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Omnilore: Learning in Retirement

Omnilore -- CSUDH's Peer-Taught Learning in Retirement Organization

Omnilore is a challenging, collegiate-level experience, where members make brief presentations, followed by engaging group discussions. There are no professors, tests or grades. The learning process is remarkable, especially since members often select topics about which they are curious, but have not explored in depth previously. Omnilore membership is open to all who can enjoy the challenge of shared learning in an informal environment.

Most meetings are held in classrooms at the Franklin Community Center, room 7 & 8, and parking is easy and free. The Omnilore program consists of three trimesters. During each trimester several study / discussion subjects are offered.

Each group of 8-16 members focuses on a chosen subject, and meets for eight bi-weekly, two-hour sessions. Members can choose one or several study / discussion groups per trimester.

For further information, visit the Omnilore Web site at www.omnilore.org.

Fall 2008 Course Offerings
For descriptions of the study/discussion groups, visit the Omnilore Web site at www.omnilore.org.

1.) The Rise of the Documentary Movie
2.) Modern Symphonies
3.) Beyond the Epic: The Life and Films of David Lean
4.) Ancient Voyagers Settle the Pacific Islands
5.) The Fabric of America
6.) The Quest for Food
7.) The Histories - By Herodotus
8.) The Thousand Year War in the Mideast
9.) Shakespeare: All the World's a Stage
10.) Short Stories From Around the World
11.) The Writing Mind
12.) Studying and Enjoying Poetry
13.) Karen Anderson and a History of God
14.) Norse Mythology - Siegfried to Blitzkrieg
15.) 2008 Presidential Election Issues
16.) The U.S. Constitution, Applying it to America's Problems - Past, Present and Future
17.) Wherefore Art Thou Diplomacy?
18.) Water and the Politics of Water
19.) Free Speech
20.) Genetic Geneology
21.) In Defense of Food
22.) The Trillion Dollar Meltdown
23.) How Culture Shapes Nations
24.) Language - What a Difference a Word Makes
25.) Stumbling on Happiness
26.) Making a Difference: How One Person Can Change the World

Summer 2008 Course Offerings
For descriptions of the study/discussion groups, visit the Omnilore Web site at www.omnilore.org.

BACH, HANDEL AND SCARLATTI
GREAT DECISIONS - 2008
TO SLEEP, PERCHANCE TO DREAM
ECONOMIST’S WAY AT LOOKING AT LIFE
THE STORY OF ENGLISH - 1
THE STORY OF ENGLISH - 2
GREAT DRAMATISTS
HEALTH CARE PROPOSALS, WHAT CAN WORK?
INVESTING FOR FUN & PROFIT
THE INVISIBLE SEX
LATIN AMERICA & THE USA
LEONARDO DA VINCI: FLIGHTS OF THE MIND
CLASSICAL GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY
PAKISTAN AS KEYSTONE
DIGITAL FINE/ART PHOTOGRAPHY
STUDYING AND ENJOYING POETRY
POPULAR CULTURE IN AMERICA
SHORT STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD - 1
SHORT STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD - 2
SHORT STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD - 3
THUMBS, TOES, AND TEARS
THE WRITING MIND
1968: THE YEAR THAT ROCKED THE WORLD

Spring 2008 Course Offerings
For descriptions of the study/discussion groups, visit the Omnilore Web site at www.omnilore.org.

• A New Look At Masterpieces Of European Art
• The Ascent Of Man
• Caves, Celts, Caesars, Castles & Cathedrals In France
• Out Of Line: Political Cartoonists Etch Historical Legacy
• Democracy In America
• The New Economic Insecurity: Poverty, Crumbling Safety Nets & Globalization
• Best American Essays 2007
• Feynman Continued: The Strange Theory Of Light & Matter
• Manufacturing Ideology: Think Tanks, Political Advocacy Groups & Political Pundits
• Iraq: Past, Present & Future
• First Ladies
• Mahler: His Life & Music
• Are We Hardwired: A Study Of The Mind 1
• Are We Hardwired: A Study Of The Mind 2
• Movie Classics
• New York - It’s A Wonderful Town 1
• New York - It’s A Wonderful Town 2
• Eastern Religions
• Ten Great Ideas Of Science
• Shakespeare: All The World’s A Stage . . .
• The Writing Mind

Fall 2007 Study/Discussion Groups
For descriptions of the study/discussion groups, visit the Omnilore Web site at www.omnilore.org.

1.) Anatomy of the Symphony
2.) California Impressionists
3.) The Viking Age
4.) Women Who Dared
5.) Creative Couples
6.) Cracks in the Republic: Discontent, Dissent, and Protest in America 1950-1975
7.) Alexis de Tocqueville
8.) Favorite Poems
9.) Nothing But You, Love Stories from the New Yorker
10.) The Writing Mind
11.) Shakespeare: All the World's a Stage
12.) I Doubt, Therefore I Am: An Historical Survey of Scepticism in the U.S.
13.) The Age of Enlightenment
14.) Ayn Rand and Objectivism
15.) The Politics of Oil
16.) Terrorist Organizations
17.) Feynman on Physical Law
18.) Linguistics 101: The Language Instinct
19.) Evolution of Human Societies
20.) Science in Literature
21.) The Manipulation of Public Opinion
22.) Mightier than the Sword - Writing that Brought About Social Change
23.) Continued Financial Success
24.) Critical Thinking or Self Deception?

Below are listed some sample course descriptions that were offered for the Fall 07 Trimester.

ANATOMY OF THE SYMPHONY
A study of what a makes symphony orchestra, who are the greatest of the composers, why is a symphony orchestra special, and more.
The varied colors of an orchestra are achieved through the subtle blending of a variety of instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion with the addition of a piano, an organ and other instruments for special aural textures. Our study will consider the instruments themselves and the structure of the orchestra as well as the artistry of those talented players and conductors who produce the musical effects needed to perform
We will also study the many roles of the symphony orchestra. An orchestra may perform alone, or it may accompany one or more instrumental or vocal soloists or a chorus. Orchestras also accompany ballets and operas and provide background music for motion pictures and television productions
No, we won't sit and listen for a whole class period. Topics for presentations abound in the above description plus – orchestra history, symphony composers, famous symphony orchestras, how the instruments and the sections work, etc.
Yes, we will probably sneak in some sound tidbits among fascinating presentations.
Common Reading: The Orchestra: A Collection of 23 Essays on Its Origins and Transformations, edited by Joan Peyser (Dec. 2006)

THE VIKING AGE
The word "Viking" conjures up for us images of the fierce Scandinavian seafarers who raided the coasts of Britain and Europe for 300 years, from the 8th to the 11th century. But the Vikings were more than looters -- they were skilled sailors and navigators, ingenious shipbuilders, traders and explorers who took their vessels deep into Europe's river systems, reaching as far as Greece, Russia and Byzantium. This S/DG will examine the life and culture of the Viking Age, and ways in which the Vikings affected other societies. Topics for presentation could include: Viking ships (some of which are preserved in museums in Denmark and Norway); explorations and trading routes; Viking religion and Norse mythology; Viking laws and customs; the role of women in the Viking Age; and (for the adventurous presenter) did the Vikings really discover America?
Common Reading: World of the Vikings, by Richard Hall (2007)

NOTHING BUT YOU, LOVE STORIES FROM THE NEW YORKER
You’ll be touched, charmed, moved, amused and bemused, intellectually engaged, and emotionally charged by these disparate tales of desparate loves, earthy lusts, ethereal longings, and unsettled lives. Noteworthy for its range and its excellence, this anthology features a stunning array of present and past masters writing about love in all its varieties. Taken separately, these stories suggest the infinite variety of the human heart and taken together, they are a literary milestone.
Assembled by Roger Angell, Senior Editor of The New Yorker, this edition features stories by Raymond Carver, Alice Monro, John Updike, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mavis Gallant, John O’Hara, Muriel Spark, John Cheever, Alice Adams, Vladimir Nobokov, Isaac Bashevis Singer, R. Prawer Jhbvala, Donald Barthelme and others.
Common Reading: Nothing But You, Love Stories from The New Yorker,
edited by Roger Angell (Amazon: May 1998, paperback)

TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS
Terrorism is the performance of seemingly random attacks on innocents for political ends. People in power have used terrorist organizations to maintain the status quo while those with little power have used terrorist organizations to overthrow exiting regimes. (Some hold that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.) History is replete with examples, from the years of persecution of Christians in Rome by the emperor Nero, the Committee of Public Safety <http://www.answers.com/topic/committee-of-public-safety> and Maximilien Robespierre <http://www.answers.com/topic/maximilien-robespierre> during the French revolution, to current terrorist organizations such as Hamas and al-Qaeda. Today, newspapers, television and magazine articles are crammed with stories of terrorism going on in our world, the Middle East, in Africa, in Europe, and especially in the U.S.
This S/DG will attempt to get a broad overview of the numerous terrorist organizations in history and that surround us today, and their implications for our future. Each participant in the S/DG will select a terrorist organization for deeper study and presentation (list of organizations to be supplied). In addition, a common reading covering current terrorist problems will be read and discussed.
Common Reading: Inside Terrorism, by Bruce Hoffman (Columbia University Press, Revised & Expanded Edition, 2006)

FEYNMAN ON PHYSICAL LAW
His goal was to convey the essence of Physics to ordinary People. The lectures were enormously successful in explaining the hierarchy of physical laws. In these Messenger Lectures, originally delivered at Cornell University and recorded for television by the BBC, Richard Feynman offers an overview of selected physical laws and gathers their common features into one broad principle of invariance. He maintains at the outset that the importance of a physical law is not "how clever we are to have found it out, but . . . how clever nature is to pay attention to it," and tends his discussions toward a final exposition of the elegance and simplicity of all scientific laws. The Character of Physical Law is a statement of what is most remarkable in nature. Feynman's enlightened approach, his wit, and his enthusiasm make this a memorable exposition of the scientist's craft.
Topics for presentations might come from any of the dozens of books by, and about, Feynman. Examples might be from "Six Easy Pieces" or "Six Not So Easy Pieces" as well as his other famous lectures. The nearly endless stories about his life and what made him a genius are accessible to everyone.
Common Reading: The Character of Physical Law, by Richard Feynman (192 pages)

EVOLUTION OF HUMAN SOCIETIES
What makes one group of people “civilize” so differently from another? Why did some groups develop many material things, such as steel, matches, umbrellas, while others avoided this type of “cargo?” Why did the people of Southwest Asia domesticate animals, invent the wheel, design high productivity agriculture and establish bureaucracy thousands of years before the British, only a few thousand miles away? Why did Christendom enthusiastically adopt the wheel, key to most machinery, while Islamic societies did not?
This study/discussion group will help us understand the way in which the modern world, and its inequalities, came to be. We will study the geographical and environmental factors that shaped the modern world; how societies that had a head start in food production advanced beyond the hunter-gatherer stage; and how they developed writing, technology, government and organized religion – as well as germs and weapons – that allowed them to decimate preliterate cultures.
Common Reading: Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond

I DOUBT, THEREFORE I AM: AN HISTORICAL SURVEY OF SKEPTICISM IN THE U.S.
From the Latin "dubitare--to waver in one's opinion." It can include: hesitancy or indecision about accepting the truth or falsity of something; considering an idea to be questionable or questioning its veracity; or an inclination not to believe the truth or falsity of an assertion. A main point in this is that Skepticism about something can include its falsity as well as its truth. One may doubt Atheism & Agnosticism as well as Theism. To understand (and appreciate) Skepticism in America we must start with its roots in Greek Philosophy 27 centuries ago, trace & experience it's development with Ancient Romans & early Christians, then see it take hold of philosophy from Descartes through Kant. Then we will be ready to study Americans who considered themselves to be "Free-Thinkers." Pragmatism--the only really home-grown American Philosophy, promotes a way of thought based upon Philosophic Doubt. When studying any “Doubter” we must also determine to what extent he is a "Believer."
Possible presentation subjects include the thought of the Greek Sophists, Socrates, Aristotle, the Greek Skeptic School (including Carneades), Roman Stoics & Epicureans (Epicurean thought was built on Doubt); Abelard, Duns Scotus & Ockham; Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume & Kant. American "Doubters" can include the Transcendentalists, Peirce, James, Royce, Santayana, John Dewey, & C. I. Lewis.

Summer 2007 Study/Discussion Groups
Leonardo Da Vinci - Flights of the Mind
What to listen for in Mozart
The Sixties: The Seccond American Revolution
Africa: The Past 50 Years
Genghis Khan Revisited
Shapers of Our Modern World
Science Fiction: Imagination, Technology, & Literature
Best American Short Stories - 2006
The Writing Mind
Plays of the 2007 Shakespeare Festival
The Neocons
Andalusia: Muslims, Jews, and Christians in Medievil Spain
Philosophy and its Impact on Our Lives
Ayn Rand and Objectivism
Great Decisions - 2007
Anti-Intellectualism in the United States
China: The Rise of the Next Superpower
Understanding Iran
Why and How WE Age: A biological View
The Weathermakers: Our Changing Climate
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
Ask the Right Questions: Get Acceeptable Answers
Appreciating the Fruit of the Vine
The Majestic Hudson
Continued Financial Success

Other optional activities include luncheon meetings, field trips and social events.

Annual membership fee:
* $90 per individual
* $150 per couple

There are currently more than 250 enthusiastic Omnilore compatriots, mostly living in the South Bay. Omnilore is actively seeking new members from a diversity of backgrounds.

If you're interested in learning more, please call (310) 540-6011 and leave a message requesting more information,

or e-mail jbouchard@csudh.edu

or write to:
Omnilore
P.O. Box 7000-236
Redondo Beach, CA
90277