Osher Lifelong Learning
Institute at Brandeis (BOLLI)

Spring 2007 Course Descriptions

Tuesday Course Period 1: 8:30 to 9:55 a.m.

Sharon Sokoloff is Director of BOLLI.  Career and educational background includes physical therapy, gerontology, public administration and social policy.  Six years of leadership at BOLLI and knowledge about adult learning and lifelong learning programs. I have worked with many members in the course development process and currently teach a course at BOLLI.

This course will explore psychology and our legal system. We will analyze fallacies in memory, manipulation by indirect suggestion, and problems in eyewitness testimony. We will consider jury consultants and what they rely upon to influence a jury: body language, manner of dress, reactions from focus groups, mock juries, and “shadow juries.” We will consider other problems as well, e.g., a dispute involving cutting-edge technology, and whether a lay jury would truly grasp the central scientific facts. When jurors fail to understand key facts, how do they reach a decision? And how does their method comport with our ideas of justice, fair play, and “due process of law”?  Please participate as we delve into our legal system and its problems.

Additional materials which augment the text will be supplied during the course, and we may supplement with certain DVDs and video cassettes

And we shall appreciate some of the reasons why growing up can be hard: Two books will deal with forms of child enslavement, another book tells the tragic consequences of lethal social discrimination; then we shall read about the difficulty of a child whose mind views the world differently; the impact of destructive cultural traditions on a growing child,  and finally a book about a child of English settlers growing up in tumultuous Africa. We shall try to appreciate the context that surrounds these books.

It was hard to select books and I am already thinking of Growing Up II.  Not all books will be read in their entirety, and I will indicate the selections to be read.

(R) Lisa See. Snow Flower and The Secret Fan. New York: Random House, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-6028-1. Part I. pp. 3 - 79.  (Paperback, $8.00)

(R) Kazuo Ishiguro. Never Let me Go. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.  2005. IBN: 1-4000-4339-5.  Part I. pp. 3-111, and chap.22, pp. 256-272. (paperback, $8.00)

(R) Uzodinma Iweala. Beasts of No Nation. A Novel.  Harper-Collins Publishers, 2005. (Amazon, $4.00 to $5.00)

(R) Mark Haddon. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. New York: Doubleday, 2003. ISBN: 0-385-51210 (Amazon, $2.00)

(R) Alexandra Fuller. Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight. New York: Random House, 2001.  ISBN  0-375 50750-7. (Amazon, $2.00)

The Amazon prices are for second hand paperback books and there is additional postage.

The Hebrew Bible, Tanach, is the early literature of the Jews, recording encounters with the world, life, and reality.  For the authors, God was the key to making sense of it all.  Over the course of a millennium or so, they developed a variety of ideas that remain part of our intellectual and spiritual history.  To get at and understand these ideas, we shall approach the text with careful reading and critical thinking, literary and historical considerations, allowing for reflection and discussion.

Some of the issues the material will raise: What is the point of including two distinct stories of how the world came to be?  Does life present order and determinism or ambiguity and free will?   Does justice prevail?  What is revelation?  How can we describe a spiritual experience?  How can we talk about God?  Who wrote these stories?

Course content includes plays which raise the following issues:

• Machines replacing men
• Use of robots (What is the human dimension?  How much of man’s functioning can be taken over by robots?)
• The influence of the “herd” instinct on man’s behavior
• “When bad things happen to good people”
• War and its impact

Background in early childhood special needs.  Worked directly with children and taught undergrads and graduate students as well as adult learners in the field of early childhood.

My philosophy is to enable others to learn.  I am not an expert on drama, but have great joy in facilitating the learning of others as I learn along with them.

• The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice
• R.U.R. by Capek
• Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco
• J.B. by Archibald Macleish
• Bury the Dead by Irwin Shaw

Odysseus is an exceptionally complex character, not only in the two Homeric epics and related primary sources, but through the centuries in much of western literature. Hero or villain, noble king and family man and self-serving explorer and adventurer are among the many contrasting views of his character. We will study and contrast a few of these diverse portraits of Odysseus/Ulysses from Sophocles, Virgil, Dante, Shakespeare, and Tennyson, (and at least acknowledge the works of Kazenakis and Joyce), and try to reach our own conclusions about his status and position in the pantheon of men.

Although having taken my previous course on the Iliad is not a prerequisite, it is critical to have read the Iliad fairly recently since many references and allusions will be made on a regular basis to characters and events portrayed there. You will be doing yourself a great disservice if you are not so prepared.

The study group will discuss the interpretation and production of four short plays. After discussing each play, members will participate in a live presentation – more than a reading, less than a full stage production. No memorizing required and only simple props will be used. Each study group member will be responsible for at least one role during the semester and required to attend one extra cast only meeting.

At one session we will examine the play, including an analysis of the theme, characters, motivation, conflict and resolution, and other issues relevant to that play. At the beginning of the next session, the play will be presented by several study group members. The rest of the study group will be the audience. Between these two sessions the presenters will meet along with one study group leader to consider their interpretation and to plan the production. They will explore questions such as: setting, tempo, timing, props and movement. Through this process we hope to gain a greater understanding of the play.

Tamara Chernow has an AA degree from Norwalk Community College, a BA degree from Harvard University and a MA in Library and Information Science from Simmons College.  She was a public librarian in Waltham where she led a book club for 25 years. As a teenager in New York she saw every play that was produced on and off Broadway – often from the second balcony. She still enjoys theatre and would like to explore with others how a script develops into a play.

This course will follow the shift of people, farming and industry from the Northeast to the Midwest.  This shift was aided by the opening of the Erie Canal, and after 1850, by a vast network of railroads converging on Chicago. Gustavus Swift, Marshall Field, John Deere, William Deering, George Pullman and others from the Northeast came to dominate the business, railroads, banking, press and politics of Chicago. They helped build the Art Institute, the University of Chicago, the Symphony Orchestra and organized the Fair in their image. We will study the phenomenal growth of Chicago based on grains, timber, livestock, manufacturing and the railroads. Chicago was the first electric fair. Horse and steam power would be replaced by the internal combustion engine and electricity.

The course will be illustrated using trade cards and drawings made specially for the 1893 Fair.

(R)The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, Vintage Books, New York, 2003., ISBN# 0-375-22560-1.  Buy used copy

(S) City of the Century by Donald L. Miller, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1990, ISBN # 0-684-80194-9. Buy used copy

The viewpoint of one co-leader will be that of an enthusiast for 20th century music, although one who is far from an expert, while the other co-leader has the perspective of someone who is still in the process of acquiring an increasing appreciation for it.  Although detailed knowledge of musical structure will be helpful, it is not a requirement for participants, since the goal of the course leaders will be to make the music and discussion accessible at the level of the average concertgoer.

Readings will be selected to stimulate discussion about the nature of musical creation and of listening (the roles of composer and audience).  The course book features articles by composers in their own words; there will also be a number of articles from other sources.

Naomi – A growing appreciation for music that is new and different as I become more familiar with it.  An ability to relate to folks who are making their first acquaintance with contemporary music. Originally trained as a physicist, taught Computer Science at Brandeis in the 1970s and 1980s and then worked for 16 years at both Brandeis and MIT in the field of Academic Computing – helping faculty use information technology for teaching and learning.

Additional materials will be distributed by the SGLs

For those who would like a historical 20th century music reference, we recommend: (S) Twentieth-Century Music: An Introduction (Fourth Edition, Eric Salzman, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1988.  Hardcover, $55.60, ISBN 0130959413, Third edition (paperback) also available new and used from Amazon

The following book may prove useful for those with little or no previous music experience: (S) Introduction to Music, Ronald Pen, New York: McGraw Hill, 1992. ISBN 0-07-038068-6.

Tuesday Course Period 4: 3 to 4:25 p.m.

Wednesday Course Period 1: 8:30 to 9:55 a.m.

Esther Scharfman: I share with both other leaders a passionate interest in and curiosity about each of our complex human life journeys.  Mine tracks across time, involvement in varying aspects of education: learner (always, thanks to BOLLI now), teacher of Junior High and High School, teaching fellow at Harvard Graduate School of Education, systems psychologist for Brookline Public schools, statewide speaker and legislative lobbyist for establishing Community Colleges in Massachusetts representing the state board of directors of Massachusetts League of Women Voters.  I have a B.A. in literature and psychology, M.Ed., and abt (all-but-thesis) Doctorate in Ed.

It is not essential that a class member own a digital camera, but it is highly recommended.  Members with either a Windows PC or a Macintosh computer can participate, but all class sessions will be conducted on Windows PCs.

The course will cover a process known as the “digital workflow” from the point immediately after a photograph has been acquired (i.e., from a digital camera, photo scanner, email attachment).  Each three-hour class session will include demonstrations/presentations by the SGLs and supported by substantive hands-on exercises performed by members.  The lessons covered in each class will be reinforced by weekly assignments to be completed at home on the member’s own PC. 

Individual class sessions will cover such topics as: (1) transferring photographs to your computer; (2) using tools to organize and manage these images on your computer; (3) editing the images using Picasa and Photoshop Elements; (4) creating a safe and secure backup system; (5) sharing these photos with friends and family using email and Web sites; (6) exploring creative ways of displaying photos with slideshow software and specialized Web sites; and, (7) creating quality prints.

This course will be highly interactive; all members will be expected to participate actively.

Len was graduated from NYU and the University of California with degrees in Electrical Engineering.  He has worked as a management consultant, an information technology specialist, and owner of a computer network integration services business.  Sherm had a career as management consultant to technology-oriented organizations.  He received a BS, Engineering, from the U.S. Naval Academy and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.   Both Len and Sherm have been active in the BOLLI and Boston College ILR programs for the past six years and have led a variety of technology classes at both schools.

Topics will be selected from the news media, especially using Op-Ed sources as base material. While the SGL will provide some articles through an eBoard, students will be expected to expand on the base material by undertaking Internet or other research and forming personal views to introduce into the debates and discussions. When appropriate and available, visiting speakers (e.g., BOLLI Scholars) may be invited to join the class for 1 or 2 sessions, and videos may also be used.

I was born in Baghdad and have lived in 5 countries and visited about 50. I recently retired as an international management consultant, after 33 years with Arthur D. Little and 4 more with a successor company

The course will require very serious reading and thinking because there are few cataclysmic events to spice the story.  But in place of excitement, it should offer a broad and deep insight into the role of emerging religions.

The course will consist of a close reading and discussion of the following works:Stendhal, The Red and the Black; Balzac, Père Goriot; and Flaubert, Madame Bovary

Wednesday Course Period 3: 1:25 to 2:50 p.m.

Bruce Narasin, B.A.  Bruce has been in IT for over forty years.  He has taught classes, tutored, coached, and his goal is to be an “Edutainer”.

Ed Neidorf is a retired engineer with experience in using computers and instructing others in their use. He has taught introductory computer courses at other life long learning programs.

Carol Allman-Morton  781-736-2992 or callman@brandeis.edu

Bruce Narasin  781-894-5685 or narasin@comcast.net

Focus: Moving from “problems” to “progress” will include four areas of study: (1) racism and cultural superiority – how has colonialism affected the way development has been carried out over time; (2) poverty traps – why some poor countries fail to thrive while other countries, seemingly at the same level, succeed; (3) on-the-ground solutions for ending poverty – e.g., non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and (4) the role of women in creating change. There will be assigned readings from authorities in these four areas. Leadership will come from the study group leader, SID student teachers, and a second year SID coordinator-discussant from the Dominican Republic. A video, maps, and use of the internet (social indicators, background information and students' presentations) will facilitate the discussion.

This course will:

• Start with a study of the wines and wine areas of the world
• Look at the history and evolution of wine and how it spread throughout the world.
• Cover the science and technology of growing wine grapes and the processes that go into the making of wine.  This will include, for example, the concept of terroir and the chemistry of fermentation.
• Also look at the criteria for selecting, handling, and cellaring wine.
• Spend time considering the elements of tasting wine.

Interspersed throughout the course will be stories, articles, essay, etc… by various wine writers that will illustrate, in a more personal way, the subjects will be studying.  There will be weekly wine tasting assignments for homework, as well as, the reading requirements, and we will taste relevant wines in class.  It is also my intention to have a winery visit and tour and a more comprehensive wine tasting.  Class members will have the opportunity to research and report on wine areas and/or wines of particular interest.

(R) Oldman, Mark.  Oldman’s Guide to Outsmarting Wine, ISBN 0-14-200492-8, Penguin Books, First Edition, 2004, $18.00.

Some experience with gallery/museum-going is helpful but not essential.

Ms. Maurice continues to paint and exhibit her work.  In 2002 she won the Massachusetts Cultural Council Award in the category of Drawing, Printmaking. Her editorial illustrations have been published in numerous journals including the Boston Globe, National Law Review, New York Times, Tikkun Magazine and the Washington Post.  Her paintings can be viewed on her website: www.cynmaurice.com.

Clifton holds degrees from the University of Maryland and Boston State College.  He was employed as an instructor in the Wilmington Public School System and as Bureau Director with the Massachusetts State Department of Education. He became a member of BOLLI in 2001.

Wednesday Course Period 4: 3 to 4:25 p.m.

Readings will be drawn from authors such as Camus, Joseph Conrad, Melville, Flannery O’Connor, Shirley Jackson, Somerset Maugham and George Orwell.

(R) Bolt, Robert.  A Man for All Seasons, Vintage International Series, 1962 ISBN: 0679728228

Other readings provided by the SGL, the first of which will be sent to class members before the course begins. The SGL will provide the rest of the readings on the first day of class.

This will be a collaborative course. Participants will be expected to undertake research assignments and render oral reports. Our goal is to open our minds to what the future may hold for what we call democracy.