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The links below lead to descriptions of past classes offered by the KU Osher Institute for Lifelong Learning:
This will be a guided listening tour of representative styles and genres of great jazz along with a study of the intriguing personalities that shaped this uniquely American art form. We’ll explore in-depth analysis of the great masterpieces of Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker and others through original sound and visual recordings. We’ll also trace the dynamic, sometimes eccentric, and always entertaining "Big Man" personalities of jazz and big band music.
Todd Wilkinson, M.A., former Director of Jazz Studies at Washburn University, is currently finishing his doctorate of musical arts in saxophone at KU. He is past president of the Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors and former owner of the Drum Room in Kansas City.
People have been living in Kansas for more than 11,000 years. How do we know? State Archeologist Bob Hoard, assisted by guest lecturers, will trace what is known of the human occupation of Kansas from its beginning through the Civil War era. The class will present evidence of changes in human lifestyles and technology coincident with climate and environmental changes and describe the various techniques used to produce evidence of these changes. Topics covered will include archaeological survey and excavation, analysis of plant and animal food remains, stone tool and pottery technology, and analytical methods borrowed from physics and chemistry. Activities will include the examination of prehistoric artifacts and guided tours of part of the Kansas Museum of History and the Archeology laboratory.
Bob Hoard, Ph.D., State Archeologist with the Kansas State Historical Society is co-editor of the recently published volume, Kansas Archeology.
Several news organizations and think-tanks are projecting India to be the world’s third largest economy by 2050. To better understand India, we will look at the "traditional," "transforming," and the "business" India. You will develop an appreciation of Indian history, geography, culture, beliefs, politics and the changes being brought about by the economic expansion in the country.
Sanjay Mishra, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Business at the University of Kansas, has teaching and research interests in marketing management, product management and pricing policy. She also deals with measurement and modeling issues in marketing and consumer behavior.
Surendra Gupta, Ph.D., Professor of History, Emeritus, Pittsburg State University. Born in India, Professor Gupta, emigrated to the U.S. for graduate study at Johns Hopkins University and taught both Russian and Asian history courses at Pittsburg State University.
Ever wish you could put together a story people would enjoy? This is a fun and informative workshop that will help you learn the basics of constructing an interesting short story or novel. Included are such topics as plot development, creating fascinating characters, writing believable dialogue, how and when to bring details into your story, making rewriting enjoyable and productive, and finding someone to publish your story. In the third session you’ll get a chance to read your manuscript to the group or listen to what others have written.
Tom Mach has extensive experience as a magazine editor and moderating writing workshops. He is a former instructor at San Jose State University and Piqua Community College. His latest novel, All Parts Together, is part of the popular Jessica Radford trilogy.
This course covers the three mandatory components for successfully managing chronic pain—pharmacologic, psychologic, and physical. Pharmacologic includes medications and treatments used in chronic pain management. Psychologic covers coping strategies and how to communicate with your family, friends and healthcare providers. Physical discusses the importance of remaining active and how that can be accomplished.
Melanie Simpson, is a nurse clinician for the Pain Management Resource Team at the University of Kansas Hospital. She is active in the American Society of Pain Management Nurses, both locally and nationally, and is a sought-after speaker.
Memoirs are a collection of vignettes about personal experiences over a particular period of time, often written as a legacy for one’s family. The class will read a variety of historical memoirs, from famous political and literary figures—such as Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, and Victor Hugo—to relatively unknown writers who wrote vividly about their life experiences, to several contemporary writers. Each class session also will include an opportunity to begin one’s own memoir.
Susan Elkins, M.A. Literature, is a professional editor and writer who has worked at KU for more than 30 years. Susan’s previous Osher courses include Writing for Travelers and The Great Diaries. She enjoys sharing her knowledge of literature and history and encouraging participants to begin their own writing journeys.
In the first class, we will explore Mozart’s Don Giovanni (1787). It is usually classified as a dramma giocoso,an opera about a man who sins so much in life that he is consigned to Hell while still living! This class examines the history of the work, Mozart’s wonderful music, and what Don Giovanni tells us about the genre that is opera.
In the second class we’ll discuss Man of La Mancha (1965). It came to Broadway as the influence of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical plays started to wane. Creators for the musical theater were looking to other inspirations, such as a dominant concept on which to base a show. This class will examine the show’s history and music, noting its similarities—and important differences—with the operatic world.
Paul Laird, Ph.D., Professor of Musicology at the University of Kansas, won the prestigious Kemper Award for Teaching Excellence in 2002 and has taught several courses for OLLI. He is co-author of The Historical Dictionary of the Broadway Musical to be published next year.
The function of city government is to provide residents with an array of services, from essentials—such as water, streets, and police protection—to recreation and cultural opportunities such as parks, swimming pools and golf courses. Public debate over city services is shaped by the values and aspirations of citizens as well as the realities of the city budget. Learn the dynamics of city government through the discussion of current hot-button issues facing Lawrence—everything from the Carnegie Building to homeless shelters, roundabouts, and Wal-Mart.
Sandy McKenzie, J.D., Professor of Law at the University of Kansas, teaches Local Government Law and recently finished serving six years on the Lawrence Historic Resources Commission.
Music has long been associated with religion and the sacred. This course examines types of religious expressions that are found in selected examples of popular music, folk music and spirituals rather than in formal liturgical compositions. Studying these works will show how people think about God, human nature and religious obligations.
S. Daniel Breslauer, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Kansas, taught "Living Religions of the West" for more than a decade and has taught several previous Osher courses.
During this course, we’ll review the colorful history of Arlington National Cemetery from its early days as the home of Robert E. Lee before the Civil War through every major conflict in American history. We’ll recount the lives of the famous and not-so famous people buried there from presidents to privates, officers to enlisted men, Supreme Court justices to unknown slaves; and we’ll visit the major monuments and memorials dedicated within its walls, including the Tomb of the Unknowns and the September 11th Memorial. Finally, we’ll look at who is eligible for burial in Arlington, types of military honors available, and how this modern cemetery administers 25 burials every week day.
Jim Peters, J.D., Director of Marketing at KU Continuing Education, is a nationally recognized expert on Arlington National Cemetery and author of the nation’s best-selling book on this important national shrine.
This course, presented by instructors who are natives of China, offers a general overview of Chinese modern culture, politics and economics. Topics will include an introduction to Chinese culture, geographical and political issues, and the booming new economic infrastructure. Emphasis will be placed on current issues and development of the People’s Republic of China.
Charlene Hu, University of Kansas Continuing Education, has taught Chinese language and culture.
Desui Miao, University of Kansas Natural History Museum, has keen interests in Chinese history and visits China regularly for research.
Jane Zhao is an Assistant Professor of Management at the University of Kansas School of Business.
Pre-Columbian civilizations throughout the Western Hemisphere developed complex systems to support their populations. This course will provide in-depth views of cultures in the Middle Mississippi River Valley, Highland and Lowland Mesoamerica, and Lowland Amazonia; the bases for their subsistence; and how they interacted with and changed their environments.
William I. Woods, Professor of Geography and Director of the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Kansas, has extensive field experience in Mexico, Brazil, Belize, Belgium, Germany and Italy. His research interests include abandoned settlements, anthropogenic environmental change and cultural landscapes.
This course will focus on selected creation stories from around the world. These stories shape the way people view the world, themselves, and their relationships with others. Origin myths from bygone cultures, such as ancient Egypt and Babylonia, will be explored and discussed. They will be compared to stories still recognized in the living religions of India and other parts of Asia and among the indigenous peoples of North America. And, of course, the story of Genesis and its role as the foundation for Judaism and Christianity will be examined. Each story will be considered in terms of its view of the world and nature, its understanding of humans and their manifold relations, and its conception of the powerful agent, or force, which gave rise to it all.
Barry Crawford, Ph.D., Professor of Religious Studies, Washburn University, taught "Origin of the World in Religious Studies," an Osher class in Fall 2005.
We’ll examine the work of American Master Thornton Wilder to discover the themes and symbols in the metaphors of his second Pulitzer Prize-winning play, The Skin of Our Teeth.
We’ll place the play in its social and historical contexts and explore what drives it, and then break the code of the play to illumine deeper levels of meaning as the page takes the stage. Participants will learn about the play and the man who wrote it, and discover ways this masterwork offers continued relevance for us today.
Registration for this class includes a ticket for the 2:30 p.m. performance on Sunday, October 29, of The Skin of Our Teeth at the Crafton-Preyer Theatre. Discounted tickets are available to all other Osher members, see page 3 for details.
Karen C. Paisley, M.F.A., Artistic Director of Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre in Kansas City, will be the guest director for the University Theatre’s fall production of The Skin of Our Teeth. She is a veteran professional director, performer, writer, award-winning educator, and arts advocate.
The hoopla over the Da Vinci Code, Mary Magdalene, the James ossuary (a limestone box allegedly containing the bones of Jesus’ brother James), and the recently published Gospel of Judas has stirred believers and nonbelievers alike, fueling the fiery rhetoric of pundits and commentators in the popular media. What are we to believe about the life and teachings of Jesus? Which Gospel is to be trusted? Do any of the accounts of Jesus’ public career contain reliable historical information? Indeed, just what are the narrative gospels, anyway? Are they the records of what Jesus actually said and did—and what happened to him—or are they something else? These are just a few of the questions to be addressed as the course examines selected early Christian gospels, both within and outside the New Testament, to learn something of their literary characters, their purposes, and the varied images of Jesus they wish to present.
Barry Crawford,Ph.D., Professor of Religious Studies at Washburn University, taught "Origin of the World in Religious Studies," an Osher class in Fall 2005.
How have changes in regulations and enforcement efforts since 9/11 impacted international students coming to the United States? How do international students fit into the current immigration debate? What are the long-term security and competitive implications of these questions? This course explores these questions and others while surveying changes in the immigration landscape since September 2001, with particular attention to international student issues and their significance.
Joe Potts,Director of International Student and Scholar Services at the University of Kansas
Special Preview for Osher Members Only. A work of art, as conceived and executed by an artist, is only part of the art experience. The other part is the response. Among those who have been invited to create responses to works in the Spencer collection include Elizabeth Schultz, poet and KU professor emerita; Joyce Castle, opera; Joan Stone, dance, and Ted Johnson, KU professor emeritus. Writers and visual and performing artists from the community also have been invited to prepare their responses to the collection. Visitors will be able to register their own responses to individual works.
A presentation and open discussion about Kansas Athletics, the NCAA, and how intercollegiate athletics has evolved. A tour of the Booth Family Hall of Athletics will follow the question-and-answer session.
Jim Marchiony, KU Associate Athletics Director, External Relations
This course investigates the topic of memory using works of visual art as a springboard for discussion. Christopher Cook, Assistant Curator at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, will present an illustrated talk on the multi-media exhibition Remembering the Future.
This temporary exhibition is on view November 17, 2006–February 4, 2007 in the Museum’s main gallery and explores the rich territories of memory loss and time intrinsic to the human condition. Culled from the Kemper Museum’s notable collection, Remembering the Future features work by a variety of artists, including Paula Rego, Norberto Rodriguez, Bruce Yonemoto, Christian Boltanski, and Robin Bernat. Following Cook’s presentation will be a short lecture featuring medical researchers who are investigating memory and the brain—specifically how the brain processes and acquires information and intakes various sensory experiences then stores them as a memory. Works as art will be used as examples for lively discussion about research findings in current brain research.
Christopher Cook, Assistant Curator, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art; Dr. Kausil Si and Dr. Ron Yu, Assistant Investigators at the Stower Institute for Medical Research
C.W. Parker Carousel Museum and the Amusement Industry in America
This will be a day trip to Leavenworth, Kansas, to visit the C.W. Parker Carousel Museum and trace C.W. Parker’s influence on the American Amusement Industry. We’ll stop for lunch, take a bus tour of historic Leavenworth, and visit a local museum.
Jerry Reinhardt, Director of the C. W. Parker Carousel Museum, is an expert on carousel history, restoration, and carving miniature carousel horses.
Many religious traditions include behavioral guidelines for their followers. This course looks at the variety of ethical concerns and procedures in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It examines both the sacred scriptures of each of these traditions and their later ethical developments. It also looks at selected moral issues in each tradition.
S. Daniel Breslauer, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies, University of Kansas, taught "Living Religions of the West" for more than a decade and has taught several previous Osher courses.
The International Institute for Young Musicians Summer Music Academy, under the direction of Dr. Scott McBride Smith, is an internationally recognized course of intensive study for young musicians, offering instruction of the highest caliber to students from around the world who wish to improve their mastery of performance. The Institute’s artist faculty members have earned an international reputation for their expertise in teaching and motivation.
Former IIYM students have achieved recognition at the Van Cliburn Competition in Warsaw, International Tchaikovsky Competition, the Art Livre Competition in Brazil, the Hammamatsu Competition in Japan, Gina Bachauer Competition at Juilliard, the Chinese Arts Competition, and in contests sponsored by the American String Teachers Association and the Music Teachers National Association of the United States.
Jack Winerock, professor of piano at the University of Kansas, will present outstanding young performers each evening. Presentations will include discussion of the young musician’s background and training, professional and artistic aspirations, and the repertoire being performed.
Jack Winerock, Professor of Piano, University of Kansas
This course, taught by Kevin Willmott, director of the feature film C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America, will explore the complex issues and images concerning the Civil War and American Slavery. Many of our ideas about slavery and the America Civil War have come through of Hollywood films. The class will investigate the American social need to reunite the North and South after the Civil War and the approach taken in portraying the institution of slavery.
Special emphasis will be in the examination of "Reunion Films." These films reunite the North and South through a dramatic reconciliation at the expense of the removal of the horrors of chattel slavery from the drama. We will examine this through a series of films starting with D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation and Gone with the Wind to films of today such as Cold Mountain and The Patriot.
The class will stress the realities of how slavery functioned with the reasons why it was sold to American citizens in various ways, during different periods of our history. Through this examination of films, we will discover some of the connections between the way Americans view the issue of slavery and how films teach American history.
Kevin Willmott, Assistant Professor of Theatre and Film, University of Kansas
Monarch Watch is an educational outreach program based at the University of Kansas that engages citizen scientists in large-scale research projects. This program produces real data that relate to a serious conservation issue. Since its inception in 1992, Monarch Watch has evolved into an electronically based program with an award-winning Web site, an active e-mail discussion list, and a growing online community forum. The program involves more than 2,000 schools, nature centers, and other organizations in the United States and Canada, and it is estimated that more than 100,000 students and adults participate in the tagging activities in the fall.
The first class session will focus on the basic biology of monarchs and butterflies. This session will include the monarch’s life cycle, annual cycle, parasites, predators and pathogens, migration, and overwintering biology. Session two will discuss monarch habitats and how to create habitats for monarchs and other wildlife. We will visit Monarch Watch and the butterfly garden on West Campus. This session will involve several hands–on activities. The third class session will be about Monarchs – The Science: what we know and don’t know about monarchs. In this session, the class will explore the science of monarch migration and population, and research findings in numerous areas.
Chip Taylor, Director of Monarch Watch , Professor of Entomology, University of Kansas
The exhibition examines the history of museums through the current holdings of several K.U. repositories: the Spencer Museum of Art, the Spencer Research Library, the Anthropological Research and Cultural Collections, and the Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Center.
European curiosity cabinets from the 16th and 17th centuries might be described as microcosmic reflections of the world’s wonders. Inspired by Renaissance ideas, these cabinets emphasized the rare, the marvelous and the virtuoso. Cabinets of curiosities, often known by the German terms "kunst-und wunderkammern,"or cabinets of art (kunst) and wonder (wunder), were encyclopedic in scope and aspired to form a "theater of knowledge."
Collections of curiosity became the catalyst for the 18th-century emergence of the modern museum. Specimens of the natural world and artifacts of cultural heritage often made their way into natural history and anthropology museums while objects classified as art were displayed and stored in art museums.
Cabinets of Curiosity considers these divided collections together and includes objects typically found in early cabinets with highlights from the Spencer Museum of Art’s founding collection donated by Sallie Cassie Thayer. The broad and eclectic array of items assembled in Cabinets of Curiosity also can be used to examine the relationship between collecting and colonialism as well as to interrogate ongoing practices of collection and display. While essentially historical in nature, Cabinets of Curiosity offers an opportunity to reflect on the museum of today, as well as to consider its possible future permutations.
Joseph Keehn, Education Intern, Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas
Dole Institute archivists Jean Bischoff and Judy Sweets will open up the world of archives and archival activities to participants, using the Dole collection to illustrate presentations, hands-on class projects, and a behind-the-scenes look at how the massive array of Congressional papers, photographs and artifacts housed in the stacks are organized, cared for, and made available to researchers.
In the first session, archivists will discuss their work in massive congressional collections and spend one hour guiding students in creating their own archival phase (storage) box. During the second session, they will discuss the background of the Dole Institute and specific activities they perform to preserve and make available material in the collection. They also will spend one hour assisting students as they encapsulate a document. The final session will be held at the Dole Institute with a visit to the archive.
Jean B. Bishoff, Senior Archivist and Judy Sweets, Audio-Visual Archivist, Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics
From its inception, the Bible has been a catalyst for debate over its content, organization, and use. The first session of this course focuses on how different groups (Jews, Catholics, and Protestants) define the Bible—what books they consider part of it, how they organize it, and why they choose these different versions. It then looks at translations of the Bible from Greek (the Septuagint) and its influence and its opponents, the Latin Vulgate, and the vernacular translations into German, French and English among the Protestants.
The second session focuses on commandments, laws, and ethics. It examines the different versions of the "Decalogue" in the Hebrew Bible, specific laws such as "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," and the ethics found in the Jewish Bible and in the New Testament such as that implied by the Gospel’s story of Jesus and the rich young man.
The final session focuses on modern perspectives and editions of the Bible. These begin with the Enlightenment over miracles and include Thomas Jefferson’s edition of the Bible that eliminated all miraculous occurrences. They continue with the Documentary Hypothesis and Higher Criticism, the use of comparative literary data to understand the Bible, and the issues of evolution and science in the Bible.
S. Daniel Breslauer, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, University of Kansas
The discovery and development of medicines is a complex, regulated, research-driven enterprise that draws upon the talents of investigators from many scientific disciplines. This course will examine some of the fundamentals of the discovery of drugs and the processes by which new drugs are made ready for human consumption. We will look at some specific examples of research by KU scientists that have resulted in new drugs and new drug candidates.
This course explores the means by which scientists identify targets for new drugs, what research tools are used to design traditional small molecule drugs and more complex biotechnology drugs. We will discuss the processes by which drugs are tested in order to determine both efficacy and safety. The course will also describe the relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and the Food and Drug Administration.
You will hear from the scientist who invented such drugs as Cerebyx®, an anti-seizure medicine; Aquavan®, an anesthetic; Captisol®, a drug solubilizing agent used in the manufacture of Vfend®, an anti-fungal agent; and Geodon®, an anti-psychotic agent. You will also hear from scientists directly involved in the developing story of a new form of the active ingredient found in the anti-cancer drug Taxol® as well as the demands of creating new companies around these products.
"The thing that impressed me the most was probably not the dust storms but the devastation of the land....There would just not be any vegetation at all on the land for maybe half a mile in any direction....I don't know how anyone survived." —Lawrence R. Smith, Elkhart, Kansas, 1989
The "Dirty Thirties" on the Central Plains evoke vivid images of dust clouds, parched fields, poverty and despair. For some, the drought, dust and crop failures prompted a migration to other parts of the Depression-ravaged United States. Yet the majority of Kansans living in Dust Bowl country chose to remain on the land and endure the storms. Why did they stay and how did they survive?
Join us as a group of distinguished scholars explores this and many other important questions about Kansas and the Dust Bowl. What caused the terrible dust storms of the 1930s? Were they the result of normal climate cycles or did human activities contribute to the environmental crisis? This course provides a lens through which we discover how local, state and federal governments responded to the economic devastation wrought by the Dust Bowl. We will discover how the dust storms created economic and environmental hardships that significantly altered family and community life. Could another Dust Bowl be in our future? If so, what can we do to prevent it?
This program will explore the causes of and treatments for common types of arthritis that can be challenging to treat. Learn what we knowand don't knowabout what causes these well-known ailments and what we can do to treat them effectively.
Topics presented during this half-day program will include medical treatments for Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis, joint replacement and recovery, and rehabilitation for chronic arthritis.
The program is open to the public. You need not be an Osher member to attend. However, transportation will be provided from Lawrence to the Medical Center for Osher members. Simply register for this class and request transportation as described on page 9 of this catalog.
Travel with KU scholars and community experts to Leavenworth, the first city of Kansas. Its abundant history will captivate youfrom its early role as an industrial hub to the part it played in the abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad. Fort Leavenworth, first established in 1827, continues to play a vital role in today’s modern Army.
The first stop will be the C.W. Parker Carousel Museum. Starting with nothing but an old broken down carousel, within 10 years Charles Wallace Parker was a millionaire and the largest manufacturer of carousels and amusement rides in the world, headquartered in Leavenworth. The museum brings his colorful story to life, and boasts a 1913 wooden, two-row carousel, restored to working order by local volunteers over the last 17 years. A short presentation and tour will be given by the museum’s director.
The next stop will be the Richard Allen Cultural Center, which heralds the accomplishments of local historic African-Americans. It also highlights memorabilia from General Colin Powell, the Buffalo Soldiers, freedom papers from former slaves, local history of the Underground Railroad, and more.
Lunch is on your own in the historic downtown district. Shops and cafes abound on Delaware Street, and you'll have an hour or so to sample the local hospitality before going on to Fort Leavenworth, the oldest Army fort in continuous operation west of the Mississippi River.
The first stop on the fort will be the Buffalo Soldier Monumentdedicated in 1992 to honor the 9th & 10th Cavalry Regiments. These regiments were historically all African-American soldiers who served heroically during the Indian Wars. In western Kansas Native Americans encountered the valiant soldiers and nicknamed them the "Buffalo Soldiers." In 1898 the Buffalo Soldiers fought in Cuba winning praise from Theodore Roosevelt for their critical role in the battle for Santiago.
Subsequent stops will be made at the Frontier Army Museum, the Federal Penitentiary and the Fort’s cemetery. The tour of the Fort will be hosted by a representative of the Fort’s Community Relations office. Dr. Rita Napier, a KU history professor and Leavenworth historian, will accompany the tour on the bus from Lawrence to provide her unique insight and answer your questions.
Cultural opportunities abound in the Kansas City and Lawrence areas. From photography to sculpture to contemporary art, we'll explore some of the best offerings around. The tour will begin at the Spencer Art Museum, KU campus in Lawrence. John Pultz, curator of photography, will lecture on the special exhibit of Lee Friedlander, one of the foremost photographers of the 20th and 21st centuries who captures the ever-changing American workforce. Pultz will place Friedlander and his work in the context of 20th-century American photography by addressing issues of street photography, social commentary, and formalism. The gallery talk will include comments from Saralyn Reece Hardy, the museum?s new director.
Join us for a session at the Johnson County Community College Gallery of Art, which has more than 450 pieces of contemporary artwork. Bruce Hartman, gallery director, will lead the lecture on the JCCC gallery philosophy and the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, a 35,000 square-foot facility expected to open in 2007. Whitney Gameson, coordinator, will guide a walking tour of the artwork across campus.
The session at the Kemper Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Kansas City focuses upon contemporary sculpture processes and techniques. Martin Cail, preparator, will discuss bronze casting in relation to sculptural works on view in the permanent collection. Kristy Peterson, curator of education, will guide a tour of the temporary exhibit of Petah Coyne, a New York-based sculptor, who creates unique structures with various materials and immerses them in layers of wax.
"Married to Adventure" an exhibit from the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum, Chanute, Kansas, will visit Corinthian Hall, a beautifully adorned 1910 mansion. The Johnsonsexplorers, photographers, filmmakers, naturalists, authors...and native Kansanstraveled the world from 1917 to 1936 writing books and creating movies about the wildlife and peoples of Africa, Borneo and the South Seas. They are often credited with inventing the wildlife documentary. Jaquelyn Borgeson, education curator, will lecture and guide the exhibit tour. Jay Smith, KC museum director, will briefly discuss the installation of the new costume collection exhibit.
Participants will examine the essential skills for enjoyable grandparenting in 2005. Today’s grandparents' roles are changing and many grandparents are searching to find what their roles should be. Emotional issues that affect a child’s development, safety issues, and other topics suggested by participants will be discussed.
Professor Yo Jackson, an award-winning KU instructor, will provide an interactive lecture and discussion on trauma and the development of the resilient child. She will discuss potential protective factors and how adults can support children during challenging times.
Learn skills for building relationships and communicating with both children and grand-children from Lori Myrick, a local therapist and trainer for the popular Love and Logic program. We will explore effective discipline techniques, including positive ways of setting limits. These skills will enable grandparents to reduce stress, build mutual respect among family members, and put the fun back into grandparenting.
The physical well being of grandchildren is an essential component to grandparenting success. A specialist from Douglas County Fire Medical will cover safety issues, including car seat installation, helmet fitting and the importance of helmet use, basic first aid, and general fire safety.
Bring your pictures, stories and questions. Participation is encouraged.
The idea of a devil or Satan is uniquely developed in Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions. The devil as a personality begins in Babylonian and Persian mythology, even before the Hebrew Bible, and continues to gain independence and special significance, especially in the Christian tradition. This course follows the development of the devil through the contemporary period, and asks what types of social and intellectual climates create an interest in the devil.
Each session will focus on the history and definition of the devil in one of these three religions. Each religion has a unique history and development of its own personification of evil, but all began with several entities and progressed to a single "Satan" or "Iblis." Evidence shows that, at times, some religions
identified the devil as playing a primary role in the development of other religions.
Modernity will be considered, first from the perspective of how the scientific method undermined the earlier mythic views, and then how and why those mythic images became more and more dominant at the end of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century.
S. Daniel Breslauer, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, University of Kansas
This course examines the varied stories surrounding the world’s creationperhaps the best known of all religious mythologies. For millennia, these stories have shaped the way people view the world, themselves, and their relationships with others. How did the world come to be? Whoor whatis responsible for it? Where do humans and animals fit into the grand scheme of things, and how should they live together? These are among the questions raisedand variously answeredin creation stories. In light of the most recent controversies regarding the proper role of religion in society, a better understanding of the world’s creation stories is perhaps more relevant than ever.
Each session will focus on a selected creation story from around the world. Origin myths from bygone cultures, such as ancient Egypt and Babylonia, will be explored and discussed. They will be compared to stories still recognized in the living religions of India and other parts of Asia and among the indigenous peoples of North America. And, of course, the story of Genesis and its role as the foundation for Judaism and Christianity will also be examined. Each story will be considered in terms of its view of the world and nature, its understanding of humans and their manifold relations, and its conception of the powerful agent, or force, which gave rise to it all.
Barry Crawford, Professor of Religious Studies, Washburn University
Join us for an exploration of America’s most-loved, grass-roots art formjazz. The first session focuses on musical events at the turn of the 20th century when jazz was born. We will illustrate the essential characteristics of jazz as a musical art form and listen to early jazz recordings that will bring these rich history lessons to life.
Learn about the major periods of the genre, including the evolution of jazz from early novelty music to sophisticated New Orleans jazz through the big-band swing era to upbeat modern jazz. Join in a fun and lively discussion of jazz terminology, and continue learning on your own with a jazz bibliography and discography.
Todd Wilkinson has a 20-year background of instruction in jazz history and jazz improvisation, and has directed numerous jazz combos and quartets. As a mainstay in the Kansas City jazz scene, he will lead you through the innovations and contributions of the great leaders throughout the world of jazz, including Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Billie Holliday and John Coltrane. You'll see and hear many of these artists through original sound and visual recordings.
Todd Wilkinson, Doctoral candidate in the Musical Arts program at the University of Kansas. Former instructor of saxophone and jazz studies at Washburn University. Author of Kansas City Jazz and Blues: Nightlife Survival Kit
In February 2005, Kansans celebrated the 75th anniversary of the discovery of the planet Pluto by one of our own, Clyde W. Tombaugh (KU B.S. '36, M.S. '39, pictured above). February 4, 2006, will mark the centennial anniversary of Tombaugh’s birth. How did this Pawnee County schoolboy and KU alumnus discover the last planet in our solar system? Join us for two evening sessions as we explore the legacy of Clyde Tombaugh, his connections to KU and to Lawrence, and the ongoing controversy about Pluto’s status as a planet and trans-Neptunian world.
During our first session, we will reflect on the modern discoveries of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. International disputes and controversies abound regarding the discoveries of these planets. We'll learn how Percival Lowell crafted a plan of discovery for Pluto...that would ultimately depend on luck and Tombaugh’s extraordinary effort. We'll review what astronomers have learned about Pluto in recent decades and look forward to projected space missions to explore Pluto and its moon, Charon.
When Tombaugh died in 1997, the age of planetary discovery did not die with him. In the decade since 1995, more than 100 extrasolar planets have been discovered around neighboring stars. In our second evening, we will move beyond the solar system and perhaps beyond the present time, to imagine future discoveries of other worlds. New discoveries in the solar system and in extrasolar systems have challenged astronomers to re-evaluate what we mean by the word "planet." Be prepared for a lively discussion.
Participants will explore the events that contributed to the passions and plots that drive some of our most enduring musicals. We'll focus on three showsOklahoma!, The Will Rogers Follies, and The Mikadoall productions in the Lied Center’s 2005-06 Broadway Series.
Professor Paul Laird, a favorite instructors among Osher Institute members, will place each show in historical and musical perspective by looking at the show’s creation and premiere, describing its music, and considering larger topics that illustrate Broadway history.
First, we'll consider Oklahoma!, the beginning of the Rodgers and Hammerstein collaboration. We'll look at how that show became the model for their other successful works, and for the musical play in general. We will then review The Will Rogers Follies, placing it in context with the other works that involved Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Tommy Tune, Cy Coleman, and Peter Stone, and note how it represents the Broadway revue. Finally, we will look at the zany world of Gilbert and Sullivan as seen in The Mikado, and examine their influence on Broadway during the twentieth century. The class is sure to enrich your enjoyment of the Lied Center series.
Paul Laird, Professor of Musicology, University of Kansas. Professor Laird is co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to the Musical (Cambridge University Press, 2002). He has taught four classes on the Broadway musical for the "KU and Lawrence" program and for the Osher Institute.
Designed for new or well-seasoned travelers, this course will enhance your travel experience by exploring literature, journal writing, and sharing travel advice with fellow participants. You will read brief selections from well-known travel writers and use a variety of communication modes: journals, letters, emails, and online discussion, to chronicle your own adventures.
Participants will read and discuss selections from 18th and 19th century grand tour writers, such as Tobias Smollet and Mary Montague, to more modern observers such as Jan Morris and Adam Gopnick. Fine-tune your letter-writing skills by comparing readings to your own journal entries, and learn how to use a journal to enhance your daily travel experience, whether you are voyaging locally or abroad. Everyone will be encouraged to use the Osher online discussion group to continue sharing travel stories after the course is completed.
Discuss the implications of being a traveler instead of a tourist. Will you write about personal adventure and cultural awareness or focus on relaxation and entertainment? Will you write about an art deco café in Paris, a recreated traditional village in a theme park, or a seaside setting? Explore how social and cultural changes have made a favorite foreign venue feel entirely different to you than it did during a previous visit.
Susan Elkins, BA cum laude English Literature, Smith College; Postgraduate Certificate, University College London; MA English Literature, University of Michigan. She is a professional editor and writer and has lived in London, Paris, and Herzylia, Israel. She has worked at KU for over 30 years.
Designed for new or well-seasoned travelers, this course will enhance your travel experience by exploring literature, journal writing, and sharing travel advice with fellow participants. You will read brief selections from well-known travel writers and use a variety of communication modes: journals, letters, emails, and online discussion, to chronicle your own adventures.
Participants will read and discuss selections from 18th and 19th century grand tour writers, such as Tobias Smollet and Mary Montague, to more modern observers such as Jan Morris and Adam Gopnick. Fine-tune your letter-writing skills by comparing readings to your own journal entries, and learn how to use a journal to enhance your daily travel experience, whether you are voyaging locally or abroad. Everyone will be encouraged to use the Osher online discussion group to continue sharing travel stories after the course is completed.
Discuss the implications of being a traveler instead of a tourist. Will you write about personal adventure and cultural awareness or focus on relaxation and entertainment? Will you write about an art deco café in Paris, a recreated traditional village in a theme park, or a seaside setting? Explore how social and cultural changes have made a favorite foreign venue feel entirely different to you than it did during a previous visit.
Susan Elkins, BA cum laude English Literature, Smith College; Postgraduate Certificate, University College London; MA English Literature, University of Michigan. She is a professional editor and writer and has lived in London, Paris, and Herzylia, Israel. She has worked at KU for over 30 years.
Motivating Moves is a unique exercise program and informative lecture created especially for mature adults by KU professor Janet Hamburg, an associate of the KU Gerontology Center, a registered somatic movement therapist and a certified Laban Movement Analyst. Professor Hamburg will teach Motivating Moves™ exercises and share practical movement tips to make sitting, standing, walking, reaching and everyday tasks feel easier to do. Her teaching style has been praised as upbeat and inspiring.
Motivating Moves is an approach to exercise that emphasizes coordination, balance, flexibility, postural alignment, diaphragmatic breathing, spatial awareness and dynamic movement range. You’ll learn how to improve your strength and reduce the risk of injury.
*Motivating Moves™ is a trademark in the property of Motivating Moves, LLC.
Janet Hamburg is a Registered Somatic Movement Therapist (RSMT), a Certified Laban Movement Analyst (CLMA), an associate of the Gerontology Center and a professor of dance at the University of Kansas. She also is the director of Senior Wellness and Exercise for the Center for Movement Education and Research in Los Angeles and a senior research associate for the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in New York City. She has been a guest teacher at the Juilliard School of Music and the Sports Training Institute in New York.
Her work with athletes has been featured on NBC television, in Shape Magazine and in Mind-Body Fitness for Dummies (Moving and Motivating with Laban Movement Analysis). Her research interests include coordination problems in children and adults, athletic performance, movement problems of older adults, and movement therapy for people with Parkinson’s, which resulted in an award-winning exercise video/DVD, Motivating Moves for People with Parkinson’s.
The Theologian in Residence program, a consortium of area churches, university departments of religion, and faith-based organizations, attracts speakers who are nationally prominent scholars of theology. In April 2006, the Lifelong Learning Institute and the Provost's Office will host the sixth theologian in residence, Wendy Doniger, the Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago School of Divinity. Dr. Doniger will present a workshop entitled, "Myths of Illusion and Impersonation: from India to Hollywood and Back."
In an age when rock stars and other celebrities dominate headlines, it is easy to forget that our fascination with musicians, performers, and actors dates back several generations. This class will look into the life and work of George Gershwin (1898–1937), who was a musical celebrity during the 1920s and 1930s.
Born into an immigrant family of Russian Jews, Gershwin showed early musical talent and worked as a "song-plugger" for a publisher of popular music while still a teen. By his early twenties, he had written several hit songs and launched into an extraordinarily successful career as a composer of Broadway musicals. With his hugely popular Rhapsody in Blue in 1924, Gershwin became a composer of concert music and after the advent of "talkies," Hollywood beckoned. Throughout his career, Gershwin appeared constantly in the media, and his public image became as important as the music he wrote.
Join us for a four-week look into the life and work of the composer of the shows Girl Crazy, Of Thee I Sing, Porgy and Bess, and hit songs such as "I Got Rhythm," "Someone to Watch Over Me," and "Embraceable You."
Paul Laird, Professor of Music and Dance, University of Kansas. Professor Laird is coeditor of The Cambridge Companion to the Musical (Cambridge University Press, 2002). He taught last fall's Osher Institute class, The World Behind the Musical, and several popular classes for the "KU and Lawrence" program.
Enjoy your time inside the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. This three session class will be held with instruction provided by the museum's curator and education curator. Since the Kemper Museum's opening in 1994, its permanent collection has more than tripled. The museum houses works in all media by renowned modern and contemporary artists, as well as emerging artists. This class will allow participants to reflect and discuss key questions critical to the understanding and appreciation of modern and contemporary art.
This is an introductory art appreciation class designed to examine personal definitions of art through exposure to contemporary artists and new media. Participants will study the historical context in which artists create current trends in the art world.
One session will address the thought-provoking question, "What is modern art?" with an interactive class exercise and a brief slide overview of major movements in 20th-century art history. Another session will address questions related to aesthetics and art criticism, such as "What makes it good?" Participants will follow a guided Museum tour that poses six engaging questions for shaping one's personal definition of art. In another session we will examine current trends in contemporary art by looking at works of some of today's cutting-edge artists. Participants will receive a sneak preview of upcoming exhibitions at the Kemper Museum and insight into these artists' works.
Elizabeth Dunbar, Curator, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
Kristy Peterson, Curator of Education, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
Ben Tilghman, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy of Art, Kansas State University
For many, the Amazon represents the mysterious, the wild, and the uncivilized. In the past, anthropologists described native Amazonian societies as either isolated from, or opposed to, civilization and modern progress. Today, societies are fast becoming integrated into the global economy. Bart Dean, professor of social anthropology, has experienced many adventures in the Amazon. His most recent trip to Peru thrust him into the middle of a contemporary human rights controversy between a group of indigenous people and Peruvian officials.
Dr. Dean will explore the culture and social practice of the Amazon through artifacts in KU's Anthropology Museum and through documentary film and music. This will provide a foundation for appreciating the cultural diversity of this area. He will also expose some of the major issues and debates regarding the native peoples of Amazonia and challenge participants to question cultural assumptions of indigenous peoples of lowland South America.
Special emphasis will be devoted to human adaptation to rainforest ecologies, the colonial encounters, human rights issues, and native spiritualism.
Bartholomew C. Dean, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Kansas
In the whole of the twentieth century, about 100,000 fatalities were caused by tsunami. In contrast, in a few short hours on December 26, 2004, more than 150,000 individuals were claimed by a single tsunami. This class will examine the causes and effects of tsunami, including earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and meteorite impacts. The background presented will include plate tectonics, geological faults, the earthquake process, and how the size of an earthquake is determined. We will also briefly introduce other sources of tsunami, and civilization's vulnerability to those sources.
The shock of widespread devastation in the Eastern Hemisphere raises questions about the vulnerability of North America to phenomena that could generate tsunami. We will examine the possibility of the "Big One" on the West Coast of the United States and will find that the largest possible earthquake in California pales in comparison to a quake that occurred in January 1700 off the coast of Oregon and Washington. Closer to home, what is the likelihood of a big quake in southeastern Missouri, and what would be its effects in Kansas? Should we consider earthquake insurance?
Don Steeples, McGee Distinguished Professor of Geophysics, Vice Provost, University of Kansas
We are born hardwired scientists! Dr. Pendergrass, who successfully led the Osher fall class Life Sciences Up Close and Personal, will join us again and lead participants in discussions about the connection between our biological makeup and the more complex characteristics that make us human. This class is for anyone interested in how their children, grandchildren, or people in general, naturally absorb and process information in a scientific manner.
We use our biological complexity and classic scientific methodology to solve the riddles of our world as we grow. In three sessions we will grapple with the following questions:
Science, including such fields as behavioral psychology, biology, and speech and language studies, helps provide the answers.
David Pendergrass, Instructor of Biology, Edwards Campus, University of Kansas
The early to mid 1800s was a time of great discovery as the American military sponsored many explorations to the western frontier. From Lewis and Clark in 1804, to General Custer in 1874, the West was opened to settlers from the East, and in some ways closed to civilizations that were native to the land.
This class is developed around a national traveling exhibit at the Kansas Museum of History. Participants will enjoy a private tour of the exhibit hosted by the museum's director, a member of the team that collected the rare artifacts of the exhibit. The class will consider the activities of the U.S. Army's Corp of Discovery. A portrayal of William Clark will transport participants to the early 1800s for a glimpse of the Lewis and Clark exploration.
One session will focus on the Native American perspective with lectures on development and ramifications of the early Indian removal policies. Leaders of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission will provide cultural perspective on the tumultuous events between Native Americans and early military explorers.
To complete the experience, food and music of the period will be provided. Be adventurous, and sample a variety of unusual meats and other dishes, while enjoying live 1800s music.
Steve Allie, Director, Frontier Army Museum, Ft. Leavenworth
Jeff Smith, Associate Professor of History, Lindenwood University, St. Charles, Missouri
Bob Keckeisen, Director, Kansas Museum of History
Mary Madden, Director of Education and Outreach, Kansas Historical Society
Ron McCoy, Cross Distinguished Professor of History, Emporia State University
Chris Howell, Deputy Director, Kansas Art Commission, Board Member, Council of Tribal Advisors, National Lewis and Clark Commission
March 30, April 6, 13 & 20 • Wednesdays • 4:00–6:00 p.m.
Haskell Cultural Center and Museum • Haskell Indian Nations University • 155 Indian Avenue, Lawrence
Through the ages, Native American cultures have expressed themselves through events such as pow wows and ceremonies. It is important to recognize that, while some of these expressions are based in a very specific history, other forms of Native American expression are contemporary and represent a great diversity of Native American thought. This class will examine a return to the roots of traditional expression.
This class introduces the history and purpose of the pow wow and will include the role of drums and music. The symbolism and regalia associated with the pow wow, and the history of the Haskell pow wow, will also be discussed. Learn about the history of the Comanche and Kiowa Flute and the Southern drum style.
In recent years, many Native American films and music have received great attention. Segments of popular films by First Nations filmmakers will be critiqued for purpose, theme, and creative intent. The gourd dance, hoop dance, drum making, and Northern style drumming will complete our musical and dance voyage. Come participate in drumming and singing with guidance from experts from Haskell Indian Nations University and the University of Kansas Center for Indigenous Nations Studies Program, Department of American Studies, and Teaching and Leadership.
Manny King, Registrar, Haskell Indian Nations University
Cornel Pewewardy, Associate Professor of Teaching and Leadership, University of Kansas
Michael Yellow Bird, Director of the Center for Indigenous Nations Studies and Associate Professor of American Studies, University of Kansas
Motivating Moves is a unique exercise program and informative lecture created especially for mature adults by KU professor Janet Hamburg, registered movement therapist and certified Laban Movement Analyst, for the KU Medical Center's Center on Aging. Professor Hamburg will teach . "Motivating Moves" exercises and share practical tips to make sitting, standing, walking, reaching and everyday tasks feel easier to do.
Motivating Moves is an approach to exercise that emphasizes coordination, balance, flexibility, postural alignment, diaphragmatic breathing, spatial awareness and dynamic movement range. Motivating Moves teaches you how to improve strength and reduce your risk of injury. Exercises in Motivating Moves require coordinating movements of the upper and lower body, and right and left sides.
Janet Hamburg is a Registered Movement Therapist (RMT), a certified Laban Movement Analyst (CMA), and a professor of dance at the University of Kansas. She is also a senior research associate for the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in New York City. She has been a guest teacher at the Juilliard School of Music.
Her work has been featured on NBC Nightly News and in Shape Magazine and Mind-Body Fitness for Dummies (Moving and Motivating with Laban Movement Analysis). Her research focus is on coordination problems in children and adults, athletic performance, movement problems of older adults, and movement therapy for people with Parkinson's disease.
Join us for this session of "Saturday Morning at KU Med," a highly popular public program of the University of Kansas Medical Center. The presentations include a range of topics of interest to individuals concerned about preventing or treating heart disease. Proposed topics include:
Martin Emert, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Clinical Cardiologist and Electrophysiologist and Codirector Electrophysiology Division, Mid-America Cardiology Associates, Inc.
Charles Porter, MD, Clinical Instructor in Medicine, Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of Kansas College of Health Sciences
Jill Keast, RN, MSN, Nurse Practitioner, Risk Reduction Clinic, Mid-America Cardiology Associates, Inc., University of Kansas Medical Center
Paul Hanson, DDS, KU Dental Associates
This program is jointly sponsored by KU's Mid-America Cardiology Associates.
The Theologian in Residence program, a consortium of university departments of religion, area churches and faith-based organizations, attracts nationally prominent scholars of theology to our area. In its fifth year, the program has invited Yvonne Haddad, professor of Islam at Georgetown University.
Dr. Haddad will give several short lectures in Topeka and Lawrence during her residence. Her only workshop will be offered to members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. The workshop will provide participants two three-hour sessions with Dr. Haddad in which she will further develop concepts introduced during her local lectures.
The workshop will focus on Christian-Muslim relations. Dr. Haddad will describe the latest research on contemporary Islamic issues, including Muslims in America and the social change of the women of Islam. This class will challenge participants to thoroughly examine cultural differences between the Muslim world and the Western world.
Dr. Yvonne Haddad, Professor of the History of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, author of The Muslims of America, Islam, Gender and Social Change and Not Quite American?: The Shaping of Arab and Muslim Identity in the United States. The KU Theologian in Residence program, a consortium of area churches, university departments of religion, and faith-based organizations, attracts speakers who are nationally prominent scholars of theology. In April 2005, the Lifelong Learning Institute will host the fifth theologian in residence, Yvonne Haddad, professor of Islam at Georgetown University. See page 9 for a listing of her lecturers and to learn more about the consortium.
Dr. Jeanine O'Grody, nationally known Renaissance art scholar and curator of European art at the Birmingham Museum of Art, will present a lecture about Leonardo Da Vinci's artwork that is featured in the bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown. The Da Vinci Code is a controversial conspiracy thriller about the murder of a curator in the Louvre and a religious coverup.
O'Grody presents her extensive research of the literature and works of Leonardo Da Vinci in this lecture, which has sold out across the country. In her lecture, she will discuss what is fact and fiction in the book, with a focus on three Da Vinci works: The Last Supper, The Mona Lisa, and The Virgin of the Rocks.
This class is free to the public. You need not be an Osher member to attend. However, space is limited and there will be a block of seats reserved for Osher members. Osher members may register for the event on the membership form. The general public can register for the event by calling Brandon Woods at 785-838-8000.
Jeanine O'Grody, Curator, European Art, Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, Alabama
Recent events have raised the Islamic faith and culture to the forefront of world consciousness. This first class in a series titled Theology, Philosophy, and Culture began with the fundamentals of the faith of Islam and continued with a presentation on "children of Abraham," delving into the historic relationships between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Misperceptions about the Islamic faith that have led to intolerance were explored. In the final session, area Muslims illuminated what it means to live in a predominantly non-Muslim culture.
Class Concluded Fall 2004
What in the world is going on? Participants explored historical events that contributed to the passion and plot that drive some of our most enduring musicals. The focus was on Fosse, Fiddler on the Roof, 42nd Street, and Miss Saigon, outstanding productions in the Lied Center's 2004-05 Broadway Series.
The class placed each show in historical and musical perspective by looking at the show's creation and premiere, describing its music, comparing it to a related Broadway show, and considering larger topics that illustrate Broadway history.
The first week we compared Fosse with A Chorus Line, exploring the relationship between choreographer and director. Then we compared Fiddler on the Roof with Hello, Dolly!, focusing on issues of Jewish assimilation in the United States. Adaptation of films to the musical genre were discussed in comparing 42nd Street and Anything Goes. Finally we delved into the topics of Broadway, opera, and the mega-musical in comparing Miss Saigon and Madam Butterfly. The class is sure to enrich your enjoyment of the Lied Center series.
Paul Laird, Professor of Music and Dance, University of Kansas. Professor Laird is co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to the Musical (Cambridge University Press, 2002). He taught two previous classes on the Broadway musical for the "KU and Lawrence" program.
"The Kansas City area is recognized as a leader in biomedical research and the life science industry."The Associated Press
The Kansas City area has a growing reputation as an international hub for research and development in the life sciences. How does the resulting economic growth affect local communities and families?
Learn about the area's efforts in the life sciences through an overview of exciting recent scientific and economic developments in the science, business, and educational communities. Understand what it means to reside in a life sciences industry hub, how life sciences research affects daily life for area residents, and its implications on the area's economy. Become familiar with KU and KU Medical Center life sciences initiatives. Follow the progression of a research project from the lab to the pharmacy counter.
This is an opportunity to hear how the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute combines the immense resources of government, industry, and academia. The presenters also provided a scientist's perspective, addressing the question, "How does this research benefit my family and me?"
Human responses to conflict are complicated by what the word "conflict" means to each individual. Depending on how people view conflict, they may respond by attempting to prevent, manage, or resolve it. Recent approaches encourage moving beyond "conflict prevention," "conflict resolution," or "conflict management" to a process known as "conflict transformation."
This class briefly explored all these approaches to dealing with conflict, beginning with an overview of conflict and discussion of how participants understood the term. Approaches by theoreticians, practitioners, and peace advocates were introduced, as will the role of values, including religious perspectives. Case studies of Northern Ireland, Mozambique, and the Philippines demonstrated how conflict transformation is being used in those complex situations. Additional case studies were presented, particularly of South Africa and the Kosovo and Serbia regions of the former Yugoslavia.
Reconciliation, sometimes including forgiveness, was considered, with attention to the actions and writings of Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. in transforming human conflict.
Participants discovered what conflict means to them and learned how conflict can be transformed. Class participation was encouraged.
Robert Shelton, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Kansas. Dr. Shelton is a member of the faculty group that developed the Peace and Conflict Studies undergraduate minor and graduate certificate in KU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He recently completed 18 years as university ombudsman. He is author of a book titled Loving Relationships.
Transportation was provided for Lawrence participants.
The people, events, and issues that make Kansas communities unique were the focus of this first class in a series titled A Sense of Place.
The class focused on the visionaries and radicals who made significant contributions to Kansas' birth during the period in which the Kansas Territory was formed, 150 years ago, one of the most fascinating times in the state's history. Participants discovered the dynamic personalities of territorial Kansas, including John Brown and Clarina Nichols, in this series co-hosted by the Kansas Museum of History.
Participants learned about the settlers of the Kansas Territory in a comparison of the original territory to later settlements. A tour of a special Kansas Museum of History exhibit, "Willing to Die for Freedom," led by the museum's director, exposed participants to rare artifacts that symbolize the struggle and introduced a range of views regarding slavery through presentations on William Russell, a slavery supporter who helped found Leavenworth, and John Ritchie, a Topeka abolitionist.
The course concluded with an evening in which participants experienced the popular culture of the era, featuring music and dancing with the Kaw Valley Coronet Band and tasting of typical territorial cuisine.
If you're an avid sports enthusiast (or even a casual one) who enjoys reading or hearing news about the Jayhawks or a favorite professional team, don't miss this opportunity to learn the basics of sports reporting from the area's foremost sports journalists.
This class explored the expanding world of sports news in print, radio, television, Internet, and other electronic media through interaction with area media personalities. Radio sports journalists spoke about a variety of topics, ranging from techniques of interviewing athletes to the influence of radio. We covered the expanding role of the Internet in sports journalism, including chat rooms and convergence, and the final session was dedicated to the electronic media.
Reporters from area newspapers, radio, and television stations offered insight into the art of interviewing, gathering news, and working with coaches and athletes. They'll take you behind the scenes, sharing their locker room adventures. You'll learn the tricks of the trade and gain an understanding of the values that guide reporters in their daily hunt for information. Bring a notebook and pencil as we unveil the world of sports reporters and explore how they bring you the news.
Presenters: A panel of well-known local and regional journalists from various media
Transportation was available for Lawrence participants.
Join us for this session of "Saturday Morning at KU Med," a highly popular public program of the University of Kansas Medical Center.
Would you be prepared if a terrorist event occurred in the Kansas City area? Arm yourself with the protection of knowing how to respond. This program will be of interest to anyone who desires basic information about possible types of terrorist acts. Topics will include:
If you would like to become a member of the KU Osher Institute,submit the online membership form.
If you are already an Osher member, you may sign-up for a class.
Phone
Toll-free 877-404-KUCE (5823) or 785-864-KUCE (5823)
Mail
Print and complete the membership form and mail with payment to:
The University of Kansas Continuing Education Registrations
1515 St. Andrews Drive Lawrence, Kansas 66047-1625
Fax
785-864-4871
TDD
800-766-3777
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