Spring and Summer 2009 Course Offerings
Forms
Spring 2009
April 18 – June 1, 2009
Mondays
Impressionism: Art and Modernity
Impressionism is perhaps the most instantly recognizable form of painting, emphasizing thick application of paint, distinctive brush-strokes, and real-life subject matter. This course will look at scenes from the lives of impressionist artists such as Manet, Monet, Penoir, Degas, Cassatt, Morisot, and Pissarro.
Maureen O’Brien, MA teaches Art History 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.
April 20 – June 1, 2009
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (6 classes)
No class on May 25 (makeup class will be held on June 1)
Location: Alemany Library Room 207, Dominican Campus
The Gates to Western Europe: Eastern Europe and the Balkans
During this course we will discuss the origins, culture and history of Eastern Europe and the Balkans. The students will learn about the origins and the ancestors of Eastern European countries: The Celts, the Thracians and the Dacians. They will learn about the tremendous influence of the Byzantine Empire, their strong ties with Greece and the centuries of occupation: The Austrian Empire vs. the Ottoman Empire. Each country will be discussed individually and as a whole: 4500 BC to the present.
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.
April 20 – June 1, 2009
1:30 – 3:30 p.m. (6 classes)
No class on May 25 (makeup class will be held on June 1)
Location: Alemany Library Room 207, Dominican Campus
Tuesdays
Primal Ethics: Modern Meanings
We live in a period of: ready-fire-aim…this is known as situational ethics. We can do better. To understand the ethics of the ancient world is to improve our social justice radar and modern ethical actions. We will survey the evolution of Western ethics from the mythology, fables, law and literature of Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria, Israel, Greece, and Rome as well as the biblical prophets. We will apply classical ethical wisdom to contemporary issues such as war, journalism, healthcare, sports, business, personal conduct, the environment, and politics.
Henry Shreibman, PhD, Rabbi, DD has been an adjunct faculty member over the last three years at Dominican University and UC Davis in Comparative Religion, History, Ethics, and Philosophy. In 2008 Dr. Shreibman was awarded the Teacher of the Year at Dominican University as an adjunct. He served as the Head of School of Brandeis Hillel Day School for 13 years and was on the governing board of the California Association of Independent Schools.
April 21 – May 26, 2009
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (6 classes)
Location: The Tamalpais
501 Via Casitas Greenbrae
We the Immigrant People
This course will cover an in-depth study of the immigrant experience and its effect upon the laws and cultures that have created America – past, present and future. With the rising demand for a new and improved immigration law we will explore where we came from and what we are becoming as a people.
Melissa Grafflin, JD, is a career secondary teacher and trainer of student teachers. She has recently written a book of ethical stories for teens. She taught street law for 14 years and was chosen with 67 other teachers from around the country to study at the U.S. Supreme Court Teachers Institute in the summer of 2000.
April 21 – May 26, 2009
1:30 – 3:30 p.m. (6 classes)
Location: Guzman Lecture Hall, Dominican Campus
Wednesdays
Fabulous Females in Film
This course is an exploration of the history of women in Hollywood, from the first movie star to the movie icons of today. Onscreen archetypes will be illuminated through film clips: the vamp, the winsome waif, the avenger, the gold digger. We will also highlight women behind the screen: writers, directors, costume designers, art directors, and editors. From Bettie Davis to Angelina Jolie, from Edith Head to Penny Marshall: Have we really come a long way, baby?
Jan Wahl is best known to the Bay Area for her incisive film criticism during appearances as KRON Channel 4 film critic. 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.
April 22 – May 27, 2009
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (6 classes)
Location: Angelico Hall, Dominican Campus
Thursdays
The Golden Age of the American Musical
The American Musical is a unique blend of various influences. In this class I will demonstrate with film clips and music how these various sources came together. We will explore African-American rhythms, Minstrels, Operetta, Vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley's effect on musicals of the 1920s and 1930s with the emergence of Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, the Gershwin’s and many others leading to "Show Boat" and finally "Oklahoma!"
Joseph Marchi, MA has a wide educational background: first as an English and Italian instructor and then as the Director of Counseling at Canada College. He was the founder of The Center for the American Musical where he has been honored by many grants and awards. He lectures on the musical to various groups and teaches at the Fromm Institute, Sonoma State University and for Elderhostel.
April 23 – May 28, 2009
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (6 classes)
Location: Guzman Lecture Hall, Dominican Campus
Theater Appreciation Club
This club, led by one of our own premium members, 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 Marin County. 90 minutes in a classroom will be used to read and discuss the play that we will see that evening. Registrants for the course must purchase all tickets and their own dinners; there is no other charge for the course. Dinner will follow the class, and after dinner participants will drive, separately or together, to that night’s selected theater.
Sandy Levitan, MA, is a Dominican graduate and has been a practicing Marriage Family and Child therapist for over 30 years. She has participated in past community productions both as a performer and director and regularly attends theater productions around the Bay Area and beyond.
April 23, May 7 and May 21, 2009
4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Location: Dominican Campus
Maximum of 25 participants
Fridays
The Latin American Challenge
In order to develop an understanding of Latin America today we will look at 4 major countries in the course of the 20th Century through today: Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico. These four countries are not only important in terms of their size, location or resources, but they are all experiencing major changes which affect and challenge us directly. We will also discuss recent developments in Argentina, Chile, Cuba and Bolivia as well as American foreign policy towards Latin America, past and present.
Tony White, PhD is Professor Emeritus from Sonoma State University where he taught Latin American History for 37 years. He has taught five courses in Sonoma State's OLLI program and led three educational trips to Cuba through SSU's Extended Education Program. He is currently revising his biography of the Mexican muralist Siqueiros, Biography of a Revolutionary Artist, as a print-on-demand book through Amazon.com.
April 24 – May 29, 2009
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (6 classes)
Location: Margaret Todd Senior Center
1560 Hill Rd. Novato
Saturdays
China Day
Dr. Fran Lepage will be the keynote speaker at this day long program, focusing on the contemporary political/economic situation in China in its historical context. Following the lunch break, art historian Sandi Chin, MA, will discuss and analyze Chinese painting, drawing and sculpture as art and as reflections of the social and political environments of the time. The afternoon closing panel, moderated by Dr. LePage, will address a broad array of issues including previously submitted questions from the audience. Panelists will include Chinese Dominican alumni and current Chinese students.
Fran LePage, PhD, is Professor and Dean Emerita in the School of Business and Leadership at Dominican University of California, currently serving as Assistant to the President for Special Projects. She has received numerous awards for service and achievement, including induction into the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame in 2007, Outstanding Citizen of Marin, Doctor of Humane Letters from Marymount University of Virginia, and the Sarlo Distinguished Professor of the Year Award for Lifetime Achievement, Dominican University.
Sandi Chin, MA, is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Art History at Dominican University holding an undergraduate degree from UCLA and a graduate degree from Berkeley in Art History. In addition to teaching at Dominican since 1986, she has been a guest curator of exhibitions since 1982 and the author of several exhibition catalogues. She served as a consultant to the film version of The Joy Luck Club and has extensive service to non-profit organizations in the Bay Area.
May 9, 2009
10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Location: Guzman Lecture Hall, Dominican Campus
China Day Fees:
Basic Members: $65 (course fee-$45, Chinese lunch-$20)
Premium Annual Members: $20 (Chinese lunch)
Staging A Comedy: From Shakespeare to Wilde
Lecture and discussion will focus on answers to the following questions: What defines a play as comic? What changes took place in the structure of comedy between the 17th century and the late 19th century? What similarities and parallels do we find between Twelfth Night, thought by many to be Shakespeare’s greatest comedy, and The Importance of Being Ernest, Oscar Wilde’s famous play. Members of the class will have the opportunity to purchase discounted tickets to each of these plays being performed by Marin Shakespeare this summer.
Robert Currier, M.FA., is Artistic Director of Marin Shakespeare. He holds a master’s degree in fine arts from the University of California-Irvine. Having directed over 100 plays in a wide variety of venues, he is well versed in Shakespeare’s contributions, both theatrical and intellectual.
April 18 – May 30, 2009
1:00 – 3:00 p.m. (6 classes)
No class on May 9 (makeup class will be held on May 30)
Location: The Redwoods
40 Camino Alto, Mill Valley
Summer 2009
July 1 – July 31, 2009
Thursdays
Broadway’s Legendary Composers
Learn all about the fascinating lives of the gifted composers who were most influential in creating and shaping the unique sound of the American musical. Hear vintage recordings, many in which these beloved songwriters perform their own work. See rare film footage of these celebrated songwriters at work and at play. Enjoy scenes from their smash hit and lesser-known musicals, performed by Broadway and Hollywood's greatest song and dance stars.
Bonnie Weiss is an educator, writer and professional speaker. She has taught courses on the history of the American musical and the great composers of Broadway for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, San Francisco State University, UC Extension and College of Marin, among others. She has lectured at Stanford University Women’s Alumni Association, Elder Hostel and senior centers throughout California. Her feature stories and reviews regularly appear in Stage Directions, a national magazine for theatre educators.
July 9 – July 30, 2009
1:30 – 3:30 p.m. (4 classes)
Location: Dominican Campus
Cost: $55 for all members
Fridays
The Occupation and Reconstruction of Japan: August 1945 - April 1952.
In the wake of defeat and unconditional surrender, Japan was forced to undergo the unthinkable: Occupation by a foreign army. The Supreme Command of Allied Powers (SCAP), under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, was given absolute authority to manage and rehabilitate the defeated nation. Charged with an extensive task list, MacArthur's team effectively rebuilt a nation from ashes.
Jean Bowler, MA received her Master’s degree from Dominican in 2000. Her thesis on the Battle of Saipan (June 1944), reflected a life-long interest in military history. A native of Marin County, she has taught several history classes with the OLLI program. Jean is currently the Administrator at the Marin Waldorf School.
July 10 – July 31, 2009
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (4 classes)
Location: Dominican Campus
Cost: $55 for all members
