God; reasons and foundations for belief; morality and sanction; skepticism, atheism, and nihilism; the status of religious experience and testimony; communication across religious boundaries.


 * **On Dreams and Dreaming**. This series of lectures and optional workshops, taught by Michal Aizenman, on dreams, their language, function, and use, presented a broad view of dreams by asking such questions as: What are dreams? How can we understand their language and function? How do we best utilize them in our lives?


 * Todd Newberry, lifelong bird watcher and author of The Ardent Birder, taught two field courses on birdwatching, one in November 2008, the other in February 2009.

Winter Courses 2008

 * Big Bands of the 30s and 40s - Doree Steinmann and Shirley Forsyth
 * Four Philosophers Who Still Matter - Robert Goff⁴, Professor Emeritus of philosophy.
 * American Women Poets of the Twentieth Century - John Dizikes°.
 * Romanticism - Miriam Ellis³.

Winter Courses 2007

 * Architecture, Yesterday and Today - John Dizikes° and Lois Widom¹.
 * The Creative Class: Are they leaving the US, and should we care? - David Kaun².
 * Romanticism: France and the United States - John Dizikes° and Miriam Ellis³, "."

°John Dizikes is UCSC Professor of American Studies, Emeritus. ¹ Lois Widom, a member of UCSC's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, is an architecture "buff" and leader of the Institute's Art & Architecture interest group. ² David Kaun is UCSC Professor of Economics. ³ Miriam Ellis is UCSC Lecturer in French, Emerita. ⁴ Robert Goff is UCSC Professor of philosophy, Emeritus