Spring 2021 Catalog
Course Dates: March 18, 19, 25, 26; April 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, and 30; May 5 and 7
Spring Registration: March 4 - March 26, 2021
Course Enrollment Confirmation: First come – First Served
Registration
Click on any of the titles below to see expanded information.
There is a print button on the bottom of the page and also a link to the PDF Course Index Table. All courses except the Off-Friday LIVE course will be held via Zoom.
Go here to access the complete catalog in ProClass. Once there, choose Spring 2021 from the “Select Semester” drop-down and hit the “Search” button. Registration will go live on March 4th at 9:00 a.m. Log in and register for your courses.
THURSDAY, Period 1
9:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m.
Thursday, First Period: 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
March 18, 25; April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Description: The class will explore recent developments in various fields of medicine, including diagnostics, research, and treatments. There will be opportunity for discussion.
Class Limit: 75
Presenter: Michael Weinstock, MD, (LLI) is chair emeritus of Lehigh Valley Health Network and professor of clinical emergency medicine at Penn State University College of Medicine (retired). He is a teacher, mentor, lecturer, and author.
Producer: Leslie Weinstock
Thursday, First Period: 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
March 18, 25; April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Description: Leonard Bernstein said the Broadway musical was the American music of the future. From their beginnings in the extravaganza and vaudeville, to recent hip hop and rock musicals, Broadway musicals have sparkled with stories, stars, and memorable songs. We will listen to the music, watch scenes from shows through the decades, and discover the magic of the musical.
Class Limit: none
Presenter: Nancy Theeman, PhD, has had a lifelong career in music that includes performance and teaching. She is a pianist and singer who has performed in the United States and abroad. She has chaired music programs at schools in Westchester County and has directed numerous musicals there. She has conducted community choirs and runs Touring Talent, a program where high school students go monthly to local senior residences to share their talents. She is thrilled to be sharing her love of musical theater with the Bard LLI community.
Producer: Bob Blacker
Thursday, First Period: 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
March 18, 25; April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Description: Yoga can be a valuable addition to our toolbox for practices of self-care. This class will highlight different yoga techniques to support healing and health. Topics covered will be yoga for a better back, yoga to relieve stress and anxiety, yoga practices for stronger bones, and yoga for depression. Restorative yoga, yoga nidra, and one-focus meditation will be among the techniques introduced.
Class Limit: 20
Presenter: Susan Blacker (LLI) began her yoga teacher training at Kripalu Center for Yoga Health. Certified to teach since 2002, she continues to take workshops in Yoga of Heart®-Cardiac and Cancer, Healing Art of Yoga, Yoga for a Better Back, and Yoga for Students with Health Challenges. She teaches classes in Woodstock and Saugerties, and gentle yoga classes from home.
Producer: Linda Legendre
Thursday, First Period: 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
March 18, 25; April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Description: Both the historic as well as spiritual aspects of humanity have been covered by photojournalists since the mid-19th century. Wars, famines, social movements, scientific breakthroughs, and political upheaval have been interwoven with hope, love, exhaustion, strength, and determination. We will look at how different photojournalists have told their stories, either from a major historical perspective or from ordinary life events, and how many have done both.
Class Limit: none
Presenter: Gary Miller (LLI) is a veteran photojournalist, filmmaker, and live television director with more than 40 years of experience for clients including the New York Stock Exchange, Time, Newsweek, Fortune 500 companies, museums, and galleries. He has taught freelance photography at the New School for Social Research and is the author of a book on the same subject.
Producer: Dorothy Baran
THURSDAY, Period 2
11:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
Thursday, Second Period: 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
March 18, 25; April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Description: When was the last time you “stepped up to the plate” or had an event in your life just come “out of left field.” Do you remember being a kid sitting with your mom or dad just hanging out watching the game? Baseball is life itself. We’ll talk situations, you’ll get to announce an inning, we’ll cover the game’s amazing history, we’ll discuss the new way managers use analytics to make decisions, we’ll talk strategy, we’ll watch videos of amazing defensive plays, and, if at all possible, we will all participate in a fun, competitive Wiffle ball game. Baseball comes from the heart.
Class Limit: none
Presenter: Nathan Brenowitz, MS, all-star third baseman. “I am a teacher, counselor, businessman, musician, and lifetime baseball player and fan. I grew up in Brooklyn in the 1950s: need I say any more? At one time I knew every player’s batting average and all their stats — but no more. However, I still play. This year I was scheduled to go to Florida for a 75-and-over hardball tournament. Naturally, it was canceled. Baseball is way more than a game; it’s an essential part of who I am.”
Producer: Dorothy Baran
Thursday, Second Period: 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
March 18; April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 (6 sessions)
Description: In the year we have just been through, who hasn’t thought about breathing? Luckily, this essential function goes on whether we think about it or not, yet breathing is also responsive to our conscious direction. In this experiential course, students will become aware of personal breathing habits and their connection to emotional stress. We will explore a variety of ways to encourage deeper, fuller, more relaxing breaths. While there will be references to anatomy and research, the emphasis will be on practical ways to improve breathing and find greater ease and calm. The class is one hour in length, running from 11 a.m. to noon.
Class Limit: 20
Presenter: Margaret Pierpont, Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner, (LLI) has had a sustained interest in movement, relaxation, and the body-mind relationship from her college years studying dance at Sarah Lawrence, through a professional career as a magazine writer and editor, to her retirement avocation as a teacher of Awareness Through Movement®. As well as being a Feldenkrais practitioner, she is a certified Laban movement analyst and a graduate of the Integrated Study and Practice Program at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.
Producer: Margaret Shuhala
Thursday, Second Period: 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
March 18, 25; April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Description: This semester’s lectures will focus on the role of women in opera. We will, of course, explore the stage drama of women as victors and villains, redeemers and the unredeemable, sexual objects or not. But we will also look at the roles women played beyond the stage, as artists, facilitators, and educators, and as a force in politics. There is no opera without women because “the opera ain’t over till the fat lady sings.”
Class Limit: none
Presenter: Chuck Mishaan, MA, (LLI) lectures and writes on the intellectual, political, and artistic history of Western Europe from the period of the Enlightenment to the present. He has been presenting his popular classroom series Opera as Politics for several years at Bard LLI and other area LLIs. He was for many years an adjunct professor at New York University, lecturing on technology and healthcare, and has been a guest lecturer at the Bardavon Opera House in Poughkeepsie.
Producer: Chuck Mishaan
Thursday, Second Period: 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
March 18, 25; April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Description: This class reads one poem each week, using noticing and other strategies to delay the cultural (or, perhaps, human) need for instant interpretation, and to allow participants to go more deeply into a poem’s complexity. In-class writing responding to the poem extends this exploration (this is not a writing class). Participants form a community of readers who share insights and experience, and develop a simple but profound way to approach poems together.
Class Limit: 14
Presenters: Barbara Danish, PhD, (LLI) was director of the Writing Center at New York University, taught at Pratt Institute, and currently works at Family of Woodstock.
Laura Brown, MA, (LLI) past president of Oxford University Press and recent managing director of JSTOR, is currently senior advisor at JSTOR. She serves on the board of the Gordon Parks Foundation, Yale University Press, and Family of Woodstock.
Partners Barbara and Laura have been teaching Seeing Differently at Bard LLI since 2010.
They recently added a second course, Who, Us? which explores what White people can do about racial injustice.
Producer: Ellen Foreman
Thursday, Second Period: 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
March 18, 25; April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Description: Want to be a more engaged traveler? Want to better understand the impacts of travel—the world’s largest service industry—on host communities and the environment? While travel has halted during the pandemic, it will return. This course examines the pitfalls of mass-market (especially cruise) tourism and traces the responsible travel movement, from ecotourism to regenerative travel. An updated version of the Fall 2020 course, each class focuses on different topics and travel destinations through power-point presentations, films, guest speakers. It includes the Green Book and African American road trip experiences, and concludes with the Hudson Valley.
Class Limit: none
Presenter: Martha Honey, PhD, (LLI) is CEO of Responsible Travel Consulting, based in Rhinebeck. She is also director emerita and co-founder and former executive director (2003-2019) of the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST), a nonprofit organization in Washington, DC. Over the last two decades, Martha has published many books and articles and she has lectured widely on responsible and sustainable travel. Website: www.responsibletravelconsulting.com.
Producer: Emily Michael
FRIDAY, Period 1
9:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m.
Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
March 19, 26; April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Description: Morbidity and mortality due to infectious disease declined during the 20th century in developed nations, but remains high in poorer nations. Diseases covered this semester include prion diseases such as kuru and mad cow disease, which look like infectious diseases but really are not, followed by diseases caused by protists such as malaria and African sleeping sickness. We will conclude with discussions of various diseases caused by worm infections, including trichinellosis, hookworm disease, schistosomiasis, and dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease).
Class Limit: 75
Presenter: John Ferguson, ScB, PhD, (LLI) is professor emeritus, Biology Program, Division of Science, Mathematics, and Computing at Bard College, where he has taught for 36 years. This is his third time teaching at LLI.
Producer: Leslie Weinstock
Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
March 19, 26; April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Description: This course will examine the changing relations between emergent states and their trading partners in the Indian Ocean and Pacific region. It considers how mutually beneficial seaborne commerce morphs into land domination by military force. Towards the end of the course, students will assess how the disasters of this late colonial period affect our present-day actions.
Class Limit: none
Presenter: Tom Walker is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and served in three Navy squadrons as a pilot and legal officer. He has taught at Bard LLI, Vassar LLI, and Dutchess Community College. He recently retired as a senior counselor in the New York State Division of Veteran Affairs.
Producer: Emily Michael
Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
March 19, 26; April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Description: Together we will share in the creation of our unique roadmap for the future, as we navigate the milestones of aging. Using selected readings, presentations, and discussion, we will explore the choices available to us for making the most of what remains. We will consider our vulnerabilities, develop our resilience, and make informed decisions with the tools at hand.
Class Limit: 16
Presenters: Marion Power, RN, has worked as a registered nurse for 40 years in surgery, emergency, hospice, and outpatient care. She is currently a certified geriatric care manager.
Nina Lynch (LLI) has been working with older adults since the early 1970s. She retired from the Dutchess County Office of the Aging in 2011 and is a founding member of Rhinebeck at Home.
Producer: Anne Brueckner
Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
March 19, 26; April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Description: This course will survey agricultural and industrial development in the U.S. during the 19th and 20th centuries. Emphasis will be placed on labor and what employers did to exploit that resource. Class members will engage in a conversation about such topics as child labor, immigrants, modern slavery, union activity, popular and progressive reform.
Class Limit: none
Presenter: Robert Beaury, MS, (LLI) is a retired social studies teacher from Germantown Central School and adjunct at Columbia-Greene Community College.
Producer: Emily Michael
FRIDAY, Period 2
11:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
Friday: 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
March 19, 26; April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Description: How the representation of the human figure changed and developed over a period spanning from prehistory until today.
Class Limit: 25
Presenter: Jose Moreno-Lacalle taught history and art history for seven years at a small private school in Manhattan. He later worked at Sotheby’s, the art auction house, for 17 years.
Producer: Dorothy Baran
Friday: 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
March 19, 26; April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Description: Acclaimed composer, Bard professor, and longtime LLI favorite Joan Tower will once again present Bard Conservatory students to perform and discuss selected works from the classical repertoire. Some original compositions may also be performed. Ample time will be provided for questions and discussion.
Class Limit: none
Presenter: Joan Tower, DMA, is the Asher Edelman Professor of Music at Bard. She has been the recipient of numerous awards for her compositions and is “widely regarded as one of the most important American composers living today,” according to Musicsalesclassical.com. She has a long-standing, special relationship with LLI.
Producer: Bob Blacker
Friday: 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
March 19, 26; April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Description: The climate is changing fast and New York State is getting ready. The state adopted comprehensive climate change legislation in June, 2019. The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) seeks to shift the state to 70% renewable energy by 2030, and to 100% zero-emissions electricity by 2040. This class—presented in seven sessions with distinct topics—will examine the provisions of CLCPA, the Climate Action Council and Advisory Panels established by CLCPA, and the implications for the Hudson Valley.
Class Limit: none
March 19: CLCPA Overview and the Climate Smart Communities Program
Presenter: Mark D. Lowery, assistant director of DEC’s Office of Climate Change.
Presenter: Vanessa Bertozzi, Rhinebeck Village Trustee, Rhinebeck Climate Smart Task Force Coordinato
March 26: CLCPA: The Legislative Process
Presenter: Jennifer Metzger, PhD, former state senator, a co-sponsor of CLCPA and member of the working group that developed the final legislation. Jen is co-founder and director of Citizens for Local Power.
April 2: CLCPA and the Climate Action Council
The Climate Action Council is responsible for preparing and approving a scoping plan for attaining CLCPA mandates.
Presenter: Anne Reynolds, executive director of the Alliance for Clean Energy (ACE) New York
April 9: CLCPA and the Power Generation Advisory Group
The Power Generation Advisory Group provides recommendations to the Climate Action Council.
Presenter: William Acker, PhD, executive director, New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium (NY-BEST).
April 16: Solar Energy in the Hudson Valley
The town of Red Hook and SunCommon teamed up to offer the Red Hook Community Solar Array. SunCommon installed Kingston’s first community solar array at Pointe of Praise Church.
Presenter: Jeff Irish, executive vice president of SunCommon.
April 23: Renewable Energy in the Hudson Valley
Scenic Hudson created an approach and the tools to maximize the development of solar power in the Hudson Valley while protecting the region’s natural resources, scenic views, and historic sites.
Presenters: Audrey Friedrichsen, Land Use and Environmental Advocacy Attorney, Scenic Hudson
Alex Wolf, Conservation Scientist at Scenic Hudson
April 30: Powering the Path to a Cleaner Future
Central Hudson has identified five key strategies to provide a path toward achieving the state’s emission reduction goals.
Presenters: Alana Daly, Director of Public Affairs
Central Hudson Gas & Electric
Producer: Ken Panza
Friday: 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
March 19, 26; April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Description: White people becoming more aware of racial injustice in this country are asking: what can we do to dismantle racism and bring about a more just America? The purpose of this class is to address that question. Our answer is threefold: we have to educate ourselves on the history of race in this country and how we came to this place; we have to examine our own experiences as White people and understand the many experiences of Black people with regard to race; and we have to act in ways small and large to challenge racism, individually and systemically.
Class Limit: 14
Presenters: Barbara Danish, PhD, (LLI) was the director of the Writing Center at New York University and taught at Pratt Institute where she developed the exploration of race as part of her education courses. She currently works with Family of Woodstock on the hotline and as a counselor.
Laura Brown, MA, (LLI) past president of Oxford University Press and recent managing director of JSTOR, is currently senior advisor at JSTOR working on a range of projects from prison education to a civil rights database. She serves on the boards of the Gordon Parks Foundation, Yale University Press, and Family of Woodstock. She is currently serving on the Hybrid Learning Task Force.
At Bard LLI, since 2013 Laura has co-taught with her partner, Barbara Danish, a course on the deep reading of poetry called Seeing Differently.
Producer: Ellen Foreman
FRIDAY, Period 3
1:30 p.m. until 3:00 p.m.
Friday: 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
March 19, 26; April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Description: Architect Norman L. Koonce has suggested that the goal of sacred architecture is to make “transparent the boundary between matter and mind, flesh and the spirit.” In this course we will examine sacred space in America, ranging throughout our history, looking at architecture as well as natural landscapes that suggest the divine in our midst and point us to a transcendent meaning. The focus will be on houses of worship from a variety of settings, historical periods, as well as a range of faith traditions.
Class Limit: none
Presenter: Richard McKeon, STM, has been rector of the Episcopal Church of the Messiah in Rhinebeck since August of 2010. Previously, he was priest-in-charge of Zion Episcopal Church in Dobbs Ferry, NY, for 22 years. Having grown up in Westchester County, he is passionate about the preservation of the beauty of the Hudson Valley.
Producer: Margaret Moran
Friday: 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
March 19, 26; April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Description: Using the basic principles of economics found in any college-level textbook, we will consider some of the most pressing economic problems of the day.
Class Limit: none
Presenter: Andrew Weintraub, MA, PhD, professor emeritus from Temple University’s economics department, has taught at Bard LLI for more than 10 years. He is the founder and past president of both the Rhinebeck Theatre Society and The CENTER for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck. He also teaches magic for adults at LLI.
Producer: Margaret Moran
Friday: 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
March 19, 26; April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Description: Tai chi is a blood-freshening, moving meditation and slow-motion martial art. It promotes longevity and increases cognition, strength, confidence, balance, and flexibility. These gentle, stress-lowering exercises allow the chi, or life force, to follow the blood in the body, rather than stagnate. With tai chi we help ourselves heal from the inside out.
Class Limit: 20
Presenter: Annie Labarge (LLI) is a poet and a painter who has taught art at the high school and college levels. She studied tai chi with Joe Mansfield, Margaret Cheo, and Michael Porter. She is currently teaching in HealthAlliance Hospital’s Oncology Support program. Her background includes all three sets of Yang style, long form tai chi.
Producer: Linda Legendre
Friday: 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
March 19, 26; April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Description: During this course we’ll be exploring the work of seven United States poets laureate, reading and discussing a few poems by each. You might even find a new poet in the mix to explore further after the course. The poetry will be available to read online or may be downloaded at no cost to the student.
Class Limit: 20
Presenter: William Joel, PhD. All things are connected. That’s the premise of what William J. Joel does. Each of Joel’s interests informs the others. He has been teaching computer science since 1983 and has been a writer even longer. His works have appeared in Chronogram, Common Ground Review, DASH Literary Journal, and North Dakota Quarterly.
Producer: Bill Tuel
OFF-FRIDAY, HYBRID COURSE
MAY 5 & 7, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
LLI is delighted to offer our first “hybrid class,” giving members the choice of attending in-person, or virtually (online) via Zoom. In-person classes, held outside on the grounds of Hyde Park and Olana estate, are limited to 12 members. Online classes have no limit. If the in-person class is full, or if you prefer to join virtually, please sign up for the online version. Course entry numbers are listed below.
11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 5; Friday, May 7 (two sessions in-person)
Description: May 5: On the grounds of the FDR presidential library in Hyde Park, we will leisurely walk the gardens and nature paths, pausing to read verses from notable nature writers and nature poets. The instructor will bring a sampling – Emerson, Thoreau, Muir, Burroughs, Whitman, Dickinson, Frost, and others. Participants are invited to join the guided tour of the house or visit the visitor center afterward.
Meeting Location: Visitor Center, north side, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, 4079 Albany Post Road, Hyde Park, NY 12538.
May 7: At Frederic Church’s historic Olana estate in Hudson, we will stroll through the grounds and nature paths, pausing to read verses from notable nature writers and nature poets. Students are requested to share a favorite quotation from a nature writer or poet of their choice, if submitted to the instructor by the previous day (May 6). Participants are invited to join the guided tour of the house or visit the museum afterward.
Meeting Location: Olana State Historic Site, Education Center. The center is in the lower parking lot, so do not drive up to the mansion. Address: 5720, NY Route 9G, Hudson, NY.
NB: For both sessions, participants should feel free to bring beverages, snacks, or lunch, since we will stop for readings throughout our saunter. This course is held outdoors, so dress for the weather and be able to walk at least one mile.
Class Limit: 12
Presenter: Skip Doyle, as a state-licensed guide and educator, leads nature retreats and outdoor programs, and teaches at colleges and libraries throughout the Hudson Valley and the Northeast. In the spirit of John Burroughs, he is a lover of nature; in the spirit of John Muir, he is a creation conservationist. Skip is a volunteer with many religious, civic, and nature organizations, through which he serves to connect people to the miracle of creation, where we encounter the experiences portrayed by these American nature authors.
Producer: Dorothy Baran
11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 5; Friday, May 7 (two sessions via Zoom)
See course description for X1 above. Members who choose this option (Z1) will attend the two sessions virtually, via Zoom.
Credits
Curriculum Committee
Anne Sunners, Chair
Irene Esposito, Secretary
Regina Armstrong
Dorothy Baran
Bob Blacker
Anne Brueckner
Jane Diamond
Ellen Foreman
Susan Hinkle
Linda LeGendre
Emily Michael
Chuck Mishaan
Merrill Mishaan
Margaret Moran
Cathy Reinis
Margaret Shuhala
Bill Tuel
Leslie Weinstock
Catalog Committee
Bill Tuel, Chair
Kathryn Clark
Deborah Lanser
Margaret Shuhala
Tim Sullivan, Catalog Editor
Betsy Tuel
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