Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Dominican

Each instructor will introduce his/her course, invite questions, and provide additional information about the subject matter to be covered.

Funded in part by a generous grant from the Osher Foundation, OLLI at Dominican is a membership-driven program designed to provide intellectually stimulating opportunities for adults in our community who are 50 years or older. Six-week non-credit courses provide the intellectual challenge of academic programs minus the stress of grades, tests or homework. For more information about OLLI at Dominican, please call 415-458-3763 or visit Dominican.edu/osher.

The spring OLLI at Dominican session features:

"Doing" Ethics
Mondays, April 17-May 22, 10:00 am-12:00 noon, Dominican University of California campus.
Nothing is more difficult today than deciding what to do about abortion, gay marriage, economic injustice, war, torture, global warming, euthanasia, capital punishment, and a host of other controversies. Can we draw on the wisdom of the past to address these contemporary ethical dilemmas? Can we see more clearly how we should consider what is right and wrong, and good and bad, and then work through these divisive problems toward decisions that make sense to us?
Robert Traer Ph.D, led the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF) from 1990-2000 and is now teaching courses on ethics and religion at Dominican University of California. In the spring of 2005 he served with the Ecumenical Accompaniment program in Israel/Palestine sponsored by the World Council of Churches. In 2002 he was a Resident Scholar at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute for Theological Studies in Israel.

"Against all Odds" -- Outstanding Achievements of Women Scientists
Mondays, April 17-May 22, 2:00-4:00 pm, Dominican University of California campus
A little over a year ago the (then) President of Harvard suggested that one explanation for the relatively low number of women at the top of most scientific fields is that women may not have the same ''innate ability" or ''natural ability" as men in these areas. While we won't directly address this controversy, in this course we WILL look at the significant contributions made by many notable women to the advancement of biological and physical sciences of the 20th century, as well as challenges that they faced in their lives. Several local women scientists will be joining the class to tell us firsthand about their research and what motivated them to spend a career in science.
Philip Harriman, Ph.D., was born in San Rafael and received a B.S. in Physics from Caltech and a Ph.D. in Biophysics from U.C. Berkeley. Following several years of postdoctoral work at the University of Cologne, Germany, The Pasteur Institute in Paris, and James Watson's Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, he was on the faculties of the Duke University Medical School and the University of Missouri. He then spent 24 years as Program Director for Genetics at the National Science Foundation, Washington, DC, before retiring to the North Bay Area.

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and Victorian Art 1850-1900
Tuesdays, April 18-May 23, 10:00 am-12:00 noon, Dominican University of California campus
In 1848, as revolutions swept continental Europe, a group of English painters started an artistic revolution that continued through the rest of the 19th century. Challenging the dominance of the British Royal Academy and taking their inspiration from medieval and early Renaissance artists, members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood painted directly from nature itself, as truthfully as possible and with incredible attention to detail. Their subjects were drawn from the natural world, biblical, and literacy sources and Victorian social themes. The Pre-Raphaelites were drawn to the decorative arts and this course will explore stained glass, book illustrations,_home furnishings and textile designs in addition to looking at conventional easel paintings.
Maureen O'Brien, BA, MA teaches Art History in the Pathways Program at Dominican University. She received her BA in Art History from Dominican University in 1993 and her MA, 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.

Lifelong Dreamers
Tuesdays, April 18-May 23, 2:00-4:00 pm, Aegis of Corte Madera
During each session following the introductory one, participants will examine at least two of the most common negative dreams around the world, as well as their positive versions. We'll discuss the usual meanings of these dream themes and explore individual variations. Discover how these themes are portrayed in your dreams, especially in senior issues such as retirement and bereavement.
In addition to gaining knowledge about specific dream themes, participants learn some ancient and modern cultural methods for preventing and banishing nightmares; practice methods for inducing dreams on specific topics; and explore how to use dream content for creative purposes, with inspiring examples from famous dreamers.
Patricia Garfield, PhD. is one of the world's leading dream experts. She holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from Temple University in Philadelphia. Dr. Garfield has written nine books on dreams. One of six co-founders of the Association for the Study of Dreams, Dr. Garfield served as president during 1998-99. She is a frequent guest on American national television (including three appearances on ABC's 20/20 news magazine show, three on ABC's Good Morning America and two times on CNN), as well as on radio. She was featured on shows aired in Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, and Japan.

Islam on the Ground
Wednesdays, April 19 - May 24, 2:00-4:00 pm, Presbyterian Church of Novato
The Arab Muslim Middle East and South Asia are politically the most sensitive and potentially explosive areas of the world today. We need a much better understanding of things Arab and Muslim in order to respond to their realities, values and motivations. Mr. Swidler draws heavily on his four years residence and study in Baluchistan, the largest province in Pakistan, just below the 1200 mile Afghan border. Rather than concentrate on the religious and historical contexts, this series of lectures covers the indigenous political and social modes of the area by examining the ways in which Muslim life is expressed in nomad camps, villages and towns. The class will examine tribal structure, economy, politics and social organization using anthropological ethnographic accounts of on-going life there. Islam developed in a desert, tribal culture and many of its features are ecological adaptations to this particular ecosystem. This approach is designed to expose the real lives of people there by removing the western "prism" in order to obtain a richer and truer understanding of the ways in which Muslims in this area think and behave. Films and photographs will support the lecture.
Warren W. Swidler, Ph.D. is the former Chair of the Department of Anthropology, Brooklyn College (CUNY). He is a specialist in Pakistan, Afghanistan, nomads of the Middle East and Southwest Asia. Theoretical interests include human ecology, kinship, economy, social structure and politics of non-literate societies. His research grants include those from the National Science Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies/Social Science Research Council, the National Institute of Mental_Health and the American Museum of Natural History. He has published numerous articles and, along with fellow researchers, Culture and Population Change for the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Spotlight on American Theatre
Thursdays, April 20-May 25, 10:00 am-12:00 noon, Dominican University of California campus
The United States has produced some of the world's greatest drama during the twentieth century. In this course we will analyze several of the most influential plays from the 1930s to the present to begin to grapple with how American artists create meaning and convey their observations about some of the deepest human issues of their time or any other. The course is not meant to be a complete survey of twentieth-century American theatre. Rather, we will read selectively, but carefully, plays of O'Neill, Williams, Wilson, Parks and Kushner. We will forge connections between the playwrights, and discuss cultural issues, including feminism, black and gay theatre. In the process, we will take up such themes as the quest for identity; women's role in family and society; social changes; AIDS and homosexuality; political/racial/gender issues; and the American dream
Eileen Herrmann-Miller, Ph.D., received her doctorate from the University of California, Davis and is a lecturer at Dominican University. She is a former two-time Fulbright recipient, and has lectured and taught abroad. In this country, she has taught at the Universities of California at Davis and Santa Cruz, and at San Francisco State University. Currently, she serves on the Board of the Eugene O'Neill Foundation where she also works as Production/Stage Manager. She is the author of several journal articles on Eugene O'Neill, theatre, and pedagogy. She is at present writing about Metaphor in Modern American Drama.

New Masters of the International Cinema
Thursdays, April 20-May 25, 3:00-5:00 pm, Dominican University of California campus
We will be watching five films set in different time periods of 20th century historical fiction. The theme is romance, but with an unusual twist - our characters become caught up in events larger than themselves and must learn to love each other under circumstances they would never choose for themselves. As they yield to their change in destiny, we watch a modern classic exploration on what it means to love and to be loved - and to find love in this world, The films are Nowhere in Africa (Germany),_Zelary (Czech Republic), Raise the Red Lantern (China), Red (Poland) and Kolya (France and Czech Republic). The first film is in English, the last four films have subtitles. All films were produced in the 1990s. There will be an introductory talk before each film_and a discussion afterwards.
John Gilluly, M.Ed., holds a BA from UC Berkeley and a Masters in Educational Media from Portland State University, Oregon. An avid filmgoer, Mr. Gilluly has worked as a library media specialist with young adults in San Francisco and Marin Counties for 17 years. This is the second in a series of classes on International film history for the Osher Learning Institute at Dominican.