Spring/Summer Session 2013
Spring Session 2013
April 15 – June 7, 2013
Forms
Spring/Summer 2013 Course Brochure
Spring/Summer 2013 Registration Form
Course Descriptions
Mondays
The House of Romanov: A Russian Dynasty
Born during Time of Troubles in the sixteenth century, the Romanov Dynasty constantly confronted Slavophil defiance, ambitious foreign pretenders, and disorders threatening the equilibrium of Russia. The Dynasty introduced Western European culture without altering Russian identity and within three centuries turned a divided country into an Empire. They wrote the most fascinating pages in world history. Join us in learning more about this amazing dynasty’s accomplishments, philosophy, art, architecture, and way of living.
Erika Harkins-Blatt, MA, received her degrees in French Literature in Bucharest, Romania, and at the University of Paris in France. She has twenty years of teaching experience. In addition to her background in Humanities, Erika also has a scientific background with a master's degree in Organic Chemistry.
Mondays, April 15 – May 20, 2013
10:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (6 classes)
Location: Guzman Lecture Hall, Dominican Campus
Virtuosity: Cultivating Moral and Political Character
What does it mean to be morally and politically virtuous? Traditionally, moral and political philosophy has been guided by the Platonic assumption that knowledge equals virtue. But this has never been an entirely satisfying assumption, for history provides numerous examples of very intelligent people doing very bad things. Indeed, in light of this history, modern moral and political philosophy since Machiavelli has rejected the idealism of Plato’s equation of knowledge with virtue and has instead embraced a more realistic formula that equates knowledge with power and embraces power as a means to control vice. But what then does it mean to be virtuous? This course will explore a range of responses to that question, paying particular attention to the notion that moral and political virtue ought to be understood as a kind of intellectual and practical expertise, or, in other words, as virtuosity.
Christian Dean, PhD, Professor of Political Science and Humanities at Dominican University of California has taught moral and political philosophy and law for the last 15 years. He received his degrees in Political Science from San Francisco State University (BA) and the University of California, Santa Barbara (MA, PhD). His recent research considers the importance of cognitive science to our understanding of the nature of morality and of the development of moral character. virtuosity.
Mondays, April 15 – May 20, 2013
1:40 – 3:25 p.m. (6 classes)
Location: Guzman Lecture Hall, Dominican Campus
Tuesdays
Myths and Mysteries of Mary Magdalene
The greatest of all the disciples or reformed prostitute? Contemplative ascetic or bride of Christ? Discover how the fascinating figure of Mary Magdalene has been portrayed 
throughout the centuries in art, story, music, literature and film. From Donatello to Dan Brown, Giotto to the Gnostic Gospels, Rilke to Rodin, we will marvel at how this pivotal woman is a mirror of the sacred across time as an image of both spirituality and sensuality.
Kayleen Asbo, MA, has been a professor of music at San Francisco Conservatory of Music for the last ten years. She has a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and an MA in Psychology and Expressive Arts from the Institute of Imaginal Studies.
Tuesdays, April 16 – May 21, 2013
10:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (6 classes)
Location: The Tamalpais, 501 Via Casitas, Greenbrae
Four Post-war Revolutions and the Transformation of America
This course takes us into the period following WWII, and argues that it is in the first few decades following that great conflict that the seeds of an enormous revolutionary transition are to be found that will transform the face of this Republic. Many of us were a part of this revolution. The consequences are with us to this day. We'll look at these transformations in terms of four themes: isolation to globalism; conformity to cultural rebellion; segregation to civil rights; and the emergence of suburban America.
Hank Fearnley, PhD, has taught History and Political Science at the college level for over thirty-five years, most of which has been spent at the College of Marin. He received an MA in History from Georgetown University and a PhD in History from University of California, Santa Barbara. In 1999 he received a Fulbright-Hays Scholarship to study the impact of globalization on Malaysian and Singaporean politics and society. Professor Fearnley has been honored with numerous teaching awards from Alpha Gamma Sigma and the College of Marin student honor society.
Tuesdays, April 16 – May 21, 2013
1:30 – 3:15 p.m. (6 classes)
Location: Congregation Kol Shofar, 215 Blackfield Dr., Tiburon
Wednesdays
History of Sicily
Sicily became the glory of the Greek world, the most magical, mistreated, and monster-plagued place in the ancient world. Conquered by Rome, and with religious squabbles between Eastern and Western Christians, and Byzantines against Muslims, there were stories of cultural robbery, martyred saints, murdered emperors and Arab irrigation and poetry. Sicily continued to suffer the unkindness of strangers. It was again trampled with the Norman Conquest, poetic Germans and insensitive Frenchmen. Garibaldi landed in the west; Patton landed in the south and Francis Ford Coppola landed in the east (not all at the same time), and the Mafia fed on them all. This history finishes with the sense of a place unexpectedly subtle, fascinating, wounded and central to Western history.
Douglas Kenning, raised in Virginia, received a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and has lived and taught at universities in Tunisia, Japan, and Italy. Besides being a professor of history and literature, he also has been a professional biologist, actor, army officer, Manhattan taxi driver, academic administrator, and writer of books, articles, and stage plays. He lives half the year in Petaluma, giving lecture series on subjects related to the histories and cultures of the Mediterranean area, and half the year in Siracusa, Sicily, where he runs Sicily Tour, a small tour guide business.
Wednesdays, April 17 – May 22, 2013
10:15 – 12:00 p.m. (6 classes)
Villa Marin, 100 Thorndale Dr., San Rafael
Masterpieces of American Art from the 17th, 18th, and 19th Centuries
This course will examine the great works of American painting from its beginnings in the 17th century to the dawn of modernism in the early 20th century. Emphasis will be placed on understanding American art as expressive of American ideas and values – on the “American-ness” of American art. The course will give special focus to the masterworks of American painting in the collection of the De Young Museum in San Francisco.
Wood Lockhart, PhD, studied architecture at Yale University and received his doctorate in the History of Art and Architecture from Northwestern University. He is the former Chair of the Art History Department at Dominican University and has been teaching at the university since 1975. Wood is also a retired United Airlines Captain and, over a thirty six year flying career, has visited and photographed art and architecture around the world.
Wednesdays, April 17 – May 29, 2013
1:40 – 3:25 p.m. (6 classes) No class on May 15 (makeup class will be held on May 29)
Location: Guzman Lecture Hall, Dominican Campus
Socially Conscious and Protest Music from the 1930’s to the Present
Music is generally considered to be an entertainment medium. Starting in the 1930’s in the U.S., however, it began to be used as a way to directly reach people with concerns about economics, race, war, poverty and other issues. In this class we will trace the history of social movements in the United States from the 1930’s to the present time, using a combination of lecture, recorded presentations, and live performance.
Phil Rountree, MA received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his Master’s degree from Episcopal Divinity School. In addition to his ministry work, he has performed with choirs, a capella groups and rock bands for most of his life. He has led music at national and regional ministry events as well as local schools, retreats and prisons.
Wednesdays, April 17 – May 22, 2013
3:00 – 4:45 p.m. (6 classes)
Location: Whistlestop, 930 Tamalpais Ave., San Rafael
Thursdays
Girl with a Pearl Earring: Vermeer and Dutch Paintings from the Mauritshuis in San Francisco 
Johannes Vermeer’s iconic “Girl with a Pearl Earring,’’ is among 35 works from the collection of the Mauritshuis, The Hague, on view at the de Young Museum January 26 to June 2, 2013. The exhibit includes paintings by Rembrandt van Rijn, Frans Hals, Jan Steen and other major artists of the 17th century Golden Age of Dutch Art. Few Dutch homes were without paintings and prints of themselves, their country, their possessions and the life around them. This course will examine the most popular artistic themes, including landscapes of Holland, individual and group portraits, scenes of everyday life and domestic interiors, and still life and floral pieces. These images reveal much about Dutch society, referring to their commercial expansion abroad, the capitalist culture of the Netherlands, and are often imbued with moral undertones.
Maureen O’Brien, MA, teaches Art History in the Pathways Program at Dominican University of California. She received her BA in Art History from Dominican in 1993 and her MA in Humanities with an Emphasis in Art History in 1998. She has also taught Art History at Sonoma State University and the College of Marin and lectures for Elderhostel.
Thursdays, April 18 – May 23, 2013
10:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (6 classes)
Location: Osher Marin Jewish Community Center, 200 N. San Pedro Rd., San Rafael
Courtroom Drama in the Movies and Theater, Part III
Famous and controversial trials of the 20th Century will be examined, including the Lindbergh kidnapping, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, New York City’s Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, Angela Davis, Claus von Bulow (Reversal of Fortune), the Hollywood Ten, and the Army-McCarthy hearings. Actors will portray prosecutor Roy Cohn and Ethel Rosenberg from the play Angels in America. For fun we will see the trials of the Marx Brothers in Duck Soup and Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in The Fortune Cookie.
Oak Dowling, JD, is a retired attorney with 43 years of practice, including 31 years in San Rafael. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School and a native of Chicago. For 22 years he has been a part time law instructor at College of Marin. In his law classes, he has used courtroom drama to demonstrate legal principles. As an avocation, he has performed in theater in Marin and San Francisco over the past 15 years.
Thursdays, April 18 – May 23, 2013
1:40 p.m. – 3:25 p.m. (6 classes)
Location: Guzman Lecture Hall, Dominican Campus
Fridays
Jerusalem: History, Religion and Politics
This course will give a comprehensive historical overview, a religious view from Islam, Christianity and Jewish perspectives and finally a full political evaluation from all points of view. Is there a solution? We will try to answer that question at the end of the class.
John F. Rothmann, MA is a politics/foreign policy consultant specializing in the US, the Middle East and the former Soviet Union. A talk show host on KGO–AM Newstalk radio, he is a frequent lecturer on American Politics and has been called “a scholar of modern Republicanism” while being acknowledged “for his unique insights, and in particular for rare and crucial materials.” Rothmann served as Director of the Nixon Collection at Whittier College from 1968 to 1970, as Chief of Staff to Senator Milton Marks, Field Representative to Senator Quentin Kopp, and in 1982 was one of the founders of the Raoul Wallenberg Jewish Democratic Club. Widely published and honored, Rothmann has spoken on more than 150 college/universities in the US, Canada and Israel and has been on the faculty of USF. Both his B.A. and his Masters in Arts in Teaching are from Whittier College. Prof. Rothmann is the co-author of Icon of Evil — Hitler’s Mufti and the Rise of Radical Islam.
Fridays, April 19 – June 7, 2013
10:15 – 12:00 p.m. (8 classes)
Location: Congregation Kol Shofar, 215 Blackfield Dr., Tiburon
JFK: Life, Vision and Legacy
This course will look at the life, times and assassination of JFK, with particular emphasis on being a Kennedy, World War II, physical challenges, the Jackie/RFK factor, Kennedy-Nixon debates, military-industrial complex, OSS/CIA/Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, drugs/organized crime, Civil Rights, Vietnam, November 22, 1963, and the Kennedy legacy.
Arthur Kane Scott, MA, recently retired after eighteen years of service at Dominican University of California as Program Lead of Cultural Studies and teacher of history. Specialty areas include Islam, Native American Studies and World History. He has authored five on-line courses for University of California, Berkeley Extension, on Islam, U.S. and World History. His is completing a biography of Cochise: His Time /Culture, and other scholarly interests include sustainability, and articles on the politics of the U.S. and the Middle East. In 2002, he was voted “Teacher of the Year” and nominated again in 2011. In 2009, he delivered a collaborative paper at Cambridge University, Great Britain, entitled Big History: The Whole Story for First-Year Students which appeared in fall edition of Sufism: An Inquiry. Recent articles include “Violence in Juarez” which can be found at www.journalofAmerican.com, as well as numerous articles on the Middle East and U.S. politics in the same journal. He has been a JFK scholar for years and believes Kennedy’s accomplishments need to be celebrated fifty years after his assassination.
Fridays, April 19 – May 24, 2013
1:30 – 3:15 p.m.
Location: Dance Palace, Pt. Reyes Station
Search for Other Earths
For the first time in history, we are answering one of humankind's oldest questions: are there other planets orbiting around other stars? Are any of them like the Earth? In this class we'll learn how these planets are being discovered and how we learn about the stars they orbit. We'll meet the astronomers who make these discoveries possible. We'll see what these planets teach us about our own Solar System and how the stars and planets, including the Earth, were born.
Steve Bryson, PhD, is Target Scientist for the Kepler Mission to find Earth-size planets around Sun-like stars. He also leads the false-positive identification effort and monitors Kepler performance at the pixel level. Prior to joining Kepler in 2005, Steve developed new, high-accuracy numerical methods for solving nonlinear differential equations and participated in the early development of virtual reality. Steve is an avid amateur astronomer, and worked at Chicago's Adler Planetarium in the late 70's. Steve has a PhD in computational mathematics from Stanford University, and for more than 10 years taught modern physics in adult education classes at the San Francisco Academy of Sciences.
Fridays, April 19 – May 31, 2013 (No class on May 17)
1:40 – 3:25 p.m. (6 classes)
Location: Guzman Lecture Hall, Dominican Campus
New: Two Week Courses on Fridays
Europe in Turmoil
Founded in 1993, the European Union, consisting of 27 nations, is now undergoing profound stress. Moreover, several countries within the EU, (known as Piigs, representing Poland, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) are experiencing separatist movements which could alter their national borders.
John Syer, PhD, is Professor of Government (retired) from CSU Sacramento. Until 1995, Professor Syer worked with interns in the State Capitol. He is co-author of Power & Politics in California (eight editions.) Since 1995, Professor Syer has taught global politics and intelligence studies. He is a political analyst for ABC News (Sacramento and San Francisco), and the recipient of distinguished teaching awards from both Cal Poly (SLO) and CSU Sacramento.
Fridays, April 19 and April 26, 2013
10:50 – 12:35 p.m.
Location: Guzman Lecture Hall, Dominican Campus
Living on a Restless Planet: Understanding Natural Disasters
The first part of the course will be a discussion of what causes various natural disasters, the effects they produce, and the ways that humankind has attempted to mitigate their impact using a number of historical examples and case studies. In the second part we will explore the famous eruption of Italy's Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD and its destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, as well as the threat that Vesuvius continues to pose to modern-day Naples, Europe's most densely populated city. In addition, the results of research studies of those who live close to the active volcano and how they perceive the risks will be presented.
Matt Davis, PhD, is originally from Massachusetts where he earned his BA in Psychology. He earned his MA in Experimental Social Psychology in Virginia, and came to California in 1982 to complete his doctoral work at UC Irvine in the interdisciplinary field of Social Ecology, with a focus on both Social Psychology and on the geological processes that create earthquakes and volcanoes. After teaching at several campuses of the California State University system, Dr. Davis began teaching full-time at Dominican in 1994. He regularly teaches courses in social psychology, social influence, statistics and research, human sexuality, media psychology, and a specialty course called Natural Disasters: Societal & Individual Reactions to Risk.
Fridays, May 3 and May 10, 2013
10:50 – 12:35 p.m.
Location: Guzman Lecture Hall, Dominican Campus
The Bob & Bill Extravaganza: Celebrating The Wit, Wisdom and Wiliness of Robert Bly and Billy Collins
Come joyfully marinate in the beautiful, funny, accessible, mysterious and irreverent poetry of two fine contemporary poets; poets who are so very different, and yet the same. Of course we will explore as many of their fine poems as we can. Also, there will be time to learn a little about their lives. How did they get where they are today? Why poetry? What or who influenced them? What controversies have they joined or caused?
Dale Biron is a popular lecturer, workshop leader, coach, published poet, and poetry editor living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Using poems as practical and potent tools for individual coaching assignments, as well as in organizational and public settings, Dale helps people grow, learn, heal and navigate change. Dale is Poetry Editor at Large for Gratefulness.org and is a former board member for the Marin Poetry Center. Dale has shared his poetry-based work and insights at such venues as The Herbst Theater and the Center for Attitudinal Healing.
Fridays, May 24 and May 31, 2013
10:50a.m. – 12:35 p.m.
Location: Guzman Lecture Hall, Dominican Campus
Dominican OLLI Spring Lecture Series
Dominican’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute has made a commitment to provide stimulating lectures on a wide variety of topics throughout the academic year. The following lectures are free to all OLLI members but we request that you register for them individually on the form provided. To register please call the OLLI office at 415-458-3763.
Chief Marin: Leader, Rebel, and Legend
Our County is named for the Coast Miwok chief who was notorious for defying Spanish authority over his people. Anthropologist and archeologist Betty Goerke will provide a portrait of his life.
Betty Goerke, MA, Professor Emeritus, College of Marin
April 27, 2013
10:00 – 11:15 a.m.
Location: Guzman Lecture Hall, Dominican Campus
Breast Cancer: An Update
Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies that occur in women in the United States. This presentation will include an overview of breast cancer, highlighting current research areas and gaps and also potential new therapies.
Maggie Louie, PhD, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Dominican University of California
May 11, 2013
10:00 – 11:15 a.m.
Location: Garden Room, Edgehill Mansion, Dominican Campus
Clubs and Trips
OLLI Clubs are free for Premium Members. Basic Members pay $30 for one club or $50 for two clubs.
American Fiction Book Club
In the spring session the club will focus on novels that are profoundly influenced by place, the culture and geography of their settings. Discussion will include focus on plot, character, setting, and style, with emphasis on setting.
Moderators: Betsy Thompson and Andy Kives, MD
April 15: Margaret Atwood, Cat's Eye
April 29: Robertson Davies, Fifth Business
May 13: Alice Munro, Dear Life: Stories
Mondays, April 15, 29 and May 13, 2013
3:45 – 5:15p.m. (3 classes)
Location: Legacy Hall, Edgehill Mansion, Dominican Campus
Maximum of 20 participants
Theater Appreciation Club
This club will meet three times during the spring session. Its purpose is to give members the opportunity to sample the excellent and varied community theater that exists in the North Bay. Class meetings will be used to discuss playwrights and upcoming performances. Registrants for the course must purchase all theater tickets.
Moderator: Sandy Levitan, MA
Mondays, April 22, May 6, May 20, 2013
3:45 – 5:15 p.m. (3 classes)
Location: Legacy Hall, Edgehill Mansion, Dominican Campus
Maximum of 20 participants
Travel Club
Come get great ideas on where and how to travel internationally. The purpose of this informal group is for seasoned travelers to share their knowledge and experience with the beginning traveler. No experience is required to join and all experience is welcome. The moderators will from time-to-time select specific destinations or topics for discussion. Whenever possible, these will be announced in advance.
Moderator: Winnie Coleman
Wednesdays, April 17, May 1, May 15, 2013
3:45-5:15 p.m. (3 classes)
Location: Legacy Hall, Edgehill Mansion, Dominican Campus
Maximum 25 participants
After a surge of popularity for global visitors in the 1980’s and a devastating tsunami in 2010, Japan is now jumping to the top of many travelers’ wish lists again, especially for families. Travel agency owner Diana Saint James will talk about her life-long fascination for all things Japanese, her time teaching English in Tokyo, what her clients are asking her to book in Japan for them today and her recent trip in the Land of the Rising Sun. Come share what you love about Japan and bring your Japan questions!
May 1 North Korea by Bob Canepa
The focus of this presentation will be on the history, politics and everyday life in a totalitarian society - with heavy emphasis and material on Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il - and some of the disparities between North and South Korea. Some of the slides to be shown are of the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea, the Joint Security Area, the Invasion Tunnel, the USS Pueblo, Revolutionary billboards, Pyongyang, and most importantly the North Korean people. Mr. Canepa has been to over 78 countries around the world, and admits that states that "this was far and away the most fascinating and bizarre of all his travel experiences."
May 15 Thailand: The Lure of the Magic Kingdom by Duncan MacSwain
Guitar Club
How would you like to create new neural pathways in your brain, develop small motor skills and reduce stress by learning to play the guitar? We will cover the basic chords and strums on the guitar to enable you to play most songs. All who have wanted to learn guitar but were reluctant to try until now are invited. Borrow or rent a guitar, bring your fingers and a positive attitude, and leave your singing inhibitions at home.
Moderator: JoAnn Levin
Fridays, April 19, 26; May 3, 10, 24, 2013
3:45 – 5:15 p.m. (5 classes)
Location: Guzman 111, Dominican Campus
Maximum of 20 participants
Girl with a Pearl Earring Trip to the De Young Museum
Come on a trip to the De Young Museum in San Francisco to view the exhibit, Girl with a Pearl Earring. Trip participants will receive a private docent-led tour of the exhibit from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. before the Museum opens. Refreshments will be served in the Museum Café starting at 9:30 a.m. and participants will also have a chance to visit the gift shop before the bus leaves at 11:00 a.m. to return to campus.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
7:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Cost: $60 (includes bus transportation, docent tour, refreshments and all gratuities)
Withdrawal: Refunds will be given only if a substitute is available from the wait list.
Summer Session
July 9 – August 1, 2013
Renaissance to Revolution: History Through Art
This course explores the dynamic relationship between historical development and artistic expression. For each of the four fundamental configurations, we will examine two great cultural movements that stand as examples of the type. For others, as with Romanticism in the 19th century, the prevailing artistic emphasis involved resisting historical change.
Bruce Elliott, PhD, teaches courses in European History at Berkeley, Stanford Continuing Studies, and Dominican OLLI. British history constitutes a special enthusiasm for Bruce, as this was the field in which he conducted his doctoral research. Along with teaching in the academic year for several university programs, in the summertime, Dr. Elliott leads groups of his lifelong-learning students on travel-study trips to choice European destinations.
Tuesdays, July 9 – July 30, 2013
10:50 a.m. – 12:35 p.m. (4 classes)
Location: Guzman Lecture Hall, Dominican Campus
The History of Baseball
This course will trace the cultural and economic transformations which shook our National Pastime during the period of the 1950’s to the present. Our goal will be to demonstrate how Major League Baseball both spearheaded (occasionally) and passively mirrored (usually) the great social upheavals of the post-war era. We will look at the ways baseball – as a billion dollar industry – handled such thorny problems as civil rights and diversity, substance abuse and performance enhancing drugs, globalization, the integration of women into important decision-making positions in the sport, and the incorporation of new statistical models for measuring performance/ assessing talent. Throughout our discussions, we will never lose sight of the timeless beauty and grace of this marvelous ballet on grass (or artificial turf)!
Mick Chantler, MA, recently concluded his 36 year career in teaching at Sonoma Valley High School, and now works part-time as a counselor at Hanna Boys Center in Sonoma. As a lifelong student of the Civil War era, he was pleased to organize the Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration for the City of Sonoma in 2009. In 2010 he coordinated the seminars in American History series at the Sonoma Valley Library. Most recently, he taught his Lincoln course at the Sonoma State OLLI. Mick’s other interests include the history of baseball, and he is a long-standing member of the Society for American Baseball Research. He is also a member of the Lincoln Forum. Currently he is developing a course on Thomas Jefferson and the Early American Republic.
Wednesdays, July 10 – July 31, 2013
10:50 – 12:35 p.m. (4 classes)
Location: Guzman Lecture Hall, Dominican Campus
Four Great Films
This class will consist of a fun and in-depth study of four great comedies: The African Queen; My Favorite Year; Silent Movie; and Shall We Dance? Back story and details of the filming of each will be discussed as well as a critical review provided. Members of the class can be critics as they learn about the film-making process.
Jan Wahl is best known to the Bay Area for her incisive film criticism during appearances as KCBS Radio and KRON TV Film Critic and Entertainment Reporter. A graduate of San Francisco State with a degree in broadcast communication and arts, for 30 years Jan has been actively involved in the television and film industries. First as a producer, stage manager and director on such TV programs as “Good Morning America,” Jan has always shared her love of entertainment with the community. She is a two-time Emmy award winner and member of the Directors Guild of America.
Thursdays, July 11 – August 1, 2013
10:50 a.m. – 12:35 p.m. (4 classes)
Location: Guzman Lecture Hall, Dominican Campus
