OLLI Outlook
The Monthly Newsletter of OLLI @Berkeley
February 2012
Contents
Celebrating OLLI
Social Activities
Faculty Interview: Roberta Shaw
Winter Lecture
The Lunch Bunch
News You Can Use
Volunteer Opportunities
Member Benefits and Partner News
2011-12 Academic Calendar
Gift Certificates
Join Our Mailing List!
Links
Donate to OLLI

Find OLLI on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter


OLLI @Berkeley Staff
Director
Susan Hoffman

  

Program Coordinator
Aileen Kim

  

Communications Coordinator
Satya Levine

  

Classroom Coordinator
Rosina "RJ" Bruno

  

Research Assistant
Sandra von Doetinchem

  

Student Staff
Nika Allahverdi, Camille Enriquez, Ramare Hopkins, Justin Jackson, Sabrina Liu, Katherine Van Zalen, Suna Wilkerson

  

OLLI @Berkeley
University of California
1925 Walnut St #1570
Berkeley, CA 94720-1570
tel. 510.642.9934
fax. 510.642.2202
berkeley_olli@berkeley.edu
Celebrating OLLI
The Winter 2012 term is off to a fabulous start. With over 300 people at the Open House, and nearly 800 people registered for the term, we are breaking all our records. Congratulations!  Please, keep telling your friends and neighbors about us--you are our #1 source of new members.

This April, we will hold a celebration in honor of 5 years of OLLI @Berkeley--details to be announced soon. If you are interested in helping with this event, please contact Nikki Maziasz at olli_volunteer@gmail.com with "Celebration" in the subject line. 

 

Social Activities

OLLI HAPPY HOUR ~ March 7 

Meeting over a glass of wine and a nosh is a nice, informal way to get to know each other outside of the classroom. Come to OLLI's first ever Happy Hour on Wednesday, March 7, from 4:00-7:00 pm. We'll meet at a convenient downtown Berkeley location (to be announced) to imbibe, nibble, and socialize! Have some fun with OLLI compatriots.  

 

If you are interested, RSVP to Lucille Poskanzer (LBPoskanzer@lbl.gov) or Jane Ellison (Elljane93@comcast.net). Space is limited based on the location selected so reserve early! 

 

LUNCHING WITH FACULTY

Each Tuesday and Wednesday of the Winter term, OLLI members are invited to brown bag lunching in the Freight and Salvage lobby (2020 Addison St). On selected days, attendees will be joined by an OLLI instructor who will be available for casual discussion of their area of expertise. See our calendar for details

 

FOURTH AGE SALONS 

Fourth Age Salons are an opportunity for OLLI to better understand the learning needs and interests of members over 80. Upcoming Fourth Age Salons are scheduled to take place on the following Mondays in Room 41C University Hall (2199 Addison St):

  • February 27, 3:00-4:30 pm
  • March 19, 3:00-4:30 pm
  • April 16, 3:00-4:30 pm

Each salon will have a specific topic with a guest speaker. Please contact research assistant Sandra von Doetinchem for more information at sandra.doetinchem@berkeley.edu.  

 

LUNCHING IN LAFAYETTE AND BERKELEY 

The OLLI office, with the Lafayette Library and Learning Center (LLLC), has prepared a short list of places to eat near the LLLC. Visit our "Places to Eat" web page to download this list or Lucille Poskanzer's "Let's Do Lunch in Berkeley" list. (Please note that the Lafayette list was previously attributed in error to Lucille Poskanzer.) 

 

VOLUNTEERING

OLLI is recruiting new volunteers for upcoming Open Houses. If you are interested, please contact Nikki Maziasz at olli_volunteer@gmail.com with "Open House" in the subject line. 

 

Faculty Interview: Roberta Shaw 

by George Hersh

 

Roberta Shaw brings a warm, humane, and deeply grounded approach to the study of art history. After graduating from Stanford in history and humanities, she traveled throughout Europe for five months and then decided to study history of art at UC Berkeley. During her years in graduate school she continued her love affair with travel by spending three of her summers leading student groups to live in family settings in Europe and Japan. She moved from an initial fascination with representative drawing to a broad interest in varieties of art, particularly folk art and artistic traditions outside the conventional concentration on western European history.

Her travel experiences were expanded by the many years when she was raising her three daughters abroad, accompanying her husband's postings with C.A.R.E. and other service organizations. She has spent extensive time living in Calcutta and Kerala, in the Philippines, in Swaziland, and in traveling throughout the world. She formed the habit of photographing art and architecture wherever she travelled and her formidable collection serves to illustrate her classes with the solid evidence of first-hand presence and observation. In recent years, she has organized and conducted eleven art history tours abroad, including to both Northern (2007) and Southern (2008) India.

Mrs. Shaw has taught in many schools in many places: the California College of Arts and Crafts, Vermont, UC San Diego Extension, and more, here and abroad. During the Cold War period, she was a dedicated peace activist and traveled to the USSR before and after the political thaw. She initiated a major cultural exchange event that worked to reestablish more friendly relationships with the people of the Soviet Union, an exhibit of 750 pieces of ethnic art that traveled from Russia to San Diego and to San Francisco in 1989. That experience opened several new teaching opportunities with UC Berkeley Extension and with the Fromm Institute in San Francisco, where she has been giving courses since 1997.

Her range of subjects over the years gives some indication of her breadth of information and experience. Among other topics, she has taught courses on Greek and Roman art illustrating mythological themes, European uses of biblical themes in fine art, Russian folk art, Russian fine art, Iranian art history, and Islamic art.

Art, for Mrs. Shaw, is not just a matter of passive appreciation and scholarly classification. As a unifying component of her activism for peace, she has used her knowledge of art to demonstrate the essential humanity of all people, particularly those who are the designated enemies of the moment. And in her life, she honors the performing arts as well. For many years, she was an enthusiastic folk singer and folk dancer and she maintains her love of music with a place in a local Unitarian choir.

Our upcoming OLLI course will be a survey of the artistic achievements of a turbulent and productive period, but one which most standard art histories ignore. We will be led through time in Northern India from the 13th to the 19th centuries. We will follow the early development of Islamic dominance in the area centering on Delhi, and the expansion into the opulent Mughal Empire, which reached its apex in the16th and 17th centuries. We will meet men of power and patrons of the arts: Akbar the Great, Shah Jahan, the builder of the Taj Mahal. and his son Aurangzeb, "the richest man in the world." Then we will follow the decline of the Mughals and the passage of power and grandeur to the Hindu Maharajas, the "great kings" who fought or capitulated to the British Raj.

 

Roberta Shaw will be teaching "Indian Art: the Mughals and the Maharajas" in the Spring 2012 term on Monday afternoons.

 

Special Lecture ~ Feb 29
Wednesday, February 29, 12:00-1:10 pm
Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse (2020 Addison St, Berkeley)
$10 general admission at the door, Free for OLLI  members with ID
Reserve a place

The Crisis of the Euro
Barry Eichengreen

 

Barry Eichengreen is a Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (London, England). His most recent book is Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System (January 2011) which was shortlisted for the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award in 2011.

 

The Lunch Bunch

by Lucille Poskanzer

 

Sol Y Luna Taqueria

1926 Shattuck Ave, between Berkeley Way and Hearst Ave 

Berkeley, CA 94704

510.540.8880

 

Chick-O-Peas is gone, and in its place is a new taqueria. There is a wide variety of choices--from burritos, tacos, quesadillas, and nachos, but also soup, salads, burgers, and fries. The super nachos are really good! There are even some unusual specialties like crispy chicken chipotle wings and a garlic shrimp burrito, along with tamales made daily. If you do not eat meat, you have a choice of soy protein too. Nothing is very expensive, and there is a nice sunny patio for the warmer days to come. Free WiFi too! 

 

News You Can Use
The January 19 edition of the Sunday New York Times featured a fascinating piece titled "A Sharper Mind, Middle Age and Beyond." The article reports that, "[Researchers] were surprised to discover that into middle age and beyond, people could make up for educational disadvantages encountered earlier in life. Everyone in the study who regularly did more to challenge their brains - reading, writing, attending lectures or completing word puzzles - did better on fluid intelligence tests than their counterparts who did less."

Here's to lifelong learning!

 

Volunteer Opportunities
The "Volunteering" Interest Circle has identified several local volunteer opportunities for those interested in donating their time.

 

INSPIRE A CHILD: Become a Tutor/Mentor with Boost! West Oakland

Become a one-on-one grade school tutor/mentor. Help a student improve in reading, writing, math, self-esteem, and confidence. No experience necessary. Staff will train and support you. For more information please visit:  www.boostoakland.org or email: info@boostoakland.org.

 

Host a Cal Student: International Friendship Program

Introduce an International Cal Student or Visiting Scholar to the U.S. Invite them for a cup of coffee, go on a picnic, visit a museum or farmers' market. Students and hosts can be matched on gender, nationality, or mutual interests. Minimum requirement of one meeting per month. For more information please visit: http://ihouse.berkeley.edu/programs/hostfamily.php or email David Gilliam at dgilliam@berkeley.edu.

 

Additional volunteer opportunity: 

Volunteers for Entomology Project

The CalBug Project at UC Berkeley's Essig Museum of Entomology is looking for volunteers to handle and photograph insect specimens! The museum houses millions of specimens, representing over 100 years of collecting in California, that can give us unique insights into past environments. However, the task of gathering the data is daunting, so Calbug is partnering with a pioneering citizen science organization, Zooniverse, to create an interactive website that allows volunteers to enter specimen data from images online. For more Information visit: Essig Museum of Entomology, Calbug, Berkeley Science Review article on specimen databases . If you have other questions or would like to volunteer, please contact Rosemary Gillespie at gillespie@berkeley.edu or 510.642.3445.

 

Member Benefits and Partner News

BERKELEY CITY COMMONS FRIDAY LUNCH TALKS

City Commons Club of Berkeley meets every Friday from 11:45 am to 1:30 pm at the Berkeley City Club (2315 Durant Ave, Berkeley) to promote the lively discussion of topics of interest to San Francisco Bay Area residents. Come for lunch or just for the talk.  

 

KATHERINE ROSZAK AT THE JAZZSCHOOL

The Jazzschool, Berkeley, will present Kathryn Roszak's Danse Lumiere with Beat poet Michael McClure, visual artist Amy Evans McClure, and saxophonist George Brooks in "Mysteriosos," on Friday, March 2, at 8:00 pm. Seating is limited. Call 510.845.5373 or 510.233.5550. Purchase tickets. 

 

JEWISH MUSIC FESTIVAL

The Jewish Music Festival celebrates and explores the Jewish experience in a multicultural world. The Festival produces creative and entertaining programs, challenges stereotypes, and fosters engagement with the broader community. The festival will be held in February and March 2012, with additional events throughout the year. Admission fee. Group discounts available.    

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50% Discount at Brkeley Arts and Letters  

Berkeley Arts and Letters offers a 50% student discount to OLLI members. Visit http://berkeleyarts.org for more information.  

 

Jazz Cafe: 10% Discount for OLLI members
Ongoing through the Spring term, show your OLLI student card and get 10% off on food and non-alcoholic beverages. The Jazz Cafe is located at 2087 Addison Street, just across the street from Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse.

 

2011-12 Academic Calendar
WINTER 2012
Open House: Tuesday, January 17
Term dates: January 30-March 12
Holiday (no classes): February 20

SPRING 2012
Open House: Tuesday, March 20
Term dates: April 2-May 11

SUMMER 2012
Term dates: June 5-29

Be My OLLI Valentine
This Valentine's Day, share the sweetness of lifelong learning with a loved one. Take a course together, or explore different interests and discuss what you've learned over lunch after class. Gift certificates are available for OLLI memberships, courses, and workshops. Download an order form or contact the OLLI office (510.642.9934) to purchase a gift certificate.