Spring 2020

Description: The Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Washington was established in July 2018, with the generous support of The Bernard Osher Foundation.

https://depts.washington.edu/fammed/osher/

May 21- Introduction to Integrative Medicine with Heather Tick, M.D.

May 28- IM and Pain Management/Mindfulness with Heather Tick/ Donna Lewin, MA, MSW, LCSW

June 4- Acupuncture and Pain Management with Iman Majd, M.D., M.S., LAC

June 11- Self-Massage and Somatic Awareness with Cynthia Price, PH.D., M.A., LMT

June 18- The Power of Hope in Healing with Lu Marchand, M.D., BSN, FAAHPM

Description: Discover the works of artists Carolee Schneemann, Andy Warhol, Joseph Beuys, Valie Export/Eva Hesse. Despite differences in their artistic language, they were all striving to find a new language of expression and intellectual pursuit. The object of this course will be understanding their individual work, and seeing how their art philosophies and practices follow a rich artistic tradition, as well as how their production fits into a larger trajectory of art practices. Each session will serve as a stand-alone, in-depth exploration of life, work and contribution of each featured artist to the wider aesthetic discourse -- and unlike art surveys, we will not be focusing on art movements, or historic periods. There are not prerequisites for this class. Completion of Part 1 NOT required.

Instructor: Miha Sarani is a visual artist and an art historian. Born and raised in Ljubljana, Slovenia, he received a BFA and an MA from the University of Washington. Miha’s work has been shown at fine art museums and galleries, featured in art journals and on music album covers. His large Koncentrik Painting series are owned and display at the University of Washington’s Mary Gates Hall. Miha is a member of Shift gallery in Seattle. He lives and works in Seattle.

Description: Seattle may be bursting at the seams with people, but it is even more crowded with birds. As we go about our daily lives, thousands of birds do the same - away from our perceptions, out of our control, wild and free, yet bound to our lives as we are bound to theirs. Join master birder Connie Sidles as she takes us into the secret lives of the urban birds we love best: hummingbirds, owls, and raptors. The more we know about the birds that live all around us, the more connected we can feel to our own world. Come - the birds await!

Instructor: Constance Sidles is a master birder, a former member of the board of Seattle Audubon Society, and former chair and current member of the Conservation Committee. She has written four books about nature. Her most recent work, entitled "Forty-Six Views of Montlake Fill," is a book of poems and Sumi paintings about how to find joy in the connections we make with nature and with each other. Sidles graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in Egyptology, which proved to be enlightening but not lucrative. Instead of working on ancient cultures, Connie has spent her career working on current issues, especially environmental preservation. She began birding in her local "backyard" - the Montlake Fill, an old landfill now restored and renamed UW Union Bay Natural Area - in 1986. She goes there nearly every day to see what there is to see.

Description: Does God exist? Is there an afterlife? Do miracles happen? Are all religions created equal? If we think we know, can we be sure? Why do people convert and de-convert? We will look at these questions and others as objectively as possible and discuss the answers given by philosophers, other intellectuals, and simple believers throughout history.

Instructor: Dr. David E. Smith grew up in the world of fundamentalist Christianity. As an adult, he gradually moved away from that perspective and became a religious progressive/skeptic. After earning an M.A. in philosophy of religion, he received a second M.A. and a Ph.D. in religious studies from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. Formerly a full-time philosophy and religious studies faculty member at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA, he now teaches for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Washington and offers workshops and seminars in religion and philosophy through Beliefs and Ethics Seminars, which he founded. He has published in these areas as well. In 2019 and 2020 he will be lecturing on civil discourse for Humanities Washington. His mission is to empower people to think for themselves about things that matter.

Description: From Garland to Zeta-Jones, movie musical starlets have dazzled audiences for decades. In this course, we will explore the films and career-arcs of cinema's musical heroines--from the uber famous to some who deserved more spotlight. The course will focus on the Golden Age of Movie Musicals from the 1930s to the decline of the Movie Musical in the 1960s. Participants will trace a cultural history of movie musicals through the actresses who starred in them.

Instructor: Jackson Cooper has lectured on film, musicals, and classical music for NC State and Duke University. He's currently working on a book on noir film and a novel. He's programmed films for Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, the NC Museum of Art, and Durham County Public Libraries.

Description: Explanation and discussion of secular and religious perspectives on fascinating issues in the humanities—a humanities buffet. Topics include rationality, knowledge, mind-brain relationship, free will, and philosophy of happiness.

Instructor: Dr. David E. Smith grew up in the world of fundamentalist Christianity. As an adult, he gradually moved away from that perspective and became a religious progressive/skeptic. After earning an M.A. in philosophy of religion, he received a second M.A. and a Ph.D. in religious studies from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. Formerly a full-time philosophy and religious studies faculty member at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA, he now teaches for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Washington and offers workshops and seminars in religion and philosophy through Beliefs and Ethics Seminars, which he founded. He has published in these areas as well. In 2019 and 2020 he will be lecturing on civil discourse for Humanities Washington. His mission is to empower people to think for themselves about things that matter.

Description: For thousands of years this important waterway has divided – and connected – the peoples living on its shores. We shall briefly explore the ancient aspects of this history, but then delve more deeply into the geological, political, theological, diplomatic, environmental and resource management challenges of this critical region in today’s Middle East. As always, your questions and comments will enliven our discussion and suggest even more ways for life-long students to make a deep dive!

Instructor: David Fenner is an affiliate faculty member at the University of Washington’s Middle East Center. He regularly teaches courses on the Middle East and currently leads study tours to the UAE, Qatar and Oman. **He is also the lead presenter for the federally-funded Bridging Cultures program, a series of professional development workshops for K-12 teachers and first responders in communities with large immigrant populations. **In 2008 David founded the World Learning Center in Muscat, Oman. Prior to that he was the assistant vice provost for international education at the UW (2000 - 2007). His career included establishing exchange programs with universities around the world, including in Egypt, Morocco, Israel, Oman, Uzbekistan, Turkey, and Pakistan. **From 1979-82 David and his wife Elisabeth Mitchell served as Peace Corps Volunteers in Oman. They speak colloquial Gulf Arabic.

Description: What does it take to make an unforgettable opera performance? A combination of superb singers, a dynamic conductor, plus a thought-provoking, intelligent production accomplishes this feat. It fulfills what Monteverdi, the first great opera composer, dreamed about in the 17th century. Since 1944, Speight Jenkins has attended well over a thousand opera performances, and only a few have had all of these vital ingredients. Those rare, special performances will be the subject of this course. Through live recordings and photographs, along with his recollections, Jenkins will revisit these performances and what made them unforgettable. Performances will include: Boris Godunov with Ezio Pinza, a Tristan und Isolde with Birgit Nilsson and Otello with Placido Domingo, James Levine conducting, ; I Puritani with Lawrence Brownlee, and Stephen Wadsworth’s production of Der Ring des Nibelungen in the ’90s and 2000s. Occasionally an artist such as Carol Vaness or Beverly Sills made an average opera night something never to be forgotten—or the fates conspired to make a highly touted event an artistic disaster. The disappointments are not nearly as interesting.

Instructor: Speight Jenkins was General Director of Seattle Opera from 1983 to 2014. Recognized nationally as a leading authority on opera, a politically active arts advocate, and a beloved civic figure in Seattle, Jenkins was among the most influential and accomplished general directors in the United States. His passion for opera and deep knowledge of the art form influenced Seattle Opera’s many innovative productions, substantial publications, comprehensive education programs and services, and helped build the great audience for opera in Seattle. He has received an honorary doctorate of humanities from Seattle University, an honorary doctorate of music from the University of Puget Sound, and an honorary doctorate from the New England Conservatory. On the occasion of his retirement, celebrated at Seattle Opera by a magnificent gala, Seattle and King County proclaimed August 9, 2014 “Speight Jenkins Day,” he won the 2014 Governor’s Arts Organization Leadership Award, and the city of Seattle named a street after him. He is married and has two children and three granddaughters.

Description: In gardening, as with many things in life, timing can be everything. Working in sync with the rhythm of the seasons offers opportunities to maximize our gardening efforts. Plants and nature don’t live by a written calendar, but according to seasonal cues of light, temperature, and moisture patterns. This talk will explore how to recognize and use benchmarks of the growth cycles to tap into the natural energy of each season so gardening becomes more a pleasing journey and less of a battle.

Instructor: Christina is a horticulture writer, educator and consultant with 40 years experience in landscape management and arboriculture. Sustainable and efficient landscape techniques are a special area of interest and expertise. In addition to her private practice, she is a part-time consulting associate with Urban Forestry Services, Inc. She led landscape management efforts at the Holden Arboretum and Washington Park Arboretum. A frequent speaker for local horticulture groups and public programs as well as the NW Flower and Garden Show, she has also taught at local community colleges and at the University of Washington. She holds degrees in horticulture from Michigan State and the University of Washington, and is an ISA Certified Arborist®.

Description: In an up-to-date comparison, Erica Miner discusses and reveals stats on the most popular and most-produced operas, currently and in past decades, both in the US and abroad, with visual charts, photos and audio and video examples.

Instructor: Formerly a violinist with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for 21 years, Erica Miner is now an award-winning author, screenwriter, arts writer and lecturer. She studied violin with Boston Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Joseph Silverstein, at Boston University, where she received her Mus. B, cum laude; New England Conservatory of Music; and Tanglewood Music Center, where she performed with such musical luminaries as Leonard Bernstein. Erica is a regular presenter for the Osher Lifelong Living Institute at UC San Diego, CRI at Edmonds Community College and for Wagner Societies on both coasts. The first novel in her operatic thriller series, Murder in the Pit, chronicles assassination and intrigue at the Metropolitan Opera. Part Two of the series, the recently released Death by Opera, takes place at Santa Fe Opera. The next sequel, which takes place at San Francisco Opera, is currently in progress. She is an active contributor to major arts websites and magazines.

Description: The architecture of the ancients, the paintings and sculptures that captured the mood of the times, and the stories of the women and men who wrote the poems, etched the marble, and challenged us to reimagine what it means to be human.

Instructor: Jason Ripper has a Master's Degree in History from Western Washington University. He has been teaching at Everett Community College for 16 years, originally having specialized in U.S. history, though he now also teaches courses in Western Civilization and World history. In 2008, he published a two-volume history of the United States, American Stories: Living American History.