institute for learning in retirement bulletin

The Institute for Learning in Retirement is dedicated to the enjoyment and continued learning of its

members. The courses in this Bulletin are the work of volunteer members who organize and facilitate the

courses, discussion groups, special events, and field trips as well as social activities involving the ILR. The

presenters are also volunteers from the University of Florida, Santa Fe College as well as the Gainesville

community. Visit our website at www.ilratoakhammock.org or e-mail Sara Lynn McCrea at

[email protected] for more information.

Fall Classes

A Conversation with

Senator Bob Graham

Thursday, October 5

3:15 p.m.

Oak Hammock Commons

Oak Room

Cost: Free for ILR Members

Facilitator: Walter Kalaf

Once again ILR members will have the privi-

lege of hearing Senator Bob Graham address

many of the pressing issues of our time as he

responds to questions by our own “Charley

Rose” impersonator. At the conclusion of the

conversation there will be a Q and A, always

a highlight of every ILR program featuring the

ever candid and insightful Senator.

Bob Graham is the former two-term governor

of Florida and served for 18 years in the United

States Senate. This is combined with 12 years

in the Florida Legislature for a total of 38 years

of public service.

He is recognized for his leadership on issues

ranging from education, economic develop-

ment, healthcare, environmental preservation

and his service on the Senate Select Committee

on Intelligence, which he chaired 2001 – 2002.

Senator Graham’s passion has been civic en-

gagement, and he not only gives practical en-

couragement to this passion, but actively prac-

tices it. He continues to give invaluable and

effective leadership to a wide variety of organi-

zations and movements which advocate for the

issues to which he has dedicated his life.

Institute for Learning in Retirement

Bulletin Fall 2017

Europe in Crisis-or Not

Mondays, September 18 through October 23

1:30 p.m.

Oak Hammock Commons Oak Room

Cost: $10.00

Facilitator: Trudi DiTrolio

The Center for European Studies (CES) is an interdiscipli-

nary academic unit housed in the College of Liberal Arts

and Sciences at UF. CES is focused on providing informa-

tion on contemporary Europe to a broad array of audi-

ences through undergraduate and graduate degree options

and the local community through outreach events.

September 18 Crisis or Opportunity? Brexit and the

Future of the EU

Associate Professor Amie Kreppel, UF European Studies

September 25 Transatlantic Relations under the

Trump Administration

Assistant Professor Zachary Selden, UF Department of

Political Science

October 2 The 2017 German Election Results

and their Impact on Germany's Role in

Europe

Visiting DAAD Professor Michael Schuering

October 9 Refugees and Migrants--the Path For-

ward for Europe

Professor Maria Stoikov

October 16 Aging Europe--the Quiet Demographic

Crisis

Associate Professor Tanya Koropeckyj-Cox, UF

Department of Sociology, Criminology, & Law

October 23 A History of Crises--the EU Today in

Historical Perspective

Asli Baysal and/or Amie Kreppel, UF European Studies

Visit our website: ilratoakhammock.org

mailto:[email protected]

Fall Classes

The Barb Spence Series

Cutting Edge Topics with the Experts

Free Lecture Series for ILR Members

Hidden Heroes of World War II: Varian Fry,

The Man Who Saved Marc Chagal, and

Chiune Sugihara, Compassionate and

Courageous Diplomat Wednesday, August 30 10:00 a.m.


Presenter: Dr. Barbara Oberlander


Varian Fry was an American journalist who was respon-

sible for rescuing 2000 people in France during 1940-

1941, many of them leading European intellectuals and

artists. Chiune Sugihara, Japanese consul in Lithuania,

risked his career and family to issue visas to thousands of

Jewish refugees. For many years the actions of these

remarkable men were unrecognized.

Dr. Oberlander is Professor Emerita of History, Santa Fe

College. She received her B.A. in Political Science from

Wellesly College, her M.A. in History from Case-

Western Reserve, and her Ph.D. in History of American

Civilization from Brandies University. Her special

interest has been American History, and especially

women’s place in it.

The Africa Green Revolution Moves Forward Thursday, September 7 1:30 p.m.


Presenter: Pedro Sanchez, Research Professor of Tropi-

cal Soils, Soil and Water Sciences Department, and core

faculty of the Institute for Sustainable Food Systems, UF.

He is a World Food Prize winner and a member of the

National Academy of Sciences.

Facilitator: Doug Merrey

The general public has an image of sub-Saharan Africa as

depending on food imports to feed everyone. And indeed,

agricultural productivity growth has lagged behind other

regions and has not met local demand. But this is now

changing. New initiatives have demonstrated that under

the right conditions African small-holder farms can be

highly productive. This lecture will explain some of these

initiatives and offer an optimistic prognosis of the Afri-

can Green Revolution.

Composing a Heart and Other Jewish

Immigrant Stories Wednesday, September 27 10:00 a.m.


Presenters: Bess de Farber, Grants Manager, UF

Libraries

Dr. Rebecca Jefferson, Head, Price Library of

Judaica, UF Libraries

Facilitator: Trudi Di Trolio

This performance engages the audience in a series of

skillfully delivered and captivating stories. Poignant

(and often comical) "Composing a Heart" celebrates

the lives of de Farber's parents with stories of their

immigration to Miami Beach from Poland and Argen-

tina. Note: The purpose of the program is to raise

awareness towards funding a matching grant awarded

by NEH to build an endowment. The grant,

“Repositioning Florida's Judaica's Library: Increasing

Access to Humanities Resources from Florida, Latin

America, and the Caribbean Communities" helps UF

become uniquely prepared to lead a national and in-

ternational effort to inspire greater understanding of

the Jewish Diaspora.

A Candid Talk with Gary Wednesday, October 4 10:00 a.m.


Presenter: Gary Langford


Dr. Langford will spend an hour with us reminiscing

about his love affair with music, answering your

questions and sharing his insights, and perhaps even

playing a little trumpet!

Increasing Wheat Yield Within the Context

of Climate Change Wednesday, October 11 10:00 a.m.


Presenter: Md Ali Babar

Facilitator: Henrietta Logan

The yield of wheat needs to be doubled to meet

global food demand in 2050. Increased partitioning of

photosynthetic products to grain (harvest index, HI)

would deliver a significant (~20%) step change in

yield potential. Our long-term goal is to develop an

ideal ideotype with HI ≥ 60% by combining in-

creased spike partitioning, fruiting efficiency, fertile

florets per spikelet, and improved spike morphology.

Our research will develop molecular markers for

grain partitioning traits that permit photosynthetic

products to be consistently translated to grain yield,

screen genetic resources determining grain partition-

ing in high biomass backgrounds, identify mecha-

nisms determining grain partitioning traits, and de-

sign ideal plant ideotypes for high HI and yield. Suc-

Fall Classes

cessful identification of association between alleles and

grain partitioning traits will help to understand the

mechanism of yield improvement and deliver a signifi-

cant impact on yield improvement.

Three Great Russian Jewish Violinists:

Elman, Heifetz, and Milstein Wednesday, October 18 10:00 a.m.


Presenter: Dr. Howard Rothman


Dr. Rothman will talk about and play selections of three

of the world’s greatest violinists. Mischa Elman was one

of the early pupils of Leopold Auer and was universally

acknowledged as having the most luscious tone. Nathan

Milstein was elegant and technically perfect. And Jascha

Heifetz was thought to be the greatest of violinists.

Dr. Howard Rothman currently gives pre-concert musi-

cally illustrated talks for selected concerts at Gaines-

ville’s Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, produces

musically illustrated radio programs prior to the major

Jewish festivals and Holy Days and plays the violin with

two amateur groups, one playing classical music and the

other playing Klezmer music.

Dr. Rothman has recently published “Times Through

the Times: Jewish Music Through the Ages in the Dias-

pora”.

Rescue

Sunday, October 22 3:00 p.m.


Presenter: Barbara Ribakove Gordon

Facilitators: Dr. Rebecca Jefferson, Head, UF Price

Library of Judaica & Karen Miller, Esquire

In a day and a half in 1991, 14,000 Ethiopian Jews were

airlifted as part of “Operation Solomon” from Ethiopia

to Israel during a brief cease fire between government

and rebel troops. This followed “Operation Moses”,

started at the end of 1984, in which 8,000 Ethiopian

Jews were airlifted from a transit point in Sudan during

a period of six weeks. Barbara Ribakove Gordon was

part of the 1991 rescue, flying out on the last plane of

“Operation Solomon”. Since her first visit to Ethiopia in

1981, she has been part of the effort to resettle the Ethio-

pian Jewish community, many of whom had never seen

a flush toilet until they started their journey to Israel,

one of the most technologically advanced countries in

the world. Ms. Gordon will speak of her personal ex-

periences over the last forty years with the rescue and

resettlement of refugees, which remains an obligation

of, and challenge for, the international community.

No One’s Easy Daughter Wednesday, October 25 10:00 a.m.


Presenter: Mary Sue Koeppel


What was it like to be nun? Live in a convent? Why

did women leave? stay? Many of you know Mary Sue

Koeppel, ILR Memoir Writing instructor, promised a

memoir of life as a nun. Well, here it is – No One’s

Easy Daughter, Our Journeys of Transformation

(Amazon.com). Koeppel, with 3 other editors collected

the life stories of 39 women who entered the convent

together. One third of them are still nuns. The book is

their story, deeply lived journeys of 60 years told

through the intermingling of stories, poetry, Glimpses

of the Sacred.

In the book, memoirs and reflections, one small piece

after another, create a colorful mosaic, the inner story

of the transformation of religious life during the sec-

ond half of the 20th Century to the present. An anthro-

pological story of a kind of convent life that no longer

exists. These women were involved in major social,

political and spiritual movements of the past 60 years.

Readers may find echoes of their own transformative

journeys. Koeppel will discuss not only the secret life

of nuns and transformative journeys, but also memoir

collecting/writing processes.

Oak Hammock Chamber Players

Thursdays, September 7 through December 21

1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Oak Hammock Commons Acorn Room

Cost: $10.00

Facilitator: Michael Plaut

The Oak Hammock Chamber Players are a group of in-

strumental musicians. We welcome all who play or have

played orchestral instruments. There are no auditions,

and many have not played in over 50 years. If you don’t

have an instrument, we can recommend places to rent.

Also, you will need a music stand. Most of our selections

are from the classical repertoire but we also play tradi-

tional pieces, show tunes and seasonal music. Not only

do we learn about our music, but also about musical tech-

nique, discipline, and the fun of making music as a group.

We are very fortunate in having R. Gary Langford as our

music director. Gary is a retired music professor, band

director and jazz music expert from UF. The Oak Ham-

mock Chamber Players are members of the New Hori-

zons International Music Association. For information:

www.newhorizonsmusic.org.

If you register for this course, please contact Mike Plaut

at 352-371-1301 or [email protected] to discuss your

musical experience.

http://www.newhorizonsmusic.org


Fall Classes

Eleventh Annual Shakespeare

Seminar Wednesday, November 8

10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Oak Hammock Commons Acorn

Room

Cost: $20.00 Class limit: 40

Presenter: Professor Estelle Aden

Facilitator: Lisa Renner

NOTE: As the cost of this seminar includes lunch,

this class cannot be combined with other classes and

included in the discounted charge for multiple classes.

The charge for this class will be $20.00 regardless of

the number of other class registrations submitted.

Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare

This play is Shakespeare’s farewell to comedy, written

in 1604 after twelve others and preceding the great

tragedies. The title is taken from The Sermon on the

Mount: Chapter 7, ”Judge not, that ye be not judged,.

For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged,

and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to

you again.”

Isabella pleads for her brother’s life. The terms are

shocking. Will she comply? Measure for Measure.

Shakespeare heaps outrage on outrage past limits, past

farce, past satire. As the play unfolds there are values,

morality, repression and justice involved in the resolu-

tion of the problems that are created by false appear-

ances and rigid adherence to laws. All’s well that ends

well as three marriages are celebrated and possibly a

fourth. That one is up for discussion. You can decide

what Isabella’s choice is.

The Sidney Ives Class on Under-

standing and Enjoying Opera

Tuesdays, September 19 through

November 7

1:00 p.m.

Oak Hammock Commons Acorn Room

Cost: $10.00

Facilitators: Forrest Crawford, Coni Gesualdi, Ray

Jones

THE EARLY VERDI OPERAS 1839 – 1844

We continue the informative and entertaining Teaching

Company Lectures by Dr. Robert Greenberg, focusing


this time on the Life and Operas of Giuseppe Verdi.

Join us as we explore 4 of his early operas Oberto,

Nabucco, I Lombardi and Ernani. Each opera will be

preceded by a lecture with musical excerpts explained

by Dr. Greenberg and then will be played in full.

Come along on this musical voyage!

September 19 and 26 Oberto

Verdi’s rarely heard first opera, tells a story of seduc-

tion and revenge. The music has whiffs of Bellini and

Rossini but shows strong hints of his future writing in

the choruses and ensemble pieces. We will see the

highly recommended 2012 Regio de Parma produc-

tion. Facilitated by Ray Jones.

October 3 and 10 Nabucco

Verdi’s third opera was a great success and ran for 57

performances after its premiere. The famous chorus,

‘Va Pensiero’, has been a show stopper from the be-

ginning, and the success of this opera created the repu-

tation for Verdi as a young composer to watch. Facili-

tated by Forrest Crawford.

October 17 and 24 I Lombardi

This opera confirmed Verdi’s reputation as an opera

composer of worth. A religious/patriotic opera about

the Lombards of the First Crusade, it was originally

frowned upon by the religious censors in Milan, but

escaped censorship through a few discrete changes.

This opera represents the beginning of Verdi’s ongo-

ing relationship with the censors, both political and

religious. Facilitated by Coni Gesualdi.

October 31 and November 7 Ernani

This opera marked a major step in the 29 year old

Verdi’s career as it was his first premiere in Venice in

front of the tough and knowledgeable opera fans at

Teatro La Fenice and away from the friendly atmos-

phere of Milan. Ernani became more than an operatic

success; it became the fashion across three continents,

establishing Verdi’s international career and reputa-

tion. Facilitated by David Hickey.

Curriculum Committee

Trudi Di Trolio, Chair

Estelle Aden, John Axe, Margaret Boonstra, Pat

Harden, Roy Hunt, Jerry Kirkpatrick, Henrietta Logan,

Don McGlothlin, Doug Merrey, Paul Parker, Susan

Wiltshire, Sara Lynn McCrea

Thank you for once again providing us with a

dynamic and varied course selection!


Fall Classes

Visit our website: ilrtoakhammock.org

Healing the Divide Fridays, September 22 through October 27

1:30 p.m.


Cost: $10.00

Facilitator: Coni Gesualdi

In this time of apparent divisiveness in our country, let us

take a closer look at the people and organizations who

cross the divide every day to help those in need. They

work for religious freedom, personal justice and out of

compassion for those who need help to get through hard

times or to improve their life skills. Mostly they are un-

paid volunteers working under the umbrella of govern-

ment and private non-profit organizations. All are pas-

sionate about helping to heal the divide.

September 22 Mommy Reads

In this program, incarcerated women at the Florida

Women’s Reception Center, the point of entry for all

women into the Florida prison system, select, read, and

record books for their children and grandchildren. Since

2012, Mommy Reads, sponsored by the United Church of

Gainesville, has sent over 2,000 books and recordings to

children in 32 states and three foreign countries. Karen

Johnson, co-founder of this program, will discuss the

goals of promoting reading and connecting families in the

context of our country’s unprecedented rates of incarcera-

tion.

September 29 Welcoming Gainesville

Dr. Richard Macmaster, a retired History professor, out-

lines the program which was developed under the aegis of

the Gainesville City Commission in March of 2016. With

newcomers branded as criminals and terrorists, Welcom-

ing Gainesville and Alachua County does its bit to build a

community of neighbors. Educational programs, theatrical

presentations, and exhibits break down prejudice; from

English conversation pairs to shared kitchen skills, all pro-

grams aim at bringing people together.

October 6 Let’s Talk About It

Presently there are approximately 1800 women living

with HIV in North Central Florida. The Major structural

barriers for these women are transportation, access to

medical services and the lack of support groups. To ad-

dress this, the Rural Women’s Health Project formed a

women’s advocacy and support group for those living

with HIV and their female caregivers. The group encom-

passes women from nine area counties who are of various

ages, cultural backgrounds, races, educational levels and

languages. Fran Ricardo, Director of Development for

RWHP will discuss the issues of HIV/AIDS through

video, sharing of group developed materials and testi-

monies of these women and their peer out-reach and

advocacy work.

October 13 Interfaith Alliance for Immigrant Justice

Dr. Sam Trickey, UF professor emeritus in Physics and

Chemistry, and an Ordained Ruling Elder, Presbyterian

Church (USA) will introduce us to the program He

will demonstrate how an organization with no charter,

no officers, and no budget can not only function for the

good of immigrants, “Dreamers” and farm workers but

can achieve major goals both regionally and nationally.

October 20 Adult Literacy Program

Theresa Sterling, Literacy Coordinator for the Alachua

County Library, will give an overview of the services,

events and partnerships key to this program. It is of-

fered through our public library system, which includes

the ESOL (English for Speakers of a Second Language)

program, the Basic Literacy program and Spanish Lit-

eracy as well as training and activities for more than 40

tutors.

October 27 The Fresh Wagon Project

Dr. Stuart Strom (Ph. D. Political Science) will provide

a brief overview of a two-year joint feasibility study,

conducted by Common Thread International and the

UF Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences’ using

mobile fresh food markets (MFFMs) that provided bet-

ter access to locally-sourced healthy foods for individu-

als in Alachua County who live in food deserts,

(communities that would otherwise have limited or no

access to fresh produce.)

Roundtable Discussion in the

Algonquin Genre Thursdays, September 21 through

November 16 10:00 a.m.

Oak Hammock Commons

Multipurpose Room

Cost: $10.00

Class Limit: 25 Moderators: Jim Sullivan, Dick Suttor

This is a forum for discussion of topics of inter-

est. Participants are encouraged to bring their interests,

opinions, and expertise to the table and engage in spir-

ited, though respectful debate. Topics will be deter-

mined jointly by participants.


Fall Classes


Another Look at World War I Tuesdays, September 19 through

October 31

10:00 a.m.


Cost: $10.00

Facilitator: Barbara Herbstman

As we approach the 100th anniversary of our entry into

World War I, there will be many documentaries trying to

explain how and why we entered into that conflict. This

course will provide an alternate way of viewing that era

in our history.

September 19 Women and the Great War

Dr. Richard Macmaster

From victory gardens and war work to nursing and diplo-

macy, women did amazing things in the First World War.

This session provides an overview and introduction to

some of these remarkable women.

Suggested reading for the series: To End all Wars: A

Story of Loyalty and Rebellion 1914-1918, Adam

Hochschild, (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin

Harcourt, 2011). Mobilizing Minerva: American Women

in the First World War, Kimberly Jensen, (Chicago: Uni-

versity of Illinois Press, 2008).

September 26 Human Wreckage of the Battlefield


Ellen LaMotte and Vera Brittain were among many who

volunteered to serve in frontline hospitals. LaMotte’s

report of her experiences was banned as soon as it was

published in 1916. Brittain’s, Testament Of Youth, writ-

ten after the war, reflected the lasting change that experi-

ence made on her generation.

October 3 That Miss Hobhouse


Gandhi said Emily Hobhouse “feared no man because

she feared God only.” After exposing concentration

camps for civilians during the 1899-1901 war in South

Africa and creating schools for Afrikaner children and

pressing for equal rights as citizens for Black and Indian

South Africans, Miss Hobhouse went to Berlin in 1916 to

try to bring the Allies and Germans to negotiate peace.

The Allied blockade created famine conditions in Ger-

many, Austria and Bolshevik-controlled Russia at the

war’s end and she worked to get food for starving chil-

dren.

October 10 The Liberty Loans

Joshua Herbstman

To finance the massive military undertaking of WWI,

Treasury Secretary, William Gibbs McAdoo, created

the Liberty Loans-a program of publically marketed

Treasury Bonds that were the birth of the modern

Treasury securities market.

Many of these bonds were sold to recent immigrants

and the advertising for these bonds was most interest-

ing. You will also have a chance to see what the na-

tional debt actually looks like.

October 17 Sylvia Pankhurst: Artist, Activist, Suf-

fragist and Champion For Ethiopia

Dr. Rebecca Nagy

Perhaps best known as a leader in the fight for

women’s suffrage in Britain, Pankhurst was equally

committed to improving the lives of the working poor

and to driving the Italian fascists out of Ethiopia. Her

promising early career as an artist was put aside in

the interest of her greater devotion to human rights

and political and social justice. Dr. Nagy has a per-

sonal connection to this great leader through her

friendship with Pankhurst’s only child, Richard, who

passed away in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia this year at

age 89.

October 24 Edith Wilson: The First, First Lady

President

Dr. Barbara Oberlander

From the moment Edith Bolling Galt became Presi-

dent Woodrow Wilson’s second wife in 1915, the

president shared important matters of state with her.

Following Wilson’s stroke in 1919, the First Lady

deliberately hid the true nature of his illness and be-

gan what she called her “stewardship” in the White

House, a period when she essentially acted as the de

facto president of the United States.

October 31 Poets of World War I

Estelle Aden

Poetry is the essence of language and thought. These

are the immediate expressions of gifted poets under

the ultimate stress of war in the trenches of France.

They expressed the sights around them, their re-

sponses to the waste of human life and hopes for a

future without the hell of war. It was slaughter on an

unprecedented scale. They focus on the question of

how to justify suffering and death. An entire genera-

tion of young men of Britain, France and Germany

made the ultimate sacrifice as well as five million ci-

vilian casualties. The futility and grief for both victor

and defeated is the legacy of these poems.


Fall Classes


In fact, evolution at that time was put into the

same category as other suspicious topics like

Mesmerism and phrenology. What was it about

evolution that caused nearly everyone, including

scientists of the time, to reject it?

October 9 The Extra-Terrestrial Life Fiasco

From the Middle Ages on the question of whether

there could be life elsewhere was hotly debated.

Most, though not all, agreed with the official po-

sition of the Catholic Church that God could have

put life on other heavenly bodies if He wished to.

Some objected vehemently to the way theologians

justified their belief in that there was life else-

where. On the heels on some exciting achieve-

ments in astronomy in the middle of the nine-

teenth century, the old question of extra-terrestrial

life boiled over when a very prominent English

natural philosopher denied on religious grounds

that there could be life elsewhere in the cosmos.

October 16 Lamarckian Inheritance on Stage

In the 1920s and 1930s in Soviet Russia the sci-

ence of genetics was discredited because it was

associated with Darwinian evolution by natural

selection. Under natural selection the direction

evolution would go in the future could not be pre-

dicted. Lamarckian evolution in contrast, which

involved an inheritance not generated by random

genetic change but one based on the inheritance

of characteristics acquired in the present, was re-

garded as compatible with purposeful evolution.

It revealed the destiny built into nature and was

therefore much more in line with what the Soviets

saw as the inevitable development of commu-

nism. This lecture deals with the famous

Lysenko case in Stalin’s Russia, when genetics

was rejected as a mark of bourgeois decadence.

October 23 The Rise of Biblical Creationism

The origins of modern biblical creationism

emerge in the early 20th century in the work of

George McCready Price’s “Flood Geology.”

After a relatively quiescent period between the

Scopes Trial in 1925 and the 1960, publication of

The Genesis Flood in 1961 revived creationism

gave rise to new forms and new entanglements

with the political and legal sectors of society.

Learning this background is very helpful in as-

sessing the continuing issue of evolution and the

public school classroom.

On the Edge of Science: Fascinating

Episodes of Alternative Science Mondays, September 18 through October 23

10:00 a.m.


Cost: $10.00

Presenter: Dr. Frederick Gregory, Professor Emeri-

tus of History of Science and European History,

University of Florida

Facilitator: John Axe

Professor Gregory will use portions of his two

Great Courses video lectures, History of Science

1700-1900 and The Darwinian Revolution, to illus-

trate episodes of science in the making, some mis-

guided, some not yet ready for acceptance. The

fundamental issue lurking behind these presenta-

tions revolves around dissatisfaction with and lack

of trust in establishment science. They will be fol-

lowed by discussions led by Professor Gregory.

September 18 Medical Healers and Their Roles

This lecture deals with the issue of whom the public

trusted for medical treatment in the 18th century.

The role of healer included different types, from

university physicians to non-professional healers

like corn doctors and wise women. We’ll look at

the issue of quackery and how it was understood

then and compare it to claims about alternative and/

or complimentary medicine that are with us today.

September 25 Alternative Visions of Natural

Science

Scientists, including physicians, often describe their

task as finding the mechanism behind a phenome-

non or a disease they are trying to understand. This

topic unpacks attempts to question the idea that na-

ture behaves like a complicated machine, arguing

instead that nature is alive. For the German roman-

tics, the metaphor for nature was not mechanism

but organism. But why would they argue such a

thing? And why did they do so at the particular

moment in history that they did?

October 2 Why Evolution was Rejected Before

Darwin?”

Gallup Polls consistently report that between 40%

to 50% of Americans today reject evolution, hold-

ing instead that God created the first pair of humans

roughly 10,000 years ago. In England in the 1830s

and 1840s the percentage would have been higher.


Fall Classes


Pain: The Gift Nobody Wants Wednesdays, September 20 through November 1

1:30 p.m.


Cost: $10.00

Facilitator: Henrietta Logan

September 20 Pain: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Pain is a universal experience but it also represents a dis-

abling health condition for tens of millions of Americans.

Pain often takes a particularly large toll among older

adults. The purpose of this course is to provide up-to-

date information about pain and how it may affect us as

we age. This session will provide an introduction to the

course and will discuss the nature of pain and its com-

plexities. Topics to be reviewed include the difference

between good and bad pain, the challenges in conducting

high quality pain research, and the societal impact of

pain. Also, pain is a uniquely personal experience that

differs greatly across people, and we will examine the

factors that influence pain and contribute to these indi-

vidual differences in pain.

Roger B. Fillingim, PhD is a Distinguished Professor at

the University of Florida and Director of the University

of Florida Pain Research and Intervention Center of Ex-

cellence. He served as President of the American Pain

Society 2012-2014.

September 27 Getting Old is Not for Sissies

Community-based and clinical findings indicate that

older adults are at greater risk for more frequent and pro-

longed pain compared to younger cohorts. Although

multiple mechanisms contribute, our studies show

changes in the processing of painful stimuli place older

adults at an increased risk for an increased transition

from the acute to chronic pain associated with aging. In

this session, Dr. Riley will describe what advanced meas-

ures of pain perception taught us about pain and aging.

Topics covered include how pain processing in the pe-

ripheral and central nervous system, new sensory tests

that show age differences in pain sensitization and pain

inhibition, and age differences in inflammatory response

to pain. New data will be presented showing how exer-

cise may be one method of resetting these processes.

Joseph L Riley III, PhD is a Professor at the University

of Florida and Director of the Pain Clinical Research

Unit. Dr. Riley’s primary research program involved the

study of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive responses

to pain, with particular emphasis on how these factors

influence the experience of pain among older adults.

October 4 Does Pain Promote Cellular Aging?

We know chronic pain is associated with changes in

the brain. Is it also associated with cellular aging?

Perhaps adding a biological burden on the system?

This session will review current research findings re-

garding the relationship between chronic pain, aging,

stress, and biological measures of system functioning

and telomere length, a measure of cellular aging. Im-

portantly, the same factors that contribute to the

body’s response to chronic pain are also responsive to

health promoting experiences as well. Findings spe-

cific to protective factors will be reviewed in addition

to research that is in early stages of development fo-

cused on optimizing functioning.

Kimberly T. Sibille, MA, PhD is an Assistant Profes-

sor at the University of Florida in the Department of

Aging & Geriatric Research in the UF College of

Medicine. She is an affiliate faculty member in the

Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence

(PRICE), the Cognitive Aging and Memory Clinical

Translational Research Program (CAM-CTRP), and

the School of Advanced Dental Sciences (SADS).

October 18 Pain and the Aging Brain

The multidimensional pain experience encompasses

sensory, motor, cognitive and emotional components.

Such complex experience suggests that the conscious

appreciation of pain must include activity and interac-

tions among multiple brain regions. Indeed, emerging

evidence suggests that the chronicity of pain can be

highly predicted by brain connectivity. Similarly, ag-

ing is associated with significant changes to brain

structure and function. This session will discuss how

the aging brain may be impacted by acute and chronic

pain. Topics to be reviewed include the difference

between age- versus pain-related changes to the

brain. We will also discuss potential approaches that

may ameloriate pain and increase brain health.

Yenisel Cruz-Almeida, MSPH, PhD is an Assistant

Professor at the University of Florida Institute on Ag-

ing, Departments of Aging & Geriatric Research and

Neuroscience. She is part of the University of Florida

Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence.

October 25 Pain and the Building Blocks of

Resilience

The experience of pain can have a profound impact

on functioning and well-being. While some individu-

als struggle to cope with the complexities of pain,

others have the capacity to maintain a positive out-


Fall Classes


look and derive strength from their experience. The

concept of resilience offers a possible explanation

for these differences, and is central to understand-

ing how people bounce back from adversity and

adapt to life’s challenges. In this highly interactive

session, the key ingredients to cultivating resilience

will be explored, and the speaker will summarize

empirical research showing the beneficial effects of

resilience in the context of pain. Participants will

also learn practical skills that can be applied in eve-

ryday life, oriented toward optimizing resilience

and improving health and functioning in chronic

pain.

Emily J. Bartley, Ph.D. is a Research Assistant Pro-

fessor in the Department of Community Dentistry

and Behavioral Science at the University of Florida,

and currently works in the Pain Research and Inter-

vention Center of Excellence. Dr. Bartley’s re-

search program focuses on examining resilience as

a target for intervention through the exploration of

positive, biopsychosocial factors that promote adap-

tive pain functioning.

November 1 The Challenge of Measuring Pain

(and Pleasure)

Are pleasure and pain on a continuum? Philoso-

phers like Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) thought so

and even coined the term “hedon” (a unit of pleas-

ure) and “dolor” (a unit of pain). Bentham theo-

rized that we could add up hedons and subtract dol-

ors. Bentham never actually tried to do this, but

modern psychophysics comes close. We see the

world as made up of sensory intensities (how sweet

is that lemonade?) and hedonic intensities (how

much do you like that lemonade?). We ask people

to rate those intensities relative to unrelated stan-

dards. For example, is the sweetness of a coke

about as intense as the loudness of a train whistle or

is it less intense, more like the loudness of a tele-

phone dial tone? If you picked the train whistle,

you may be a supertaster. We can apply this kind

of measurement to pain and pleasure to see how our

pains and pleasures stack up against those of others.

Linda M. Bartoshuk is Bushnell Professor in Food

Science & Human Nutrition in IFAS, UF. She has

served as President of the Association for Psycho-

logical Science, Association for Chemoreception

Sciences, Eastern Psychological Association, Divs.

1 and 6 of the American Psychological Association.

Jazz Anyone? A

Closer Look at Six

Milestones in the Evo-

lution of America’s

Classical Music: Jazz! Thursdays, September 21 through

October 26

10:00 a.m.


Cost: $10.00

Presenter: Gary Langford


September 21 Milestone #1, Armstrong’s

Inferno

September 28 Milestone #2, A Salute to

Royalty

October 5 Milestone #3, It All Tastes Like

Chicken

October 12 Milestone #4, I’m in the Modal

for Love

October 19 Milestone #5,

Cu+Sn+P+Mn+Al=Br

October 26 Milestone #6, Tomorrow and

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow,

Creeps in this Petty Pace from

Day to Day.

R. Gary Langford is Professor of Music Emeri-

tus at the University of Florida. He came to the

university in 1971 as Assistant Director of

Bands and Professor of Trumpet. His responsi-

bilities at the University of Florida have in-

cluded Concert Band, Jazz Band, Marching

Band, teaching in the areas of Music History

and Music Theory. He also served as Assistant

Director of the School of Music until his retire-

ment in 2007. He has received many honors

over the years, including being named a 2012

“Jazz Hero” by the Jazz Journalists Association,

and the Spirit of Gainesville award in 2015.



Fall Classes

Global Water Management,

Challenges, & Opportunities

Thursdays, September 21 through

October 26 1:30 p.m.


Cost: $10.00

Facilitators: Doug Merrey, Pat Harden

This course is being done in collaboration with the Water

Institute of the University of Florida. Its focus is on se-

lected global water management challenges – but also op-

portunities. Water scarcity and pollution are among the

greatest challenges facing humans in the next few dec-

ades. The problem is being exacerbated by the effects of

climate change. Some two billion people currently have

no access to safe drinking water, and an additional billion

have no access to sanitation. Water scarcity is also a grow-

ing threat to food supplies. This course will address a set

of selected issues related to these global water challenges.

It will be followed in the Winter Semester of 2018 by a

course focusing on Florida’s own water challenges.

September 21 Sustainable Water Resources: Transdisci -

plinary Challenges and Opportunities

Dr. Wendy Graham, Water Institute Director

Scientific, public and political awareness of water issues

is growing, emphasizing the need for transdisciplinary re-

search, education and outreach programs that are relevant

across local, national and global scales. This presentation

will explore global water resource challenges and provide

an overview of transdisciplinary University of Florida

Water Institute programs and projects designed to address

them.

September 28 Sustainable Trajectories for Global Water

Quantity and Quality

Prof. James Jawitz, Associate Chair in UF Soil and Water

Sciences Department

All human societies are built on a liquid foundation, based

on the control of water resources. But, have human altera-

tions of the natural global water cycle been pushed beyond

planetary boundaries? Will the world be able to meet fu-

ture water demands? Let’s take a look at long-term data

from several globally significant case studies that will al-

low us to generalize expected future trends in water quan-

tity and quality.

October 5 Is Water a Resource or a Constraint to

Women’s Empowerment?

Dr. Sandra Russo, Director, Office for Global Research

Engagement, International Center, UF

While significant progress has been made by and for

women in developing countries, the lives of many

women remain unchanged. Their triple roles – pro-

ductive work combined with unpaid domestic and

care work as well as community engagement – lead

to long hours and poor quality of life. Women’s ac-

cess to resources – land, technology, credit, education

– is often limited by social and cultural constraints.

Women’s agency – their ability to choose the work

they do, to have voice in decisions made at the house-

hold level or by others for them, to be free from gen-

der-based violence – can be transformative and em-

powering. As women and girls spend a significant

part of their days gathering water, their ability to

reach their full potential is limited. Is ready access to

clean water a resource that could transform women’s

lives and lead to their empowerment?

October 12 Fisheries, Aquaculture and the Future

of Seafood

James Anderson, Director of UF/IFAS Institute for

Sustainable Food Systems, Professor of Food and Re-

source Economics, UF

This presentation focuses on the role of fisheries and

aquaculture in meeting the world's needs for protein

and the implications for resource use. As the global

population will exceed 9 billion by 2050 and wealth

is likely to increase, the demand of meat and seafood

will grow considerably. The case is made that even if

all of the world’s fisheries were managed for maxi-

mum sustainable yield, it is unlikely that harvest from

traditional fisheries could increase nearly enough to

meet the growing demand. In contrast, global aqua-

culture production now exceeds the production of

beef. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that aqua-

culture will increase by over an additional 60 percent

and account for nearly two-thirds of all seafood sup-

plied for human consumption by 2030. It is expected

that aquaculture growth to continue well beyond

2030.

Aquaculture is highly efficient in feed conversion,

water use and in relatively low in effluents and green-

house gases. Although sector has made great strides

in developing sustainable practices, there is still much

room for improvement, especially to manage disease.

October 19 Energy, Water and Sustainability: Les-

sons Learned and Challenges for the

Future of the Amazon

Dr. Simone Athayde, World Social Science Leader,

UF Leader of Amazon Dams Network Initiative,


MEMBER / GUEST

Fall Pre-term

Wine & Cheese Get-together

Sunday, August 27

3:00—4:30 p.m. Join us for an afternoon of socializing with fellow members,

hearing more about our upcoming classes and fun, wine,

cheese and other refreshments Oak Hammock Commons—Oak Room

5100 SW 25th Blvd.

RSVP by August 25 [email protected]

Center for Latin American Studies

The Amazon basin is the largest freshwater system

in the world, providing critical ecosystem services to

local populations, national societies and humanity at

large. Despite the relatively conserved state of Ama-

zonian watersheds compared to US or European riv-

ers, these ecosystems are facing rapid transforma-

tions caused by soybean plantations and cattle-

raising expansion, infrastructural development, ur-

banization, and overharvesting of animal and plant

species. This presentation will focus on the inter-

relations between energy, infrastructure develop-

ment and water sustainability across Amazonian wa-

tersheds, highlighting current challenges for re-

searchers, managers and policy-makers, and explor-

ing potential development pathways to address these

challenges towards a more sustainable future.

October 26 Feeding the Multitudes in 2050: Do We

Have Enough Water?

Dr. Douglas Merrey, Global Fellow, Robert B.

Daugherty Water & Food Institute, University of

Nebraska, active consultant on international water man-

agement

In discussions of future global food and water security,

the “elephant in the room” is water for agriculture, which

is 70% plus of all the water humans use. Will there be

enough water to meet food and other human needs with-

out destroying our natural resources? This presentation

will address this issue, describe some of the current re-

search aimed at improving access to and productivity of

water used in agriculture, and offer a mildly optimistic

assessment.

Fall Classes

Oak Hammock at the

University of Florida

5100 SW 25th Blvd

Gainesville, FL 32608

Spanish Conversation and

Culture Mondays, September 11 through

December 4 (No class November 27)

1:30 p.m.

Oak Hammock Commons Multipurpose Room

Cost: $10.00

Instructor: Cathryn Gregory

Facilitator: Roanne Coplin

This course is a continuing course in Spanish. It is

targeted toward those who have a basic knowledge

of the Spanish language. Conversation, culture,

short stories, advanced grammar, and vocabulary

expansion will be included.

Cathryn Gregory has over 40 years of experience in

teaching high school Spanish. For 20 of these years,

she taught Advanced Placement Spanish Literature.

She has a master’s degree in Foreign Language

Education from The Ohio State University.


Beginning German Tuesdays, September 19

through November 7

11:00 a.m.

Intermediate German Tuesdays, March 14 through

April 18 1:30 p.m.

Oak Hammock Commons Fireplace Lounge

Cost: $10.00

Instructor: Barbara Johnston

This is a beginning course in German using

the Total Physical Storytelling (TPRS meth-

odology. Hand gestures are implemented as

an aide in learning new vocabulary, and sto-

ries created by the instructor, the students, or

both together, are used to quickly start using

the language. All students interested in

learning German are invited to attend.


institute for learning in retirement bulletin

Documents