COURSES

• Spanish Conversation Group
• Jazz - An Exploration
• Understanding The Language of Art
• Great Decisions 2007
  • Creative/“Six Hats” Thinking
  • Part 1
  • Part 2
• Women and Aging
• Citizen Kane: The Movie And Its Making
• Mr. Jefferson At Home: Monticello And Poplar Forest
• Beyond Small Talk: Meaningful Conversations with Loved Ones
• East-West Interplay
• Miro And The Modern
• Joan Miro Exhibit at the San José Museum of Art

Note: We add courses and activities periodically. If you would like to be on our mailing list (email or postal mail), call the Osher office at 408.924-2734.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

You may register by clicking the "Registration Form" menu item on the left of the screen or by calling 408.924.2734. If you have any questions or need additional information, please send an email message to or call 408.924.2734. For most programs, but not all, you must be a member of the Osher Institute at SJSU to register. You may become a member when you register.

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (SIG)

Spanish Conversation Group: Evelyn Howard initiated and continues to convene a Spanish conversation group for Osher Institute at SJSU members. The group meets the first and third Fridays of the month, 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. Call the Osher office at 408.924.2734 for her contact information.

JAZZ - AN EXPLORATION

Fridays, 10 am-12 noon; Peninsula Jewish Community Center, Foster City
Six sessions: September 28/ October 5, 12, 19, 26; November 2
Fee: $80

Jazz is known as one of the great American art forms; but what is Jazz? Is it Dixieland, Swing, Be-Bop, Scat, Big Band, all of these and more? Does it include Blues? Who and what were the shaping forces in the development of Jazz and who and what are still molding it today? Join this exploration of an ever-changing musical art form.

The class will explore different types and styles of Jazz music. We will cover the origins of Jazz, as well as some of the leading Jazz composers and performing artists of the past and present. By the end of the course, you should have a familiarity with different styles of Jazz and Jazz artists, as well as some knowledge of Jazz terminology. Listen up! Listen good! This is Jazz!

Kay Kleinerman holds a Doctorate from Mills College, a Master of Arts Degree from New York University, and a Bachelor of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music. She has taught a number of courses for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

UNDERSTANDING THE LANGUAGE OF ART

Fridays, 1-3 pm; Peninsula Jewish Community Center, Foster City
Four sessions: September 28; October 5, 12, 19
Fee: $65

What is art? Who is an artist? What is the relationship between art and beauty? Art and money? First, we will look into these big questions. Next, we will cover some basic terminology such as “abstract” and “representational” art. Finally, we will learn how to analyze a work of art based on its visual elements such as line, color, texture, etc., and will see how artists arrange these visual elements according to principles such as unity, variety, and balance. Examples will include works of art from various periods and cultures. By the end of the course, you will approach a new work of art with tools to increase your understanding of the language of art.

Recommended text: Getlein, Mark. Gilbert's Living with Art, 7th or 8th edition. McGraw-Hill, 2004 or 2005. Usble on-line at Amazon.com. Why not take the class with a friend and share a book?

Yael Karmi teaches art history for SJSU’s Osher Institute, as well as at De Anza and Evergreen Colleges and a variety of enrichment classes at various institutions. She holds an MA in Art History from San José State University, a BA in Literature and Philosophy, and a Teacher's Degree from Tel Aviv University. Her websites are http://faculty.deanza.fhda.edu/karmiyael/ and http://www.j-art.us.

GREAT DECISIONS 2007

Note: Great Decisions and Creative/”Six Hats” Thinking are “Osher sampler” programs. You do not have to be a member of SJSU’s Osher Institute to participate. Invite some friends to come along with you.

This section is all about America’s role in the world and how we as citizens inform ourselves and make “Great Decisions.”

At the request of members, we are holding the Great Decisions program in Milpitas this fall at the Sobrato Foundation Community Conference Center, 600 Valley Way-Bldg #5 (right off the 880-237 interchange.

As an added benefit, there will be a pre-session on Creative/“Six Hats” Thinking. If you are registered for either part of Great Decisions, the pre-session is free. You may also choose to register for the pre-session alone.

There are two parts of Great Decisions 2007. Each part deals with four separate issues. To cover all eight issues of the Great Decisions 2007 program, register for both parts. You may take only one part if you choose. You may also elect to take only the Creative Thinking workshop.

Great Decisions, a program of the Foreign Policy Association, celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 2004. The heart of the program is Americans talking about the world issues that concern and affect us. In today’s world, gaining a greater understanding of and appreciation for the world’s trouble spots and critical issues is essential.

Prior to each week’s discussion, you read a section in the briefing book. (You can order the book when you register. Why not take Great Decisions with a friend and share the book?)

We will discuss topics in the order below. At the discussion, you will see a short DVD prepared by the Foreign Policy Association. This usually is a panel of experts or, in some cases, a single expert. The presentation broadens what you read in the briefing book. Then, we break into small groups for discussion.

WOMEN AND AGING

Mondays, 10:00 am-12:00 noon, The Villages-Vineyard Center
Four sessions: October 29, November 5, 12 and 19
Fee: $50

Aging is a woman’s issue. There are more older females living in the United States than ever before. Older women have only recently been included in feminist research and gerontology studies. This highly interactive class explores images, attitudes, and research about older women. The class format will include a short documentary about the historical “invisibility” of older women, lecture, and discussion. We will also look at health issues and important roles played by older women, such as grandmother, friend, daughter, sibling, mentor, and caregiver. In addition, there will be a speaker from the Older Women’s League (OWL).

Vivian I. Silva is a social worker who also holds a certificate in gerontology from SJSU. Among her many roles are writer, instructor, gerontologist, documentary filmmaker, facilitator of discussion groups and workshops. Vivian has taught a number of courses for OLLI@SJSU and regular teaches for SJSU gerontology program.

CITIZEN KANE: THE MOVIE AND ITS MAKING

Mondays, 1:00-3:00 pm, The Villages-Vineyard Center
Four sessions: October 29, November 5 and 12
Fee: $35

“Citizen Kane's... surface is as much fun as any movie ever made. Its depths surpass understanding…. The more clearly I can see its physical manifestation, the more I am stirred by its mystery.”—Roger Ebert

We will look at the making of the film and discuss it as a historical drama. This is an opportunity to analyze a film, how it was put together, and learn skills that you can use in viewing all films. Orson Welles was the archetypal American director and this is Welles at his zenith.

Note: As a follow-up to this short course, in January we will offer a special tour of the real Xanadu of the film: Hearst Castle.

Roger Johnson taught a well-received course Scorsese on Film for the Osher Institute. He received his degrees in Chemical Engineering (B.S., M.S., and Ph.D.) from UC Davis and Stanford. He worked in research for DuPont, Clorox, and Kaiser Aluminum until his retirement in 2000. He also taught Chemistry as a part-time faculty member for ten years at Gavilan Community College in Gilroy. He has been a film buff his whole life, probably averaging a couple of movies a week over most of his 60 years. He and his wife, Mary, attended the Roger Ebert Overlooked Film Festival (Ebert fest) for the last two years and saw more than 50 independent films last year at San Jose's Cinequest. They hope to do this again this year. Among Roger's favorite films are Schindler's List, The Godfather I and II, Dances with Wolves, and Dr. Strangelove. Roger is an OLLI@SJSU member and volunteers his time to lead this course.

MR. JEFFERSON AT HOME: MONTICELLO AND POPLAR FOREST

Wednesdays, 1:00-3:00 pm
Location: The Saratoga Retirement Community, 14500 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga
Two sessions: November 7 and 14, 2007
Fee: $25

Thomas Jefferson—statesman, writer, farmer, gardener, and architect—fascinates people. His two homes, Monticello, and his lesser-known country retreat, Poplar Forest, reveal his character. This short course will look at these two estates, as well as take a brief look at his childhood homes, Shadwell and Tuckahoe, and his design influences as expressed in the Virginia State House and the Grounds of the University of Virginia.

Susan McGough has an MA in America Studies and studied the history of American architecture. While at the University of Virginia, she staffed a course on Monticello, participated in a dig at Poplar Forest, and toured Monticello with visitors more times than she could count. She continues reading about Mr. Jefferson. Susan is an OLLI@ SJSU member and volunteers her time to teach this class.

BEYOND SMALL TALK: Meaningful Conversations with Loved Ones

Note: This is a “Saturday sampler” class. You do not have to be an Osher member to attend, nor do you have to be age 50 or greater.
Saturday, November 10 (one session), 10:00 am-12:30 pm
IES Classroom Building, 384 S. Second St., San José
Free parking is available in the City’s garage at Second and San Carlos.
Fee: $20

Living longer is new territory. There are few models of what to do and how to do it well. Previous generations may not have talked much about aging. We face sensitive issues such as relocation, finances, health and wellness (depression, personal hygiene, confusion or forgetfulness, medical care, medications, etc.), driving, household chores, feeling that adult children are taking over and treating parents like children, and preparing for death). At some time, we all must have such conversations with loved ones. How do we do it well and effectively while preserving dignity? This workshop will give you tools and practice. It will also provide you with information on how to care for yourself as caregiver, and resources for future reference.

Vivian I. Silva is a social worker who also holds a certificate in gerontology from SJSU. Among her many roles are writer, instructor, gerontologist, documentary filmmaker, facilitator of discussion groups and workshops. Vivian has taught a number of courses for OLLI@SJSU and teaches for SJSU and Notre de Namur University.

EAST-WEST INTERPLAY

Note: This is a “Saturday sampler” program. You do not have to be an Osher Institute member, nor do you have to be age 50 or better. The program is open to all. Bring a sack lunch and enjoy conversation on the patio.
Saturday, November 17 (one session), 9:30 am-3:00 pm
IES Classroom Building, 384 S. Second St., San José
Free parking is available in the City’s garage at Second and San Carlos.
Fee: $25

Learn how the arts of East and West shaped each other. Work with three talented, dynamic art historians, each a specialist in her area. Travel from the 16th to the 20^th Century in a day.

Figural silk textiles…Safavid Iran…export/import…realism in Qajar painting…the impact of travel, photography, lithography…Orientalist images…Arab contemporary women artists…Explore a world unknown to the West.

Donning the Cloak: Safavid Figural Textiles and the Display of Identity

Figural silk textiles from Safavid Iran (1501-1722) were transmitters of identity. We will focus on textiles depicting characters from Iranian poet Nizami’s twelfth century Sufi poem, Layla and Majnun. We will also discuss social and political factors, particularly the campaign to export Iran’s signature textiles to the West as luxury items during the reign of Shah Abbas (r. 1587-1629) in order to bring revenue to the Safavid state. Internationally, the association of figural silks with Iranian identity was assisted by Shah Abbas’ attempts to form alliances with the European courts through his English-born ambassador, Robert Sherley, who is depicted in a figural cloak in Van Dyck’s 1622 portrait.

Nazanin Hedayat Shenasa is an independent curator, textile artist and art historian in San Jose. She received her MFA in Fiber from the Cranbrook Academy of Art (1996) and MA from San Jose State University (2007), with a concentration in Islamic art and textiles. Nazanin recently exhibited her textile-based installation at the San Jose Museum of Art and San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, and has an upcoming residency at the de Young Museum in San Francisco (January ’08). She is a Lecturer at De Anza College and Program Director of Works/San Jose Art and Performance Center.

Realism in Nineteenth Century Iranian Painting and the West

In response to the enthusiasm of patrons, 19^th century Iranian artists century were interested in European paintings of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. In the second half of the 19^th century, changes in artistic viewpoints were caused by social and cultural transformations, the presence of European artists at the Qajar courts, Iranian artists traveling to the West, and advances in photography and lithography. These influences resulted in Qajar painting becoming more realistic in style and subject matter. Meanwhile, some elements in Qajar painting continued to be influenced by the traditional visual arts from the earlier Safavid time, resulting in an eclectic and highly distinctive art that was unique in the history of Iranian painting.

Mahshid Modares received her BFA in painting from Tehran’s Azad University, Tehran in 1995, and her MA in art history from San Jose State University in 2007. She is a specialist in Iranian art of the 18th and 19^th centuries. Mahshid was awarded two scholarships and one fellowship for her research papers and lectures and published articles in Iran and the US. She is also a mixed media artist. Her paintings are in private collections in Iran, the U.S., and Japan. Mahshid is also a member of Tekaan Organization’s board of directors, an art and cultural organization based in San Francisco.

Contemporary Arab Women Artists Reclaiming Their Image

The misrepresentation of Muslims and Arabs has increased significantly after September 11th, yet it is a practice that goes back to the Crusades. Today’s stereotyping of Arabs and Muslims is flooding the public arenas, from television and cinema to newspapers and the fine arts. We will examine these images and how Arab contemporary women artists are addressing them, including a discussion of 19^th century Orientalist genre imagery. Artwork by Arab women artists reveals a discernible desire to re/construct the personal history, cultural identity, political inequality, patriarchal aesthetics, hegemony, and gender misconceptions with a feminist visual counter-discourse that confronts and disrupts the patriarchal symbolic order and the Orientalist gaze further.

Saná Makhoul earned her undergraduate degree in architecture from Bezalel, Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem, and her MA in art history from San Jose State University. She is a Lecturer at Evergreen Valley College and a freelance curator of and lecturer on contemporary art. She is also co-founder of a Bay Area women's group called Sunbula: Arab Feminists for Change. She curated “Somewhere Elsewhere” at the UC Berkeley Worth Ryder Gallery and co-curated “Prologue and Epilogue: Arab Feminism Past and Present,” two group exhibitions of contemporary artists living in the United States of Arab and Iranian background.

MIRO AND THE MODERN

Note: This is a “Saturday sampler” program. You do not have to be an Osher Institute member, nor do you have to be age 50 or better. The program is open to all.
Saturday, December 1, 1:00-3:00 (one session only)
IES Classroom Building, 384 S. Second St., San José
Free parking is available in the City’s garage at Second and San Carlos.
Fee: $10

A hallmark of 20^th Century Modern Arts is a rebellious spirit, and artist Joan Miró (1893-1983) catapulted himself to the top of the pack when it came to going against the grain. The Spaniard’s remarkably prolific career was fueled by his ambition to turn the very living in which he made a living upside down. In short, Miró aimed to “assassinate art.” This highly interactive lecture examines Miró’s indelible mark on art history in light of his associations, some friendly and some antagonistic, with well-known contemporaries such as Alexander Calder, Henri Matisse, Max Ernst, Piet Mondrian, and Pablo Picasso.

Karen Osborn’s academic interests focus on the intersection of the arts and economics. Working research papers include A Recommendation for the Privatization of the National Endowment for the Arts and Cultural Wars: Valuing and Pricing Art in the 21^st Century. She serves as a docent at the San Francisco Museum of Art leading tailored tours of the permanent collection of painting and sculpture, as well as special exhibitions. Karen earned a B.A. in Art History from Northwestern University and an M.B.A. in Nonprofit Management from Yale University.

JOAN MIRO EXHIBIT at the San José Museum of Art

Wednesday, December 5, 11:30-3:00 (one session only-free)
Note: This is a free program limited to fifteen Osher at SJSU Members. You must pre-register by sending an email message to or calling 408.924.2734. We will mail a pre-visit artist information packet. Others will receive the packet at the Museum.

Join a group of Osher Members for lunch in the Museum’s café at 11:30. At 12:30, Osher member Betty Faultner, a Museum docent, will lead us through the exhibit. Lunch and museum entry are your expenses. (If you have a City of San José library card, bring it with you. There is a discount to library cardholders.) To find out more about the exhibition and downtown parking, visit the Museum’s Web site, http://www.sjmusart.org.