October 13 – November 14 Session B
Course Descriptions
F8B1 – Architecture Styles of Rockingham County From 1700 to 1900: A Series of Field Trips to Look at Local Domestic, Architectural Styles (SESSION IS FULL)
(Limited to 10 participants, this will be a lottery class)
Day/Time: 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Dates: October 13, 20, 27, Nov. 3, 10
Location: Gilkerson Activity Center, Westover Park for 1st class, all others are field trips
Description: Cultural influences, available building materials, site choices, changing social status, and design influences from Europe and urban American centers on local architecture will be emphasized. The first meeting will be an introductory slide lecture introducing in chronological order, the styles of homes built in this area. We will talk about two early log houses that we will not visit: Ft. Egypt in Page Co. and the Rockingham County’s Bowman house, now reconstructed at the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton. Field trips will be taken to: the mid-1700, limestone George Chrisman House; the Beery House and farm, the most complete all-stone farm complex still standing in Virginia (house, barn, weaving cottage and spring house); the mid-1800 Bogata, a prominent brick, Greek Revival structure along the South Fork of the Shenandoah River; a top to bottom tour of the Joshua Wilton House, a Queen Anne Victorian house located in Harrisonburg’s Old Town area; and 1-2 Craftsman style homes. Houses are not handicapped accessible.
Course Leader: LLI member Betsy Eggleston has spent many hours studying American architectural history, most notably at James Madison University and the Smithsonian/Parsons School of Design graduate courses. Additionally, Betsy was on the initial committee that orchestrated the renovation of Fort Harrison in Dayton. In 1983-1984, she took apart, moved and rebuilt a 1791 Rockingham County limestone house.
F8B2 – The New Rhetoric: Key to the 21st Century
Day/Time: Mondays, 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Dates: October 13, 20, 27, November 3, 10
Location: Hiner Room, Memorial Hall
Description: This course is a follow-up to last winter’s “From Aristotle to Bill O’Reilly: History of Rhetorical Tradition.” It will begin with a summary of the key concepts and developments in the history of rhetoric presented in that course. Then it will focus exclusively on the “New Rhetoric” which emerges in the second half of the 20th century and constitutes the foundation of many contemporary communication theories. Participants will have a chance to learn about some of these theories and explore how they can be translated into the kind of rhetorical practices that will help both current and future generations identify, address, and solve the problems of an increasingly complex and global world.
Course Leader: Elisabeth C. Gumnior is an Associate Professor of Writing and Rhetoric at James Madison University. She has taught two Lifelong Learning Institute seminars prior to this one – “Making Muggle Magic: Exploring the World of Harry Potter” and “From Aristotle to Bill O’Reilly?: History of Rhetorical Tradition.”
F8B3 – Excel in Excel: Using Your Computer to Track Information
(Limited to 10, this is a lottery class)
Day/Time: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Tuesday, Thursday 1:30-3:30 p.m. (Note different time and schedule)
Dates: October 13, 15, 17, 21, 23
Location: IT Training Center, 1015 Harrison St., Harrisonburg
Description: We’ll use Microsoft Excel 2003 to create, analyze, or sort numbers or text. We’ll also create numerical formulas that add, subtract, multiply, divide, average, count, find the minimum and maximum, and many more functions. We’ll create a monthly budget and track expenses, or create a chart to represent that information (with a click of the mouse). Excel is simple to use and yet can perform calculations and bookkeeping tasks. Specifically we’ll cover basic terminology, how to enter and edit data; how to enter and edit simple formulas; how to cut, copy, and paste information from one place to another. Many shortcuts will be shown including how to copy the same or sequential information efficiently.
Course Leader: Carol Miller has taught James Madison University faculty and staff how to use computing software programs (specifically Microsoft Office) for over 12 years. Her use of everyday analogies to explain software functions are particularly helpful to those who are learning to use computers more effectively.
F8B4 – Hitler’s Wars: Europe 1939-1945
Day/Time: Tuesdays, 9:00-11:00 a.m.
Dates: October 14, 21, 28, November 4, 11
Location: Gilkerson Activity Center, Westover Park
Description: This course examines the origins and conduct of WW II in Europe. The principal topics considered are: the rise of Adolf Hitler, Blitzkrieg and the collapse of France, the invasion of the Soviet Union and the Great Patriotic War, the Holocaust, the Grand Alliance, FDR, Churchill, Stalin, Eisenhower, Zhukov and the collapse of the Third Reich.
Course Leader: As a member of the James Madison University History Department for thirty-six years, Philip F. Riley has taught courses in European and World History. For several years he taught a course on the global history of World War II.
Suggested Reading: Any of John Lukacs’ books on World War II.
F8B5 – Driving a Horse and Buggy on the Information Highway
Day/Time: Wednesdays, 9:00-11:00 a.m.
Dates: October 15, 22, 29, November 5, 12
Location: Grand Room, Massanutten Regional Library, 174 S. Main St., Harrisonburg
Description: Technology for the techno-challenged. Have you been bewildered by the gadgets and gizmos practically attached to the younger set? This class will introduce you to some of the gadgets in use around you. We will begin with an introduction to technology available at your local library. Depending on the interests of the class members, we’ll take a look at gadgets such as ipods, mp3 players, and cell phones.
Course Leader: Lora Rose has a Masters of Library and Information Science from the University of Iowa. She is currently the Technical Services Librarian at Massanutten Regional Library.
F8B6 -- Digital Photography (Limited to 15) (SESSION IS FULL)
Day/Time: Wednesdays, 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Dates: October 15, 22, 29, November 5, 12
Location: Hiner Room, Memorial Hall
Description: This course will introduce the elements of photography and the use of digital cameras. Topics covered include: crossing the digital divide (film to pixels), lighting techniques, composition, developing a photographer’s eye, use of photo editing programs, printing options and e-sharing pictures. Team teaching will allow students to see the different perspectives brought to the camera lens for capturing “reality.”
Course Leaders: During the 1970’s Don DePoy worked for two Virginia community colleges. At that time he was averaging about 20,000 pictures a year and was also responsible for the colleges’ in-house audio/visual programs. He has taught SLR b/w photography, electronic publishing, and web design. Martha Hills DePoy began taking pictures as a youngster and over the years has developed a knack for composition. Her pictures invite you into the frame not as a viewer but as a participant. Be it sailing off the coast of Maine or capturing a still life, Don and Martha teach the adventure of photography. Their works are featured at selected art galleries on the east coast. Their individual approaches to the subject and resulting photos often leave the viewer asking, “Were they at the same place at the same time?”
F8B7 – Successful Senior Planning: Life Style and Financial Stability. It’s Never Too Early, Only Too Late
Day/Time: Wednesdays, 3:30-5:30 p.m. (Note different time)
Dates: October 15, 22, 29, November 5, 12
Location: Sunnyside Room, Sunnyside Presbyterian Retirement Community
Description: October 15 - Meaning and Purpose in Retirement
Retirement provides an opportunity to explore new dimensions of the self and expand our connections to a wider community. A good background source for this session is From Age-ing to Sage-ing by Zalman Schacter-Shalomi.
Course Leader: Ed Piper is presently serving as minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Waynesboro. He previously held positions as Professor of Psychology, West Virginia Wesleyan College, and Dean of Academic Services at Mary Washington College.
Description: October 22 - Organization and Communication in Your Financial Life
This class will review financial planning and organizing during the accumulation, transition and distribution phases of retirement. Also discussed will be the communication and preparation that accompanies financial planning.
Course Leader: Norm Stern is President of Stern and Heatwole Financial Group. He holds a B.S. in mathematics from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and is a Certified Financial Planner.
Description: October 29 - Answers to Questions I Didn’t Know to Ask!
Health and prescription insurances are often your first major decisions when retiring. This class will discuss what you need to know and how to get the answers.
Course Leader: Ann Homan has been an Insurance Counselor since 2002, specializing in long term care, Medicare supplements, Medicare Advantage and Prescription D plans. She provides counseling and education at Bridgewater Retirement Community and Sunnyside Presbyterian Retirement Community, as well as to the Harrisonburg/Rockingham community at large.
Description: November 5 - Retirement Communities are Not Just Heaven’s Waiting Room!
Retirement communities offer retirees varied housing options as well as social and intellectual activities along with many support services. This session will discuss these and the various financial options to fund them.
Course Leader: Charles Lotts is a CPA and retired chief financial officer at Sunnyside Presbyterian Retirement Community in Harrisonburg.
Description: November 12 - Safeguarding Your Home Environment. How to Design Your Living Quarters to Meet Your Senior Needs.
We will cover handicapped access, discarding unwanted and unused “stuff”, how to make your home safer, more organized and accessible.
Course Leader: Sandra Conrad current Chairperson of the Lifelong Learning Institute Curriculum Committee is a past class facilitator. She is a retired interior designer, with an art design background.
F8B8 – Unusual Travels (SESSION IS FULL)
Day/Time: Thursdays, 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Dates: October 16, 23, 30, November 6, 13
Location: Gilkerson Activity Center, Westover Park
Description: October 16 - China: Glimpses of China After the Cultural Revolution
Imagine students released from working in the countryside having lost years waiting to study. Imagine their eagerness to listen to American teachers, to find out if South Korea was truly as developed as they had heard whispered. Imagine being afraid to speak for fear of being reported. No wonder it was inconceivable that China would reach Western technical levels by the year 2000.
Course Leader: James R. Bomberger, Ed.D, Professor Emeritus of English at Eastern Mennonite University. ESL teacher in China and Japan.
Description: October 23 - Time Passage: Discovering the Power of the Past
The rate of technological innovation during the 20th century was truly profound. Advances such as the automobile, telephone, television and computer have greatly benefited our society, but at what cost? Burned out by life in New York City, Logan and Heather Ward wanted to find out. So they quit their jobs, sold their apartment and bought a farm in the Shenandoah Valley and spent one year living with the technology of the typical 1900 dirt farmer. In this session, freelance journalist Logan Ward, author of See You in a Hundred Years, the story of their year, discusses his family’s trip back in time and the lessons learned about the power of the past.
Course Leader: Logan Ward has written travel stories for National Geographic Adventure, the New York Times, Men’s Journal, Popular Science, House Beautiful and other publications. He also writes regularly about science and architecture and is a contributing editor for Popular Mechanics, Cottage Living, New Old House and Southern Accents. He lives with his wife, Heather, and their children, Luther and Eliot, in Staunton, Virginia.
Description: October 30 - Ancient Britain – Come spend an afternoon touring ancient Britain with Dr. Kate Stevens, the director of the Madison Art Collection. We’ll explore the earliest forms of the city of London before heading out to travel the countryside, visiting well-known places such as Stonehenge as well as less visited locations like Avebury.
Course Leader: Dr. Kate Stevens teaches Art of the Ancient World for James Madison University as well as directing the Madison Art Collection. She loves traveling abroad and exploring the ancient past.
Description: November 6 - A Photographic Journey to the Mystic Temples of Cambodia and Thailand - I invite you to see the Temples of Angkor Wat, the stone faces at Bayon and the half-swallowed-by-the-jungle-ruins of Ta Prohm in Cambodia. See the ancient ex-capitals of Thailand, the cities of Ayutthaya and Sukhothai with their multiple “Phra Chedi” temples dedicated to Buddha.
Course Leader: Enrique J. Morales was born in Mexico City and studied architecture at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma De Mexico. He came to live in the United States in 1980. He was a manager of Design, Sales and Engineering at Kawneer International and lived in China, Thailand and Singapore from 1996 to 1998.
Description: November 13 - The Deserts of Namibia During Their “Rainy” Season – The deserts in western Namibia are some of the driest and most beautiful on Earth. Occasionally, a “rainy” season can occur in which the average rainfall is about 1/10th of an inch. We will visit natives whose lives have remained unchanged for centuries, and enjoy a rare glimpse into the unique wildlife and plant life of the Namibian deserts as they metamorphose and come to life during this momentary period.
Course Leader: Erwin Bohmfalk has a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Colorado. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Wildlife Center of Virginia, is a member of the Explorers Club of New York, and owner of The Purple Foot in Waynesboro.
F8B9 – When Angry, Count to Four…
Day/Time: Fridays, 9:00-11:00 a.m.
Dates: October 17, 24, 31, November 7, 14
Location: Hiner Room, Memorial Hall
Description: Mark Twain said, “When angry count to four; when very angry, swear!” Anger can be a difficult emotion for many. We’ll discuss what philosophers (Aristotle, Seneca), psychologists (Harville Hendrix, Marshall Rosenberg), spiritual teachers (Thich Nhat Hanh, Byron Katie, Eckhart Tolle) and others have to say about its causes, cures and use for constructive, rather than destructive purposes. Class will consist of lecture, discussion and some role-playing.
Course Leader: LLI member Adele Roof, M.A., is a relationship educator and coach, with advanced training and certification in Parent Effectiveness, Imago Relationship Education, PREP, Marriage Builders, etc. She was the creator of a seven session course for James Madison University students called Get SMART and believes that knowledge and skill-building are essential to satisfying relationships.
F8B10 – Steinbeck and Fitzgerald: A Study in Contrasts – From Poverty to Decadence
Day/Time: Fridays, 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Dates: October 17, 24, 31, November 7, 14
Location: Gilkerson Activity Center, Westover Park
Description: This course will examine John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Comparisons between the two authors and their works will include: sense of social consciousness, writing style, enduring qualities of the literature and information about their private lives and its influence on their writing. A historical frame of reference for understanding this literature will also be provided. It is strongly recommended that students read The Grapes of Wrath and The Great Gatsby prior to the class.
Course Leader: Judith Stough is a former teacher and college instructor. She has taught several classes for Lifelong Learning Institute in memoir writing and American literature. Her educational background includes a B.A. from William & Mary and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland.
