Study Groups, 2011
2011-Spring
Mystery Short Stories
Facilitator: Richard Helfrich
Description: The group will discuss three stories each session from Best American Mystery Stories 2010, editor, Lee Child, series editor, Otto Penzler. There are twenty stories that cover a wide range of styles and subject matter. The book includes a brief biography of each author and commentary from them concerning the story in the collection. Group members will be asked to volunteer to facilitate a session.
Reading Istanbul: The Collected Traveler (An Inspired Companion Guide)
Facilitator: Sharon Michalove
Description: The readings for this group will give the participants the chance to delve deeply into Turkish culture by reading essays on a wide range of topics including ethnic diversity, little known aspects of history, famous and not so famous monuments, the delights of Turkish food, and best of all, a visit to a Turkish bath (hammam).
Favorite Foreign Films
Facilitator: Jenifer Cartwright
Description: Participants will watch and discuss seven foreign films and one American film with many foreign aspects—actors, story, writers, directors and/or settings. All are personal favorites expected to result in thoughtful and (hopefully) enthusiastic discussion. Prior to our first session, participants will receive a syllabus with film titles, brief descriptions, and screening dates. During and following each session, Jenifer will provide information about each film, and she will generate questions to promote discussion after the final credits roll—members may participate as much or as little as they wish. The film list includes: All About My Mother; Central Station; Death In Venice; Diva; Frida; Kolya; Volver and You the Living.
Science and Technology Reading Group
Facilitator: Norman R. Miller
Description: The Science and Technology Reading Group will focus on one or more topics during the session. We will read and discuss a series of articles in order to explore the state of current understanding of the topic and the implications of new developments. Group members are invited to suggest the articles to be read for discussion at the next weekly meeting. The group will primarily draw its material from the Scientific American magazine, but will occasionally include material from other sources. In all cases, the material will be suitable for a general audience. The group will be polled before the first meeting to determine if any group members possess special expertise that can benefit the group. Guests who can add their expertise to our discussions may be invited to some meetings. Scientific American publishes special issues from time to time that explore an important area. Past groups have read and discussed sustainability, energy, and neural and cognitive science. The initial material this session will be current topics in Physics.
Great Ages of Poetry
Facilitator: Beth Felts
Description: We will read aloud and then discuss poetry from some of the most interesting periods and places in history. Sessions may feature topics such as: The English Lake Poets; Ancient Roman and Greek Poetry; Civil War Poetry of the South. Poetry handouts will be provided and members will be asked to search for other topical poems using Google, the Poetry Foundation website, the library, or any resource they prefer. The last 15 minutes of each session will be open for our own members to share a poem they have written and receive feedback.
Food Flicks
Facilitator: Cheri Sullivan
Description: Food provides nourishment for our bodies, but it touches our lives in many other ways, too. Food brings us together and drives us apart; it evokes love and desire, but also loneliness and deprivation; we use it to tempt as well as to comfort; and it calls forth deep memories. In this study group, we’ll watch and discuss seven films in which food is central to the movie’s theme. One food movie will be viewed for each session, with discussion afterwards. Movies for viewing are: Eat Drink Man Woman, Babette's Feast, Chocolat, Like Water for Chocolate, Mostly Martha, Tampopo and Big Night. Note: Many of these are foreign films and will have subtitles.
New Yorker Magazine I
Facilitator: Thomas Swengel
Description: The New Yorker provides a unique mix of articles and reviews on current topics, literature, and the arts. This study group is designed for readers of The New Yorker who want to get together to discuss articles from the magazine. Participants should come prepared for a lively exchange of views. While not required, members will be encouraged to choose and lead the discussion of one or more articles in an effort to assure a broad range of topics.
The Age of Fighting Sail in Fiction and Film: Horatio Hornblower, Jack Aubrey, and the Royal Navy against Napoleon
Facilitator: Fred Christensen
Description: “Those far-distant, storm-beaten ships, upon which the Grand Army never looked, stood between it and the dominion of the world.” (A. T. Mahan)
The drama of Britain’s naval struggle against Napoleonic France has been the subject of many excellent novels and films. This study group will discuss the historical novels of C. S. Forester and Patrick O’Brien, view some of the movies based on them, and examine the past society portrayed by them. Forester’s Horatio Hornblower and O’Brien’s Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin face the psychological and physical challenges of naval warfare in a world of honor and duty, responsibility and danger. Theirs is a world shaped by the society of Regency England, the iron discipline of the Royal Navy, and the unforgiving constraints of nature: wind and tide, calm and storm.
In each session, the group will view and discuss one of the films based on these classic tales, with their protagonists vividly portrayed by Russell Crowe, Gregory Peck, and Ioan Gruffudd. Group members are encouraged to read as many of the novels and stories as they wish.
Vietnam to Present, Part II
Facilitator: David Zell
Description: Various lessons of the Vietnam War give Americans of the 21st century a chance to challenge our assumptions and ideas, or lack of ideas, that determine where we are heading as a democratic republic. While we do not necessarily reject all current assumptions, we do need to explore what we have been doing (or not doing) as a republic and determine whether these assumptions are valid or merely muddling from one conflict to another.
This study group follows Part I (winter 2010-11) in asking pertinent questions based on our experiences during the Vietnam War. Topics include: 1) Turning Point in the Vietnam War (Khe Sanh / Tet Offensive), 2) The Secrets of War (Daniel Ellsberg, the Media, and Public Opinion, 3) Moral Aspects of War (My Lai), 4 & 5) Dissent during War (the Anti-War Movement: SDS, Weatherman, 1968 Chicago Convention, Jane Fonda’s visit to Hanoi, Kent State Incident), 6) Guest speakers on philosophy of war, & 7) the Fall of Saigon (Exit strategies or lack of them). You are welcome to join this group even if you did not participate in Part I of this group.
Race of Scorpions by Dorothy Dunnett
Facilitator: Sharon Michalove
Description: Discussion of the fifteenth century world through the eyes of Nicholas vander Poele, a dye yard apprentice who rises to become a successful merchant and military strategist. Nicholas and his company go to Cypress where civil war rages between two half-siblings who are both claiming the crown. Dorothy Dunnett has been described as one of the finest writers of historical fiction. The facilitator will help with the historical background, bringing in relevant materials that tie into the weekly readings. You do not need to have read the previous books to participate in this group.
New Yorker Magazine II
Facilitator: Don Pilcher
Description: The New Yorker provides a unique mix of articles and reviews on current topics, literature, and the arts. This study group is designed for readers of the New Yorker who want to get together to discuss articles from the magazine. An additional emphasis will be placed on professional backgrounds and life experiences that each member brings to the group. These factors will shape how we select articles and themes, develop intellectual depth and breadth, and gather supplementary materials from Internet sources. While not required, members will be encouraged to lead one weekly session in an effort to assure a broad range of topics.
Two Masters of the Short Story
Facilitator: Paula Watson
Description: We will read stories from the collections of two authors who come from quite different backgrounds and each focus on uniquely personal themes. Our texts will be Jhumpa Lahiri’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Interpreter of Maladies and John Updike’s eleventh collection of short stories, The Afterlife. Lahiri writes of the experience of first-generation Americans of Indian descent blending lush detail, subtle characterization, and a gentle irony. Updike explores life beyond middle age in his particular version of middle class America. We will read and discuss two stories each week.
2011 – Early Summer
The Age of Fighting Sail in Fiction and Film, Part 2: The Royal Navy against Napoleon
Facilitator: Fred Christensen
Description: This Study Group will view and discuss films and novels about the British Royal Navy in the Napoleonic Wars, The success of the previous Group means that the remainder of the Hornblower films starring Ioan Gruffudd, plus one or two others, can be watched with equal enthusiasm and interest. They too will portray a world shaped by the society of Regency England, the iron discipline of the Royal Navy, and the unforgiving constraints of nature: wind and tide, calm and storm. In each session, the group will view and discuss one of the films, with their protagonists vividly portrayed by Ioan Gruffudd, Alec Guinness, and others. Group members are encouraged to read as many of the novels and stories as they wish.
Conversational German: Brushing Up On Your Vocabulary, Grammar and Pronunciation
Facilitator: Mary Severinghaus
Description: Many of us who have studied German at some point in our lives come to wish later that we had an opportunity to refresh our conversational skills in the language. Sometimes it's because we're planning a trip to a country where German is spoken, or perhaps genealogical studies have brought us into contact with German-speaking relatives, or it may be that we just want to revisit the fun of conversing in a foreign language. This discussion group will welcome speakers at all levels of fluency, but some previous familiarity with the language is necessary.
Macintosh Users Group
Facilitator: Robert Davis
Description: This would be an open-ended group that provides support and resources for the community of Apple Macintosh Users in our area. It could serve as a resource for beginning Macintosh users as well as an opportunity for current users to gather together to share ideas, tips, solutions and assistance with new software. Leadership would be shared according to the knowledge base of the presenter/participant and the particular topic to be covered. Leadership also might come from a person in the community with expertise and willingness to be a resource for a particular topic.
New Yorker Magazine
Facilitator: Cheri Sullivan
Description: The New Yorker provides a unique mix of articles and reviews on current topics, literature, and the arts. This study group is designed for readers of The New Yorker who want to get together to discuss articles from the magazine. Participants should come prepared for a lively exchange of views. While not required, members will be encouraged to choose and lead the discussion of one or more articles in an effort to assure a broad range of topics.
2011 - Late Summer
TV Spies
Facilitator: Sharon Michalove
Description: With the popularity of James Bond both through the novels and the films, the spy genre blossomed on American and British television in the 1960s and remains popular today. Each week in this 6-week session, we will watch episodes from a variety of spy shows such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E, The Avengers, The Sandbaggers, Get Smart, MI-5, and I Spy. We will explore the origins of the genre and its various subgroups, how the programs reflect the real world, differences between miniseries and regular series, and how British and American conceptions compare.
Mystery Short Stories
Facilitator: Pauline Cochrane
Description: As previous study groups enjoyed reading the best of 2009 and 2010, this group will go back to the 2008 collection, edited by Otto Penzler and George Pelecanos. The group will read three stories a week and share their reactions to them. Group members will be asked to volunteer to facilitate a session.
Pension systems: private and public, demise or rebirth?
Facilitator: Robert Gillespie
Description: We will survey contemporary issues in pension systems with emphasis on public employee pension systems. Participation assumes a willingness to dig into what can be dry and sometimes challenging reading. Pension systems, especially Defined Benefit systems, are now be being replaced by Defined Contribution systems in both the corporate and public spheres. A central question for our study will be: does this shift in pension systems serve the public interest? At the end of the session participants should have a formulated an answer to this question. The facilitator or guest speaker will lead each session. Topics for discussion include: brief history of pension system issues, SURS, public pension legislation in Illinois, alternative approaches to pension system design and potholes in the road to pension reform in Illinois.
Six Surprising Women: Accomplishments and Controversies
Facilitator: David Zell
Description: We will discuss the following six women, their accomplishments and controversies. Cleopatra: Besides the voluptuous seductress of legend, we witness a shrewd, cunning, competent monarch who cries out to be more than just an evasive personality. We will look at the newest research and discover the real Cleopatra. Hypatia of Alexandria : A brilliant woman of many talents- mathematician, philosopher, and renowned beauty, she remains a legend since her brutal murder in 415. We will discuss why she is remembered not only by historians and poets, but also by Victorian novelists and contemporary feminists. Pocahontas : Drawing from sources often overlooked by many Western historians, we discover a unique, remarkable woman who, to this day, is ‘wrapped in myth’. Did she play a fulfilling and essential role in colonial American history? Anne Hutchinson: What made historian, Howard Zinn, say of Anne “To all of those teachers around the country who asked me: What true heroes can I tell my students about? I would reply: Start by telling them about Anne Hutchinson!” As a founding mother, she exemplifies the best of the American Spirit. Victoria Woodhull: Katherine Graham, formerly of the Washington Post, said of Victoria, “Most of us have never heard of this early feminist of astounding accomplishments….I would love to have known her.” Her [story] is one every businesswoman-and man-should be aware of.” Eva Peron: Few women have ever been so vehemently criticized and so passionately adored as the “angel of the shirtless ones”. She met Juan Peron when she was 24 and her life changed forever. Historian, Hubert Herring, refers to her as “perhaps the shrewdest woman yet to appear in public life in South America.”
The Six Wives of Henry VIII or how ‘The Tudors’ got it wrong
Facilitator: Ann Russell
Description: We will use the 1970 BBC production of the Six Wives of Henry VIII, which was reasonably accurate. We will watch one show (wife) each week and discuss it. Ann will provide background on the characters and other information. (This can be confusing because half of the men are named Thomas and the women are Anne, Jane, Catherine or Mary.)
TED Talks – Ideas Worth Spreading
Facilitators: Cheri Sullivan and Denise Taylor
Description: What can spaghetti sauce tell us about happiness? Can fourth-graders learn how to bring about world peace? Does our clothing offer hints about the relationship between copyright and creativity? What medical innovations can we expect in the next few years?*
Are you interested in these and other ideas that may change the world? In 1984 the non-profit organization TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) began hosting conferences to disseminate “Ideas Worth Spreading.” TED invites exceptional thinkers and innovators from around the world to share their ideas, usually in 18 minutes or less. The speakers are outstanding and the ideas are provocative. For five years the best talks have been available online, free, to anyone who wants to listen. In this study group, we’ll watch a few thematically grouped TED talks each week and discuss the ideas they present. The two facilitators will choose topics for the first few weeks, and then will ask group members to suggest topics for the subsequent meetings.
*All the issues mentioned in this paragraph are discussed in TED talks.
No required reading or preparation, however, leaders will email group members links to relevant content on the web.
New Yorker Magazine
Facilitator: Jenifer Cartwright
Description: The New Yorker provides a unique mix of articles and reviews on current topics, literature, and the arts. This study group is designed for readers of The New Yorker who want to get together to discuss articles from the magazine. In an effort to assure a broad range of topics, members will be encouraged to choose and lead the discussion of one or more articles during our 6-week session.
2011 - Fall
Reading Venice: The Collected Traveler by Barrie Kerper
Facilitator: Sharon Michalove
Description: The purpose of this study group is to delve into detail about Venice and the Veneto: the history, food, culture, and even a bit of the politics. Through reading the essays in Barrie Kerper’s book we can experience life on the lagoon including the famous Aqua Alta, meet interesting people, and discover the specialties of Venetian cuisine. The facilitator will structure the sessions in terms of which readings will be discussed each week and will bring in other materials to support the readings. Whether you are an armchair or a world traveler, have been to Venice or would love to go, the readings in this collection will make Venice come alive.
The Physics you need to be President
Facilitator: Charles Jordan
Description: Material for this study group is organized using Richard Muller’s material as a model. Many small topics will be covered where the attendees can calculate a few numbers and make some graphs to familiarize themselves with the details necessary for a politician to make an informed decision. Only enough science will be studied to permit the politician to vote on an issue. The goal is scientific literacy in areas of interest in the world today. Suggested topics include: Technology of Terrorism; Hydrocarbons-Supply and demand; Alternative Energy; Nuclear Weapons and Energy Sources; Radioactivity-Cancer and Waste; Space-GPS (military) and resources (oil, gas, water) and remote sensing (military, Pyramids, etc.); Climate Science - Theory and Data and Man and Climate Consequences and non-solutions. No particular knowledge of physics is needed for this study group; elementary math is necessary.
Family Issues Films
Facilitator: Jenifer Cartwright
Description: We’ll watch and discuss eight American and foreign language films that deal with family issues: All About My Mother; Bend It Like Beckham; Everything Is Illuminated; Frida; Kolya; The Savages; Volver; Whale Rider; What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
Aging Concerns: Let’s talk about what no one talks about
Facilitator: Judith Braunfeld
Description: We will discuss both positive and negative issues related to aging. Some examples include euthanasia, long-term care insurance, becoming a care giver, fear of death, fear of dependence and re-locating to be near children. A list of issues to be discussed will be developed on the first day of the group. Judith will provide reading materials to the group based on the discussion topics.
TED Talks – Ideas Worth Spreading
Facilitators: Cheri Sullivan and Denise Taylor
Description: The nonprofit organization TED believes in the power of ideas to change the world. TED invites exceptional thinkers and innovators from around the world to share their ideas, usually in 18 minutes or less. The talks can be fascinating, beautiful, heart wrenching, funny, practical, profound, wondrous, and even life altering. For five years the best talks have been available online, free, to anyone who wants to listen. In this study group, we’ll watch several TED talks each week and discuss the ideas they present. The facilitators will choose the talks but encourage suggestions from group members. Talks are shown with English language subtitles for those who may have difficulty hearing.
Society and the Fall of Innocence: Discussions of Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet
Facilitator: Joan Klein
Description: In both Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet the innocent young encounter societies driven by greed and ambition, encumbered by old prejudices, even crimes, led by the blind and solipsistic few. The best of the young do not survive. But, even in their fall, they show the way out of the darkness that surrounds them into a kind of enlightenment. Joan will assign readings from the plays and will lead the weekly discussions.
Scales of Gold by Dorothy Dunnett
Facilitator: Sharon Michalove
Description: Fifteenth-century history comes alive in the novels of Dorothy Dunnett. Nicholas vander Poele has made many enemies in his relatively short life and has good reasons for leaving Europe and venturing into still mostly unknown West Africa. The consummate trader, he is interested in the legendary gold and salt trade and journeys to Timbuktu with a small group of travelers, including two women. There he finds one of the foremost universities in the world as well as a particularly fraught political situation. But what are his plans concerning the slave trade, and will he truly try to reach Ethiopia to convince Prester John to join a papal crusade against the Turks?
The group will discuss chapters of the novel each week and the facilitator will bring in historical background and field questions.
New Yorker Magazine
Facilitator: Andrea Lynn
Description: The New Yorker provides a unique mix of articles and reviews on current topics, literature, and the arts. This study group is designed for readers of The New Yorker who want to get together to discuss articles from the magazine. In an effort to assure a broad range of topics, members will be encouraged to choose and lead the discussion of one or more articles during our 8-week session.
No Denying – Delawareans Bear Witness to the Holocaust
Facilitator: Don Francisco
Description: No Denying is a 5 disc set of DVDs that contain testimonies given by Holocaust Survivors, Righteous Gentiles (or about them) and Liberators of the camps, all of whom live in the state of Delaware. In each meeting we will watch portions of these discs and discuss what they say and what they could teach the world today. The producer of the discs will be attending the last session of this study group.
Clint Eastwood Makes Movies – The First 55 Years
Facilitator: Ashton Waller
Description: Clint Eastwood is now 81 years old. In this study group, we will watch him age and his movies evolve. He started doing bit parts in movies around 1955. In 1971, he directed and acted in Play Misty for Me. During the next 20 years, he made allegorical westerns, goof ball comedies and many movies outside any conventional category. After he turned 60, his movies got better and better. Unforgiven was made in 1992 and won four Oscars and amazing critical acclaim. His later films go beyond any easy categorization. They deal with regret, loss, love, failed revenge, leadership, aging, death, duty and the mystery of other people. They have a fair share of ambiguity and unanswered questions. They will be fun to watch and talk about. We will watch and discuss the following films:
Magnum Force, Play Misty for Me, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Unforgiven, A Perfect World, The Bridges of Madison County, Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby.
Making the “golden years” really GOLDEN
Facilitators: Anna Merritt and Dina Zinnes
Description: Ok, so here we are. Paradise! Yes?!? Hmmm. For some it's everything ever hoped/wished for, for others, there is a question mark. What was this supposed to be? The goal of this study group is to explore the question: "what is the best way to structure those 'golden years' and what are some strategies that could move us in the right direction?" If you have answers we want to hear them. If you are still searching for answers we want to explore the possibilities with you.
The first session will be devoted to sharing experiences and questions about retirement. This may help us identify the principal topics to be covered, determine which participants are interested in looking more deeply into certain topics, and set a schedule for the remaining weeks. One session will be on “Happiness” led by Tom Ulen, a popular OLLI instructor.
Two additional goals of this group are to share our thoughts and findings with others possibly through a blog or website. We will also discuss ways to provide information to the pre-golden folks that could help them make the transition with greater ease.
Ethics in Science
Facilitator: Robert Sprague
Description: We will study cases of scientific misconduct and the impact of these cases on government agencies, funding organizations and scientific groups. We will start with the case of Dr. Stephen E. Breuning, a psychologist, at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Breuning was convicted in 1988 of scientific fraud for fabricating data on treatments for hyperactivity. (Dr. Sprague is quite aware of the details of this case because he was the whistleblower.) We will study other cases of misconduct and review the implications for the future involving ethics in science. There are enough reported cases that members of the group will have the opportunity to report on a case in their own discipline or area of interest. Participants will be asked to lead some of the sessions.
International Short Stories Discussion Group
Facilitator: Paula Watson
Description: The study group discussions will be based on The Art of the Story: an International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories. Although a fair percentage of the stories are by English and American authors, the editor, Daniel Halpern, has selected the “best” stories of authors from 35 countries. As Halpern says in his introduction, the fiction you will read “configures the extremes of human nature. The stories are narratives well told: documents of our condition, seemingly limitless in their array of setting, tone, dialogue, and method of storytelling.” Each week we will read and discuss two or sometimes three stories.
Movies that Make the Season Right
Facilitator: Craig Cutbirth
Description: This study group will view “classic” Christmas movies that are typically shown to highlight the Christmas season. It will give participants an opportunity to screen the films on a larger screen than the typical television and to watch and discuss them with like-minded people. The group will begin with It’s a Wonderful Life. The group will choose the final four movies from a list that Craig will provide. Craig will also provide a syllabus that will include the titles and casts of the selected films. He will create discussion questions for each film.
Civil War Movies: Beyond “GWTW”
Facilitator: Fred Christensen
Description: The American Civil War has always been a rich source of inspiration for Hollywood, and this group will view and discuss some examples. How realistic and accurate are they, and what do they say about our history and about human nature? We’ll view the following films: “Glory,” “Cold Mountain,” "Ride with the Devil,” “Gettysburg” (in two sessions), “The Great Locomotive Chase,” Buster Keaton’s “The General,” and “The Conspirator.” Each showing will be followed by an in-depth discussion led by Fred Christensen. All films should shed light on this central event in our nation’s history, in this sesquicentennial year of its beginning.
The Great Books Foundation: Short Story Omnibus
Facilitators: Elaine Giermak and Frank Hoss
Description: The book source is The Great Books Foundation: Short Story Omnibus. The first eight stories to be used in this study group are by Balzac, Poe, Henry James, Chekhov, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Katherine Mansfield, Hemingway, and V.S. Pritchett. For complete table of contents, go to www.greatbooks.org/shortstory.