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| The Lyceum is a non-profit learning center dedicated to the concept of shared and active learning in which all are teachers and learners in mutual explorations of topics in the arts, philosophy, psychology, science, cultural studies, anthropology, etc. | Previous OfferingsClasses and workshops previously offered may be offered again. If you have would like to see anything offered again, contact the facilitator or the Lyceum. Summer 2005Spring 2005 OFFERINGS PRIOR TO 2005 *** SUMMER 2005 Anyone interested is invited to join me in exploring important writings by African-American authors. Before each open discussion on the selected reading, I'll provide background on the author. I'm not an expert on these readings. The group is meant to be a collective discovery process. In three summer sessions we will be focusing on short fiction. Monthly readings will be no more than 50 pages. If you would like me to photocopy the reading for you, I can do so if reimbursed (probably no more than a couple of bucks) and I will put you in possession of the reading at least two weeks before the discussion. Dates: remaining spring reading 5/31 The Mis-Education of the Negro. Carter G. Woodson. (1990 ed.). Foreword, Preface & Chs. I-X, pgs. v-xiv & 1-110. Buy (new/used) summer sessions (to be updated) 6/28 Langston Hughes, TBA 7/26 Zora Neale Hurston 8/23 James Baldwin This discussion-centered class is facilitated by Justin Gricus, a lifelong baseball (Red Sox) fan, and Drew Chastain, a Tulane philosophy professor. Background in baseball or philosophy is not assumed. Discussion will engage the initiate and the expert, in both baseball and philosophy, using a newly released and extremely readable collection of articles by experts on baseball and philosophy (Baseball & Philosophy). Facilitators will also tie in film clips and current news. Any additional readings will be provided. Topics are as follows: Session 1: Baseball & America (6/7) Session 2: Baseball & Spectatorship (6/21) Session 3: Baseball & Ethics on the Field (7/5) Session 4: Baseball & Ethics off the Field (7/19) Session 5: Baseball & Race (8/2) Session 1 Reading: Chs. 9 & 10 (5th Inning): 139-168; Ch. 23: 319-26. The class will be a survey of the dramatic revisions of thought and culture occurring in the Renaissance as illustrated and understood through the radical re-conception of the human body that takes place during the period. Starting with a brief sampling of Medieval attitudes towards corporeality, the class will trace the developments and trends in painting, literature, and science from across Europe, which celebrated the human body as the foundation of human beauty, potential, and dignity; as well as a vehicle for lust, sin, and excess. Along the way, the course will strive to touch on the ways in which the concept of the human body informed and was informed by the fashions, political thought, and medical perspectives of the age. Texts and images would be excerpted in handouts or listed out before classes for students to find on their own. Most material is free from copyright and available on the Internet. BREAKING THE CREATIVE BLOCK Is there music you're not making? - poems you're not writing? - canvases you're not painting? - a loom on which you're not weaving? Are you avoiding your desk, your studio, your workshop, your project basket? No matter what kind of art or craft we choose to practice, all of us from time to time get stuck. We want to create, but we manage to avoid creativity as if it were a curse rather than a blessing. And the more we are blocked, the more alone we feel - and the less we accomplish. If you're saying "been there, done that" -or, "am there, doing that "-then we invite you to join with others for a one-day conference - a meeting of hearts, minds and creative spirits - where we will talk about what it is that keeps us from employing our full artistic powers, what confuses our vision and deflects our inspiration, and what saps our determination and devotion to our particular calling. We will also explore what we can do to overcome the blocks, the distractions, the failures of daring. Most importantly, we will consider the possibility of forming an on-going community among ourselves - a network of mutual support and shared obligation and commitment - an allliance that may, over time, help each individual member not only realize his or her fullest potential as an artist or crafter, but also assist him or her to bring forth new work for others to admire, enjoy and be inspired by. Learn about the gifts and traps of your personal character though exploring this ancient Sufi personality system. This weekend workshop will introduce the nine personality types, the means of development and the dynamics between types in a fun, experiential and interactive process. For God's sake, let us sit upon the ground And tell sad stories of the death of kings: How some have been depos'd, some slain in war, Some haunted by the ghosts they have depos'd, Some poison'd by their wives, some sleeping kill'd; All murder'd: for within the hollow crown That rounds the mortal temples of a king Keeps Death his court'. ~ King Richard II (III.ii) Shakespeare's England, much like the times before and after him, was one of political unrest, anxiety, and uncertainty. A populous divided by religious faith, a childless monarch with "the weak a feeble body of a woman," threats from ambitious opponents abroad and at home, and the pageantry of divine right all contributed to the complicated questions of sovereignty, power, and authority in Elizabethan England. This class will focus on Shakespeare's Henry tetra ology (Richard II, 1 Henry IV, 2 Henry IV, and Henry V), starting with the disruption of divine right arising from the deposing of Richard II by the strong-willed and Machiavellian Henry IV, who must then struggle, along with his son, with the problems arising from the power and legitimacy that it takes to be king. The class will be a forum for discussing the political philosophy of the plays, Shakespeare's poetics and insight into human nature, and reactions the plays may have provoked in its original audiences. And, not the least of which, the class will be a celebration of all those aspects that make the plays so fascinating and entertaining: murder, rebellion, political intrigue, family betrayal, and the drunken rantings of one corpulent, syphilitic John Falstaff. Do you feel the loss of the imagination and creative expression in your busy life? Ever want to just engage in purposeless explorations of new ways of thinking, acting and being in the world? This group is dedicated to creating a space of such exploration through the techniques of free movement, theater games, active imagination, playback theater, archetypal amplification, and vocal experimentations. This is not a performance group. Our goal is to create a solid trusting group environment in which new characters, movements, expressions and behaviors can emerge within a supportive non-judgmental atmosphere of "play." The experiences of the group may be personal, humorous, collective, archetypal, spiritual or thoroughly novel. Although I expect most of the class members to be adults with rather limited fluency in any foreign language, this mini-course is designed for all -- regardless of your age or your previous exposure to the French language. I have taught French to children for many years and had a chance to perfect my unique style and fill my bag of tricks. Thus, it is basically the same approach that I will be using to conduct my lessons with you. The sessions will be very hands-on (bring your fake nose and your clown shoes), very interactive (though you are still OK in this class if you're shy), and very colorful (I'll have your favorite color pencils). We will learn only a few things but we will learn them well -- and all together. I will make you an expert in half a dozen slices of daily life and you can take your further studies of French from there! First session is free with no commitment on your part to come back. Whole course is $30.00. Refreshments -- all "made in France" -- are left to your discretion (or lack of it!) Now, "Reflective practice on being a student" -- what is that? More than teaching French, my personal interest is in education, especially adult education. On a couple of occasions, participants will be encouraged, but not required, to hang around after our lesson and to reflect on their experience/practice of being a student. I'll have a few theoretical models to guide our conversation -- just be mindful that we can here only scratch the surface of what it means to be a learner. Our group is to share the responsibility of bringing poems which speak to and of the soul (religious or not; all traditions welcome). We'll balance, on one hand, the technical / mechanical side of poems with, on the other hand, a mere contemplation / a reverent pondering of the words. What we seek is a rich, multi-faceted appreciation of the craft of inspired poets, as well as a devotion to what they are pointing to. (Long moments of silence are expected...) All class members will be asked to research and then teach on how poems work their magic. Circle meeting is also an important aspect of the class experience, for our journeying together will be as valued as the reading of the texts. In a safe and caring atmosphere, everyone will be invited to share and speak from the heart. Required Text: Calling The Circle (The First and Future Culture), by Christina Baldwin (1998, 1994). [about $10] Enrollment: limited. To anyone unsure on how to get started, we recommend Rumi. SUMMER IN ITALY (TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD THROUGH FOOD SERIES) The purpose of this course is to introduce students to cuisines from around Italy. The format is quite simple. In each class, students will learn how to easily and affordably prepare a unique ethnic meal for four. The facilitators will discuss where to purchase special ethnic ingredients and briefly explain the cultural significance of the ingredients themselves. For example, why Italians cook with olives. Each course has been scheduled for two hours, which would include preparation, cooking, tasting, and cleaning up, making a perfect framework for students to duplicate on their own, for family or friends. The trip around Italy will proceed as follows: Bring your own wine or beverage! Second to last Friday of each Summer Month: June 17th - Campania (Southern Italy) July 22nd - Piedmonte (Northern Italy) August 19th - Toscana (Central Italy) SPRING 2005 I invite anyone who's interested to join me in exploring important writings by African-American authors. Before each open discussion on the selected reading, I'll provide background on the author and the author's other works and place in our history. I'm holding the reading group as a collective discovery process, as a way for me to learn with others who want to learn. So, if you're interested in a particular month's reading, please come for discussion even if you've read it before, so that we can all learn. Readings for each month will be announced the month before so that the reading group can be sensitive to the interests of all participants. Possible authors include but are not at all limited to Hallie Quinn Brown, Frederick Douglass, Marcus Garvey, Zora Neale Hurston, Maria W. Stewart, Booker T. Washington, & Malcolm X. Please let me know if you have any recommendations. Monthly readings will be no more than 50 pages. If you would like me to photocopy the reading for you, I can do so if reimbursed (probably no more than a couple of bucks) and I will put you in possession of the reading at least two weeks before the discussion. 1/25 - W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk, Essays I, II & XIV. Discuss Online 3/1 - Marcus Garvey, Message to the People, Chs. 1-7. 3/29 - Booker T. Washington & W.E.B. DuBois in Booker T. Washington & His Critics. Ed. Hugh Hawkins. (i) "The Educational Outlook in the South" by Washington: 10-17; (ii) "The Atlanta Exposition Address" by Washington: 17-32; (iii) "My Early Relations with Booker T. Washington" by DuBois: 47-55; (iv) "Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others" by DuBois: 55-67. 5/3 - Maria W. Stewart in Maria W. Stewart: America's First Black Woman Political Writer. Ed. Marilyn Richardson. Read Part I: The Boston Years: Essays & Speeches, 1831-1833. pgs. 28-76. (note: date changed) 5/31 - Carter G. Woodson. The Mis-Education of the Negro. Further details to be announced. This class is designed to introduce the participant to the basic ideas and structures of two very old traditions in esoteric practices. The alchemical tradition, understood as the vain attempts to transmute physical material into other physical material, had been categorically dismissed as bad science until it was resurrected through a reinterpretation by C. G. Jung as a model of personal transformation known as individuation. We will be approaching alchemy from this perspective. Likewise, with some notable exceptions, the Kabalistic tradition has been sheltered within Jewish tradition as something likely to be spiritually dangerous and therefore restricted to devoted married Jewish males well into midlife. In recent years Kabalistic studies has been opened up to all serious seekers and much has been written on this spiritual path. We will acknowledging the Jewish legacy in this class but will be presenting Kabala as a general path of personal and spiritual growth. Required texts. I will be basing the class on the process described in two texts, so they are required and selections should be read prior to coming to each class in preparation for the explanation, discussion and experiential work done during class time. These texts are: Edward Edinger: Anatomy of the Psyche. La Salle, IL: Open Court, 1988. Dion Fortune: The Mystical Qabalah. York Beach, MA: Weiser, 1988. AT PLAY WITH WORDS (Workshop I) Each workshop features an assignment of a “creative discipline”—a puzzle to be solved or game to be played through the act of writing. Afterwards, we share our writing with each other and talk about how we solved the given problem, what flew and what flopped, and what was learned about the “creative process.” While all required writing is done in class, participants are encouraged to do an alternative challenge at home. This variation on the workshop exercise is then discussed at the next session. AT PLAY WITH WORDS March 8—As Syllable From Sound The syllable is the basic unit of beat in language. Find out what happens to the music of your writing when you use only syllables of a certain size. March 22—Not To Be, Not To Have Copulative (linking) and auxiliary (helping) verbs are pretty much writing essentials. See what exciting things can happen when you do without these seeming necessities. April 5—What You Said, What They Think Grammatically, “person” helps determine verb form; but, it also affects attitude and point of view. Discover new angles to writing by working with a less familiar person. April 19—From Both Sides Now The dynamic duo, adjectives and adverbs, give color and precision to prose. Explore what intriguing developments come forth when you must “pick up on one and leave the other behind”? MORE PLAY WITH WORDS April 26—Simple As ABC or 123 “You’ve gotta have a system!”—but for descriptive writing? Learn how a strict, even artificial structure can move you toward colorful and dramatic copy. May 10—The Long and the Short of It Some sentences ramble leisurely along, turning this way and that, unfolding a subtle nuance here, embellishing a telling detail there. Some don’t. Discover the ways in which “length matters.” May 24—That’s Not My Style If you were someone very different doing something quite out of your ordinary routine, what would you sound like? Join the game and gain insight on creating character. June 7—Being As Precise As Possible The devil’s in the details, so is effective writing. Investigate what happens when you observe like an obsessive detective and compose like a compulsive miser? I have found that a person's favorite fairy tale somehow seems to encapsulate their future destiny, as if the soul knows and recognizes - in the story - the tasks, struggles and conflicts it will face. Fortunately, the story also contains a gift of transformation. As we were enchanted, so we can be redeemed. In the group, we share the fairy tales that made a deep impression on us. We explore the origins, structure, function and symbolism of fairy tales, relating them to our own experience. We write our own fairy tales and examine how they speak of our inner situation. Do you feel the loss of the imagination and creative expression in your busy life? Ever want to just engage in purposeless explorations of new ways of thinking, acting and being in the world? This group is dedicated to creating a space of such exploration through the techniques of free movement, theater games, active imagination, playback theater, archetypal amplification, and vocal experimentations. This is not a performance group. Our goal is to create a solid trusting group environment in which new characters, movements, expressions and behaviors can emerge within a supportive non-judgmental atmosphere of "play." The experiences of the group may be personal, humorous, collective, archetypal, spiritual or thoroughly novel. PATRIARCHY EXPLORED: AN EXAMINATION OF A FEMINIST META-NARRATIVE Critical examination and structured discussion of six articles written by six major feminist thinkers: Helene Cixous, Emily Culpepper, Judy Grahn, Judith Herman, Luce Iragaray and Adrienne Rich. We will attempt to understand the multiple textures of feminist thought as it draws from existentialism, modern and post-modern ideas to weave a narrative of human life. Articles are provided with payment of fee. Psychosynthesis is a method for psychological and spiritual integration and growth. It was founded a centry ago in Italy by Roberto Assagioli, who was also a friend and collaborator of C. G. Jung. Psychosynthesis recognizes the central place of the soul and the Self in psychology. Its aim among other things is to address despair and the lack of meaning in modern life whilst increasing the individual's experience of personal freedom and evoking a fresh sense of inner direction and purpose. Methods used in Pyschosynthesis include: Guided imagery, free drawing, meditation, visualization, Gestalt. The task of this experiential/reflective workshop is to create a mini-community in size (about 6 members) and lifespan (a few months). Experientially, we'll function along two dimensions : (1) Each participant will attempt to share the gift of his/her spiritual practice through samples and vignettes -- rather than big intellectual declarations of beliefs -- while the group learns to "tune in" and echo back. (2) As a "temporary tribe", we'll take steps to build our indigenious religion. The secret to our success here will be not to try too hard, as "where you need to go is probably where you already are!" On the reflective side of the workshop, we'll examine the role of language and reason (the head!) in our being religious/spiritual -- how they sometimes hinder, sometimes contribute to, its quality and its development. Participants will be expected to exchange caring though critical arguments as we all wrestle with ways to meet God -- or the death of God -- in America at 2005. The aim here is to develop better ways to account for, to conceptualize, to hold a discourse, to dialog about the divine. To be mindful of the quality of our sessions together, we'll set up -- during our first meeting -- an informal pattern of functioning together; that is to say that we'll tap into our various expertises, gifts and past failings and decide what roles we are willing to take on, to explore, to stay away from. This'll be an evolving group structure -- which we'll probably revisit -- as we set on to track and tend to the gods. There are two prerequisites: an informal interview (by phone or in person) with the facilitator and listening to The Future of God -- a 60-minute audio recording by Karen Armstrong. Also will be available : possibility of field trips, sharing of reading materials, as well as movies and other AV materials. In many ways, the real heart work will take place between our sessions. There is no fees to enroll, although an attitude of humility and a commitment to learn from others is required. As the Sufi mystic Rumi said :"Come as you are!" The New Orleans Opera Association offers performances of Wagner's Siegfried on Wednesday March 9 and Saturday March 12, 2005. In preparation for a visit to the opera, our group takes the opportunity to explore the entire 4-part Ring Cycle in its mythological and psychoanalytical complexities, with special emphasis on Siegfried. We will examine the archetypes embroiled in the struggle for love and power, as we recognize ourselves, our families' dynamics and our society in the drama of gods and mortals. The meetings will be accompanied by musical excerpts. Feb 10 - Das Rheingold Feb 17 - The Valkyrie Feb 24 - Siegfried Mar 3 - Goetterdaemmerung The purpose of this course is to introduce students to cuisines from around the world. The format is quite simple. In each class, students will learn how to easily and affordably prepare a unique ethnic meal for four. The facilitators will discuss where to purchase special ethnic ingredients and briefly explain the cultural significance of the ingredients themselves. For example, why Italians cook with olives and why the Korean staple ingredient, other than rice, is cabbage. Each course has been scheduled for two hours, which would include preparation, cooking, tasting, and cleaning up, making a perfect framework for students to duplicate on their own, for family or friends. The trip around the world will proceed as follows: 1st Class: Korean 2nd Class: Thai / Lao 3rd Class: Italian 4th Class: African 5th Class: Mexican |
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