Tuesday Lecture Series
Fall 2010
12:15-1:15 pm Room 6/ Lecture Hall
Temple Baptist Church: 3850 Nebraska Ave. NW
Special thanks to coordinators Barbara Rollinson,
Tina Fried Heller, Selma Rosenthal, and Susan Willens
September 28 A Conversation with Mary Cheh
DC Councilmember Cheh is running for re-election for her second term on the Council from Ward 3. As well as serving on the DC Council, Mary Cheh is a tenured law professor at George Washington University with experience working with the DC Council, the DC Courts, and local, national, and international institutions of justice. Hear what she thinks are the major issues facing us in the District.
October 5 Stan Shulman
Wisdom Trooth: Confessions of a Sometime Molar Crusader--
A Dental Journey from Washington, D.C. to Remote Alaska and Rural Vietnam
Dentist Stan Shulman's tongue-in-cheek musings trace the journey from Indian Health Service dentistry in remotest Alaska to a family practice in Washington, D.C. As the first recipient of the American Dental Association's "Community Preventive Dentistry Award," Stan Shulman received national recognition for his efforts to reduce dental disease in young children. His colorful narrative brings you along on one of the dental missions he made to a rural village in Vietnam and then introduces friends he met along the way: including colleagues who deserve recognition for their tireless contributions to the dental healthcare of disadvantaged populations.
October 12 Milton Viorst
How The Enlightment Transformed Western Judaism
Milton Viorst served as the Middle East correspondent for the New Yorker and has published articles on the Middle East for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, as well as many other magazines. A prolific author, with six of his books focusing on the Middle East, he will talk about how the Enlightenment transformed the nature of Western Judaism, introducing secular ideas which provoked a conflict with traditional practices that lasts today. The Enlightenment put an end to the ghetto, gave birth to Reform and Conservative Judaism, introduced the values of nationalism in place of piety, and planted the notion of Jews (not rabbinic dogma) being responsible for their own destiny, which lead to the creation of the state of Israel.
October 19 Town Meeting
Please join us to hear from the Board of Directors about where OLLI is headed. It is a great opportunity to ask questions or make comments.
October 26 Helen Schwartz
The Fulbright Program: International Relations Close and Personal
Fulbright Scholar Helen Schwartz, an OLLI member recently returned from six months in Turkey, will discuss the joys, challenges, and surprises of teaching at a research university in Ankara. As a Fulbright lecturer, she met Americans in other programs and heard from Turkish Fulbrighters who had returned from study in the United States. Learn about these various programs and their aims. As public diplomacy, are the programs worthwhile, perhaps for you? Helen Schwartz, English Professor Emerita at Indiana University-Indianapolis, has taught for over 45 years, including classes at OLLI in Shakespeare, computer use and modern American literature.
November 2 Virginia Newmyer
The World of Agatha Christie
In a career that flourished for over 50 years, the prolific Agatha Christie wrote poetry, novels, short stories, juvenile fiction, plays, and -- most notably -- mysteries. Christie’s books, written between 1920 and 1973, reflect her own upper-middle-class world, but one into which she introduces the element of murder. In this presentation, generously illustrated with slides from her vast collection, social and cultural historian Ginger Newmyer will explore the ways in which Agatha Christie’s works interpret the Britain of her time. Ginger, who teaches at the Smithsonian, at Florida Atlantic University, and at Politics and Prose, has also given courses on Britain's history and literature at OLLI.
November 9 Natalie Wexler
A More Obedient Wife
Discover the fascinating but little known story of the beginnings of the Supreme Court in the 1790s, a time when Justices reluctantly roamed the country on horseback, and the Court—like the rest of the federal government—was inventing itself as it went along. Historian and writer, Natalie Wexler, will focus on the wives of two of the early Justices: Hannah Iredell, who suffered from paralyzing shyness and had to cope with an alcoholic mother-in-law; and Hannah Wilson, who married a wealthy man 32 years her senior only to find herself living in poverty and disgrace a few years later. The intertwined stories of these two women have served as the basis for Ms. Wexler’s award-winning novel, A More Obedient Wife, (available for purchase). Natalie Wexler spent ten years as an associate editor of The Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789-1800, where she first came across the letters that inspired A More Obedient Wife. She has written extensively and has taught writing workshops.
November 16 Sally Shelburne
The National Gallery Sculpture Garden
With its jazz concerts, ice skating rink, and outstanding collection of contemporary sculpture, the National Gallery’s Sculpture Garden has become a popular year-round gathering spot. This illustrated talk will trace the distinguished history of the site, and “walking” through the Garden, will discuss the individual sculptures as well as the exquisite landscape design. Sally Shelburne is a senior staff lecturer in the Education Division at the National Gallery where she specializes in modern and contemporary art. She received her PhD in Art History from the University of Maryland and has been a popular lecturer at several local institutions.
November 23 Holiday
November 30 Mark Ozer
Massachusetts Avenue in the Gilded Age
Welcome to Millionaires’ Row, where the Gilded Age mansions, of what is now Embassy Row, still exude a faded elegance. From Union Station Plaza to Dupont Circle and Washington National Cathedral, author Mark Ozer examines the extant Beaux-Arts architecture and tells the stories of the buildings, their architects and the socialites and the politicians who lived and played behind those grand facades. Mark Ozer is no stranger to OLLI members, where over the past ten years, he has given courses about the history of cities world-wide. His first course here at OLLI was on Washington, DC. He has translated his interest into a series of books.
December 7 Barbara Graham
The Exceptional Pleasures—and Unexpected Perils—of Grandparenthood
When author Barbara Graham had her first grandchild four years ago, she had no idea what joys—and complications—lay in store as she felt her way into her new role. Shocked to find no books that reflected the realities of being a grandparent in the 21st century, she decided it was time to update the role. The result is Eye of My Heart, a collection of essays by Graham and other authors, such as Kate Lehrer, Mary Pipher, Anne Roiphe, and Judith Viorst, that tell the real, juicy, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes hilarious stories about this age and stage of life. In her talk, Graham will draw on her own experiences, as well as the wit, woes, and wisdom of her contributors, to paint a picture of contemporary grandparenthood that looks radically different than ever before. Barbara Graham is a nationally known author, journalist, and playwright. Her latest book was a New York Times bestseller and will be available for sale.
OLLI does not endorse any of the viewpoints expressed by the speakers in its series.