Curriculum
THURSDAYS
9:00–10:30am T’AI CHI: Moving Meditation
Taijiquan (T’ai Chi Ch’üan), a traditional Chinese movement system, arose out of the belief that slow, continuous motion, combined with an internal focus on subtle changes, enhances energy, well-being, and mental, emotional, and physical balance. Scientific studies have verified many of its benefits, and medical professionals now endorse it for recuperation from surgery, heart disease, balance difficulties, arthritis, and a wide variety of other conditions. In addition, it is easy to practice, requires no special space or equipment, and integrates natural, easy exercise with a joyful reflective approach to daily life.
Prerequisite: This special six-week course is open only to those who have taken one or both of Dr. Jay’s classes at OLLI, since we will be combining “Moonlight” (taught in the fall) and “Starlight” (taught in the winter) into the traditional long form. Next opportunity to begin T’ai Chi study through OLLI will be this fall.
Recommended text:
- Tsung Hwa Jou, The Dao of Taijiquan: Way to Rejuvenation (ISBN 978-0804813570), Tuttle, 1998, $19.98.
JAY DUNBAR, PhD, is director of the Magic Tortoise Taijiquan School (www.magictortoise.com). An “indoor” student of Grandmaster Jou Tsung Hwa, he has studied taijiquan and qigong since 1975 and has taught in the Triangle area since 1979.
6 Thursdays, April 18–May 23, 9:00–10:30am, Judea Reform Education Building. Maximum: 30. Fee: $45. Course ID: 0420
9:00–11:00am INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE BRUSH PAINTING
Learn this meditative and mind-awakening art form using the four treasures of Chinese art (bamboo brush, ink stone, ink stick, and rice paper). Award-winning artist Vivien Wushuan Burns will guide you from ink sketching to finish in detail style. Then you will explore how to extend techniques to spontaneous style.
Required supplies:
- wolf hair brushes (small and medium)
- sheep hair brushes (medium and large)
- Chinese water color
- ink
- rice paper
If you prefer to have the instructor provide you with these items, please bring $35 in exact change to the first day of class. Refunds are at the discretion of instructor.
VIVIEN WUSHUAN BURNS is deeply passionate about Chinese brush painting and has studied with masters in China and Taiwan. She stills the mind, grinds ink on stone, draws wolf-hair brush across rice paper, creating prolific imagery—compositions that balance filled and vacant space. Originally from Taiwan, she now lives in Chapel Hill.
6 Thursdays, April 18–May 23, 9:00–11:00am (please note times), Judea Reform Education Building. Maximum: 12. Fee: $45. Course ID: 1166
9:00–10:30am THE GHOST OF BILLY MITCHELL
This course will cover the evolution of strategic bombing from the zeppelins of the First World War through the nuclear balance of the Cold War. We will examine the original conceptualization by British, American, Italian, and German strategic thinkers and discuss the distinction being made between “strategic” and “tactical” air power. Next, we will move on to the hotly debated use of strategic bombardment in the Second World War, culminating in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Finally, we will examine the concepts of mutually assured destruction and massive retaliation that formed a backdrop to the “balance of terror” in the Cold War.
Recommended text:
- John Buckley, Air Power in the Age of Total War (ISBN 978-0253213242), Indiana University, 1999, $19.83.
JOSEPH CADDELL has a PhD in military history from Duke University. He has taught at a number of schools for the Department of Defense and is currently teaching military and naval history at North Carolina State University and naval and air power history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
6 Thursdays, April 18–May 23, 9:00–10:30am, Judea Reform Education Building. Maximum: 60. Fee: $45. Course ID: 1165
11:00am–12:30pm AFTERLIFE & ESCHATOLOGY—THE END OF ALL THINGS: Cultural, Historical, and Religious Roads to the Nether World
A cultural, religious, historical, and contemporary lively discussion into the tenants and beliefs of the end of all things: eschatology. The course will explore a wide overview of major components thereof: angels, heaven, afterlife, resurrection, the immortality of the soul, paradise, Satan, millennialism, transmigration, reincarnation, nihilism, and so on. In short, this is a course on the afterlife and its theories, approaches, and proponents, not a course on funerary customs, grief, or bereavement. This course offers a chance to investigate the evidence that “near-death” experiences presents. Is there an “intermediate” state? Is there life after death? Note that the course is not intended to convert anyone to another’s belief on the subject. Religious, scientific, atheist, and secular humanist viewpoints are welcome—from persons who “know” there is life after death to those who agree with Lord Byron: “I will have nothing to do with immortality; we are miserable in this life, without the absurdity of speculating upon another.”
Dr. THOMAS N. COLLEY is a retired Lutheran pastor, having served thirty-seven years in parishes in New England and North Carolina. He received an MDiv from Christ Seminary, Seminex, and a DMin from Drew University. He taught religion and philosophy as adjunct professor at Nathaniel Hawthorne College, Catawba Valley Community College, and Lenoir-Rhyne University.
6 Thursdays, April 18–May 23, 11:00am–12:30pm, The Bishop’s House. Maximum: 20. Fee: $45. Course ID: 1162
11:00am–12:30pm MEET THE WORLD: Part II
Duke University has a large number of international professionals. Each week, one of these professionals from among such diverse countries as China, South Korea, Brazil, Italy, and France will discuss his or her country’s history, culture, and contemporary issues, as well as invite questions from the OLLI audience. This is a unique chance to see world cultures from the point of view of native-born representatives and to understand what unites us as citizens of the world. Due to enthusiastic response in 2011, we are offering this course again with new international participants.
JOANNE NAPOLI holds a PhD in English and an MA in counseling-psychology. She has previously taught literature courses at colleges in the United States and abroad as well as at OLLI. She has been volunteering as a group leader at Duke International House for over ten years and was a group leader for the Experiment in International Living. She has lived, worked, and studied abroad in six European countries.
4 Thursdays, April 18–May 9 (please note dates), 11:00am–12:30pm, The Bishop’s House. Maximum: 20. Fee: $35. Course ID: 1167
11:00am–12:30pm THE PERSONAL ESSAY: On Being, Seeing, Thinking
Can you write a personal essay in two pages in which you explore your world and examine its meanings? No doubt about it. In this course, we will write short essays about people and places, birth and death, failure and triumph. We will shape our essays by building strong narratives through examples rich in reference, imagery, and reflection. We will try to make every word count. Attempts to scale down our thoughts into “words in their best order” (Coleridge’s definition of good prose) will exercise our minds, refine our writing skills, and reveal our interior lives. When the class has ended, we will have something to show for our courage. Students should have access to a computer and an e-mail account.
SANDRA EISDORFER was a university press editor for thirty years, first at Duke, then for twenty-three years at the University of North Carolina Press. She helped edit Oxford University Press’s twenty-four-volume American National Biography, and during that time, published personal essays and poetry in various journals. She has taught writing classes at OLLI since 2005 and has served as the chair of the Writing Program for OLLI’s Curriculum Committee.
6 Thursdays, April 18–May 23, 11:00am–12:30pm, Judea Reform Education Building. Maximum: 12. Fee: $45. Course ID: 1168
11:00am–12:30pm WATER & THE SHAPING OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE
Water is essential for human survival. It has also played a pivotal role in the shaping of civilization. This course will focus on the many complex ways in which water affected life in Europe and the Mediterranean between 500 and 1500. This course will consider the role played by water in its many different manifestations. We will examine how water (and the absence thereof) is reflected in medieval cultural and religious consciousness, what it did to foster some of the characteristic traits of medieval politics and warfare, and its role in stimulating medieval economic development and facilitating the flow of ideas and diseases.
CAROLYN PUMPHREY divides her time between the Triangle Institute for Security Studies, an organization whose mission is to promote understanding of national and international security, and North Carolina State University, where she teaches medieval history. She holds a doctorate from Duke University.
6 Thursdays, April 18–May 23, 11:00am–12:30pm, Judea Reform Education Building. Maximum: 30. Fee: $45. Course ID: 1169
11:00am–12:30pm A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION TO LAW
Should a Supreme Court justice interpret the Constitution to fit the times or try to construe its meaning the way the framers did? How immediate must the consequences of one’s action be for one to be legally responsible for them? Does someone ever have the right to break the law? Does the natural order determine what makes a good law? Questions like these are sure to occur to us when we think about the law. This course will survey the types of answers philosophers have given. We will depend on a very short textbook to guide us but also read court cases and case studies to focus the issues and keep our discussions grounded in the real world. So grab your powdered wig and join the fun!
Required text:
- Raymond Wacks, The Philosophy of Law: A Very Short Introduction (ISBN 978-0192806918), Oxford University Press, 2006, $7.88.
RICHARD PRUST is professor emeritus of philosophy at St. Andrews University and one of the organizers of the International Forum on Persons. He is the author of Wholeness: The Character Logic of Christian Belief and is currently working on a book titled “Who A Person Is: The Character Logic of Our Identity.”
6 Thursdays, April 18–May 23, 11:00am–12:30pm, Judea Reform Education Building. Maximum: 20. Fee: $45. Course ID: 1170
1:30–3:30pm BALLET TWO WAYS
Romeo and Juliet and Carmen have been interpreted differently by various artists. We will watch two versions of a variety of ballets in their entirety just for the fun of comparing.
BETSY BULLEN, a student of ballet all her life, has introduced hundreds of OLLI students to the joys of this art form. She is back this spring with a brand new course.
6 Thursdays, April 18–May 23, 1:30–3:30pm (please note times), The Bishop’s House. Maximum: 20. Fee: $45. Course ID: 1150
2:00–3:30pm IF YOU CAN WALK YOU CAN DANCE: Endless Duet with Space
In this movement course, we will explore moving through space in a variety of dance and exercise forms. Besides having “just plain fun,” we will increase our strength, extend our flexibility, and improve our balance and posture. No former dance experience is required, just the willingness to join right in with things new and different.
SUSAN WARTELL has a BS in physical education and an MA in health education. She has taught and coached in public and private schools for over twenty years and has been teaching aerobics and personal training for about as long. She is AFAA and ACE certified as a fitness instructor and trainer and Physical Mind Institute certified in Pilates. She has recently been certified as a golf conditioning specialist.
6 Thursdays, April 18–May 23, 2:00–3:30pm (please note times), location TBD. Maximum: 20. Fee: $45. Course ID: 0442
1:30–3:00pm EIGHT GREAT ODES: A Close Reading of Romantic and Late-18th-Century Odes
We will look very closely at the great odes that are the glory of British Romantic poetry: Wordsworth’s “Ode on the Intimations of Immortality”; Shelley’s “Ode to a Skylark”; and Keats’s “Ode to Psyche,” “Ode on Melancholy,” “Ode to a Nightingale,” “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” and “Ode to Autumn.” We will also consider several poems by Thomas Gray, including “Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College.” A few introductory remarks will be made about Horace and Pindar. Other relevant materials may also be discussed.
Required text:
- Margaret Ferguson et al., The Norton Anthology of Poetry (ISBN 978-0393979206), W. W. Norton and Company, 2004, $63.14. Used copies are available online at a substantial discount. Other good anthologies that include the listed odes are acceptable.
THOMAS STUMPF received a bachelor’s degree from St. Louis University in 1960 and a doctorate from Harvard in 1966. From 1965 to 2006 he taught at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, where he was the recipient of many teaching awards, including the Board
of Governors Award for 2001.
6 Thursdays, April 18–May 23, 1:30–3:00pm, Judea Reform Education Building. Maximum: 25. Fee: $45. Course ID: 1171
1:30–3:00pm QUINTETS & LOLLIPOPS
Have you been searching for something a little special or different in your classical music listening? Well, the quintet genre may have just what you’ve been hankering after. In this course, we will hear six great quintets, with different instrument combinations: (1) all strings; (2) clarinet and strings; (3) piano and strings; (4) piano and winds; and (5) guitar and strings. The composers include Mozart, Brahms, Schumann, Dvorak, Schubert, and Shostakovich. Each of these carefully selected quintets is colorful, masterfully composed, and played by leading artists.
About those “lollipops”: they are little “after quintet” musical treats to fill out your class session. They will include short works for different instruments from different musical periods, many, or most, in vibrant video performances. They are a wonderful means to experience different kinds of music and discover gems you will want to hear again and again.
GEORGE OBERLANDER, PhD, is one of the mainstay OLLI music instructors, having offered courses on Bach, Mozart, Mahler, Bernstein, chamber music, Spanish piano music, and classical guitar.
6 Thursdays, April 18–May 23, 1:30–3:00pm, Judea Reform Education Building. Maximum: 30. Fee: $45. Course ID: 1173
1:30–2:30pm AGELESS GRACE: Twenty-One Simple Tools for Lifelong Comfort and Ease
The Ageless Grace program can be done by almost anyone of any age or ability. The movement sequences focus on the healthy longevity of the body, mind, emotions and spirit. All of the exercises are designed to be practiced in a chair for 10 minutes a day, and they consist of movements that are natural and organic—there’s no special choreography. Each of the twenty-one tools focuses on a different anti-aging strategy based on research in neuroplasticity and gerontology, for example, joint mobility, spinal flexibility, right-left brain coordination, cognitive function, systemic stimulation, balance, confidence, and playfulness. The easy-to-learn tools of Ageless Grace promote the “three Rs” of lifelong comfort and ease—the ability to respond, recover, and react efficiently and safely. Expect to laugh a lot in each class as we learn to use each tool with imagination.
PATTI RIESER is a retired nurse practitioner and science writer; a long-time student of meditation, yoga, and martial arts; and a certified Ageless Grace educator. She is having fun being silly and playful (finally!).
6 Thursdays, April 18–May 23, 1:30–2:30pm (please note times), Judea Reform Education Building. Maximum: 20. Fee: $45. Course ID: 1075
3:15–4:45pm PLACES TO LIVE: Lessons from the Vernacular
“We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” —Winston Churchill
There was a time when we lived in houses that were informed by climate, topography and context. Our houses were cooled by cross-ventilation, shaded by trees, and built of local materials by local craftspeople. Houses such as the dogtrot, shotgun, and courtyard, to name a few, were sustainable, memorable, and of their time in place. Understanding these and other house types can help us understand the potential role of place in where we live. Too often today, houses are a consequence of economics, large-scale planning, and production choices that enable construction to go faster and cheaper. One could argue that these houses and neighborhoods no longer connect us to a particular place. They could be anywhere, and, indeed, they can be found everywhere. They are without shape, presence, and place. Through case studies, discussions and field trip(s), we will explore vernacular housing types with emphasis on precedents found in the South.
Please note: There may be one or two field trips requiring car travel and admission fees.
Recommended texts:
- Lisa Heschong, Thermal Delight in Architecture (ISBN 978-0262580397), MIT Press, 1979, $20.00.
- Charles Moore et al., The Place of Houses (ISBN 978-0520223578), University of California Press, New Ed edition, 2000, $29.21.
ELLEN WEINSTEIN, AIA, has degrees in architecture and landscape architecture and twenty-five years of experience collaborating on projects recognized with local, regional, and national design awards. She regularly teaches studios at North Carolina State College of Design and frequently is invited to serve on architecture award juries. Her colleagues in NC AIA acknowledged Ellen’s design focus and success in 2001 by awarding her the Kamphoefer Prize, the highest design honor for the state’s midcareer architects.
6 Thursdays, April 18–May 23, 3:15–4:45pm, Judea Reform Education Building. Maximum: 20. Fee: $45. Course ID: 1172
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