ESI COLLEGE Course Listings: Spring 2016 April 11 – May 25
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Making the Best of It: Difficult Recollections of the Presidential Conversations in the Golden Years Elections of the 1960s & Today
Date: Tuesday, April 12 Date: Thursdays, Time: 10:00-11:30 AM May 5, 12, 19, 26 Cost: $20 Time: 10:00-11:30 AM Cost: $80
The current U.S. There’s no way to make presidential campaign hard discussions easy, but there are ways to is one of the most unusual in recent memory; prepare for them and to better understand the the elections of 1960, 1964 and 1968 were also different perspectives. If you’re interested in striking. In this class, offer insights into the easing difficult conversations with your adult events of that decade in relation to your life at children, your spouse, or with your parent, that time -- and your opinions on the you’ll find some new ideas here. ramifications of the ’60s to the life and times we live in today. Instructor: Phoebe Barash, B.S., M.A., was a long-time educator in Addison County. She has Instructor: Rick Desorda recently retired from taught at Woodbury College, Middlebury Mt. Abraham Union High School where he College, UVM and Champlain College, and has taught Social Studies and the Humanities for 39 given workshops at area schools, churches and years. He received his B.A. in Education from businesses. She received her certificate in Johnson State College and his Masters in mediation and conflict management through Education Leadership from Castleton State Woodbury College. College. For 35 years he team-taught American Studies, a United States History and American Literature course of the 20th century.
ESI College offers lifelong learning for independent individuals ages 60 and over. If you need personal assistance, please call us about educational and social activities at Project Independence. Lesvos, Greece: A Close Look at the Refugee Crisis
Date: Monday, April 11 Time: 10:00-11:30 AM Cost: $20
Description: Almost five years ago, the Arab spring brought the upwelling of voices calling for democracy, and in the bloody aftermath, the seeds of the current migrant crisis were planted. Six months ago, six thousand refugees were arriving daily to the Greek island of Lesvos, one of the gateways to Europe. Lesvos serves as a starting point for trying to understand the vast scope of the ever-growing refugee crisis in Europe. John Slade will share a global perspective on the refugee crisis today.
Instructor: With a Ph.D. in literature from Stanford University, John Slade has taught in the United States, the Caribbean, Norway and Russia. He has written several books which portray the victims of war: veterans returning home, and refugees searching for a home.
A History of the World’s Most Powerful Company
Date: Wednesday, April 13 Time: 10:00-11:30 AM Cost: $20
Description: For more than 250 years, the English East India Company ran a complex, integrated, and global trading network -- governing territories that exceeded the British Isles, and protected its seaborne trade and vast territories with a navy and one of the world’s largest armies. It minted coins in its name, established law courts and prisons, sponsored scientific expeditions, prosecuted wars and signed treaties, and accounted for about 14% of all imports to Britain during much of the eighteenth century. Through its extensive trade network, the Company developed an aggressive nationalism that laid the foundation for Britain’s Eastern empire. A study of the Company, then, is a study of the rise of the early modern world.
Instructor: Ian Barrow teaches South Asian history at Middlebury College. He has been the Chair of the History Department and the Director of International Studies. He has published two books and is finishing a third on the history of the East India Company.
-2- Shall We Dance: Reflections of Japanese and American Culture Depicted in Film
Date: Thursdays, April 14, 21, 28 Time: 10:00-11:30 AM plus additional afternoon sessions on April 21 & 28, 1:30-3:00 Cost: $60
Description: Film is often a mirror of culture; the same film can be interpreted differently depending on one’s cultural perspective. Viewing the Japanese and American versions of Shall We Dance, one can observe cultural differences and similarities in communication depicted in the two films. Watching and discussing these films, we’ll achieve a greater awareness of different modes of communication between cultures. On April 21 & 28, students will view a film in the morning and discuss it in the afternoon.
Instructor: Joyce Freundlich holds a Doctoral degree in Language Education from Rutgers University and has taught English as a Second Language and Cross-cultural Communication for Rutgers and Harvard Universities. She founded the company Effective Communication in 1977, a program designed for those working in international business to improve their language and cultural skills while working in the United States.
Book Discussion: Crime and Punishment
Date: Wednesdays April 20, 27… May 4, 11, 18, 25 Time: 10:30 AM-12:00 PM (note start time) Cost: $130 includes book edition required for this class
Description: Since its publication in 1866 Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment has intrigued readers: it’s a murder mystery told from the point of view of the murderer. The fundamental question posed by the author is not the usual “Who done it?” but “Why did he do it?” Join us to read (or reread) one of the masterpieces of world literature that catapulted Dostoevsky into the ranks of the world’s greatest novelists.
Instructor: Michael Katz is Professor Emeritus of Russian at Middlebury College, where he also served as Dean of Language Schools and Schools Abroad. Michael has a Ph.D. in Russian Literature from Oxford and has translated more than a dozen novels from Russian to English. He is currently retranslating Crime and Punishment for a new Norton Critical Edition.
-3- Book Discussion: All the Light We Cannot See Preparation for Same Day 1:30 “Spy” Radio Class
Date: Tuesday, April 26 Time: 10:00-11:30 AM Cost: $20 (acquire book on your own)
Description: This book discussion sets the context for Tom Perera's 1:30 lecture on the Enigma machine, which was used during World War II to encrypt messages. Chris Kirby will facilitate a discussion of the book, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2015. This is not a lecture; expect to actively participate and in doing so, have a greater background for Tom Perera's lecture. Priority will be given to those taking the “Spy” Radio class.
Instructor: Chris Kirby is the Adult Services and Technology Librarian at Ilsley Public Library. An avid reader, Chris has facilitated discussions at Elderly Services and the Ilsley Public Library.
Clandestine “SPY” Radio Operations and the Enigma in World War II
Date: Tuesday, April 26 Time: 1:30-3:00 PM Cost: $20
Description: This presentation will describe and show the desperate attempts by the resistance to build radios to keep informed about the progress of the war and by spies to communicate critically important intelligence information back to the Allies while being ruthlessly hunted by German direction-finding teams.
Instructor: Tom Perera is a retired professor of neuroscience who specialized in research on the coding of information in the human brain and nervous system. He has been hunting for, collecting, researching and restoring Enigmas for over 25 years. He located and restored the Enigma that stars in the “Imitation Game.” He provides extensive Enigma information through his Enigma book, his lectures and his website: www.EnigmaMuseum.com.
-4- Race and Power in South Africa before Apartheid
Date: Monday, May 2 Time: 10:00-11:30 AM Cost: $20
Description: The rise of the South African apartheid system and its doctrine of white supremacy was a pivotal event of the late 20th century. But what deeper historical developments made apartheid possible? This course explores the long-term dynamics of racial and colonial power in South Africa that became the building blocks of apartheid in the late 1940s.
Instructor: Jacob Tropp is Professor of History and John Spencer Professor of African Studies at Middlebury College. He is the author of Natures of Colonial Change: Environmental Relations in the Making of the Transkei and writes on the social and environmental history of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. He teaches a wide range of courses related to African history: survey courses on early and modern Africa and topical seminars on women and gender, human- environmental interactions, popular culture, everyday life in South Africa, and liberation struggles in southern Africa.
Your Garden by Design
Date: Tuesdays, May 3, 10, 17 Time: 10:00-11:30 AM Cost: $60
Description: Gardens bring beauty and pleasure to our lives while providing food and shelter for wildlife. But it takes planning and insight to create a garden that will be lovely in all seasons and easy to maintain, while also being in harmony with the wider landscape. In this class, illustrated with great photographs of Vermont gardens, you will learn how to develop your own garden ideas using a landscape plan and then enhance the plan with hardy trees, shrubs and perennials so that your entire design will evolve gracefully over time.
Instructor: Judith Irven is a landscape designer who, for the past twenty years, has been helping people create beautiful gardens. She is a Vermont Certified Horticulturist and she teaches Sustainable Home Landscaping for the UVM Extension Master Gardener class. She writes a blog at www.NorthCountryReflections.com and a gardening column for the Addison Independent.
-5- The Buddhist Tradition in India, China and Japan
Date: Mondays, May 9, 16, 23 Time: 1:30-3:00 PM Cost: $60
Description: During the Buddha's life, he sent disciples throughout northeast India. After his death, the Buddhist tradition grew, and some of his followers developed new ideas and practices. We’ll consider the life and teachings of the Buddha and the development of the tradition after his death. On the other side of Asia, China was already a great civilization, dominated by Confucianism. How and why did so many Chinese accept Buddhism? Why did the Japanese accept it? How did they also hold on to ancient beliefs in kami, the spiritual beings long worshipped in Japan?
Instructor: Elizabeth Morrison earned a B.A. at Amherst College and an M.A. and a Ph.D. at Stanford, all in religious studies. Along the way, she studied and lived in China, Taiwan and Japan. Her research and teaching revolve around the intersection of Buddhist studies and East Asian religions. She has taught at Middlebury College since 2003.
Popular Songs from the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s
Date: Thursday, May 19 Time: 1:30-3:00 PM Cost: $20
Description: Spend an afternoon with Dick Forman tickling the ivories, while he leads us in singing favorites from the thirties through the fifties. As you enjoy this musical walk down memory lane, he’ll put these oldies-but-goodies in context and deepen your appreciation for their place in popular music and our history.
Instructor: As the Middlebury College Music Department’s Director of Jazz Activities, Dick Forman directs both The Sound Investment Jazz Ensemble, the College’s 17-piece big band, and the Department’s Jazz Workshop. Dick is also on the Affiliate Artist faculty, teaching jazz piano and jazz voice. In addition, The Dick Forman Jazz Group has been a part of the regional jazz scene for more than 25 years, performing at clubs, festivals and on public radio, as well as at countless private events.
-6- Birds and More Birds: Gateway to the Natural World
Date: Fridays, May 20, 27 Time: 10:00-11:30 AM on May 20 9:30-11:30 AM on May 27 (note different start times) Cost: $40
Description: This course is for people with all levels of birding experience who want to enjoy watching birds at their feeders and in the field. The first day we will begin in the classroom with information on birds and on how to use binoculars. The second class will be a field trip to Otter View Park in Middlebury to learn how to find, identify, and understand birds where they live. We will have binoculars and field guides. Wear walking shoes and comfortable clothing. Bring bird questions and stories to share.
Instructors: Barbara Brosnan did field research for the latest Vermont Atlas of Breeding Birds and on Osprey breeding in Vermont along with other bird surveys. A retired English teacher and life-long outdoors woman who has birded throughout North America, she paints, photographs, and has published articles on birds.
Ron Payne is the current President of the Otter Creek Audubon Society. An avid bird watcher and photographer, he is a very active citizen scientist working on projects like the mid-winter eagle survey, peregrine falcon monitoring, and forest bird monitoring.
The Mysteries of Pluto
Date: Tuesday, May 24 Time: 1:30-3:00 PM Cost: $20
Description: When Pluto was discovered in 1930, it became an object of mystery and speculation. Now the New Horizons probe has revealed this distant member of our solar system in striking detail, with many questions answered. New Horizons has also opened up an entirely new set of mysteries. Al Boudreau will guide us through the mysteries of Pluto, both old and new.
Instructor: Al Boudreau holds a Masters Degree in Aerospace Engineering and is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He retired from a top management position at the Air Force Research Laboratory in 2006 to pursue his present occupation of astronomer, writer, and lecturer. He lectures on astronomy in New York and New England. He is an accomplished amateur astronomer with his own observatory.
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ESI College Spring 2016 Course Offerings
Greece: Refugee Crisis April 11
Difficult Conversations April 12
Most Powerful Company April 13
Shall We Dance April 14, 21, 28
Bk Group: Crime & Punishment April 20, 27, May 4, 11, 18, 25
Book Group: All the Light April 26
SPY Radio Operations April 26
Race and Power in S. Africa May 2
Your Garden by Design May 3, 10, 17
Pres. Elections of ’60s, Today May 5, 12, 19, 26
Buddhist Tradition May 9, 16, 23
Popular Songs: ’30s, ’40s, ’50s May 19
Birds and More Birds May 20, 27
Mysteries of Pluto May 24