The University of Iowa's Senior College begins its fall 2005 term Aug. 31 by offering several courses for retirees who want to enrich their knowledge in
a variety of subjects.
Senior College offers short-term, low-cost classes taught by emeritus UI faculty, current UI faculty and experts in the community. Senior College is a joint project of the UI Emeritus Faculty Association, and the UI Retirees Association ( the
Gray Hawks ). The UI Alumni Association coordinates registration for the classes,
which are $30 each.
Registration deadline for the first class is August 17. Registration for all
courses is now underway:
--"Controversial Issues in Traditional and Non-Traditional Health Care
Therapies" Meets August 31, September 7, 14 and 21 from 2 to 4 p.m. in
the Galagan Auditorium in the Dental Science Building. Registration deadline
is August 17.
Herbal medicine, drug therapies, fad diets -- this course examines some of
the most curious questions in today's health care realm. The recent popularity
of herbal medicine has produced confusion and conflict among health care providers
and consumers alike. Participants will discuss whether herbs and dietary supplements
are an effective way to achieve better health or if they're simply a marketing
ploy. The class will also explore women's health and drug therapies such as
estrogen replacement, as well as strategies that help men live longer, healthier
lives. Particular attention will be paid to prostate and heart disease, stroke
and hormonal changes. Finally, the session turns to hot topics in nutrition,
including the popular weight-loss diets Atkins and the Zone. Participants will
discuss strategies that focus on long-term weight reduction. Other topics include
food safety, sports nutrition, vegetarianism, and possible connections between
diet and disease.
Instructor Karen Baker is a UI associate professor of oral pathology and medicine
who holds a master's degree in clinical pharmacy and therapeutics. In addition
to directing an in-house pharmacy and drug therapy consultation center for university
faculty, staff, students and patients, she also teaches courses in dental therapeutics
and the evaluation of dental homecare products. Her research interests include
the study of new treatments for oral infections and head and neck pain. She
is currently evaluating soda pop's impact on enamel erosion.
--"Philosophy and the Arts" Meets Sept. 8, 15, 22 and 29 from 2:30
to 4:20 p.m. in Lecture Room 1 in Van Allen Hall. Registration deadline is August
25.
What is beauty? What makes a creation art? How do artworks express feeling
and emotion? Western philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle pondered such
questions -- and launched a philosophical study of the arts. In this session,
participants will examine the course of this school of thought, from its development
in antiquity to its revival in the 18th century and into modern times. Among
the arts are painting, sculpture, music, dance, drama and poetry; indeed, one
of the philosophical issues is just what should be included in the notion of
art. The course will pose traditional questions such as these, and if time allows,
class members may select other discussion topics from a provided list.
Instructor Laird Addis retired in 2004 after 41 years on the UI philosophy
faculty -- including a year as Fulbright professor in the Netherlands. His four
books and many articles cover philosophical topics of the mind, social sciences,
music and other topics. Cornell University reissued his latest book, Of Mind
and Music, in paperback last year. Also a musician, Addis played bass clarinet
and double bass for many years with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and double
bass with the UI Symphony Orchestra and the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra.
He still plays with the Iowa City Community String Orchestra and plans to return
to composing, a talent he first cultivated as a UI music student in the 1950s.
--"The European Union" Meets Sept. 28, Oct. 5, 12 and 19 from 1:30
to 3:20 p.m. in Room 101 in the Becker Communications Building. Registration
deadline is September 14.
It's one of the most important world developments since World War II, yet many
Americans know very little about the organization of countries known as the
European Union. Here, participants will examine the EU's history before considering
some general characteristics of contemporary Europe. Next, the course will highlight
specific EU institutions, such as the impending European Constitution, and what
membership means to countries. In particular, our instructor will focus on how
EU membership has been especially beneficial to Ireland and what impact new
member Poland has on the group, as well as what benefits it might gain. Participants
will also discuss the countries that are currently seeking membership and the
possible future influences that the EU could have on world politics.
Instructor Jerry Croft is professor emeritus of geography at Oklahoma State
University and currently an adjunct geography professor who teaches courses
in international studies at the UI's International Center. In the past two years,
he's traveled extensively in Poland with his daughter, Jennifer, who is a Fulbright
scholar. Croft felt 30 years ago that the European Economic Community might
someday be called the United States of Europe.
--"Saturday Afternoon Movie Serials" Meets Oct. 4, 11, 18 and 25
from 2:30 to 4:20 p.m. in Lecture Room 1 in Van Allen Hall. Registration deadline
is September 20.
From 1912 to 1956, Hollywood churned out 500 movie serials. Week after week,
audiences cheered their heroes and booed their villains, captivated by this
bygone era of cinema. Our course will bring back the thrill of a great cliffhanger
during a Saturday matinee. We begin with Pearl White, Ruth Roland and all the
silent stars of the serials before the advent of sound in the 1930s -- a development
that ushered in a new crop of celebrities, including John Wayne, Clyde Beatty
and Buster Crabbe. We'll explore the pulp heroes of the '30s, characters such
as "The Spider," "The Shadow" and "Tarzan," as
well as comic strip characters such as "Dick Tracy," "Flash Gordon"
and "Superman." We'll also consider how television changed the tastes
of the public as the 1940s drew to a close. Attendees will enjoy film clips
from many silent and sound serials and discuss the directors, stuntmen, stars,
and movie poster art.
Instructor Martin Kelly has collected movie memorabilia for more than 40 years
and specializes in westerns, serials and mysteries. Recently, the Herbert Hoover
Presidential Library asked him to be a guest curator for its two-month exhibit
"Holly Cowboys," which drew more than 8,000 visitors and proved to
be one of the most successful winter exhibits in Hoover history. Kelly has also
presented programs for the last two years for Humanities Iowa.
--"International Literature Today" meets Thursdays, Oct. 6, 13, 20,
27 from 2:30 to 4:20 p.m. in Room 215 in Phillips Hall. Registration deadline
is Sept. 22.
Since its inception in 1967, the UI's International Writing Program -- designed
to introduce talented poets, fiction writers, dramatists and nonfiction writers
to American culture -- has welcomed more than 1,000 participants from more than
115 countries. Along with providing them time and a congenial setting in which
to produce literary work, the program also enables these writers to participate
in American university life. During the class, students will meet eight resident-writers
who will share their program experiences and their thoughts about world literature.
Each week, two writers will read from and discuss their works, talk about the
current state of literature in their home countries and answer questions.
--"Diseases of Lifestyle Choice" This class will be offered in two
groups meeting for two classes. Please register for only one group. Group A
meets Oct. 31 and Nov. 7. Group B meets Nov. 2 and 9. Both groups meet in Room
1000 in the Med Labs Pathology Learning Center. Registration deadline for both
groups is October 17.
Human disease is the consequence of an individual's encounter with an injurious
agent, and the wide spectrum of illnesses can be traced back to two broad sources:
genetics and the environment. While genetic diseases such as hemophilia and
sickle cell anemia produce mutant genes and abnormal proteins that one cannot
avoid, acquired diseases such as emphysema and viral hepatitis are often the
result of conscious lifestyle choices. Tobacco and alcohol abuse, unprotected
casual sex, drug dependence, poor dietary habits, unrestrained weight gain and
lack of exercise are all examples of choices that expose individuals to harmful
environmental disease agents. Working in small groups, participants will examine
and discuss archived human organs that demonstrate some of the major diseases
of both lifestyle and genetics.
Instructor Richard G. Lynch is professor emeritus of pathology and immunology
who received his training from Washington University in St. Louis and was a
faculty member there until his appointment as professor and head of the UI pathology
department. During his tenure at Iowa ( 1981-2004 ), he published more than
175 research articles, served as interim dean of the College of Medicine, and
secured the NIH funding for a cancer center at the university.
--"The Power of Enduring Ideas" Meets Nov. 1, 8, 15 and 22 from 2:30
to 4:30 p.m. in Room 140, Schaeffer Hall. Registration deadline is Oct. 18.
Books that capture our imagination and leave imprints on our consciousness
are at the heart of this four-week course. Walden, Tragedy of the Commons, Mountains
Beyond Mountains and And the Waters Turned to Blood -- all are books that have
endured through their insightful essays, scholarship or research findings. You'll
have the opportunity to explore, analyze, discuss and debate the major ideas
contained in these classics and reach your own conclusions as to why they've
stood the test of time. Employing improvisation, comparison, dramatization and
visual representation, you'll be encouraged to participate, argue and explore
the central premise or contention of these classical thoughts and ideas. Class
participation is critical to this course. Everyone should try to read And the
Waters Turned to Blood by Rodney Barker and Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy
Kidder, as well as two of the following five: Walden by Henry David Thoreau;
An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen; A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold;
The Tragedy of the Commons by Garrett Hardin; and Small is Beautiful by Eric
Schumacher.
Instructor "Raj" Rajagopal joined the UI geography department in
1979 and has overseen the work of more than 60 master's and doctoral students.
In addition, he has organized workshops and seminars on numerous topics, including
the environment, technology, policy, problem solving, creativity and innovation
for people from all walks of life. He has also served as a panelist or keynote
speaker for several regional, national and international organizations, foundations,
and governmental agencies.
--The class "Digital Photography" is already filled.
To register or for more information, contact Jane Kirsch at the UI Alumni Association
at 319-335-3294 or, see the Senior College Web site at www.iowalum.com/srcollege.
Classes are open to any retired person.
STORY SOURCE: University of Iowa News Service, 300 Plaza Centre One, Suite
371, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-2500.
MEDIA CONTACT: Tom Snee, 319-384-0010, tom-snee@uiowa.edu.
