Omnilore Masthead

TOPICS  OFFERED  FOR  SPRING  2013

Please note that the books listed for each course are only possible candidates. 
Do not buy any until the pre-meeting and a decision on the common reading is made.

Classes start January 2nd and end April 30th.  

Holiday periods are adapted to by individual class voting. 

 

1.     (ART)    THE  $12  MILLION  STUFFED  SHARK

Most of us are shocked when an artwork, especially a piece of modern art, sells for millions of dollars. "My child could have painted that!" we splutter. This class explores the economics and psychology of the art world. Based on the book below, the class will cover art and the artists, art dealers and auction houses, famous collectors, museums, counterfeit art, and art critics. You'll gain insight into the culture of the art world and learn what goes on "behind the scenes," but we don't guarantee that you'll come away understanding why a person would pay $12 million for a stuffed shark.

Common Reading:    The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of

Contemporary Art, by Don Thompson (2008)

 

2.     (BAB)   TOWERS  OF  BABBLE:  THE  NEW  INFORMATION  REVOLUTION

In an era of dramatic change that many observers describe as the greatest communications revolution since Gutenberg’s movable type gave birth to the Age of Enlightenment, we will examine the new media culture in the context of responsibility and reliability.  With public support of the media at an all-time low, we will explore the follies and flaws of the press against both the historical backdrop and an ominous future.  The common reading is Losing the News: The Future of the News That Feeds Democracy by Alex S.  Jones, a former Pulitzer Prize reporter for the New York Times, is director of the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University.  He argues that the demise of the newspaper industry is corroding the iron core of information that is at the center of a functioning democracy. Increasingly, he contends, what is passed off as news is actually entertainment; puff pieces have replaced the investigative reporting that allows citizens to make informed decisions. Presentations will focus on topical examples of media behavior symptomatic of the new culture.

Common Reading:    Losing the News: The Future of the News That Feeds Democracy by Alex S. Jones (2011)

 

3.     (BEL)      THE  IDEA  FACTORY:  BELL  LABS  AND  THE  GREAT  AGE  OF

                          AMERICAN  INNOVATION

Bell Laboratories, which thrived from the 1920s to the 1980s, was the most innovative and productive institution of the twentieth century.  At its peak, Bell Labs employed nearly fifteen thousand people, twelve-hundred of whom had PhDs.  (Thirteen would go on to win Nobel prizes).  It was a citadel of science and scholarship as well as a hotbed of creative thinking.  This class aims examines the unique magic of Bell Labs through the eyes and actions of its scientists. We'll follow these ingenious, often eccentric men, as they invent radio astronomy, ride unicycles through the corridors, and pioneer the principles that propel today's technology.  We'll learn how radar came to be, and lasers, transistors, satellites, mobile phones, and much more.

Aside from discussing the amazing scientific advancements of Bell Labs, we hope to explore these intriguing questions:

What are the principles of innovation?  How do new technology and new ideas begin?  Are some environments more favorable than others?  How should they be structured, and how should they be governed?  Can strokes of genius be accelerated, replicated, standardized?

Common Reading:    The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American

Innovation, by Jon Gertner (2012)

 

4.     (BLU)      NOTHING  BUT  THE  BLUES

The origins of blues is not unlike the origins of life. For many years it was recorded only by memory, and relayed only live, and in person. The Blues were born in the North Mississippi Delta following the Civil War. Influenced by African roots, field hollers, ballads, church music and rhythmic dance tunes called jump-ups evolved into a music for a singer who would engage in call-and-response with his guitar. He would sing a line, and the guitar would answer.

Our S/DG will stimulate both the mind and the soul. The term "the blues" refers to the "blue devils," meaning melancholy and sadness; at its core, the blues has remained the same since its inception. Along the way, the blues melded with American folk and country music from the Appalachians to create a vibrant and timeless new music form that resonates deeply throughout the world.  Join us for an interesting good time.

Common Reading:    Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi

by Robert Palmer (1982) 

 

5.     (BRN)    WELCOME  TO  YOUR  BRAIN:  THE  NEUROSCIENCE  OF

                     EVERYDAY  LIFE    

In their very accessible book Welcome to Your Brain, neuroscientists Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang ask questions like: "Why do you lose your car keys but never forget how to drive?” and what they call “other puzzles of everyday life.”  We propose to discuss this and such topics as are suggested by chapter headings: Can you trust your brain?; Biologic clock and jet lag; Accounting for taste and smell; How your brain changes throughout your life; Growing great brains in early childhood; Reaching the top of the mountain (aging); Did I pack everything? (anxiety); Vacation snapshots (memory); and many others. We also propose to listen to some of Wang's DVD lectures on how the brain works in different situations. Clearly we are attempting to make the science of neuroscience understandable to those of us who are NOT neuroscientists - but who do have brains.

Common Reading:    Welcome to Your Brain:  Why You Lose Your Car Keys But Never

Forget How to Drive and Other Puzzles of Everyday Life

by Sam Wang and Sandra Aamodt  (December 2008)

6.     (CAN)  OH!  CANADA! 

Did you know that Southern California has the largest population of Canadians outside of Canada? (The California chapter of "Canadians Abroad" has over 3500 members, and it's estimated that more than a million Canadians reside in Southern California!). Here in the South Bay, you can even catch a hockey game while dining on poutine at the Canadian-owned Redondo Beach Cafe.

Does this whet your appetite for more info about the Great White North? This class will explore Canada's history, food, culture, and its ethnic heritage and diversity. We'll also discuss Canada's relationship to the US as our largest trading partner. (Each day, $1.9 billion worth of goods and services crosses the US-Canada border!). Our 5,000 mile, mutual border has made us longtime allies in national security and defense, and we produce much of our energy by using Canadian resources like petroleum, coal, and uranium. The two countries have collaborated on many important environmental issues as well.

Come discuss these and other topics. After all, those Canadians are "just so darn nice," wouldn't it be nice to know more about them?

Possible Common Reading:

Uneasy Neighbors: Canada, the USA and the Dynamics of State,

Industry and Culture, by David Kilgour and David T. Jones

Canadian History for Dummies (2nd edition), by Will Ferguson

(a popular Canadian humorist; 2005)

  

7.     (ESC)     ECOLOGY  OF  SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA 

Many Omniloreans have moved to Southern California from other parts of the country and may have wondered about the unfamiliar plants found here.   This S/DG will examine the flora of Southern California, from the mountains to the desert to the coast, including both native and introduced species. The common reading is more than a field guide as it provides an ecological framework for the various ecosystems in the area.

There are many topics for presentation, ranging from discussions of individual species to creating a native garden, endangered/threatened species, native vs. non-native plants, how Native Americans interacted with the flora, etc.  The group may choose to go on one or more field trips to local sites, including the South Coast Botanic Garden (Palos Verdes), Madrona Marsh (Torrance), or Wilderness Park (Redondo Beach).

Common Reading:    Introduction to the Plant Life of Southern California:  Coast to

                                    Foothills, Philip W. Rundel and John Robert Gustafson

                                    (April 2005)

  

8.     (EFP)  ENERGY  FOR  POLICY-MAKERS 

In his first speech to Congress as a newly elected President, the second item on Obama’s agenda for the country was for “new sources of energy.” At that time, he and many other policy makers were focused on “green energy” with low CO2 emissions. He has since shifted policy, calling for energy from all sources, particularly with respect to fuel for transportation, now almost entirely oil. Fortunately, recent new technology deployments, horizontal drilling combined with hydro-fracking, have opened up new natural gas and petroleum fields that are reducing our dependence on imports and promise to hold cost increases in check which reduces the risk of worsening our present economic situation. Our CO2 emissions and oil imports are down significantly from 2008.

This S/DG will explore all energy and related climate issues that will face the USA over the next several decades and endeavor to formulate better policy choices than the country has pursued in recent decades. Such a comprehensive investigation is facilitated by our common reading which is written as if for the incoming president in 2013. This book also includes, as one chapter, one of the best summaries of the global warming problem.

Common Reading:    Energy for Future Presidents: the Science Behind the Headlines

by Richard A. Muller  (W.W. Norton & Co., 2012)

 

9.     (EUR)    THE  HIDDEN  EUROPE:  EVERYTHING  YOU  DIDN’T  KNOW  

                           ABOUT  EASTERN  EUROPE

This course will provide an interesting and fun look at the world of Eastern Europe. When people say that they're "going to Europe," they're usually referring to Western Europe. But what about Eastern Europe? You don’t really know Europe until you visit its mysterious eastern side. By the way few countries actually admit to being in Eastern Europe despite the obvious geography.

The author’s quest was simple: explore every country in Eastern Europe from the Gulf of Finland to the Black Sea. He saw them all in 2004 and then returned in 2008 to revisit them to see what had changed. He finally left in 2011 to share a side of Europe that few know.

Starting in the Baltic, you'll move through Belarus, Poland, Slovakia and get as far west as Slovenia before heading south into the thrilling Balkans. Then you'll head northeast through Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia. It's a 25-country adventure spanning several years!

The Hidden Europe is an entertaining travelogue that also shares practical lessons that will impact your day-to-day life. You’ll learn about today's Eastern Europe along with understanding the complex history of this fascinating region. Presentations could start with the book and fill in in more detail the virtually unknown countries that interest each member. Throughout history these have been the center of Empires and wars learn more about them and have a good time learning.

You’ll also see how the locals live and realize that they do some things better than most of the world. You’ll understand why smart money and groundbreaking tourists are flocking to this undiscovered territory. Best of all, you won’t have to deal with the grumpy train ticket vendors.

Common Reading:    The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us

by Francis Tapon (April 28, 2012)

  

10.    (EVO)     CHARLES  DARWIN,  EVOLUTION  &  THE  CULTURE  WARS

Charles Darwin is THE towering figure in all of biology. In publishing The Origin of Species, Darwin made public a scientific theory he had been developing for twenty years. Darwin also unleashed a revolution in religious and philosophical thought about man’s place in nature and God’s role in creation.

This SDG will learn how evolution can be understood through genetics as presented in Sean Carroll’s book The Making of the Fittest; to review the life of Charles Darwin.  It will also study the constitutional issues that arise in the US when antievolutionists try to insert religious-based concepts into high school science classes.

Common Reading:   The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record

of Evolution, by Sean B. Carroll

(ISBN 978-0393330519; W. W. Norton, September 2007)

  

11.    (GMV)   GLOBAL  MOVEMENT:  HOW MIGRATION  SHAPES  THE  WORLD 

Human migration has been the catalyst for change, innovation, and economic development since the first people left Africa 50,000 years ago. As the world becomes increasingly connected, how will international migration shape our future? We will explore past and current migration flows and policies of sending and receiving countries, how migration decisions are made, types of migration, and impacts. We will also look to the future where nations may compete for both low- and high-skilled workers, requiring new migration policies for a globalized world.

 Common Reading:   Exceptional People, How Migration Shaped our World and Will Define Our Future, by Ian Goldin, Geoffrey Cameron and Meera Balarajan (April 2011) 

 

12.    (IDM)       INTUITION  AND  DECISION  MAKING   

Most people trust their intuition when making many decisions while behavioral research has shown that for certain situations most people are wrong.  In a 2011 book Daniel Kahneman presents recent research on when we can and cannot trust our intuition.  This Nobel Prize winner’s research shows that there two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. He exposes the extraordinary capabilities—and also the faults and biases—of fast thinking, and reveals the pervasive influence of intuitive impressions on our thoughts and behavior.  The class will explore how everyday decisions can be best understood by knowing how the two systems work together to shape our judgments and decisions.  Topics for presentations could include anchoring to earlier knowledge, the law of small numbers, similar research by others in the field of behavioral research, etc. 

Common Reading:   Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman  (October 2011)

  

13.    (JOB)   STEVE  JOBS    CREATIVE,  PERFECTIONIST,  ENTREPRENEUR   

teve Jobs had a roller coaster life, put out for adoption at birth, wandering through India, denying his first born child, starting Apple, NExT and Pixar, being forced out of Apple later to return and reinvigorate the company.  The list of products he fostered includes the iPod, iPhone, iPad, iMac, iCloud, and the iTunes store.  His retail stores set a new standard for store design.  He had an intense personality, a passion for perfection and a ferocious drive.  Not a pleasant personality, yet able to motivate his fellow employees to achieve amazing tasks. Author Isaacson held forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues. In this Jobs cooperated and never sought even the right to read it before publication.  Possible topics for presentations include his relationships with other titans of the computer world, his early life, his relationship with Wozniak, his legacy at Apple and Pixar, and his success as a serial entrepreneur.

Common Reading:    Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson

                                    (Simon Shuster, 656 pages, October 2011)

  

14.    (MON)    MONSOON … THE  INDIAN  OCEAN  AND  THE  FUTURE  OF

                             AMERICAN  POWER

In our common reading, Monsoon, The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power, a sweeping narrative that is part history, part strategic analysis and part reporter’s travelogue, Robert D. Kaplan, “one of the world’s foremost analysts of geopolitical change,” contends that in this century the Indian Ocean may have a greater impact on the United States than the Middle East or Europe, and that it will be there --“…once again at the heart of the world, just as it was in antique and medieval times” -- that the 21st century’s “global power dynamics will be revealed.” 

It is in the Indian Ocean region that the interests of the US, China, India, and even Russia will meet, and perhaps conflict, as they search for energy and influence in a region dominated by Islam. Indeed, nearly half of the world’s container traffic and 70 percent of the world’s oil products now pass through the Indian Ocean.  And it is there that America will need to respond to emerging nations from the Horn of Africa to Indonesia as they deal with their own economic, political and ethnic challenges.

To help us understand the challenges for American foreign policy that will arise in this area, Kaplan discusses the history, geography and geopolitics of the various nations of the Indian Ocean as well as the strategic interests there of the US, China and India.

Along the way we will learn about the geography that has so shaped events in the region: the ocean itself, the Straits of Malacca and Hormuz, and the monsoons from which this work takes its name; we will learn about the trade routes in incense, spices and oil,

A fascinating journey into the past, present and future of the Monsoon region of the world awaits us in this S/DG!

Common Reading:    Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power

by Robert D. Kaplan (2010, Random House)

15.    (NAT)     NATASHA'S  DANCE:  A  CULTURAL  HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA

With eight themes, the author sweeps us up with enormous assurance, but a very light touch, to whirl us round and round through the last 300 years of Russia's cultural history.  In the first, "European Russia," Figes dashes off a deceptively casual sketch of European influences on 18th- and early 19th-century Russia-in architecture, music, painting, sculpture, literature, dress, food, to say nothing of weapons and bureaucracy. In the next section, on the "children of 1812," describes the transformation of the impressionable young aristocrats who experienced Napoleon's traumatic invasion of Russia and who served as officers of the peasant forces that drove Napoleon out.  The remaining sections explore changing perceptions of the peasants, thought to be the repository of all that was "authentically Russian," the search for the "Russian soul," the role played in Russian culture by the "descendants of Genghiz Khan," the rise of revolutionary concepts in art, music, literature, and politics through the Bolshevik Revolution into the Soviet period, and finally the struggles of Russian émigrés to continue their artistic expression despite exile from their homeland.

Common Reading:    Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia, by Orlando Figes
(2002)

16.    (POE)    POETRY:   DISCOVERING  NEW  POETRY  WRITTEN  BY

                       CONTEMPORARY  POET

Come join us to reap the benefits of exploring the poets' resources of vivid and imaginative metaphorical language that makes abstract concepts concrete, and also to a large extent, the role that emotions play in the poet’s arsenal - where they show rather than tell in their poems.

Class Presentations:  Each poet chooses one or up to a maximum of three poets from American Hybrid.  For the poets in the class, there will be time to share your own poetry. At each class, a one page handout will be given out to familiarize ourselves with some examples of literary terms.

Motto of the class:  Enjoy yourselves by experiencing insight and knowledge in the process.

Common Reading:    American Hybrid: A Norton Anthology of New Poetry

edited by Cole Swensen and David St. John (March 2009)

 

17.    (QUI)    QUIET:  THE  POWER  OF  INTROVERTS

The Myers-Briggs Type Indentifier lists eight different types of introverted personalities.  How many of us in Omnilore are either card-carrying introverts, or are married to one, or have siblings or kids or grandkids who fit the description?  Quiet, by Susan Cain and Party of One, by Anneli Rufus are two fairly recent books by and about introverts; both are good reads and in addition, there are numerous websites such as INTJ.com catering to what would ordinarily be a hard group to get together.  Would you be interested in knowing more about introvert lifestyles in an extrovert society?  Let’s be alone together for a trimester!

Possible Common Reading:

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking, by Susan Cain (January 2012)

Party of One: The Loners’ Manifesto, by Anneli S. Rufus (January 2003)

 

18.    (SAN)      THE SIGNAL AND THE NOISE:  WHY SO MANY PREDICTIONS

                        FAIL BUT SOME DON’T

Nate Silver is a statistical genius, with a passion for baseball and politics.  Soon after graduating from college in 2000, he developed an innovative system (PECOTA) for predicting baseball performance – one that is used by most major league baseball teams today.  Then in 2008, he applied the same techniques to predicting the presidential election, and outperformed all the pollsters, correctly predicting the correct results in 49/50 states (he missed Indiana).  He also correctly predicted the outcome in all 35 Senate races that year.  In 2009, Time Magazine named him one of the world’s 100 most influential people.  His blog, www.fivethirtyeight.com, is now published by the New York Times.

In his new book, Silver examines the world of prediction and explains why so many predictions are just dead wrong. He visits the most successful forecasters in a range of areas, from hurricanes to baseball, from the poker table to the stock market, from Capitol Hill to the NBA, and explains and evaluates how these forecasters think and what bonds they share.

Presentations can look at predictions in a variety of areas, or perhaps look at Silver’s own methodologies in more detail.

Common Reading:    The Signal and the Noise:  Why So Many Predictions Fail But Some

Don’t, by Nate Silver (September 27, 2012)

  

19.    (SCI)      THE  BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE  AND  NATURE  WRITING  2012

The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume’s series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected — and most popular — of its kind.

The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2012 includes Jerome Groopman, Sy Montgomery, Michael Behar, Deborah Blum, Thomas Goetz, David Eagleman, Rivka Galchen, David Kirby, and others.

Many standout pieces describe the cutting edges of science. Each of the authors writes clearly, on occasion elegantly. and often with contagious passion. This popular annual represents what journalists have found interesting and important in the worlds of science and nature during the past year.

There are many possible areas for topics, study and lively discussion.

Common Reading:    The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2012

Edited by Dan Ariely and Tim Folger (October 2, 2012)

 

20.    (SHK)   SHAKESPEARE:   ALL  THE  WORLD’S  A  STAGE …

The Shakespeare S/DG is planning a January-April season reading and studying three of the Bard's plays comedies All's Well That Ends Well and Two Gentlemen of Verona plus one of the great tragedies, to be chosen at the pre-meeting in December.   With players standing and with a few props, we propose to do reading walk-throughs of the selected plays.

In this S/DG you will learn how to research all perspectives of Shakespeare’s works — sources of each play upon which the Bard builds rich characters and enhances the plots, how to play each character “in character,” themes, symbols, images, motifs, commentary on issues of the day, and all manner of rhyme and reason.  Class members each serve on one play’s Board of Directors, responsible for casting roles for the repertory and leading discussions based on the research  optionally adding videos, music, and costumes.  For a glimpse of how we live the Bard in this S/DG, visit http://omnilore.org/members/Curriculum/SDGs/12c-SHK-Shakespeare to view the Fall Shakespeare SDG's website of links to references relevant to our plays and downloadable organizing artifacts.

There are no prerequisites, theatrical or otherwise.  You will find that the Bard of Stratford-on-Avon will teach us, just as he’s taught others for four hundred years.  With plenty for the novice as well as the veteran, it is a foregone conclusion members will leave this class with a fuller understanding of the masterful story construction, realistic characters with depth and humanity, and the rich, evocative language which have earned William Shakespeare the title of greatest writer in the English language.

 He may have penned “It was Greek to me” (Julius Caesar, Act 1), but for you this notion will vanish into thin air and you will see why his language and stories are too much of a good thing.

Common Reading:    Selected Plays

  

21.    (SWA)   THE  STATE  OF  WHITE  AMERICA  1960  -  2010

Statistical data and research show that the top and bottom of white America increasingly live in different cultures, according to the recent book by Charles Murray.  Focusing on white America to eliminate differences due to race or ethnicity, he argues that a new upper class and a new lower class have diverged in core behaviors and values – but not due to income inequality.  The new upper class lives in their own enclaves largely ignorant of mainstream America while the new lower class suffers from erosions of family and community life.  This S/DG will examine the foundations of his conclusions as well as other possible interpretations of the data.

Common Reading:    Coming Apart: The State of White America 1960-2010

by Charles Murray   (2012)

  

22.   (SYD)  SYDNEY  POLLACK,  A  CRITICAL  FILMOGRAPHY

Jeremiah Johnson, The Way We Were, Absence of Malice, Out of Africa, Tootsie, The Firm, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Sabrina, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?.....  Sydney Pollack has produced, directed or appeared in some of the biggest and most influential films of the last quarter century.  He emerged in Hollywood at the same time as such other innovative directors as John Frankenheimer, George Roy Hill and Sidney Lumet, and with them, helped develop a contemplative style of film making almost European in its approach.

Film-by-film, we will examine Pollack's directorial career, learning more about his personal style of deliberate pacing, ambiguous endings and metaphorical love stories.  His directing efforts on television, will also be included in this course, as well as his production and acting credits.

Here’s an opportunity to critique his movies ourselves, as we each choose a film for the class to view at home and discuss together as a group.

Common Reading:  Sydney Pollack, A Critical Filmography, by Janet Meyer 

(McFarland & Company, 1998)

 

23.    (WRI)    THE  WRITING  MIND

This S/DG concentrates on fostering creativity and improving techniques of the writer through the production of original pieces of writing, literary critique and presentations by each group member.

Our interest is in writing original pieces of fiction, non-fiction, essays, poetry, etc. and supporting each other in discussion and critique of our work to improve our efforts.  As members of Omnilore, we make Presentations on literary topics and on the philosophy, subtleties or techniques of writing. Presentations on famous writers are to concentrate on influences on the writer, style and techniques used, not just on biography. Primary interest for presentations is on the craft of writing.  We know that many Omniloreans are interested in family history and autobiography and we welcome them.

Each member will be responsible for;

1.      a Presentation, as described;

2.      two submissions: original fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essay or other form of writing (autobiography, family history, etc.).

3.      for reading and critiquing submissions from other group members.

We welcome new members who share our interest in writing. 

Common Reading:    None Suggested

 

24.    (WTS)    WILLIAM  TREVOR  SHORT  STORIES, Part 2

William Trevor, KBE, (born 24 May 1928) is an Irish author and playwright. Over the course of his long career he has written several novels and hundreds of short stories. He is best-known for his short stories.. He has won the Whitbread Prize three times and has been nominated four times for the Booker Prize, most recently for his novel Love and Summer (2009). Tim Adams, a staff writer for The Observer described him as "widely believed to be the most astute observer of the human condition currently writing in fiction." "Trevor is probably the greatest living writer of short stories in the English language.." - The New Yorker.

Trevor has written several collections of short stories that were well-received. His short stories often follow a Chekhovian pattern. The characters in Trevor's work are usually marginalized members of society: children, old people, single middle-aged men and women, or the unhappily married. Those who cannot accept the reality of their lives create their own alternative worlds into which they retreat. A number of the stories use elements of the Gothic convention to explore the nature of evil and its connection with madness. Trevor has acknowledged the influence of James Joyce on his short-story writing, and "the odour of ashpits and old weeds and offal" can be detected in his work, but the overall impression is not of gloominess, since, particularly in the early work, the author's wry humor offers the reader a tragicomic version of the world. He has adapted much of his work for stage, television and radio.

You will find that one reason that short story S/DGs are so popular is the fascinating differences in interpretation by your presenters and classmates.  There is no requirement to have taken this course the first time it was held; participants felt there were plenty of stories for a second offering.

Common Reading:    William Trevor: The Collected Stories

 

25.  (YOG)   THE  SCIENCE  OF  YOGA

Yoga has gone main stream of late here in the South Bay.  It is not just a 'hippie trend", but rather it has become a recommended and recognized alternative care component that complements such western medicine specialties as cardiology, psychiatry, pain management and orthopedics.  The six elements of Yoga that include posture, breathing, relaxation, meditation, diet and purposeful living could very nciely and appropriately serve as a beneficial topic for discussion.  I can see such a class be didactic as well as participative.  There is a plethora of books out there that we could use, but the newest and most authoritative I have found is called, "The Science of Yoga".  Most Yoga books are written for the person already "sold" on and actively pursuing the practice of Yoga.  This book is written with the lay person in mind--even the skeptic and the "macho man".  In addition to doing chapter presentations from the text as we do now, such topics to select from could be:

1.      Breaking apart and discussing each of the six Yoga elements  (For example, the element of posture alone has six subgroups.)

2.      The history of Yoga: what is it; what are its benefits; what are the different schools of Yoga?

3.      Meditation: how do I meditate; why should I consider meditation; what are the recognized physical, mental and emotional benefits of meditation?

4.      Within the Yoga philosophy, food is believed to have both physiological and psychological effects.  What are they and why?  [The person(s) who choose this topic could bring in sample foods for everyone to try, or they could demonstrate how to prepare a particular dish or get others to participate in the preparation of a simple meal.]

5.      There are tons of certified Yoga instructors here who we could tap into in order to supplement a particular topic.  They could do a demonstration or even be the bulk of one's presentation--ala guest speaker.

Possible Common Reading:

The Science of Yoga: the Risks and the Rewards, by William J. Broad (February 2012)

 

 

26.    (CSU)   CSUDH  SPRING  2013  LECTURE  SERIES

The Spring 2013 Osher Lecture Series topic has yet to be determined.  The topic and topic lineup for this series will either be printed in the Nov.-Dec. 2011 newsletter or sent as an e-mail sometime in December.

If you are interested in the CSUDH lecture series, let us know by placing an X in the coordinator box next to the CSU topic, so we can have a list of those to inform when more details become available about the series.  However, do NOT enter it in the course "order of preference box" along with your other S/DG topics.

Omnilore—OLLI at CSUDH, P.O. Box 7000-236, Redondo Beach, CA, 90277-8710
Last Updated: Sept 13,  2013 (dg)