S13A1 Memories of a Special Place – the Shenandoah Valley
CLASS FULL Day/Time: Mondays, 9:00-11:00 am
Dates: January 28, February 4, 11, 18, 25
Location: Room 201, National College, 1515 Country Club Rd., Harrisonburg
Description: It was America’s first melting pot and a gateway to the West. In fact, early on, the Shenandoah Valley was America’s Wild West. Meet the people who settled the land between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains and discover the way of life that they created. The Scotch-Irish, Germans, English, and African-Americans as well as others contributed to the unique agriculture, food, houses, and lifestyles that shaped the Shenandoah Valley culture but are now distant memories in today’s world. Learn the importance of distilling to the Valley, holiday traditions such as belsnickling, and the great cattle drives that sometimes went awry.
Suggested reading: Portals to Shenandoah Valley Folkways, edited by Dorothy A. Boyd-Bragg, available from both the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society and the Augusta County Historical Society for $15.
Instructor: Nancy Sorrells is a historian specializing in local history, especially agricultural and social history of the Shenandoah Valley. She has an undergraduate degree in history from Bridgewater College and a master’s degree in local, regional, and state history from James Madison. She has worked for a half dozen museums as a living historian and researcher. |
S13A2 Basic Windows 7.0 (Limited to 10, selected by lottery)
CLASS FULL Day/Time: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Tuesday, Thursday, 1:30-3:30 pm (Note different time)
Dates: February 18, 20, 22, 26, 28 (Note different start date)
Location: JMU IT Training Lab, 1015 Harrison St., Harrisonburg
Participants for this class will be chosen by lottery. Do not enclose payment with registration form. Payment will be requested at the time of notification.
Description: The Windows 7 operating system acts like a policeman at a 5-way intersection. While its actions may seem confusing, it keeps the traffic flowing day and night. Learn the new features of Windows 7 to enhance your computing experience. The new Start Menu includes working with Gadgets, Creating/Renaming Folders, Libraries, and improved Search capabilities. Let Carol help you through the maze of Windows 7 and give you the skills to control your own computer. There is an additional fee of $5, payable to the instructor, for a Windows 7 tri-fold study guide.
Instructor: Carol Miller has been training JMU faculty and staff on the use of computer software for over 15 years. She has taught Windows 3.1 through Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 95 through Office 2010. She uses every day analogies to explain computing concepts. |
S13A3 The Best of Britain! History, Art, Architecture and Music of England and Scotland
CLASS FULL Day/Time: Tuesdays – Jan. 29, Feb. 5, 12, 19, 9:00–11:30 am, Feb. 26 10:00–11:15 am (Note different times)
Dates: January 29, February 5, 12, 19, 26
Location: Allegheny Room, Highlands Bldg., Sunnyside Retirement Community, 3935 Sunnyside Dr., Harrisonburg
Description: This course complements the May, 2013, tour to Scotland and England. The first two classes are devoted to the history of the city of Edinburgh and to Stirling Castle of William Wallace fame. The third class focuses on the architecture of cathedrals, universities, and other places of interest to be visited in England, such as Durham, York, Oxford, and London. The fourth class looks at London as a tourist’s delight with emphasis on the West End, Royal London, the City, and areas of the South Bank. The last class explores formal Scottish attire and offers a short history of the bagpipes, including a bagpipe performance! This class is open to all LLI members whether or not participating in the trip.
Instructors: LLI member Robert Hoskins taught English literature and film at JMU for forty years; LLI member Betty Hoskins created the university's first Writing Lab in 1974 and taught there for thirty-five years. Frequent visitors to London, they supervised the JMU Semester in London Program four times. Fred A. Holbrook is a Presbyterian pastor presently serving as Executive Director of the Massanetta Springs Camp and Conference Center, Harrisonburg, VA. John J. Butt, Professor of History at JMU, lived in Scotland for three years. He has led trips to Scotland six times and has sent over 70 students to study at the universities at St Andrews and Edinburgh.
Kay Arthur taught Gothic architecture and Italian Renaissance Art at JMU for 32 years. She also founded the JMU Semester in Florence and served as Director of International Programs. She has lived in Italy and England and continues to research and write about their art and culture. |
S13A4 A Passion for Freedom: Past, Present, and Future Perspectives on Global Human Rights
Day/Time: Wednesdays, 1:00-3:00 pm
Dates: January 30, February 6, 13, 20, 27
Location: Room 201, National College, 1515 Country Club Rd., Harrisonburg
Description: Since the end of World War II, concern for human rights has become the moral standard by which a nation’s political legitimacy is judged in the international community. In their desire to gain rights, people have protested, revolted, killed, and been killed. Inspired by the quest for freedom, artists, writers, and philosophers have created works of art, music, and literature. This course will examine human rights from a historical, humanistic and personal perspective, rather than legalistic one. We will review the origins of the modern concept of human rights during the Enlightenment and the American and French Revolutions. We will study the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the role of individuals such as Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi to gain freedom for their people, issues such as human trafficking and child soldiers, and the cross-cultural conflicts over human rights that dominate 21st century international affairs. A suggested list of readings will be supplied to class participants.
Instructor: Louise Loe, Professor Emerita, James Madison University, taught in the History Department for 39 years. Her fields of specialty are Russian History, European History, and Modern Human Rights |
S13A5 Darwin: His Life, His Theory, and His Legacy
Day/Time: Thursdays, 9:00-11:00 am
Dates: January 31, February 7, 14, 21, 28
Location: Room 201, National College, 1515 Country Club Rd., Harrisonburg
Description: Darwin’s On the Origin of Species scandalized Victorian England. In fact, Darwin delayed going public for two decades, until a competitor forced his hand. Since its publication in 1859, Origin has never gone out of print, nor escaped controversy.
In this course, we’ll examine the man, the theory, and the controversy. The course will touch on “evolutionary Christianity,” one approach to making peace between science and faith.
Suggested reading: Randall Keynes, Darwin, His Daughter, and Human Evolutio, New York: Riverhead Books, 2002. Jonathan Weiner, The Beak of the Finch, New York: Vintage, 1995.
Instructor: Dave Pruett retired from JMU’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics in 2012 after a varied career that has included a decade of aerospace-related experience at NASA Langley Research Center. Dave has received numerous honors for teaching and research, and he is the author of the just-released Reason and Wonder: A Copernican Revolution in Science and Spirit (Praeger, 2012). |
S13NHB New Horizons Concert Band
Day/Time: Thursdays, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
Dates: January 17- April 18, excluding March 7
Location: Music Building, Room 108, JMU Campus
Cost: $130 for the entire 13 weeks or pro-rated per semester
Description: New Horizons Music programs provide entry points to music-making for adults, including those with no musical experience at all and those who have been inactive for a long time. Small group instruction and practice allow members to develop or redevelop their skills and to play band arrangements. The cost of instruments varies and rent-to-own programs are available at stores around town. The New Horizons concept of making music provides a non-intimidating environment for you to begin or to resume playing an instrument. It offers you the chance to play the instrument you have always dreamed about and to progress at your own rate. You can even practice with the band for a couple of weeks free before you commit!
Course Leader: Will Dabback holds degrees in music education from West Chester University and the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music (M.M., 2000, Ph.D. 2007). He served as an instructor and conductor of the New Horizons program at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, which was the first such program in the country. He currently teaches at JMU. |
S13A6 Engaging Your Musical Self With Music Technology (Limited to 12, selected by lottery)
Day/Time: Fridays, 2:00-4:00pm
Dates: February 1, 8, 15, 22, March 1
Location: Forbes Center, Computer Lab 2137, 147 Warsaw Ave., Harrisonburg
Participants for this class will be chosen by lottery. Do not enclose payment with registration form. Payment will be requested at the time of notification.
Description: Do you love music but find yourself frustrated by trying to find what you want to listen to amid hip-hop and Lady Gaga? Have you wondered if you could create your own music? Music technology offers you these possibilities and others from the comfort of your own computer. If you have access to a computer, we can help you with the rest. All you need to bring is curiosity and willingness to learn. This course, subject to modification based on participants’ interests, will teach you how to find, download, and play music-related videos and music recordings; sing along with music you know and love; create music of your own; interact with other music lovers in online and offline music communities; and share your music with family and friends.
Instructors: Paul Ackerman, a retired psychologist, music therapist, and keyboardist, recently breached his fear of technology by studying music technology at the JMU School of Music. David Stringham is an Assistant Professor of Music at JMU who teaches courses related to music learning and teaching, including “Introduction to Technology Applications in Music.” His research interests include creativity, musicianship, technology, and teacher education. The instructors will be assisted by JMU music education students, who will provide individualized attention to participants. |
S13A7 Life is Short, Eat Your Dessert First! (Limited to 12, selected by lottery)
Day/Time: Saturdays, 10:00 am –1:00 pm
Dates: February 2, 9 (3 hrs.) and 16 (4 hrs.)
Location: Residence of Lynn and John Martin, Harrisonburg
Participants for this class will be chosen by lottery. Do not enclose payment with registration form. Payment will be requested at the time of notification.
Description: For that special occasion when a cookie or a slice of pound cake just isn't right, serve a sumptuous dessert to remember the occasion. Join us for an exploration into the delicious world of desserts as we show you how elegant the sweet course can become. From crème brûlée and soufflés to savory after-dinner treats like Tomato Tarte Tatin--and we won’t forget something chocolate--you'll lose your fear of “those difficult things.” A light lunch with wine will be served along with the dessert. Additional fee of $25.00, payable to the instructor, to cover the cost of food.
Suggested reading: Baking with Julia, by Dorie Greenspan, William Morrow and Co., Inc., 1996. The Essential New York Times Cook Book, by Amanda Hesser, W. W. Norton & Co., 2010. The Dessert Bible, by Christopher Kimball, Little Brown and Co., 2000.
Instructor: LLI member Jody Evans is a "trained” chef in that she managed to raise two boys who actually liked her cooking and ate the extra veggies to get to the dessert. She also has a young granddaughter who helps in the kitchen, especially when the two are making cupcakes. Jody is mindful of her diet and keeps the white granular stuff to a minimum when baking. It's a balancing act, though, when making desserts...just enough smooth and satisfying taste but never over-the-top treacle. David Evans is an avid taster. |
