By Paul Mojzes, Ph.D., D.D.(Honorary)

Human beings are competitive; some more, some less.  Some of it may be innate; some of it is learned. We compete in athletics, for jobs, for property and it can take place between siblings, friends, and rivals.  In school, for scarce resources, for attention, for social status—in pretty much all areas of life, societies and individuals compete.  In this election year, we are particularly aware of political competition, some of which is at expected levels, some of which is in new, uncharted, perverse territory.

Debate is perhaps the most frequently regulated form of verbal competition. The aim of debaters is not so much to shed light on problems in order to resolve them, but to win. A lot of planning goes into a debate. We study the opponents, not to truly get to know them but to figure out their strengths and weaknesses so that we can use them to our benefit, namely, to trip them up and make them look bad while maximizing our advantages. In a debate, we speak more to our own constituents and aim to convince the undecided and we do not feel responsible for the hurt feelings of our adversaries. Often, we deliberately seek to undermine and ridicule them.

The role of listening to the other side is primarily to detect weaknesses which we can pounce on. One-liners and clever put-downs – ridiculing the position of the rival is cherished. Sticking to our previously established position is valued; changing our position as a result of the views expressed by the opponent is interpreted as a concession or a sign of weakness. A hidden agenda in order to undermine the opponent is an oft-used approach.  Fair play is not always required; tactical manoeuvres and “low blows” are acceptable.  In recent presidential debates, new lows in public vulgarities and personal insults and ridicule have become routine; a fairly large number of the public not only accept them but seem to demand them. Performance and brazen lies dominate the stage. Gradually, we are demanding gladiator-type games, and some in the audience literally call for blood or engage in violence stimulated by a candidate.  This is but a partial list of characteristics of debates.

I have watched most presidential debates since the Kennedy-Nixon debate. Nearly always, I felt that the candidate whom I favor had won the debate and I got irritated when the followers of the other candidate felt that their “loser” had won. Some of the debates shed some light on issues but mostly I hoped for blunders by the other candidate which would minimize the “rare” mistakes my candidate made.  I didn’t wish for merely a slight advantage to my candidate; I wished for the demolition of the opposing candidate.

Does the way pundits and others analyse the debate help me decide who will be the better office holder?  No. They say that short, clever, memorable, possibly sarcastic lines are much better than carefully thought-out and formulated explanations. Their advice: by all means, avoid being professorial (that’s a cardinal sin!). It is said that the audience cannot pay attention beyond the first 20-30 minutes. Being dramatic, having a stage presence, being entertaining, speaking over the other person is more important than listening, thoughtful analysis, and sober decision making. Yet, presumably, once the person is in office, it is the latter characteristics that will be needed. The debates are the kind of job interview where the characteristics not needed for the job get priority.  Is it a surprise that so often we do not get the right person for the office?

Is there an alternative?  Perhaps not, given the requirement in a democracy that there be a contest of political parties and candidates for office.  It could well be the best system no matter how flawed the process is.

But we humans have another ingrained or nurtured characteristic, which is to cooperate, to wish to understand and be understood, to empathize, and to care.  These are not as publicly demonstrable as competition (there is no Super Bowl in empathy for our neighbor’s distress).  But, fortunately, this approach is gaining traction.

In the last 50 to 100 years, a new alternative to contestation and debate has emerged:  dialogue. The word is old and used to have a somewhat different meaning in antiquity.  We often give the word too broad a meaning.  When two heads of state meet, even when they are in a fairly conflictual situation, the press labels their encounter as dialogue, when more accurately they were probably engaged in negotiations, debates, and perhaps trying to outmanoeuvre one another.

Dialogue is the process of individuals or groups meeting in order to respectfully listen to each other, to get insights from one another which they probably could not have gotten on their own. Learning about “the other” from “the other” certainly goes beyond what we have heard second- hand about them or gained by superficial observation from the outside. Why do we need dialogue?  We need it to jointly resolve common challenges in the world around us and issues that may cloud our mutual relationships.  New information may surface which helps us to gain a broader understanding and appreciation of the world around us. In recent years, many have developed guidelines, commandments, rules (the do’s and don’ts) to make dialogue more effective. This blog is not the place to list them or explain them; my intention is to entice prospective students to enroll in my course “Dialogue Among Religions.”

Until recently, one would have guessed that religions are least likely to engage in dialogue when each claims to be in possession of the absolute truth.  But what seemed “impossible” throughout the centuries until recently has become possible. THE WORLD OF RELIGIONS HAS FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED. The purpose of my “Dialogue Among Religions” course is to jointly explore some of the profound new approaches in the relationship between religions and even between religious people and atheists.  I invite you to explore this relatively new phenomenon together in this course at Jupiter LLS beginning Monday, October 10, 2016.

By Josette Valenza, LLS Jupiter Director

Welcome back to the FAU Lifelong Learning Society!  If you are a new member, we’re delighted to have you join us!

It’s going to be an enjoyable and stimulating fall semester!  The 21 courses and 21 lectures that Lifelong Learning will offer begin on Monday, October 10.  Through our courses, seasoned learners are encouraged to explore where they are at this juncture in their lives. Our offerings are intellectually challenging, psychologically probing and spiritually engaging.

There are many plans in the making for this year, as we will be celebrating our 20th anniversary starting in January. I encourage you to sign up for our weekly email newsletter, “Interactions,” so that you do not miss out on any new programs or events that are not listed in our catalog. If you do not already receive our weekly emails, you can register by clicking on this link http://www.fau.edu/llsjupiter/newsletter_signup.php. Lifelong Learning is also embarking on a new endeavor this semester-electronic ticketing– so we want to make sure you are well informed. Below are tips to help you with this new transition:

·        If you are an annual LLS member, you should have received your PERMANENT LLS Jupiter membership card this past summer. Entrance to all classes requires you to present your card. A screen, which will be monitored by our LLS greeters, will show that you checked in for your registered class. Please don’t forget your card at home! If you do leave your card at home, we can check you in through the class roster. Having your member card to check in will make the process go more quickly for you.

·        If you lose your membership card, you will need to request a replacement card for $15. If you are an annual member and have not received your membership card, please contact the LLS office at 561-799-8667.

·        If you purchase multiple tickets for a one-day event, you will receive an email with an attachment containing your guest tickets. You can print and distribute these tickets to your guests. Each guest ticket can only be checked in once. Alternatively, you may check in your guests using your membership card. You will need to scan your card with our LLS Class Greeter as many times as the number of guest tickets you purchased. When checking in with your card for multiple purchases, guests must be present.

·        To ensure that you receive receipts of your class registrations and guest tickets, please keep your E-MAIL address current in our registration system. If you need to update your email address, please contact the front desk at 561-799-8547.

Looking ahead, mark your calendars for our New Member Orientation, which will be held on Thursday, January 5 at 2 p.m. in our auditorium. Existing members are also welcome to attend.  This is a great opportunity to meet other new members and learn about the variety of courses, lectures, social events, and other benefits of your membership at LLS. On behalf of the staff, we hope you’ve had a great summer.  We can’t wait to see everyone!

By Sandi Page (Member of the FAU LLS Marketing Committee)

During the many years I lived in France, my highly anticipated spring ritual was deciding in which European countries we would spend a month of our summer vacation.  It was sheer heaven and, fortunately, I had those many vacation memories to look back on as I found myself, due to unforeseen circumstances, house-bound this summer.  Always determined to follow my personal philosophy of “Bloom Where You Are Planted”, I was ready to face the challenge! There is a certain deliciousness about unexpectedly having a string of days/weeks filled with ordinary activities, unencumbered by outside appointments and alarm clocks.  With a house filled with books and music, I was off to a good start!

My biggest joy was suddenly having all the time in the world to answer the call of two of my teenage grandsons in France.  One needed me to help him prepare for the oral and written English part of the baccalauréat (commonly referred to as the bac), a diploma awarded by the French Ministry of National Education.  It consists of the dreaded set of national oral and written exams that every French high school senior must pass in each subject at the end of their senior year in order to get their diploma.  How well they succeed in these exams has a deep impact on their future.  Created by decree in 1808 under Napoleon I, this diploma is required in order to attend university.   In my grandson’s case, he had to take exams in Philosophy, History, Geography, Economics, Math, Anthropology, Spanish, and English, all given on successive days, so that intensive studying long in advance is a necessity.    (Students take their French exam at the end of their junior year and that grade is included in their final bac scores).   To add another twist, these exams are not given by your own teacher nor are they graded by your own teacher so what you may have accomplished during the school year has no bearing on your results.  He also needed my assistance in concurrently preparing for the international TOEFL exam (Test of English as a Foreign Language), another complicated one-day series of English tests in reading, writing, and listening comprehension.  It is an exam required by many universities.  Finally, after these hurdles had been successfully dealt with, we worked on strategy and language skills for his oral interviews at universities which had conditionally selected him based on the scores he had achieved in his “concours Sésame”, yet another series of national exams for students interested in an international career in business.  All his hard work paid off as he has now been accepted into a top-level trilingual BBA program in France with all classes taught in English.   What a deeply satisfying feeling it is to help our younger generation achieve their educational goals.

My younger grandson, who has just entered his junior year in high school, needed my help in improving his oral and written English in order to go to New Zealand for a 5-week high school exchange program where he attended classes with the locals and also played on a rugby team.  He has just returned and had a marvelous time.  His English has improved even more and he is exhibiting just a trace of a Kiwi accent!

My next project was to do research on the best new laptop for my needs to replace my 2008 one which, except for a long-dead battery, still worked well.  However, it had become impossible to update my Windows Vista and my Microsoft Security program (built-in obsolescence), thus making it unsafe to use.   After resisting for a long while because of the many problems friends had encountered with Windows 10, I realized that this summer was the perfect opportunity to learn a new operating system and so, I bought a 2016 laptop.  I did not experience any kind of a learning curve, fortunately, even though Windows 10 seems to require an additional click for each operation.  The biggest inconvenience was opting out of the many ways Microsoft tries to get your permission to access your data.  To those of you contemplating a similar new laptop purchase, Windows 10 is not really the demon challenge it’s made out to be.  You’ll do just fine.

Another of my summer projects was enrolling in two on-line courses: one, with Harvard University, is a fascinating course on ancient Greece.  There is a lot of reading involved but the subject is a passion of mine.  The second course is a Spanish class for English speakers offered by the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.  It is well-presented and exactly what I was looking for.    Now I can’t wait for our LLS classes to begin!

So, my dear readers, how did you spend your summer vacation?  Some of our faculty, staff and fellow students have some fascinating answers to that question!

Dr. Joan Lipton (Faculty)
Prominent Jewish Artists from Europe and America, Nov. 14, 21, 28, Dec. 5, 2016 – 2:30-4 p.m.

My summer is always wonderful because we spend six weeks in New York City for our annual fix. As an art historian, I want to keep up with current exhibits in the museums here as well as take day trips to museums beyond the city. This year, I’m planning on Dia:Beacon and the Yale art museums. Of course, we don’t miss out on going to the theater almost every night and ethnic restaurants that are special. All in all, I will need a vacation after this one from all the running around, but…then come the many venues where I lecture! Happily, I enjoy preparing them and sharing my love of art with these audiences, so who needs a vacation of R&R anyway??

Dr. Taylor Hagood (Faculty)
Hagood Reads the Phone Book: Ripley, Mississippi, Nov. 15, 2016 – 12-1:30 p.m.;
Sherlock Holmes: More Real Than Life Itself, Nov. 22, 29, Dec. 6, 13, 2016 – 12-1:30 p.m.

This summer I enjoyed a fine trip to Italy. Besides spending time in Rome and in the mountains around Campobasso, I also spent a week at a castle on the border of Lazio and Tuscany training in Italian foil style of fencing. Nestled among the green hills close to Orvieto, Santa Cristina Castle is owned by Count Antonello Mancini Caterini, whose ancestral line includes a Cardinal. Count Mancini Caterini has turned his family property into an equestrian destination, and it was a great venue for fencing. It is also within easy driving distance of Siena, Montalcino, and Florence. Needless to say, the food was wonderful, and I especially enjoyed the mozzarella di bufala, fresh prosciutto, and fabulous bread in the Campobasso area. Now I am back in South Florida and am preparing for the fall session at Lifelong Learning. I am very excited to be offering a four-week series on Sherlock Holmes, which will include a look at the life of Holmes’s creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and a focus on some of the major stories and novels that feature the famous super-sleuth while also considering stage and film adaptations. I am also excited to do a one-time event that will be unique; over the years, people have expressed interest in some of the asides I include in my regular lectures—asides that tell personal stories or unusual occurrences I have experienced. Responding to that interest, I will present some of these in a style of presentation that might be best described as a blend of Prairie Home Companion and a Jerry Clower talk. The event will feature stories of real-life people in the area where the writer William Faulkner lived and where I was born and will be entertaining as well as educational. I hope to see everyone there.

Dr. Robert Rabil, Faculty
Dr. Rabil is on Twitter @robertgrabil
The Future of Iranian-Russian Relations:  Implications for the U.S. and Israel’s National Security, Nov. 19, 2016 – 1-2:30 p.m.;
Israel and the Arab Gulf States: A Superficial or Strategic Alliance in the Making?
Dec. 8, 2016 – 9:45-11:15 a.m.; U.S. National Security and the War on Extremism, Oct. 10, 17, 24, 31, Nov. 7, 14, 21, 28, 2016 – 9:45-11:15 a.m.

I had a rewarding professional summer. I edited my manuscript The Syrian Refugee Crisis in Lebanon: The Double Tragedy of Refugees and Impacted Host Communities. The book, which was published in mid-August 2016, has already been well received by analysts and scholars. According to Professor Samuel Edelman, “this book is a most critical read for anyone trying to grasp the refugee crisis confronting us today.”

I was invited to participate in high-level U.S. government-sponsored forums in Washington, D.C. and other places. I also counseled senior foreign policy advisers in the U.S. presidential campaign. In my lectures and discussions with senior U.S. officials and military personnel, I made the following points:

The war against Islamist extremism (Salafi-jihadism) is a war against a triumphalist religious ideology that cloaks itself in the sanctity of the sacred and the history of authentic Islam. Western political leaders have blighted themselves by misconceiving the very nature of the threat and turning a blind eye to some Muslim allies whose fight against Islamist extremism is a mere façade.

Carrying out limited attacks on the Assad regime as part of a plan to help bring about a political resolution in Syria, as called for by a number of current and former U.S. officials, is a misplaced and dangerous plan. It’s noteworthy that though, in principle, one could call the Syrian state as the Assad regime, in practice, this Syrian state is part of a regime where power and the decision-making process are shared by Russia, Iran, Iraqi Mobilization Units and Hezbollah. Consequently, the United States should not entertain any plan of attack on the Syrian regime, even in a limited capacity, unless Washington has a sufficient number of U.S. troops complemented by massive firing power in Syria. True, Russia is part of the problem in Syria; nevertheless, Russia is an integral part of the solution. Both pro-regime and anti-regime policies in Syria have failed. Turkey’s foreign policy re-orientation (as well as a main cause of the botched coup d’état) is a product of this failure and its implications for the security of Ankara.

The refugee crisis has become a tragedy of epidemic proportions affecting both refugees and impacted host communities, especially in Lebanon and Jordan. Absent a political resolution in Syria, the U.S. should play a key role in supporting the paradigmatic shift in how the UN has come to help refugees and impacted host communities, whereby the protection of refugees is bolstered by helping build the resilience of vulnerable host communities.

Dr. Kurt F. Stone, Faculty
When the Legend Becomes History, Print the Legend! – Nine Classic Western Films
Oct. 10, 24, 31, Nov. 7, 14, 21, 28, Dec. 5, 2016 – 7-9 p.m.

In mid-August, my wife and I spent several days up in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, where I gave a series of lectures at the Wildacres Conference Center and Retreat.  We had a marvelous time; the people – including the other lecturers – were both intellectually stimulating and enormously gracious; the food simple, kosher and plentiful; the temperature quite moderate, and the landscape more breathtaking than anything ever painted by Corot, Turner or Claude Monet. About the only fly in the ointment was that Wi-Fi and cellular connections were all but nonexistent. It took about 48 hours to quit feeling guilty about whatever calls or emails we were missing, and begin to see in the “loss,” a significant “gain.”  What gain?  To wit, having the time to smell the roses, chill out, and be far more contemplative than our complexly-wired times permit.  Once the chilling-out process got into full swing, I found myself wondering how to best describe what the value of this non-internet, non-cellphone interregnum really was.  During my spare time between lectures and meals, I read a couple of books:  Theodore Rex (the second in Edmund Morris’ biographic trilogy of Theodore Roosevelt), David Lodge’s novel A Man of Parts (a brilliant fictional biography of the writer H.G. Wells) and a collection of Raymond Chandler stories entitled The Simple Art of Murder. And there, in one of Chandler’s short stories – Goldfish – I found the description I was looking for; a cloud-clearing explanation of the value of being mostly disconnected from the rest of the world. At one point in Chandler’s intricate tale of murder, mayhem and missing pearls, detective Phillip Marlowe informs us “It was a quarter to five when I got back to the office. I had a couple of short drinks and stuffed a pipe and sat down to interview my brains.”  Again . . . “I sat down to interview my brains.”

There it was: a simple description of a complex . . . well . . . complex.  What our high-speed, interconnected cyber world has given with one hand – instantaneous communication, access to both the accumulated knowledge, wisdom and folly of humankind and the entirety of reality within 140 keystrokes – it has also taken away in terms of time to contemplate, cogitate, and consider what we think and believe before opening our mouths or putting our fingers to the keyboard.  Because we have, to a great extent, lost the ability – even the desire – to “interview our brains.”  My recommendation?  Turn off the phone; log off the internet.  Take the time to “interview your brains.”  It can’t hurt.

Emily Morton – Staff
My summer was fantastic. It consisted mainly of relaxation with a touch of spontaneous travel as well. In early June, I went camping in the Keys and snorkeled at Looe Key Marine Sanctuary. I swam with Great Goliath Groupers, colorful Parrotfish and even a few sharks, including (possibly) a bull shark, which was terrifying but extremely cool! Looe Key is one of the most beautiful natural areas that I have ever visited, and I did not want to leave. In July, I traveled to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to visit the Grand Teton National Park. The colossal mountain peaks are unbelievable, and the area is home to incredible wildlife such as bison, beavers, elk, pronghorn, moose, bears and more! Hiking the long, steep trails and visiting the large Elk Refuge were humbling experiences for me, as I realized how truly small I am in this big world. Between my travels, I did some reading for fun and also began researching graduate programs. All in all, this was one of my best summers yet!

Ginny Higgins – Student
Summer is an interesting time in Florida.  Many people try to “beat the heat and humidity” and travel.  I get an added bonus.  My husband is one of 14 children from an Irish Catholic family.  (I am Jewish with one brother!)  His immediate family is now up to 113 people and growing each year through marriages and births!  The heart of all these people is a small 4’10” woman whose birthday is July 29th.  What that means is that we are ALWAYS in New Jersey at the end of July to celebrate.  This year was her 99th birthday.  As always, it is spectacular.  She is amazing!  Every day, she FaceTimes with all generations on her iPad, sends birthday wishes, and lets us know the latest news. Her women’s club has celebrated her life with an amazing song and dance presentation. She is a real life Zelig. Her mother was the telegraph operator for Teddy Roosevelt at his “Summer White House”, she witnessed Lindbergh taking off from Long Island on his solo trip to Europe, she took a seminar with Albert Einstein (said she didn’t understand a word he said), was one of the first to go through the “new” Holland Tunnel, and was on the way to pick someone up when the Hindenburg exploded.  She recently threw out the first pitch at a local baseball game, has continued to “act” in yearly holiday productions of her women’s group, teaches bridge in nursing homes (she still lives alone, by the way), and basically acts as a female “don” at all occasions.  She sits in a comfortable chair and everyone comes to talk to her. Over 60 attended this year.  She is busy planning for the two parties she wants us to have for her on her 100th – the first is for her friends and her children and spouses.  The second will be for her immediate family!  We shall be busy as everyone plans to attend, of course.  Just one last note.  As Jim and I were leaving this year, she was placing bets on a horse race with one of his brothers!!!!!

Yvonne Peters – Student
It was a quiet summer.  I went to Atlanta to see my grandkids and then to the Caladium Festival in Lake Placid, Florida in July with my niece and her two young sons, James and Richard. Time spent with them is always an adventure!  At the beginning of September, I took my grandnephew, Frank, to Orlando so we could swim with the dolphins. He is now a teenager and this was his trip.

Sandy Henry – Student
This summer, my son and daughter-in-law treated me to a marvelous 10-day trip to Stockholm, Sweden for my upcoming “big number” birthday.  My son knows Stockholm like the back of his hand so I had my own private tour guide.  We did a lot of walking, living like locals with public transportation trains, etc.  There were many highlights of the trip: seeing Sankt Nikolai kyrka (Church of St. Nicolas), most commonly known as Storkyrkan (The Great Church) in Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s Old Town, the Vasa Museum with the only preserved seventeenth-century ship in the world, the ferry crossing to Drottningholm Palace (absolutely beautiful) and a trip to Uppsala to tour the area and to see the Uppsala domkyrka (Uppsala Cathedral), the largest and tallest cathedral in Scandinavia. Stockholm is so beautiful!

My greatest pleasure was seeing my son and daughter-in-law’s small condo that he bought there for vacation purposes (I stayed in a lovely hotel nearby).  I met all their friends for either lunch or dinner and now I can readily accept and understand why they want to retire in Stockholm.  It’s much too cold for me.  Brrrrr!  I can imagine the winters there.  We had two cold and rainy days and I was bundled up.  After that, it warmed up to 80 degrees and was more to my liking.  It was amusing on those days to see all the Swedes gather at the water sites and take in the sun.  The food was delicious and we selected a different ethnic restaurant each day.

Jean Dessoffy – Student
Are you looking for a new travel experience?  Are you tired of the usual bus tours, moldy museums, or begging urchins?  This summer I experienced a refreshing trip where I felt that I had left my destination a little better off than when I arrived.

The TV news has recently been full of pictures of a ship operated by a new company, Fathom, when it made its first port call in downtown Havana.  Fathom operates cruises on a ship named “Adonia” from Miami to Havana every other week.  Less well publicized, but in my opinion more interesting, is where this ship goes on the alternate weeks.  It sails for the north shore of the Dominican Republic on a mission that might be described as a “mini Peace Corps”.  The ship docks for four days, turns off the engines, and encourages you to experience life helping the locals. They call it an impact activity. The passengers can choose from a range of activities designed to enhance local industry providing jobs for people in this rural region.   Passengers can choose workshops such as planting trees to replenish forests stripped for construction material, pouring concrete floors to prevent children from catching dirt-borne diseases when playing on the floor, making water filters to purify polluted drinking water, or spending a day at a summer camp for children who want to practice English.  That’s what I did.  The cost of the trip was modest, because out of a week’s adventure, minimum fuel was being consumed on the four days we were in port.  The passengers ranged in age from young students with their families to older retired folks like we see at LLS lectures.  Many college students were testing their aptitudes to sign up for a full tour in the Peace Corps.  You learn to respect the upcoming generation when you see them anxious to accept new challenges and exhibit a willingness to help others.  The “Adonia” is a recycled P&O ship that has all the amenities of other cruise ships like good food, spacious cabins, a pool, bars, etc.  There are no midnight buffets, Broadway shows, or casinos, just real people making important contributions and feeling good about doing good.  If you are looking for something new and worthwhile, why not give it a try.  Go to https://www.fathom.org/discover/

By Sandi Page, Member of the FAU LLS Marketing Committee

By now, you should all have received your FAU LLS Jupiter Fall 2016 Catalog of lectures and courses.

We are hoping that this school year’s class registrations will exceed our already record-breaking numbers for last year.    To help in that effort, I asked several of our professors to submit an interesting anecdote or additional details about their upcoming lecture/course.  Read on to discover their fascinating responses which cover half of the Fall Catalog offerings!  Then, with catalog in hand, go register for classes!  After you’ve signed up for your favorite professors, do yourself a favor and try some new classes with professors you’ve never studied with before. I know I’m going to!

In honor of the 2016 Summer Olympics, let’s try to break some records of our own!

FAU LLS Fall 2016 Lectures

Jacqueline H. Fewkes, Ph.D.
Bridging the Cultural Divide – Anthropological Optimism and Understanding the “Other”
Thursday, October 20, 2016 – 9:30-11 a.m.

How do we reach out to and understand those who are different from us? In this lecture, I will be discussing this issue from multiple perspectives, both as an academic question that drives the discipline of anthropology and an issue of personal curiosity. Considering the positive in world events, we will explore how optimism can be a powerful lens through which to view the world.

Myrna Goldberger
Before Hillary – They Were First!
Saturday, November 5, 2016 – 1-2:30 p.m.

I was a female lawyer who had to pressure a president to get the law degree I earned. I believed in women’s rights, including suffrage, property ownership and “freedom from male servitude.” I ran for U.S. president in the 1800s. I did not win, but my activist life influenced the path of history.  Who Am I?

I was a clairvoyant who became the first woman on Wall Street, placed there by Cornelius Vanderbilt who praised my stock prophecies. I ran for president in 1872 representing the Equal Rights Party. I was arrested when I went to vote. My platform included right to abortion, open sex and demands that males own up to their infidelities. Who Am I?

Susan B. Anthony is not the correct answer to either description!
To find out the answers and the rest of their stories, come to Myrna Goldberger’s one-day presentation.

Heather Coltman, D.M.A., and Birgit Fioravante
Intimate Art Songs: Songs from the Jewish Heart
Tuesday, November 15, 2016 – 7-8:30 p.m.

Did you know Erich Wolfgang Korngold, the father of the orchestral film score and winner of two academy awards, also wrote great operatic works and many songs? Hear the songs sung first in Max Reinhardt’s acting class by Nanette Fabray.

Have you heard the hauntingly beautiful Yerushalayim Shel Zahav, the unofficial national anthem of Israel, written to celebrate the re-unification of Jerusalem? An original arrangement in English and Hebrew will be performed.

Did you know that Jewish songwriters and composers have contributed to the “Great American Songbook”?  Hear many of your favorites by Bernstein, Weill, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and Sondheim, just to name a few.

Robert G. Rabil, Ph.D.
The Future of Iranian-Russian Relations:  Implications for the U.S. and Israel’s National Security
Saturday, November 19, 2016 – 1-2:30 p.m.

Whereas the Obama administration has denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin as a dictator and a menace to international security, Secretary of State John Kerry has recently submitted a proposal to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to cooperate in Syria. By the same token, Israel’s leadership has expressed concerns over Russian intervention in Syria. Yet, Israeli leaders have made several visits to the Kremlin, apparently culminating in tacit agreements with Russia regarding Jerusalem’s national security concerns, especially vis-à-vis Iran. Obviously, growing Russian-Iranian cooperation has concerned both Israel and the United States. Still, the political mantra in both capitals has been a “deter-and-dialogue” message to Moscow. In Putin’s eyes, is this a message of weakness, shrewdness or unfounded rationality?

Wesley Borucki, Ph.D.
Who was the Real General George Armstrong Custer?  Is His Historical Reputation Justified?
Thursday, December 1, 2016 – 9:30-11 a.m.

Custer’s character is a slippery issue. What exactly was George Armstrong Custer like? On the one hand, he was the practical joker who amassed 726 demerits at West Point in four years, by far the most in his class; who one day asked his Spanish instructor to translate the words “class dismissed” into Spanish before leading his classmates out of the room; and whose worst subject in his senior year of 1861 was, interestingly enough, cavalry tactics. On the other hand, he was also an officer who faithfully served on General George McClellan’s and General George Gordon Meade’s staffs before being promoted to brigadier general in June 1863 and, in the next week, led the Michigan Brigade with valor and gallant charges south of Gettysburg. He was the general who, in 1865, forced an Ohio restaurant owner to compromise the racist, segregationist practices of the time and allow his African-American cook to dine at their main table, but he was also in command in Louisiana after the war allowed “black codes” to stay in force. President Ulysses Grant criticized his conduct at the fatal Battle of Little Big Horn, but Custer’s widow Libbie dutifully defended her late husband’s reputation and conduct in a book and other writings until she died in 1933. In this course, we shall try to detect who the real George Armstrong Custer was.

Ronald Feinman, Ph.D.
The Life and Presidency of Richard Nixon, 1969-1974
Wednesday, December 7, 2016 – 2:15-3:45 p.m.

Nixon is the only President of the 20th century to have lost the Presidency (1960), and come back to win it twice (1968 and 1972).
Nixon is the only President who resigned his office, knowing he would have been removed by impeachment proceedings, and, therefore, deciding to quit.
Nixon is the most experienced President in knowledge and expertise in foreign policy ever to reach the Presidency.
Nixon, while considered a “conservative”, actually was quite “liberal” in many areas of domestic policy making, often overlooked by his reputation in foreign policy, and by the Watergate Scandal which led to his resignation from office.
On this day of the blog posting, August 9, Nixon resigned 42 years ago!

Robert G. Rabil, Ph.D.
Israel and the Arab Gulf States: A Superficial or Strategic Alliance in the Making?
Thursday, December 8, 2016 – 9:45-11:15 a.m.

It has been an open secret that Israel has had intelligence cooperation and trade relations with the Arab Gulf States. However, Arab leaders have brushed aside this growing relationship with Israel as inconsequential, often reiterating their opposition to Israel. Nevertheless, a recent high Saudi delegation, led by former Saudi intelligence chief General Anwar Eshki, visited Jerusalem in July 2016 and met with senior Israeli officials. The visit from the purported anti-Israel hegemon of the Arab world came as a shock to the “Arab street.” The visit belied the hackneyed Arab nationalist discourse and underscored the new dawning reality in the Middle East, whereby Arab Gulf interests strategically converged with those of Israel. But can the depth of this reality be gauged? Is it the product of an ephemeral need for a marriage of convenience or an authentic desire for co-existence? Will it become a bulwark against rising anti-Semitism or a deep trench for anti-Semitism?

Mehmet Gurses, Ph.D.
The Kurds: A Key to Salvaging Iraq and Syria?
Thursday, December 8, 2016 – 2:30-4 p.m.

The Kurdish YPG in Syria has proven to be the most effective ally of the U.S. against ISIS. Turkey considers our most effective ally on the ground a terrorist group, a branch of the Kurdish PKK in Turkey that has been fighting a war for more than three decades. Saudi Arabia and Turkey, two key allies of the U.S. in the region, have been “accused” of providing support for the IS, or turning a blind eye to its cross border activities. While Saudis are concerned about the rise of Iranian power, Turkey is trying to prevent the rise of yet another Kurdish entity across its borders. That said, amidst all of these unlikely, complicated alliances and shifting grounds, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq has joined forces with Turkey in exporting its oil and checking and balancing the rise of the PKK-led Kurdish nationalism in the region which the KDP, the dominant Kurdish group in KRG, considers a “threat” to its leadership.

I am sure you already have noticed the number of acronyms and quotations used in this short paragraph. Don’t get mad yet. That was intentional…
Well, welcome to the Middle East! And, of course, sign up for the class to get a better sense of the “mess”!!

Stephen Engle, Ph.D.
Turning Points of the American Civil War – New Perspectives
Monday, December 12, 2016 – 2:30-4 p.m.

In the 150 years since the American Civil War ended, contemporaries and historians have debated the Turning Points of the American Civil War—was it Chancellorsville, Antietam, Gettysburg, or Vicksburg—and have arrived at a general consensus that at least the war’s turning points were on the battlefield.
Yet, there were several other turning points that turned military advantages in the Union’s favor, and they might surprise you. In this lecture, I will explore how the war’s political nature turned the tide of the conflict into a struggle to win the contest at home as well as on the battlefield.

FAU LLS Fall 2016 Courses

Robert G. Rabil, Ph.D.
U.S. National Security and the War on Extremism
Mondays, October 10, 17, 24, 31, November 7, 14, 21, 28 – 9:45-11:15 a.m.

The presidential campaign has not only polarized the American public over national security but also underscored Washington’s and Western illiteracy about the ideology fueling terrorism across continents. Has the debate over what to call the campaign against terrorism reflected Washington’s misunderstanding or understanding of the challenges and threats facing the United States and its allies? Has the ongoing “war on extremism” in cooperation with Washington’s allies deepened the country’s understanding of the grave developments taking place in international affairs? The threats and challenges facing the United States and its allies are complex, multi-dimensional, and at times contradictory. Yet, they can be effectively addressed once what I call the triumphalist ideology of Salafism is understood in juxtaposition to a sober analysis of the major regional and international developments taking place. Only then can this war be won!

Paul Mojzes, Ph.D.
Dialogue Among Religions – Interreligious Dialogue
Mondays, Oct. 10, 17, 24, 31 – 12-1:30 p.m.

In 1999, my friend Boris Trajkovski was elected president of the Republic of Macedonia. A year later, he telephoned me as the ethnoreligious conflicts escalated into a low intensity war, telling me that they needed interreligious dialogue but did not know how to conduct it. I offered to help. This led to many trips to the capital of Skopje, culminating in a major Jewish-Christian-Muslim trialogue conference in May 2002. The purpose was to build confidence between religious leaders so they would assist in peacemaking rather than aggravating the situation. Eventually, a larger war was avoided, although tensions continue to this day. Tragically, President Trajkovski was killed in 2004 on his way to a conference in Bosnia when his airplane crashed.

Kurt F. Stone, D.D.
When the Legend Becomes History, Print the Legend! – Nine Classic Western Films
Mondays, Oct. 10, 24, 31, November  7, 14, 21, 28, December  5 (No class on Oct. 17) – 7-9 p.m.

Like just about every kid growing up in post-war America, I was addicted to westerns. Unlike most, however, we had any number of cowboy stars living in our neighborhood, with no fewer than 3 on our street – all of whom I delivered newspapers to. These were Milburn Stone (“Doc” on Gunsmoke), John Anderson (The Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp and The Rifleman, among others) and Jack Elam (Zorro, Rawhide and Once Upon a Time in the West). Mr. Elam scared the daylights out of me; he was tall, dark, had a glass eye, always needed a shave, and habitually played crazed killers. To me, he was danger incarnate; whenever I had to go and collect the monthly subscription fee (a whopping 65¢), I would knock lightly on the door, hold out my hand, try not to look him in his one good eye, and then hightail it down his long driveway as fast as my nine-year-old legs could carry me. One day, I told my father how menacing Mr. Elam was; how I really wished I could just stop delivering papers to him. Dad almost fell on the floor laughing and then informed me, “Mr. Elam is a pussycat; years ago he was a CPA, who got into movies because some fly-by-night film company he was doing the books for couldn’t afford his fee.” Well, the next time I went to his house to collect, he obviously could see a difference in my body language – that I was no longer such a “fraidy cat,” as we used to say. He gave me a broad smile, the gunfighter’s salute, and a quarter tip. From that point on, Jack Elam was one of my favorite cowboy actors . . . even if he once was a CPA!

I hope you will be a part of our Monday night class and watch some pretty terrific westerns . . . just like when we were kids.

Jacqueline H. Fewkes, Ph.D.
Anthropological Life Histories: Create your Own Autobiographical Film
Tuesdays, October 11, 18, 25, November 1 – 9:30-11 a.m.

I love watching anthropological films about other people’s life stories, as delving into personal histories can be so compelling and informative. As I watch famous films, I’ve often wished that I had a similar film that helped me to understand my own grandmother’s life, and, in turn, makes me consider creating something to pass on to my own children. But when you start to plan an autobiographical film, so many questions arise—how do you create a “story” out of the complexity of life events? What information is necessary in order to understand that story? How do you decide what would be significant for viewers and reflect what you know to be important? I hope we’ll explore these questions, and more, in this course as we view anthropological films that focus on the lives of individuals in many different societies around the world, and discuss making our own films.

Betsaida Casanova, M.A.
The Literature of Cuban Writer Alejo Carpentier
Tuesdays, October 11, 18, 25, November 1 – 12-1:30 p.m.

Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier is one of the most important Latin American writers and one of the best novelists of the 20th century. But, did you know that although he always considered himself to be Cuban and claimed to be born in Havana, he was actually born in Lausanne, Switzerland? His father was French and his mother Russian and he was taken to Cuba when he was a child. He lived many years of his adult life outside Cuba and always spoke Spanish with a heavy French accent.  His great knowledge of music, architecture and the arts in general, greatly influenced his writing. He also incorporated Afro-Caribbean themes into his novels and other works. He coined the term “marvelous real” and was one of the first to use the technique that later developed into what was called “magical realism”. If you want to know about these concepts so relevant in the Latin American Boom, Alejo Carpentier’s Literature is the place to start.

Irving Labovitz, J.D.
OBJECTION! Current, Contentious and Confusing Legal Battles
Thursdays, October 13, 20, 27, November 3, 10, 17, December 1, 8 (No class on Nov. 24) – 12-1:30 p.m.

Why should there be any LLS student interest in our stodgy and boring judicial system? A few intentionally provocative queries follow.

Have recent impasses by a ‘deadlocked’ Supreme Court caused it to become an irreparably flawed “house divided”? Have certain recent acerbic comments by one of the Justices as to the quality of a presidential candidate violated the law or, at a minimum, long-standing ethical precepts mandating judicial impartiality? Is our legal system in disarray, with a plethora of conflicting trial court and appellate decisions on critical Constitutional issues?

The late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan once famously said, ”Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but not their own facts,” Applying judicially discerned similar facts to identical statutes or legal precedents frequently results in facially irreconcilable disparate outcomes that receive our investigation.

Finally, although we are all long since reconciled to the Supreme Court having decided the presidency as between Gore and Bush, did any students ever contemplate the High Court having to decide which LLS bathroom you must use…this is likely just around the (legal) corner.

The law is neither stodgy nor boring. You are invited to “deep dive” to achieve a measure of clarity.

Terryl Lawrence, Ed.D.
Artistic Inspiration
Fridays, October 14, 21, 28, November 4, 18, December 2, 9, 16 (no class on Nov. 11 and Nov. 25) – 11:15 a.m -12:45 p.m.

Artists seek inspiration – and when revelations occur – wonders happen. If we examine the History of Art, there is much evidence that the times in which people live, the world conditions, the pleasures and displeasures experienced, are motivation to develop, to create, to flourish. These factors, coupled with the ultimate creative products, allow us as viewers to delve more deeply into the components that generated the works of art. In these lectures on Artistic Inspiration, I intend to unveil many historical and personal secrets, passions, and influences, to make these masterworks come alive.

Benito Rakower, Ed.D.
A Culture War Conducted Through Film
Fridays, October 14, 21, 28, November 4, 18, December 2, 9, 16 (no class on Nov. 11 and Nov. 25) – 1:30-4 p.m.

Jean-Luc Goddard changed the direction and method of French cinema with one film – Breathless. The film features an American girl experiencing the more dangerous aspects of Parisian life in the company of a dashing, French criminal. He is totally captivated by Humphrey Bogart whom he imitates in style, manner, and facial expressions. In every aspect of construction, plot, and character, Goddard’s film is a startling homage to Hollywood films and the extraordinary resilience of American women.

Gavin Sourgen, Ph.D.
The Politics of Satire: From Horace to Charlie Hebdo
Mondays, October 17, 24, 31, November 7 – 2:30-4 p.m.

Are we entering an age in which (un)intentional self-parody nullifies the value and effectiveness of satire as a means of regulating power? The cutting Stephen Colbert roast of George W. Bush at the 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner was much watched and much quoted: “I know there are some polls out there saying this man has a 32 percent approval rating. But guys like us, we don’t pay attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection of statistics that reflect what people are thinking in reality. And reality has a well-known liberal bias.” George W. looked on sheepishly, producing that silly, awkward smile that will forever linger in the public imagination. Yet, to a large section of the American public, Bush’s almost childlike naivety was part of his charm; the more he was lampooned, the more he was liked. In many ways, these same paradoxical dynamics are exemplified and exacerbated in figures like Sarah Palin and Donald Trump. While humorous invectives on Trump abound, in a peculiar way his brazen distortions of truth preempt and outmaneuver the methods of parody and exaggeration on which satire rely. How do you successfully undermine someone whose popularity seems to grow the more he is undermined?

Aban Kavasmaneck, M.A.
Great Works of Western Literature and Philosophy
Wednesdays, October 19, 26, November 2, 9, 16, 30, December 7, 14 (no class on Nov. 23) – 11:15 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.

I welcome you to find out why literature and the classics stimulate relevant moral reflection and values in our complicated world today.  Explore how timeless, as well as contemporary, literature offers a window to the human heart, and, thus, helps us cope with life.  As Kleinberg puts it, “The force of good resides in actions, not in words.”  So come and enjoy the shared interpretive discussion in literature and philosophy and be convinced how vital it is to contemplate the challenge of how to live in our global society today.  I hope to see you this Fall!

Burton Atkins, Ph.D.
Understanding Politics Through Film
Wednesdays, October 19, 26, November 2, 9, 16, 30, December 7, 14 (no class on Nov. 23) – 4:15-5:45 p.m.

In my classes, I often talk about how movies, while entertaining, thrilling and dramatic, can also be thought of as “visual texts”, ways to communicate ideas about history, politics and culture like a textbook one might read in college. Sometimes even a single word in a movie can communicate thought-provoking ideas and leave an indelible imprint on us. “Rosebud”, Charles Foster Kane’s dying word in Citizen Kane was his last, desperate grasp at a childhood innocence swamped by his lust for wealth and power. “Plastics”. That one word spoken to a bewildered Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate captured the gulf growing in the 1960s between a restless youth counter-culture and an older, staid, generation rooted in traditional social values. Citizen Kane and The Graduate are but two illustrations of countless movies that present controversial and challenging ideas about our political and cultural landscape. Older movies, particularly, are like historical and visual time capsules, relics passed on to us from the past that lend perspective to how we have evolved as a people. For example, in this election year, we can look back with chagrin to what Mary Matthews (Katharine Hepburn) observed in State of the Union (1948) to see how far we have come in the past half-century alone: “Oh, that’s silly. No woman could ever run for president. She’d have to admit she’s over 35.” Mary’s observation on gender roles illustrates how we have evolved as a people. But movies sometimes remind us that certain attributes of human nature are constant as when Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) cautioned in The Godfather, “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.”

If you want to pursue ideas like these and explore how movies can serve as visual texts, then sign up for Understanding Politics Through Film. We’ll examine the human motivations and conflicts that form the foundations for politics. Think of it as a short course in political science. And you get to watch movies, too!

Katie Muldoon
From Europe to Iran and Back: Four Remarkable International Films
Thursdays, October 20, 27, November 10, 17 (no class on Nov. 3) – 2:30-4:45 p.m.; Film discussion 4:45-5:15 p.m.

Professor Katie Muldoon presents four unforgettable, life-changing stories of faith, terror, determination, and originality, all in superb cinematography and winners of multiple awards. From a women’s journey of self-discovery in Poland under Nazism, to a story of religious strength in North Africa in the 1900s, to illegal filmmaking in current day Iran and opera intrigue in France in the 1980s, each film will have pre-film information and post discussion.

Wesley Borucki, Ph.D.
The American Presidency and Its Development
Tuesdays, November 8, 15, 22, 29 – 9:30-11 a.m.

Of course, as the title of the course suggests, we shall explore the changing functions and perceptions of the Presidency over time, as forty-three different men with widely different views of the Constitution and government’s proper role have held the office and the United States’ role in the world has changed. But we’ll also look at some light-hearted aspects of the presidency along the way and separate myth from reality. Did William Howard Taft really get stuck in the White House bathtub and compromise his image? Was Andrew Jackson really so uneducated that the term “OK” has persisted in our language from his notation that was supposed to mean “oll korrect”? Did Harry Truman really just take off on walks without telling anyone from Secret Service? Did John Kennedy try to conceal how much golf he played because Dwight Eisenhower was perceived to have played too much? Did Jimmy Carter keep track of who was using the White House tennis courts? We shall look at the lighter side as well, and how at least these perceptions affected subsequent presidents as they thought about their public image.

Joan Lipton, Ph.D.
Prominent Jewish Artists from Europe and America
Mondays, November 14, 21, 28, December 5 – 2:30-4 p.m.

Most people know the name of Marc Chagall and the Jewish themes that proliferate his art. However, there are more Jewish artists who concentrated on social justice and other ethnic types rather than on Judaica. Among European Impressionists are Camille Pissarro and Max Liebermann. The next generation includes Amedeo Modigliani, Chaim Soutine and Jules Pascin. Many European Jewish artists found that America accepted them on better social and economic terms. The Soyer Brothers, Ben and Bernarda Shahn, Theresa Bernstein, Elie Nadelman and Jacques Lipchitz are fine representative examples.
You will be surprised at what you see and excited to add these artists to your visual repertoire.

Mom turned 72 just weeks ago. The end of a memorable day was drawing near, and as we made our way back home, the sky nearing sunset, Mom smiled.  I smiled.  “Remember when,” she began to say – and I do remember.

From the vantage point of my bedroom window on the second floor of the two-story townhome where I grew up, I recall looking out to an azuline sky as I delighted in one of my favorite childhood activities. “It looks like cotton candy,” I would tell my mother, as I looked at the fluffy pink swirls of spun sugar floating in the blue Florida sky. If only I could float out of that window and make my way to the clouds, I thought. There would be no hurry there; just a slow flowing swim through the sky, where I’d take a moment to turn on my back, enjoy a long slow exhale and float right towards the sweet billows of fairy floss.

My desk was positioned directly below that window and on those days that my drawing and coloring activities would coincide with the sun’s setting, I found that the colors of that glorious sunset would make their way onto my coloring pages:  a periwinkle blue sky brushed with strokes of melon, burnt sienna, and salmon, and the clouds were always colored in cotton candy pink, blended with just a touch of white.

To this day, it is one of my greatest pleasures to sit and watch the magnificent dance of colors swaying across the sky. On occasion, I still find myself longing for a chance to return to that setting and bring color to paper, to enjoy the viewing of that sunset from the window of my childhood home, with Mom by my side, daydreaming of cotton candy right along with me. These days, colorful waves of nostalgia brush over page or canvas on those rare occasions when I can carve out some time to enjoy a quiet afternoon or evening of painting or sketching.

Recently, I was both delighted and intrigued when I discovered that coloring books for adults have become top sellers on Amazon and continue to grow in popularity.  These adult coloring books are not what we all may remember from our childhood. They range from simpler geometric patterns to intricately beautiful designs in an endless variety of themes, from bountiful gardens, underwater scenes, and animal designs, to mandalas and cityscapes. Nostalgia aside, there are good reasons you may want to consider picking up a book and some colored pencils or a set of felt tips.

The trend began in France with the release of Art-thérapie: 100 Coloriages Anti-Stress, a coloring book meant especially for adults, as a form of relaxation. The American Art Therapy Association describes the practice of art therapy as an “integrative mental health profession that combines knowledge of human development and psychological theories and techniques with visual arts and the creative process… helping clients improve psychological health, cognitive abilities and sensory-motor functions.” Art therapy, which dates back to the 1940s, builds on a relationship between certified therapist and patient, and aids people in problem and conflict resolution, and stress management.

Coloring and Stress

While coloring is not exactly the same as art therapy, it has been used as a tool for therapy and can offer calming and relaxing therapeutic effects, which can, in turn, serve to help reduce anxiety and stress. Most of us actively participate in a variety of hobbies, from art, to running, music, or yoga, as a way to lead a more balanced life and enjoy the mental and/or physical benefits they offer.  For those that are not artistically inclined, coloring offers a creative outlet without the pressure that may come from starting on a blank page.

Coloring and Cancer Patients

In a recent journal article, The BMJ remarked that the Velindre Cancer Centre in the UK had observed the impact of coloring books on their patients who were undergoing inpatient chemotherapy at the center.  Patients reported that the activity aided in relaxation during treatment stating, “it relaxes the mind and the body,” and “while you are doing it, you concentrate only on that one task.” Psycho-Oncology also noted that multiple studies reveal adult cancer patients did not necessarily show physical improvements from creative psychological interventions (CPIs), but that using a variety of creative therapies, including art therapy, resulted in lower levels of anxiety, depression, stress and anger, while improving mood and quality of life.

Coloring and Dementia & Alzheimer’s

A recent article on Mag Online Library notes studies have indicated that dementia and Alzheimer’s patients can benefit significantly from engagement, as it can reduce feelings of frustration, anger and aggressive behavior.  Further, familiarity and nostalgia have been shown to help patients reconnect with their identity and facilitate increased engagement. Familiar photos, music and even nostalgic coloring and activity books have been used successfully to stimulate interaction. Considering the benefits of stress reduction and relaxation that many colorists continue to express, this type of activity may also be beneficial to caregivers, who typically experience feelings of fatigue and stress while caring for their loved ones.

While the childhood memories of simpler times may make this a nostalgic experience for many adults, there is much more that this diversion may have to offer, as we all seek to live a healthier and more well-balanced life. As for me, I will continue to enjoy glorious sunsets, the occasional coloring page, and reminiscing about sugary fairy floss with Mom, for as long as I can.

By: Kimberly Bowman, LLS Coordinator of Academic Programs

by Sandi Page, FAU/LLS Jupiter Student, Volunteer and Member of the Marketing Committee

Summer was on the way; Jem and I awaited it with impatience. Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the tree house; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill.
―Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

From The New York Public Library

Ah, summer!  Except for isolated, paradisiacal moments, I will never again recapture the insouciance of my childhood, where a summer day stretched on endlessly, deliciously, filled with unplanned activities and adventures that segued seamlessly into each other – until at night, I tumbled, not quite willingly, into bed and a dreamless sleep on sweet-smelling sun-dried sheets, never doubting for an instant that tomorrow would be waiting with open arms to welcome me to another day of simple delights.

By the very nature of things, our summers, as adults, are more ordered, less spontaneous, but the joys of the freedom offered by relatively unscheduled weeks, even months, are still there – time which we can choose to fill with books we have been meaning to get to, home projects we have put off all year, gardens that are begging for our love and attention and personal projects that have seemed too much of a luxury in our hectic schedules to devote much time to.

Part of my reading list for this summer has been influenced by two of our wonderful LLS professors. Thanks to Dr. Robert Watson’s enthusiastic recommendation during one of his spring LLS lectures, I have just started reading Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, the biography which served as the inspiration for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit Broadway musical Hamilton, a show which received a record-breaking 16 Tony nominations and won 11 awards, including Best Musical, at the 70th Annual Tony Awards Sunday night. After finishing the book, I will tackle the clever, fast-paced lyrics and music on the double-CD set of the Hamilton original Broadway cast recording. Dr. Watson has the lyrics memorized. I won’t be going that far, but I truly admire his dedication and tenacity!

The second book on my list is The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (two-volume Mass Marketing Paperback set available on Amazon for $10) in preparation for the inimitable Dr. Taylor Hagood and his fall 2016 LLS Jupiter series of lectures on Sherlock Holmes.

The personal project that I am the most excited about is the expansion of my family genealogy research thanks to a special Memorial Day Ancestry offer which added a newspaper archives membership and a Folds3 (old military records) membership to my Ancestry World Access annual membership. In just a few days, I have already unearthed an old newspaper interview which will hopefully help unblock one particular ancestor whose family records I can only, for the moment, trace back to 1795. I have also found my great-great-grandfather’s Civil War pension records among other documents pertaining to him. I currently have 4,800+ family members listed on my family tree, a number which represents many long satisfying hours spent researching as I burned the midnight oil. It has always felt akin to being my own private detective as I combed through state and national census records, tax records, property records, searched for information on nearby headstones in cemeteries where ancestors are buried (family members were often buried close by), and chased old leads which often yielded nothing but other times provided answers to long-unsolved family mysteries. Submitting a DNA sample for testing earlier this year was an additional research step which has now put me in touch with distant unknown cousins. Genealogy is an emotionally satisfying and intellectually stimulating hobby and I am delighted with my two new research tools for this summer and the upcoming year!

So, there is my summer in a nutshell. How about you? How will you be spending your golden summer?

I queried some FAU/LLS Jupiter faculty, staff and students about their summer reading and personal projects. Here are their inspiring answers:

Dr. Jeffrey S. Morton (Faculty)

Books I will read this summer:  As is usually the case, I read economics (domestic and international) over the summer. So much of world politics and foreign policy are affected by economic considerations that I find reading econ provides information that is useful in many of my LLS lectures.

Projects: Florence and I are building a mountain vacation home in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. This summer we will be selecting flooring, tiles, countertops, appliances and other items to finish the project.

Dr. Jacqueline Fewkes (Faculty)

Books – I have a few books that I’m rereading this summer. Two of my favorites are Stuff by Daniel Miller and Social Archaeologies of Trade and Exchange: Exploring Relationships among People, Places, and Things by Alexander Bauer and Anna S. Agbe-Davies (Editors). Both of these books offer great ways to explore how we understand material culture and its role in our lives. On a much lighter note, I’m looking forward to fun summer reading too – I don’t have any specific titles in mind yet but I’m a fan of well-written science fiction and fantasy novels. I’m always fascinated by the creation of a believable fictional world, a process which is very anthropological in nature.

Projects – I’m working on my garden this summer, and trying to develop a collection of less common tropical plants and fruit trees in my yard. I was recently inspired by a visit to a plant sale held by the Palm Beach County Rare Fruit Council (http://www.pbrarefruitcouncil.org) – there were thousands of tropical plants that I had never heard of, and wanted to try growing! I’ve gotten new moringa and canistel trees planted already, and am looking to buy a black sapote, if I can find one. I have a number of trees that I need to learn how to prune better to encourage growth and fruiting. I also want to learn more about fruit tree grafting, and try my hand at creating a “personal mix” tree for myself. When not gardening and spending time with my family, I’ll be doing some research work, and trying to finish up the articles that have been stacking up on my desk during the academic year.

Hope Goodsite (Student)

As late spring approached, I allowed myself to realize I was suddenly facing the last semester of a very busy year at LLS. This always brings a tinge of sadness as the learning process, the camaraderie of fellow students and fellow members of the Advisory Board, and the LLS Administration fade away for a few months. These are things surely to be missed. The first thing to develop is the “summer reading list” – that infamous list we read about in the New York Times and alluded to by all our friends. My list is, to say the least, eclectic. It is filled with books I should have read when they were first published (even though the topics were very familiar to me), or books that were published in the past few years. These books will take me from Israel through My Promised Land by Ari Shavit, to Paris with some adventurous Americans in David McCullough’s The Greater Journey.  I don’t want to leave out British government intrigue in The English Girl by Daniel Silva. I will then look at the theme of whether we can ever go home again in Margaret Bradham Thornton’s new novel Charleston.  Also included will be Erik Larson’s book Dead Wake about the sinking of the Lusitania, and The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown, an improbable story about a group of young men at the University of Washington who win the gold medal in rowing at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. I may end up on Wall Street through Andrew Ross Sorkin’s book Too Big to Fail which still sits on my Nook but between the documentaries, a movie on the subject and required reading for all of us as the crisis unfolded, I may let this book continue sitting on my Nook and decide to clean out the garage instead!

Sandy Henry (Student)

My books are lined up for my summer reading. Hopefully I’ll get to them all.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

Euphoria by Lily King

Lone Wolf and Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

In addition, I will need to add whatever books my 2 book clubs suggest for the summer months.

Jean Dessoffy (Student)

I’m just completing All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. It’s easy to understand why it has been on the New York Times bestseller list for 109+ weeks.   After this, I will embark on Penny Vincenzi’s Windfall, all 528 pages. That will keep me busy.

Emily Morton (Staff)

My reading projects for the summer are slightly different this year.  Aside from exploring new literature, I would like to start re-reading the Harry Potter book series – in French! I have always enjoyed these magical books and I think it would be interesting to peruse them again in my second language. It is also my goal this summer to make a map that displays all the countries, major cities and territories that I have visited. I have been to 47 countries within the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia.

Suzanna (Suzie) Wells (Staff)

My summer reading projects are The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (I’ve had it downloaded for some time now but just need time to sit down and read it) and Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, another book recommended by my traveling daughter that is a must for this summer.

Wendi Geller (Staff)

When I find time to read for pleasure, I always go for biographies and autobiographies about musicians and actors. I am fascinated by artists who often create many of their greatest hits during periods of true insanity, be it mental illness, drugs, or alcohol abuse. Some of the biographies that I have read include No One Here Gets Out Alive – The Biography of Jim Morrison by Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugarman; The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of A Shattered Rock Star by Nikki Sixx (bass player for the band Mötley Crüe); Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography by actor Rob Lowe.

Dr. Robert Rabil, a long-time FAU and Lifelong Learning Society faculty member, is the author of numerous books and many journal articles dealing with the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Radical Islam, Hezbollah, Terrorism, Syria, Israel, Iraq, and Lebanon. As an expert, he has appeared on and has been interviewed by British Broadcasting Company (BBC), C-Span, Fox News, MSNBC, National Public Radio (NPR), the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other major media networks and participates in government-sponsored roundtable discussions and forums.

Most recently, Dr. Rabil wrote an article, “Profiling Muslims Is Bad. So Is Ignoring Radical Islam,” which is featured on the National Interest Website. To read the article, click here.

Dr. Rabil is a professor of Middle East studies at Florida Atlantic University’s Department of Political Science and is also the Lifelong Learning Society (LLS) Distinguished Professor of Current Events. He received his master’s degree in government from the Harvard University Extension School and his doctorate in Near Eastern and Judaic studies from Brandeis University. In May 2012, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

This fall, Dr. Rabil will be teaching an eight-week course, “U.S. National Security and The War on Extremism,” and two one-time lectures, “Israel and the Arab Gulf States: A Superficial or Strategic Alliance in the Making?” and “The Future of Iranian-Russian Relations: Implications for the U.S. and Israel’s National Security.”

To learn more about Dr. Rabil, visit his website www.robertrabil.com.

By Kami Barrett-Batchelder, Associate Director of the Lifelong Learning Society, Jupiter

By Sandi Page, Guest Blogger, LLS Student, Volunteer and Member of the LLS Jupiter Marketing Committee

Roger Dean Stadium, located here in Jupiter and adjacent to our FAU LLS campus, opened in 1998 and has a seating capacity of 6,871, including some handicap accessible seating.  In addition to annually hosting spring training for two major-league baseball teams, the Miami Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals, Roger Dean Stadium is also home to two minor-league teams, the Jupiter Hammerheads and the Palm Beach Cardinals. The Jupiter Hammerheads, founded in 1998, is a Class-A Advanced affiliate of the Miami Marlins. The Palm Beach Cardinals, founded in 2003, is the Class-A Advanced affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals.

A friend and fellow LLS student, Yvonne Peters, kindly shared with me a list of local activities when I first moved to South Florida. On the list was the Silver Sluggers program at Roger Dean Stadium. This has to be the best deal in town and great news for FAU LLS Jupiter students who are not heading north for the summer!

For a Silver Slugger membership fee of $26 for the 2016 Florida State League season, baseball fans 55 years and older receive free admission every Wednesday night (from April 13 to August 31) to a Jupiter Hammerhead or Palm Beach Cardinal home game at Roger Dean Stadium. That’s 21 games!  In 2016, Silver Slugger members also receive a free hot dog and Pepsi every Wednesday night, an official Silver Slugger membership card, an official Silver Slugger visor, 10% off merchandise in the Team Store every Wednesday night, and Baseball Bingo each time with nice prizes donated by local businesses.  In addition, the back of each game ticket has a coupon for $5 off your next purchase at Bealls Department Store. The first 200 people who register early for the Silver Slugger program also receive a free ticket for a specific Spring Training game in March. Add up all of these benefits and you will see that a Silver Slugger membership pays for itself many times over!

The affable Dustin Davis, Ticket Office Manager at Roger Dean, assures me that Silver Slugger memberships can be purchased at the Box Office right before the game (probably your best bet as the season will have already started when this blog post goes up) or you can download an application directly from the Roger Dean Stadium website. Tickets can be picked up at the Box Office either at game time (6:30 p.m.) or as early as 10 a.m. the day of the game.  Plenty of free parking is available in the Abacoa parking garage next to the stadium.

The staff at Roger Dean Stadium makes it a point to insure that these games are a fun experience for everyone. When was the last time you sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame!” at the top of your lungs? Well, if you’re a Silver Slugger, you’ll be singing it every Wednesday night during their “7th Inning Stretch” which is also filled with contests and other entertaining activities.

Come on out and enjoy some good old-fashioned fun with the Silver Sluggers at Roger Dean Stadium this summer!

Batter up!

Roger Dean Stadium
4751 Main Street
Jupiter, FL 33458

Main Office:   (561) 775-1818

Ticket Office:  (561) 630-1828

www.rogerdeanstadium.com

 by Sandi Page, Guest Blogger, LLS Student, Volunteer and LLS Jupiter Marketing Committee Member

Epicure, gourmet, gourmand, gastronome, bon vivant, foodie……wherever you place yourself on the culinary appreciation scale, the fact remains that food, and where we partake of it, greatly affects our senses, and can remain in our memory banks, sometimes hidden, for a long time, even a lifetime.

Marcel Proust, in his marvelous Remembrance of Things Past, describes these revived memories so exquisitely when writing about his character once again eating, as he describes it, “short, plump little cakes called ‘petites madeleines,’ which look as though they had been molded in the fluted scallop of a pilgrim’s shell.”….”But when from a long-distant past nothing subsists, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered, still, alone, more fragile, but with more vitality, more unsubstantial, more persistent, more faithful, the smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls, ready to remind us, waiting and hoping for their moment, amid the ruins of all the rest; and bear unfaltering, in the tiny and almost impalpable drop of their essence, the vast structure of recollection.”

As I take a trip down my own culinary memory lane, I stop often to remember all that was attached to a particular incident: my first plane ride as a very young child where I thought that the food tray served at mealtime, with all its compartments and their intriguing contents, so unlike any school lunch tray I had ever encountered, was a magical experience. So, too, was my first trip to a New York City Automat, where tempting individual food dishes beckoned to me from behind their little glass doors and the intoxicating smell of coffee filled the air. Ah, but that innocent me had no inkling of the delights that awaited me in my adult life with my now developed and more sophisticated palate! The first time in France, when a heavily laden and earthy smelling cheese trolley was rolled over to our table for the cheese course, and the waiter, to help me make my choices, patiently and with great pride described in loving detail each cheese’s taste and the region in France of its origin, was an unforgettable moment where I fervently thanked the Universe that I now lived in France. Or that late afternoon on a deserted black sand beach in Santorini, Greece, where an old Greek man, with the wisdom of the ages in his eyes, suddenly appeared out of nowhere with a platter of cold grapes, and taking absolutely no note of our Adam and Eve attire, quietly took our offered drachmas, and just as quickly disappeared. The grapes tasted like ambrosia. Never again have I tasted any so sweet.

But my most memorable meal was the retirement dinner for a dear friend that I had the good fortune of being invited to at Per Se restaurant in New York for their nine-course tasting menu (all courses on-the-spot adapted to my special dietary restrictions). It was a nostalgic and unforgettable evening, for many reasons, and the most perfect meal I have ever had, which is saying something, given the thousands of meals I enjoyed in France, that even with the most humble ingredients, turned into something magnificent in the hands of ordinary cooks or extraordinary chefs.

So, I asked some fellow students, faculty and staff what meal (or food) was memorable to them, the setting and the memories it invoked. Here are their delicious recollections!

Dr. Taylor Hagood (Faculty)

It is difficult for me to pick just one memorable meal out of the many that have been enjoyable, resonant, or somehow significant for me. From a fine schnitzel and cranberry dinner in Berchtesgaden to cow tongue in Lyon to at least the temptation to have catfish goulash in Hungary, I have had the privilege of participating in a variety of culinary experiences, while many times I have had life-changing conversations and enjoyed companionship and conviviality in situations in which I cannot actually recall the fare.

One meal rises above the others for me at the moment. I’m not sure exactly when it was—probably sometime in the late 1980s—but I well remember it was in the southern middle Tennessee hamlet of Minor Hill, where my father’s mother’s family lived. The occasion was the death of one of my great-uncles. It was the custom of that part of my family to gather after the burial for a large meal in the large white house where my great-grandparents had lived. The tables were filled with the dishes I have always loved: such things as cream corn, purple hull peas, sweet potatoes, country ham, and rolls aglow with the warm color of perfect baking. There was also my greatest of all weaknesses, fried chicken.
What was important to me, aside from my loving this food, was my watching my great-uncle, a man named Parmenas Cox. He was a man of great dignity, the chairman of the First National Bank of Pulaski, Tennessee, and an important political figure in the area. Towering over most people, especially his wife, Lounette (who I remember rolling into the old house with children clinging all about her, a kind of Dickensian cornucopia to herself, telling of long past days of drinking from a common dipper and winking at the revelation that when she was young she thought “Republican” was a bad word), Uncle Par went about the austere business of banking in his dark suits during the week and then repaired on the weekends to his farm in the country, where he transformed into an overall-clad member of a community of fields, dogs, and black angus. This breadth of his personality was something I always admired, and during the meal I remember looking across the table and seeing him also eating fried chicken, just as I was. And he didn’t just eat it, he ate it with his fingers. I had been trying my best to use a fork, but here was this man of influence, wealth, and noble mien eating the very same food I loved and in the very same way I, as a kid, ate it, with no sense that he shouldn’t do otherwise.

Such is the meal I think of. On a different day, in a different week, probably another one would seem more important, but this is the one I would tell about today.

Suzanna “Suzie” Wells  (Staff)

Well, my most memorable meal didn’t actually include me eating it! I have been a vegetarian for most of my life and am presently trying to be more vegan, but on a trip to Nairobi several years ago, my husband was eager to try the all-you-can-eat meat menu at the famous Carnivore restaurant. Consisting of meats such as ostrich, zebra, crocodile amongst the normal lamb, chicken and steaks, all brought to the tables on Masai warrior swords, the waiters keep coming until you drop a white flag in the center of the table that signals “no more.”  It was an awful sight to see the gluttony of these tourists, and probably some wealthy locals, eating all they could of these meats, then the next day looking in awe at these animals in the wild! Anyway, I had a baked potato and salad!

Paul Newton (Student)

When considering what my most memorable meal was, the important parameters for me include: not having to wait in line to enter or to wait to get something you want during the meal, having the right company present in a low-noise, good light, smoke-free physically comfortable environment, wearing comfortable clothes….and lots of good-tasting food. All Thanksgiving dinners with my family at home fit that bill perfectly. Fresh homemade fruit cup for the appetizer, turkey, gravy and cranberry sauce, candied sweet and mashed potatoes, string beans, carrots, hot rolls and then apple and pumpkin pie for dessert. Each year during dessert, we would go around the table and share what we all were thankful for. A long time ago, the gathering was composed of my grandparents, parents and us kids and now it is us non-kids, our children and grandchildren. The tradition still goes on each year and the collection of every Thanksgiving dinner since I can remember is my most precious and memorable meal.

Dr. Benito Rakower (Faculty)

It was summer and I was hitch-hiking across Switzerland. A driver dropped me off on a straight road bordered by mountains on one side. The nearest town was Chur. Tired, thirsty, and hungry, I entered a small cafe with a beaded, curtain doorway and sat down at a small table. The owner came over and said he was no longer serving meals. I pleaded with him for something to eat and drink. Without saying a word, he left and returned momently with a basket of sliced French bread, a wedge of cheese, butter and mustard. He then brought me a large glass of cold beer. I recall it as my most delicious and refreshing meal.

Kimberly Bowman (Staff)

Throughout the greater portion of my childhood, eating was mainly about the tiring task of chewing; a chore to be endured a few times a day. Sure, there were those special little treats like churros off 8th Street with a tall glass of “jugo de caña,” but for the most part, eating was just not any fun. I recall being a bit naughty at the dinner table just for the chance to be excused – off to bed without the rest of my supper. My mother, God love her, eventually realized her little angel was all too delighted to head upstairs, where crayons and coloring books awaited. So, when I was asked to recall a memorable meal, I thought of one special experience. It was the day I really discovered a love for food; the joy of eating. You see, I had enjoyed cooking from a relatively early age. I recall coming home from school in the third grade and tuning in to PBS to watch Julia Child’s cooking show. She was fearless in the kitchen and she exhibited such a joy for cooking – and so did I. But the joy of eating – well, that had just never been there. I now could finally relate to my girlfriends back in high school, who never understood how it was possible for me to go most of the day without having a single bite. “I’m just not hungry,” I would tell them – and I wasn’t. But then, it happened. One day in my early twenties, while hanging out with friends, the appetite was there and luckily for me, it happened at a place in Miami Beach we called Joe’s. Joe’s Stone Crab, to be exact. I had finally discovered the blissfully delicious experience that can come from savoring. A feast for any seafood lover, our table was endlessly presented with succulent Florida stone crab, to be enjoyed with warm, melted butter or mustard for dipping. With bib fastened, I delighted in the messiest of eats, where it was all too appropriate and even encouraged, to wipe your mouth with the back of your hand. Conch fritters, shrimp cocktail and coconut shrimp were passed around the table and all played nicely with clam chowder and hashed brown potatoes. Of course, we had to complete our feast with the perfect slice of key lime pie, which I’m certain we paired with a cortadito. To this day, I’m not certain how I managed to partake in all that was passed around the table that day. But between all the great food and laughter in the company of good friends, this became an eating adventure this foodie won’t soon forget.

Peter Lippmann (Student)

I like my beef large, well aged and broiled super-rare. There are few restaurants in South Florida that consistently satisfy these primal tastes at less than astronomical cost, so it was with pleasant surprise some years ago that Louise and I encountered a Spanish-themed establishment in Boca Raton that featured on its menu what it characterized as an aged, tender 40-ounce Porterhouse steak at a reasonably moderate price. Forty ounces? That’s two-and-a-half pounds! Even with the bone factored out, that’s a lot of steak.

We were six at the table. Everyone else chose more Spanish-sounding dishes, but I ordered the Porterhouse, cautioning the waiter in no uncertain terms that it must be cooked very, very rare.

It took quite a while for the food to arrive. The steak was last. It sizzled gloriously, deliciously on the plate, but when I took the first cut, it was well done! Louise cautioned, “Try a cut from the center, it has to be rarer than that”. I tried, but it was to no avail. They had converted this beautiful, almost 3-inch thick slab of infinite beauty to an overcooked, dried-out state of blah. Sacrilege! I called the waiter back and – shall we say vigorously – pointed out the problem to him. He visibly blanched, but quickly collected my plate and disappeared with it back into the kitchen.

About ten minutes later, he reappeared; holding a platter supporting what appeared to be a fresh steak, but this time he was accompanied by three compatriots, obviously members of the restaurant staff. He placed the steak before me and this full group then stood immediately to my rear, awaiting the first cut.

The steak showed surface evidence of high-temperature barbecuing, but its interior proved to be cool and raw. It was a raw chunk of beef! These fellows were obviously taking no chances this time. But despite their and my family’s trepidation, it was delicious. Ignoring the spectators, I sliced and gnawed through each and every morsel, eventually leaving behind only a very, very bare T-Bone. Dessert followed for all and, finally, the check.

We rose from our table and headed out. Just before the front door, we encountered a remarkable scene. There was the owner, seated at the bar with just the trace of a tear welling from his eye, cutting away at what he conceded was my rejected well-done steak. “Listen,” he explained, “I can’t afford to take a beating like this. This steak will have to last me for several meals.”

I still bear a slight, but only slight, residual burden of guilt.