Summer 2020

Description: The American experiment in democracy is an idea. For nearly 250 years, it has been enacted in some ways that are inspiring and amazing, and it has been enacted in some ways that are oppressive, violent, and devastating. But still, the ideals call to us. Today, the America and the democracy we thought we knew is at fundamental risk. These lectures will examine the uniqueness of the 2020 presidential election and then will dive into the state of the Republican Party and the important role of Fox News in conservative circles.

Instructor Bio: David Domke worked as a journalist for several newspapers in the 1980s and early 1990s before earning a Phd. in 1996. He is a Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Washington, and for the past decade he served as Department Chair. His research has focused on communication, politics, and public opinion in the United States, and in recent years Domke has worked closely with several organizations on communication and engagement in the public arena. He is committed to inter-racial and inter-generational community building, and was one of a group of community members who created civil rights pilgrimages to the US South in 2014; that work is now led and organized by non-profit Project Pilgrimage. In 2002 he received the University of Washington’s Distinguished Teaching Award, the university’s highest honor for teaching. In 2006, he was named the Washington state Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. In 2008 he was selected as the favorite professor of the UW graduating class. In 2018 he worked with an incredible team to launch Common Purpose, and he now serves as its Director of Fieldwork & Learning while on leave from UW for 2019-2021. He can eat more than two dozen chocolate chip cookies in one sitting.

Description: On this virtual walk, we will explore Seattle's most famous land alteration project: the complete removal of a hill in the downtown area. Through a series of illustrations and maps and historic photos, we'll virtually cover about 1.5 miles circumnavigating the old hill in the area known as the Denny Regrade, where Amazon's campus is now located. Along the walk, we'll learn about how and why early Seattleites undertook this audacious and ambitious project, which they completed between 1897 and 1930. We'll also see clues in the landscape that allow you to visualize Denny Hill, as well as see historic images to better understand the story.

Speaker Bio: David B. Williams is a naturalist, author, and educator whose award-winning book Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping Seattle’s Topography explores the unprecedented engineering projects that shaped Seattle during the early part of the twentieth century. He is also the author of Seattle Walks: Discovering History and Nature in the City, The Street-Smart Naturalist: Field Notes from the City, and Stories in Stone: Travels Through Urban Geology. Williams is a Curatorial Associate at the Burke Museum. His next book, Homewaters: Human and Nature History in Puget Sound will be published in 2021.

Description: Explanation and discussion of secular and religious perspectives on more fascinating issues in the humanities—a humanities buffet. Topics include aesthetics, democratic political philosophy, religion and politics in America, philosophy of language, and philosophy of humor. Themes in Humanities 1 is not a prerequisite.

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: This discussion based class will journey along with John Steinbeck and his French Poodle, Charley, as they travel across America together during the 1961 presidential election between Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy. As a class we will read and reflect on different parts of the book and look at the different themes that emerge. We will look deeply into the concepts of community, regionalism, nostalgia, home and place within the 21st century American landscape and mindset. We will see that many of the topics that Steinbeck brings up in this book are still major issues in our world today. This is Steinbeck at his most accessible, as he reveals his sense of humor, a keen and descriptive understanding of various places, and his love for his dog. You’re encouraged to get the 50th anniversary edition, this is the copy that the instructor will be using for class.

Instructor: Jake has a B.A. in Journalism and a M.A. in Writing and Consciousness Studies. He has taught English, Journalism, Creative Writing, and classes on World Religions/Spiritual Thought for colleges in Florida and New York. In addition, Jake was the Co-Founder and Editorial Director of Modern Nomad magazine. He also leads contemplative retreats at spiritual and religious centers throughout the U.S. His work as a journalist, student of world religions, and retreat leader has led him to 30 countries and 48 states. He has had several books published by presses in the U.S. and Canada, including Blue Collar Nomad, Nomadic Devotion, Falling onto the Ground, and A Wandering Train to Now. Jake is a faculty member of the English Department at Lake Washington Institute of Technology.

Description: Take a fascinating, informative and entertaining journey with Bay Area broadcaster John Jensen as we further review the roots of rock. You’ll hear great music, see rare film and video clips while examining the legacies of the pioneers who contributed greatly to this popular music genre. You’ll hear how girl groups became so popular and explore the popularity of the guys and guy groups who became teen idols. We’ll also examine the many genre of rock including the popularity of doo-wop and folkrock. Along the way we’ll hear the personal stories and the influence of radio, television and big business on this incredible movement. We’ll hear rare outtakes and studio sessions and learn how this music impacted America during those times.

Instructor: A former San Francisco broadcaster, John Jensen has been an avid collector of music, movies, and radio broadcasts of the 1930s and 40s. Early fascination led to employment as general manager of KMPX, (KMPXRadio.com) a radio station devoted to playing the music and radio broadcasts of those years. He produced a world-wide radio broadcast honoring the US Navy’s 200th Anniversary, starring Bing Crosby, Mel Blanc, and other radio stars from the 1940s. In 1992, he directed the 50th Anniversary Salute to Armed Forces Radio in a broadcast heard world-wide. As an audio historian, he has provided research and assorted media to filmmakers, such as Jack Haley, Jr., Frances Ford Coppola, and George Lucas. He recently retired as Senior Director of Public Relations for the humanitarian organization, World Vision. Since then he has been lecturing at various venues throughout the Puget Sound area on events surrounding the Great Depression and World War II.

Description: Birds are all around us, but do you really know what they're up to? If you've ever wondered about the birds who enrich our daily lives with their beauty, this is the class for you. After this class, you'll never look at birds the same way again. There are five sessions, each with a different theme:

• How birds evolved

• How birds fly

• How birds forage

• How birds breed

• How birds migrate

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:

The goal of this class is to familiarize attendees with the basics of how investments work and how to keep up with what is happening in the economy and the market. Attendees are assumed to have some familiarity with basic financial concepts.

As preparation for this class, Dan suggests that you watch CNBC for a few days, in the time period between about 7:00 am and 3:00 pm PDT. You will hear some interesting exchanges between knowledgeable show hosts and experienced market participants and analysts. Most of the topics in this course will come up in the course of a day or two.

Course topics include:

1. History of investing and financial markets, including past performance, seasonal factors, phases of the business cycle, etc.

2. Different kinds of investments: stocks, bonds, real estate, exchange-traded funds

3. Different classes of risk including diversification and other risk management techniques

4. The role of interest rates, the Federal Reserve, the value of the dollar, etc

5. What is a reasonable rate of return to expect?

6. What are all those people on CNBC talking about when they debate puts, calls, Federal Reserve meetings, new home sales, near term tops, head and shoulders formations, etc?

7. Are tulip bulbs and Bitcoin similar?

8. How to avoid being scammed

Instructor: Dan Whitney is a Trilogy resident and lifetime individual investor who has experienced the ups and downs of the market since 1969. He comes from a family with long involvement in the world of money and has lots of stories to tell. For 40 years he was a teacher and researcher at the university level in the fields of engineering, manufacturing, product development and management. He has a Bachelor’s degree in literature and history and a PhD in engineering.

Dan is not a registered stock broker or investment advisor and will not give investment advice. The word Understanding in the title is in quotes because no one understands the stock market. All one can do is observe, study, anticipate, respond, and have an iron stomach.

Description: This course will develop across two terms – both of which can stand alone. During each we will read and discuss several superb biographical stories, by older and newer authors, included in The Best American Short Stories of 2019. There will be lecture and discussion on the content of the stories and the historical moments in which they were written, and are being read. Please get the book!

Readings Include:

1. Foreward by series director Heidi Pitlor, and Introduction by editor Anthony Doerr. Also, an essay by Anthony Doerr from the 1915 Best Essays volume, to be circulated by email.

2. Our Day of Grace by Jim Shepard, p. 290, p. 362

3. Pity and Shame by Ursula K. Le Guin, p. 154, p. 356

4. The Great Interruption: The Story of a Famous Story of Old Port William and How It Ceased to be Told (1935-1978) by Wendell Berry, p. 36, p. 350

Instructor: Ellen Berg has been teaching sociology through the discussion of short stories since 1986. She looks forward to a lively mix of lecture and discussion this term, especially because the stories are so pertinent to our tumultuous times.

Description: From its founding in 1907, the Pike Place Market has been the site of commercial, cultural, and social integration reflecting historic trends in the city and the nation. This course is a multi-media offering of the history and images of Seattle's Pike Place Market with an examination of current operations, governance and management. Learn why the Market became a model for urban revitalization schemes and understand why the Market reigns as a revered City icon from the people who live, work and shop here and those who fought for the preservation of this unique neighborhood.

Speakers:

Paul Dorpat authored the hugely-popular Seattle Times Sunday magazine column Seattle Now & Then from 1982 until his retirement in 2020. His many books include Seattle Now & Then Volumes 1, 2, and 3, and Building Washington.

Jean Sherrard, a photographer, writer, and actor, began working with Paul Dorpat nearly 20 years ago; together, they produced “BumberChronicals” for KCTS-9, a video history of Bumbershoot; and the book Washington Then & Now, a photo-history of Washington State. In 2006, Jean began taking the “now” photographs for their Seattle Times feature. In 2018, their ongoing collaboration was immortalized by Seattle Now & Then: The Historic Hundred.

As an artist active since the late 1960s, Buster Simpson has worked on major infrastructure and planning projects, sight specific sculptures, museum installations, and community interventions. Simpson received a MFA in 1969, and later, the Distinguished Alumni Award in Architecture and Design, at the University of Michigan. He is a recipient of numerous awards, among them, NEA fellowships and the Americans for the Arts Public Art Award in 2009. Simpson has exhibited at The New Museum, MoMA PS1, Seattle Art Museum, Frye Art Museum, The Hirshhorn Museum, Capp Street Project, Museum of Glass. Simpson's work is included in numerous public commissions throughout North America.

Former Mayor of the Public Market began living in and around the Market core in 1968. An active visual artist for over 50 years, Billy King has used the diversity of downtown life to inspire his art. One of his closest friends was George Bartholick who was the Master Architect for the original Market renewal. Billy King has created several block prints of the Public Market including; ilBISTRO; MARKET FRESH FISH; 70'S MARKET: THE PLACE PIGALLE TAVERN; SKETCHES FROM THE VIRGINIA INN; FIRST AND PIKE NEWS STAND; SUMMER AT THE PINK DOOR.

Alice Shorett is the co-author of The Pike Place Market: People, Politics, and Produce, originally published in 1982 and re-issued in the updated edition Soul of the City (2007). The book chronicles the history of Seattle's favorite institution, from its beginning in 1907 to the present day. Altogether, the book is the most detailed and best researched account on the topic thus far. In addition to her research on Pike's Place Market, Alice Shorett is co-author of Thirty Walks on Bainbridge, a book of scenic trails and nature hikes on the island.

As the Community Relations Manager at the Pike Place Market Foundation, Patricia is responsible for fundraising, communications, marketing, and public relations. She manages community fundraising initiatives at the Market Foundation along with communications staff, interns, and volunteers. She loves connecting with Market merchants, workers, residents and community members and is proud to represent the Market Foundation in the media and events around the Seattle area. Patricia is currently working with her team at the Market Foundation on the $3.5 million recovery campaign for the Market. Learn more about the Power of Pike Place Recovery Campaign by clicking here.

Kate Krafft is the current president of Friends of the Market, a grassroots organization formed in 1964 that continues to advocate for the preservation of the Pike Place Market. During a long professional career, she served as staff to the Pike Place Market Historical Commission and conducted extensive work on a wide range of historic preservation projects throughout the city and region.

Description: Explanation and discussion of more fascinating issues in the humanities. Topics include spirituality with and without religion, human rights theory and application, religion and human rights, philosophical types of religion, and philosophy of sports and fitness. Themes in the Humanities 1 and 2 are not prerequisites. These courses may be taken in any order.

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: In 1971 Linda Nochlin's groundbreaking essay "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?" prompted a generation of art historians to rediscover the work of female painters and sculptors of the past.  In this class we will look at women artists working in Renaissance Italy, Rembrandt's Holland, Impressionist France, and other fascinating cultural milieus.  Among the artists we will cover are Artemisia Gentileschi, whose wrenching story has made her an early icon of the Me Too movement; Maria Sibylla Merian, who traveled to Surinam to make magnificent watercolors of insects; and Elisabeth Vigee Lebrun, favorite portraitist of Marie Antoinette.  We will look at American women sculptors working in Rome in the 19th Century and the European women still-life painters of the 17th Century and see what women artists with an extraordinary amount of perseverance were able to achieve.

Instructor: Rebecca Albiani has been an arts lecturer at the Frye Art Museum since 1997. She was a Graduate Lecturing Fellow at Washington’s National Gallery and a Fulbright Scholar in Venice. She receive an MA from Stanford University and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. As an art historian, she lectures in art centers throughout the Puget Sound area.

Description: In this course, we will undertake a reading of one of the Bard’s greatest tragedies. Special attention will be paid to the symbolic structure of the play: the tension between action and consequences, ambition and equivocation, and how the play enacts a tragedy of ideals of masculinity. Students are asked to read through Act 2 for the first class meeting. Any edition of the play will do, though it is recommended to find one with annotations, and with line numbers (the instructor prefers Signet Classic paperbacks, widely available).

Instructor: Sean Taylor holds a PhD in English from the University of Washington and has taught as a professor at Portland State University and Hamilton College. His main areas of expertise are Old and Middle English literature.

Description: Police in America have come under increasing criticism and pressure from the community to change course in how they handle interactions with the public, particularly with people of color. A seeming unending flurry of police shootings of citizens, disproportionately black and brown people, has led to social unrest and demands to either defund the police or truly reform how they conduct business. This class will examine the many issues surrounding police brutality and use of force. Why do police kill approximately 800 to 1000 citizens every year? What is the role of police in our country? What is police discretion? How are police recruited, trained, and managed? What is the police subculture and why is it such a powerful force? What can be done to make the police more responsive to the communities they serve and less violent in their approach to conflict resolution? What is restorative justice and how can principles of RJ be incorporated into policing? Can change obviate the need for calls to defund the police? Police in the United States are at a crossroads. They can no longer do business as usual. They must change to serve an increasingly diverse society in order to be relevant and accepted by the communities they supposedly serve.

Instructor: Ronald Hallman taught Criminal Justice for 32 years at Genesee Community College, State University of New York at Brockport, and Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester N.Y., where he Chaired the Department of Criminal Justice. He has a Master's Degree in Police Science and Administration from Washington State University. His principle teaching interests are in Restorative Justice, Issues in Policing, Corrections, and Judicial Systems. Previous to the majority of his teaching experience Mr. Hallman served in two Sheriff's Department's in Western New York State. He was Undersheriff of the Genesee County Sheriff's department from 1981 to 1988, where he, among other duties, oversaw the operation of the County Jail. Mr. Hallman served for six years as a Regional Vice-President of the Criminal Justice Educators Association of New York State. He has been teaching in the Osher Program since 2015.