Learning in Retirement at Iona University

LIRIC is run by a group of dedicated, creative volunteers. We govern ourselves through an executive board and formulate our own by-laws, policies and procedures. The LIRIC board is made up of the officers and the chairs of our standing committees. Our curriculum committee designs our programs and arranges for presenters from among our members, Iona faculty and the community at large. All members of LIRIC are encouraged to suggest courses, speakers and presenters and to assist in arranging for them. Our Hospitality committee provides us with daily coffee and cookies, and arranges several luncheons each year, some of which are free. Other volunteers edit or write articles for our newsletter, collect membership checks, arrange trips and special events, even stuff envelopes for mailings. LIRIC also has a paid director who is our liaison with Iona University and oversees daily operations.

Director

• Suzanne Page, Ph.D.

Board Members

• President: Shirley Radcliffe
• Vice Presidents: Bob Kent & Linda Levine
• Secretary: Lannie Spalding
• Treasurer: Martha Johnson
• Comptroller: Lois Lovisolo
• Member Liaison: Beth Hofstetter & Dawn Vetrano

Committee Chairs

• Curriculum: Linda Whetzel
• Hospitality: Gail Apfel
• Membership: Lorraine Rosano
• Newsletter Editor: Monica Grey
• Publicity: vacant
• Trip Coordinator: Dianne Heim

Representatives at Large

• Greg Koster
• Chris McCormick
• Jeanne de Saint Ouen

Four Thursdays: January 9, 16, 23 & 30

YESTERDAY AND TODAY or CANASTA
11a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Lunch
12:15-1 p.m.

THE ARTS or MAH JONGG
1-2:15 p.m.

11 a.m.– 12 :15 p.m.

CANASTA

In the Lapidus Room.

YESTERDAY AND TODAY 

January 9

John Jay and Jay Heritage: Achieving Sustainability at Historic Sites Through Accessibility and Inclusion

Presenter: Suzanne Clary, President, Jay Heritage Center

January 16

Save the Sound

Presenter: David Ansel, VP of Water Protection

January 23

Freedomland U.S.A. More Definitive History

Presenter: Mike Virgintino, Author (Note: A different talk on Freedomland than his last one — and lots more memorabilia!)

January 30

Westchester Politics and Issues

Presenter: Judah Holstein, Westchester District 10 County Legislator

1-2:15 p.m.

MAH JONGG

In the Lapidus Room.

THE ARTS

January 9

The Most Famous Non-famous Musical Film Star: The Second Singer

What do West Side Story, The King and I, and My Fair Lady have in common?
(Note: This first class runs until 2:30 p.m.)

Presenter: Louise Edeiken

January 16

Biblical and Martyred Women in Western Art

The Secret Singer What do West Side Story, The King and I, and My Fair Lady have in common?

Presenter: Mark D. Fichtel

January 23

More Biblical and Martyred Women in Western Art

Presenter: Mark D. Fichtel

January 30

North American Indian Art

Presenter: Jack Rosenbluth

Course Descriptions: Monday

Newsworthy Topics

7 sessions
October 7, 14, 21, 28;
November 4, 18;
December 2.
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

Each session will delve into recent news stories within a specific field such as geopolitical concerns or scientific advances. (Although the November elections are certainly a newsworthy topic this semester, we will not be covering them in this class since we are devoting Tuesdays at 12:30 p.m. to various aspects of the elections.) We encourage your active participation in this current events course and will leave plenty of time for civil discourse and a lively informative discussion.

• October 7: Science w/Joyce Kent
• October 14: The Middle East w/Jim O’Neill
• October 21: Modern China w/Fred Towers
• October 28: Russia/China Relations w/Muhammed Saleem
• November 4: Business w/Roseanne Klein
• November 18: Medicine w/Adrienne Weiss-Harrison
• December 2: U.S./China Relations w/Fred Towers & Jim O’Neill

Class Representative: Joyce Kent

Canasta

7 sessions
October 7, 14, 21, 28;
November 4, 18;
December 2.
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

Canasta, a card game in the rummy family, originated in Uruguay and is the Spanish
word for “basket” (you gather a “basket-full” of 7 cards for a canasta!). Popular in the
US in the early 1950s, it is enjoying a revival as card players discover/rediscover
it. Enmeshed in melding, freezing, baiting and signaling, Canasta engages cognitive
activity to analyze, strategize and plan tactical moves - all well rewarded when you
“go” Canasta!

Instructor: Lori Blumenfeld played Canasta in the ‘50s as a teenager and loved
the game. She took a refresher course two years ago and discovered that not only did
she still love it, but she made new friends with whom she continues to play weekly.

Fall Cornucopia

7 sessions
October 7, 14, 21, 28;
November 4, 18;
December 2.
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.

Join us for any or all of these single presentations on a variety of topics.

• October 7 
  Getting to Know You
  An interactive class offering the opportunity to get to know other
  LIRIC members.
  Presenter: Linda Creary
• October 14 
  Forensic Fact Check: Why Everything You Love About CSI Is Wrong
  Presenter: Julie Burrill, SUNY at Stony Brook
• October 21 
  Tour of The Art Institute of Chicago
  Presenter: Julie Averbach, smARTee Tours
• October 28 
  Getting Unstuck: Managing Life’s Transitions and Losses
  Presenter: Emily Laitmon, LCSW, Psychotherapist
• November 4 
  The New NYC Skyline
  Presenter: Michael Molinelli, Architect
• November 18 
  Forgiveness: A Bold Choice for a Peaceful Heart
  Presenter: Noelle Elia, Social Worker
• December 2 
  Learn to Admire, if Not Love, Reptiles and Amphibians
  Presenter: Dianne Heim

Play-Reading

7 sessions
October 7, 14, 21, 28;
November 4, 18;
December 2.
2:00 – 3:15 p.m.

The lives of actors, writers, producers, and directors have been the subject of plays written by theater people from before Shakespearean times to the present. In this semester we will read full-length and one-act comedies and dramas dealing with the mishaps of aspiring performers, or the desperate attempts of a down-and-out actor to regain his fame, or a pair of characters living in a nightmare spoof of a mystery play, or perhaps even an excerpt from a play written by the Bard of Avon himself. (Specific play titles will be announced in the fall, and scripts will be supplied at that time.)

All LIRIC members are welcome to come and read the plays aloud or to sit with us and listen. After a while, the listeners often become readers, but the readers never seem to become strictly listeners. This is not an acting class, so little direction to a single reader is ever given except a very rare and very gentle, “A little louder,  please.” And missing a class is never an issue! 

Presenter: Iona graduate and an M.F.A. in Drama recipient from Carnegie-Mellon University, Len Poggiali directed over forty full-length plays and dozens of shorter works in high school, college, and community productions in Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Westchester.

Art Workshop

7 sessions
October 7, 14, 21, 28;
November 4, 18;
December 2.
2:00 – 3:15 p.m.

LIRIC’s Art Workshop has evolved from a Watercolor Workshop into a multi-media Art experience. All skill levels are welcome. If you enjoy painting, drawing, coloring, even doodling, the Art Workshop is the creative place to be. Unleash your “inner artist” and express yourself in a friendly, well lighted, atmosphere. A list of suggested materials can be provided, or bring what you already have from home, and be prepared to enjoy yourself. For more information contact Gail Apfel at gdapplehead@optonline.net. 

Instructor: Gail Apfel is a graduate of the High School of Music and Art and has participated in classes at the Westchester Art Workshop as well as art classes through Road Scholar and the Hudson River Museum. She chairs LIRIC’s Fine & Performing Arts Committee.

Course Descriptions: Tuesday

Tai Chi

8 sessions
October 8, 15, 22, 29;
November 5, 12, 19;
December 3.
9:00 – 10:00 a.m.

Pre-registration and an additional fee of $64.00 are required for this class. The
registration form is at the end of this catalog.

Tai Chi, as it is practiced in the west today, can perhaps best be thought of as a moving form of yoga and meditation combined. In Chinese philosophy and medicine, “chi” is a vital force that animates the body; thus one purpose of Tai Chi is to enhance the health and vitality of the practitioner.  Tai Chi also fosters a calm and tranquil mind by focusing on the precise execution of the exercises. Learning to do them correctly provides a practical method for improving balance, posture, alignment, fine-scale motor control, rhythm of movement, and breathing. Tai Chi has been recommended as an adjunct therapy for chronic pain, arthritis, insomnia, asthma, high blood pressure, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis and fibromyalgia.

• Instructor:
  • Domingo Colon is the owner of the Tai Chi School of Westchester in Bronxville. He has been practicing Tai Chi since he was fifteen, and is the teacher of other Tai Chi masters as well as a frequent judge at Tai Chi competitions.

A Memoir Writing Workshop

8 sessions
October 8, 15, 22, 29;
November 5, 12, 19;
December 3.
9:00 – 10:15 a.m.

Right now, you can begin to re-experience, and reflect on, the work of your life – the exciting, wonderful, and even the unhappy events. Your grandmother’s cookies. The house that nurtured you for years and years. A special and meaningful person. A dear friend. A diving catch at a Little League baseball game. A crocheted afghan made with Mom, Grandma or Aunt Bea.

In this class, we sit and recall events that to others might mean little, but to ourselves are filled with richness. Through recollection, reflection, creation, you can return to a special day, a week, a year — experiences that you are invited to remember and put on paper via memoir writing

• Instructor:
  • Bill Wertheim has taught both memoir writing and poetry workshops throughout Westchester for over ten years. His BA degree in English Literature is from Columbia University; he holds an MA degree from SUNY at Stony Brook, an MSW degree in Social Work from Hunter College, and is currently at work producing a volume of his poetry and writing his own memoirs.

Contemporary Problems: Philosophical Solutions?

4 sessions
October 8, 15, 22, 29;
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

In this four-part series, faculty from Iona’s Philosophy Department will discuss a range of contemporary problems and explore how philosophy can help us make headway in addressing these problems. The goal will not necessarily be to find solutions (though if we happen upon any, be sure to grab them!), but to at least better understand the nature of the problems themselves.

The problems we will discuss will include the ethical, social and political implications of the development and implementation of AI (artificial Intelligence) and other algorithmic systems, how to best understand the concept of freedom and responsibility in a world of scientifically explicable causes, and more.

Coordinator: This program was coordinated by Gregory Nirshberg, of Iona’s Philosophy Department, who spoke with LIRIC in the spring as part of the Neuroscience series.

Happiness

4 sessions
November 5, 12, 19;
December 3
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

The questions: what is happiness and how can it be achieved have engaged
mankind forever.

Aristotle believed happiness was doing the moral thing.
Freud posited that happiness is pleasure – something we strive to achieve but
never manage to prolong.
Mark Twain wrote: "To be busy is man's only happiness."

In The Geography of Bliss, the NPR reporter, Eric Weiner, a self-described grump, recounts his travels to 10 countries that rate high on the World Database of Happiness. His descriptions of national characteristics in countries as different as Bhutan and the Netherlands or Switzerland and Qatar are amusing and thought provoking.

In this class the presenter will summarize Weiner's conclusions about the definition of happiness based on his travels, the definitions of happiness in the works of some notable thinkers and writers, and the recent scientific findings in the field of human psychology and biology.

Presenter: Shirley Radcliffe, in addition to being LIRIC’s president, is one of our most popular presenters. After teaching in the New York City public schools for more than 38 years, and ending her pre-retirement at Manhattanville College, she brought her considerable talents to LIRIC where she’s offered courses in a wide range of subjects, most
recently Chaucer’s Prologue to The Canterbury Tales as history.

Mass Media’s Impact on Society

3 sessions
October 8, 15, 22.
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.

The goal of this discussion-based class is to gain a broad understanding of the
role of media in our lives and our society. We will explore topics such as how
social media impacts the way we think, what media literacy is in the Digital age,
how to navigate the media in this election cycle, and how to relate to young
people who live in a virtual, online world.

• October 8
  A brief history of the development of the media and its impact on cultures.
• October 15 
  How the evolution of broadcast television, cable, streaming, and social media shapes our views today.
• October 22 
  The Presidential election and the importance of Media Literacy. Media Bias, Deep Fakes, Artificial Intelligence. How to navigate the lies, grievances and misinformation in a red state/blue state, poll-driven environment.

Presenter: Jim Fauvell taught at New York Institute of Technology for 39 years and was chairperson of their Communication Arts Department for 15 years.

Kent’s Comments

3 sessions
October 29;
November 5, 12.
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.

This fall Kent’s Comments will cover both the November elections and recent Supreme Court decisions, as well as the public’s declining respect for its impartiality. There will be predictions of election results for the Presidency, the Senate, the House, governorships, and state legislatures – followed, of course, by a discussion of the election outcomes and the implications thereof.

Presenter: Bob Kent is an attorney specializing in health care and human resources. With a JD from Harvard Law School and an MBA from NYU, he has been keeping LIRIC informed about the presidency and the Supreme Court for the last eight years.

Exploring the Symbols and Language of Hate

1 session
November 19.
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.

Presenter: Steve Goldberg, who has given us courses on hate and the history of
antisemitism in the past, returns to discuss the symbols and language
of hate. The retired chair of the Social Studies Department at New
Rochelle High School, he is presently Director of Education at the
Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center in White Plains.

Spanish (La clase de español)

7 sessions
October 8, 15, 22, 29;
November 5, 12, 19.
2:00 – 3:15 p.m.

This is a multi-level Spanish language acquisition course highlighting pronunciation, conversation, grammar, readings on varied subjects, and – songs. If you can’t say it, you can sing it!

Instructor: Rosalie Hollingsworth taught Spanish and bilingual subjects in New York City for some 35 years. Afterwards she taught Spanish classes to retired teachers at the UFT. She brings her expertise in both language and music to LIRIC with this class.

All That Jazz – ‘Soundies’ & ‘Lost Albums’

4 sessions
October 29;
November 5, 12, 19.
2:00 – 3:15 p.m.

This series of All That Jazz will focus on newly discovered ‘lost albums’ by great jazz artists. We will start with a selection of ‘Soundies’, three-minute films from the 1940s that played on jukebox-like Panorams and featured music, dancing and stars like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Stan Kenton, and Gene Krupa (digitally remastered on BluRay in 2023). Then a double bill of Thelonious Monk in Palo Alto in 1968 (restored and released in 2024) and the unlikely duo of Chet Baker and Jack Sheldon in 1972 (released in 2024); and we’ll end with two sets by a pre-Bossa Nova Stan Getz Live at the Village Gate in 1961 (released in 2019).

Presenter: Gregory Koster has been a Jazz fan since the early 60s, was a Jazz  DJ in college, contributed Jazz reviews and surveys to The Sensible Sound magazine for over 15 years, and is Past President of the PJS Jazz Society in Mount Vernon.

Course Descriptions: Wednesday

Wednesdays are special at LIRIC. Classes are suspended that day to allow for additional intellectual and artistic pursuits off-site. The familiar is intertwined with the new in often off-beat adventures. The goal is to expose our members to things and places that enrich and feed the mind as well as the soul.

This fall we have some very different trips planned, one to a museum and a chocolate factory, one to the Hudson Park Children’s Greenhouses (where you’ll go home with a potted amaryllis bulb) and the last to the theater for a production of A Christmas Story. Space is limited, so LIRIC members receive first priority. Information about our trips may be included in your welcome packet when you join, or as a separate mailing. 

Trip planner Dianne Heim likes to travel far and near. With so many things to see in the world, Dianne would like to share with you some of those in our own backyard.

Course Descriptions: Thursday

Please Note: LIRIC will not meet on two Thursdays: October 17 and 24. Our new landlords were unable to provide us with the space.

Dutch Masters: The Age of Rembrandt

6 sessions
October 10, 31;
November 7, 14, 21;
December 5.
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

In the third and last segment of lectures on the art of 17th century Holland presented by the Great Courses professor William Kloss, we will focus on Vermeer and Rembrandt. Showing two 25-minute videos each week, retired librarian and long-time LIRIC member and presenter Jo-Anne Weinberg will moderate the class, lead the discussion, and provide additional information

Lesser-Known Presidents

6 sessions
October 10, 31;
November 7, 14, 21;
December 5.
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.

Most people know the last few presidents, as well as Washington, Lincoln, and a few others. Our speaker, Mark Fichtel, has chosen twelve 19th century presidents that he believes are not well-known and will tell their stories in entertaining and well-illustrated talks.

• October 10 James Monroe and John Quincy Adams
• October 31 Martin Van Buren and William Henry Harrison
• November 7 John Tyler and James Knox Polk
• November 14 Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore
• November 21 Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan
• December 5 Andrew Johnson and Rutherford B. Hayes

Presenter: Mark D. Fichtel

Literary Discussion

6 sessions
October 10, 31;
November 7, 14, 21;
December 5.
2:00 – 3:15 p.m.

Readings for the Literary Discussion class will provide us with the opportunity to deepen our understanding of China’s rich history. We’ll be transported to the Forbidden City during the Qing dynasty with Anchee Min’s historical novel, Empress Orchid. We’ll learn about life in an early 20th century Chinese farming community from Pearl Buck’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Good Earth. And in our third full-length work, Sijie Dai’s semi-autobiographical novel Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, a young man describes being “re-educated” during the Cultural Revolution. The Westchester Library System owns many copies of these books including some electronic versions. A diverse assortment of short works will allow us to sample liter ture from several different time periods. Some selections date from long before the founding of the People's Republic of China; others are contemporary works, some of which have been banned in China, by award-winning authors such as Mo Yan and Yan Lianke.

• October 10 
  Empress Orchid, by Anchee Min
  Presenter: Linda Whetzel
• October 31 
  The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck
  Presenter: Mary Ann Preiato
• November 7 
  Short Works (Paper copies will be distributed at the 10/31 session.)
  Presenter: Kobie Thakar
• November 14 
  Short Works (Paper copies will be distributed at the 11/7 session.)
  Presenters: Barbara Hickey and Kobie Thakar
• November 21 
  Short Works (Paper copies will be distributed at the 11/14 session.)
  Presenter: Rick Leibert
• December 5 
  Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, by Sijie Dai
  Presenter: Elizabeth Ward

Attendees are encouraged, but not required, to read the works in advance; all are
welcome.

Course Representative: Kobie Thakar

Mah Jongg

6 sessions
October 10, 31;
November 7, 14, 21;
December 5.
2:00 – 3:15 p.m.

Mah Jongg, a tile-based game thought to have originated in China several hundred years ago, spread throughout the world during the twentieth century. While it involves a degree of chance, it is a game of skill, strategy and calculation – all of which you will learn in this class which is open not only to beginners who want to learn the fundamentals but also to those who already know how to play. You will need a 2024 Mah Jongg card, which can be purchased from Amazon, the Mah Jongg League, or at a local store.

Instructor: Linda Levine

Course Descriptions: Friday

Lecture Series: China

8 sessions
October 11, 18, 25;
November 1, 8, 15, 22;
December 6.
1:00 – 2:15 p.m.

Class meets in
Romita Auditorium
in Ryan Library

This is, as you can see, an eclectic series on China, taking us from ancient days to the
21st century, and touching on its culture and religion as well as its history.

• October 11 
  Introduction to China: From Ancient China to the First Unified Empires
  Presenter: Dr. Yasuhiro Makimura, History Department
• October 18 
  Foundations of China: Politics, Religion, and Ethnicity, or
  What does it Mean to Be Chinese?
  Presenter: Dr. Yasuhiro Makimura, History Department
• October 25 
  Chinese Dance: Embodiment of History, Beauty, and Culture
  Presenter: Dr. Hannah Park, Arts & Languages Department
• November 1 
  The Cultural Richness Reflected in China's Ancient Script
  Presenter: Robert Henrey
• November 8 
  Chinese Gods, Goddesses, and Myths
  Presenter: Nanako Sakai, Religious Studies Department
• November 15 
  China: From Empire to People’s Republic
  Presenter: Kobie Thakar
• November 22 
  The Great Cities of China: Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing
  Presenter: Lois Lovisolo
• December 6 
  China’s Economy in the 21st Century
  Presenter: Dr. Wei (Helene) He, Chair of Finance Department,
  LaPenta School of Business

Film Course: Chinese Films

8 sessions
October 11, 18, 25;
November 1, 8, 15, 22;
December 6.
2:30 – 4:45 p.m

Class meets in Romita Auditorium in Ryan Library

The world’s most populous nation has been slow in developing its own film industry. After the Japanese invasion of Shanghai in 1937, many filmmakers fled to Hong Kong or Taiwan. The reopening of the Beijing Film Academy in the late 1970s led to a surge in creativity and produced a group of cinematic masters known as the “Fifth Generation.” However, after the 1989 massacre in Tiananmen Square, Chinese film production lost much government support and became dependent on Japanese and German financing, which in turn influenced the genre. Rumor is that China is mining talent from the Sundance Institute to enrich its film-making prowess.

• October 11 
  Hollywood Chinese, 2007, 90 minutes
  A documentary examining the Chinese American role and influences in Hollywood from
  the first Chinese American film produced in 1917 until contemporary times.
• October 18 
  Raise the Red Lantern, 1991, 125 minutes
  Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, this movie, set in 1920s China,
  examines the fierce competition for his attention and favor among the four wives of
  wealthy Master Chen.
• October 25 
  King of Masks, 1995, 91 minutes
  A childless street performer who practices the dying art of the change-mask technique
  in 1930s China buys what he believes is an orphan boy in a desire to pass on his art.
• November 1 
  To Live, 1994, 135 minutes
  Pulled from Chinese distribution because of “anti-communist views,” this film depicts
  the life of a Chinese family from the 1940s gambling dens to the hardships of the
  Cultural Revolution in the 1960s.
• November 8 
  The Wedding Banquet, 1993, 106 minutes
  Recently made into a Broadway musical, Ang Lee’s film tells the story of a gay landlord
  and his female tenant who agree to a marriage of convenience to silence his nagging
  parents. All is well until his parents come to visit!
• November 15 
  Shower, 1999, 92 minutes
  A wealthy young businessman’s icy attitude toward his working-class background is
  about to thaw as he is forced to reconnect with his elderly father and mentally
  challenged younger brother who together run a public bathhouse.
• November 22 
  Internal Affairs, 2002, 101 minutes
  This brilliantly acted and directed movie, winner of 27 Asian film awards, was the basis
  for Scorsese’s The Departed. Who is the mole in the police department and who the
  undercover cop in this tour de force of characterization and action?
• December 6 
  House of Flying Daggers, 2004, 119 minutes
  With a plot centered around deception, deceit, and devotion, this visually spectacular
  film features a style of martial arts known as wuxia, and contains both outstanding
  acting and dazzling choreography.

Instructor: Cheryl Passavanti is a learning facilitator and lecturer on current topics about and through film. A frequenter of film festivals and film clubs, she has brought her expertise to the New Rochelle Resource Center, the Adult Education program in New Rochelle, and, in the last few years, to LIRIC.

Class Representative: Lorraine Rosano

Summer Intersession at a Glance 

Four Tuesdays July 9, 16, 23, 30

All classes meet at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
Intersection of Mill Rd. & North Ave. New Rochelle, NY

BYGONE DAYS

11 a.m. — 12:15 p.m.

LUNCH

12:15 — 1 p.m.

A SUMMER SAMPLING

1 — 2:15 p.m.

BYGONE DAYS

11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Rejoice, history buffs, as we visit the people and places of yesteryear!

July 9

Whaling, Whalers, and Whaling Communities: Work and Workers in an Early American Industry

Presenter: Laura M. Chmielewski, Associate Professor of History, SUNY Purchase, St. Paul’s Church

July 16

The Etruscans
Presenter: Lois Lovisolo

July 23

The Story of Old Glory:Thirteen Stars to Fifty
Presenter: Sheila Marcotte, Founder and Former President, Eastchester Historical Society; Eastchester Councilwoman

July 30

Westchester County Historical Society: Treasures and Triumphs
Presenter:Patrick Raftery, Westchester County Historical Society

A SUMMER SAMPLING

1 – 2 :15 p.m.

Join us for an eclectic mix of lectures.

July 9

Where is the Global Study of Religion Going? Some Challenges and Convergences
Presenter: Father Vaughn J. Fayle, OFM, PhD, Visiting Professor of Religion and Philosophy, Iona University

July 16

More Biblical Women in Western Art
Presenter: Mark D. Fichtel

July 23

Senior Self-Defense and the Martial Arts
Presenter: Sara Furlong

July 30 12:30 p.m.

General Membership Meeting, Elections and Lunch

Course Descriptions: Monday

Great Decisions

8 sessions
March 4, 11, 18;
April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29:
10:30-11:45 a.m.

Great Decisions is a course sponsored by the Foreign Policy Association that encourages people to learn about and discuss U.S. foreign policy. Each session includes a 30-minute DVD for background and then a discussion led by LIRIC members. Although it is not required, participants who wish to get the most from the course should purchase a copy of the Great Decisions Briefing Book ($35.00 + shipping) and do the readings for each class. Copies may be ordered directly from The Foreign Policy Association by calling 1-800-477-5836 between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Mondays through Friday, or online at www.fpa.org/greatdecisions.

March 4:

• Mideast Realignment
• Presenter: Jim O'Neil

March 11:

• Climate Technology
• Presenter: Muhammad Saleem

March 18:

• Science Across Borders
• Presenter: Andrew Harrison

April 1:

• U.S. China Trade Rivalry
• Presenter: Fred Towers

April 8:

• NATO's Future
• Presenter: Bob Kent

April 15:

• Understanding Indonesia
• Presenter: Lois Lovisolo

April 22:

• High Seas Treaty
• Presenter: Jim O'Neil

April 29:

• Pandemic Preparedness
• Presenter: Adrienne Weiss-Harrison

Mah Jongg

8 sessions
March 4, 11, 18;
April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29:
10:30-11:45 a.m.

Mah jongg, a tile-based game thought to have originated in China several hundred years ago, spread throughout the world during the twentieth century. While it involves a degree of chance, it is a game of skill, strategy and calculation – all of which you will learn in this class which is open to beginners who want to learn the fundamentals but also to members who already know how to play. You will need a 2023 Mah Jongg card, which can be purchased from Amazon, the Mah Jongg League or at a local store, and a 2024 card which will be available in April

Please call Linda Levine at 914-235-9878 by February 23rd to register, to request that we purchase a card for you, or for more information about the class.

Spring Salmaguadi

6 sessions
March 4, 11, 18;
April 1, 8, 15:
12:30-1:45 p.m.

Join us this series of six very different- and thoroughly engaging -talks.

March 4:

• Amazing Diversity in the World of Birds
• Presenter: Dianne Heim

March 11:

• The Genius of Birds
• Presenter: Dianne Heim

March 18:

• Being a Transgender Female Multi-Faceted Artist
• Presenter: Fran Sisco

April 1:

• A Tour of New York City’s Museum of Modern Art
• Presenter: Julie Averbach

April 8:

• Islam: Quo Vadis, Where Has it Been and Where is it Going?
• Presenter: Mark D. Fichtel

April 15:

• Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu – Nobel Laureates Who Changed South Africa
• Presenter: Rick Leibert

Back to Business

2 sessions
April 22, 29;
12:30-1:45 p.m.

Members of Iona's LaPenta School of Business join us to discuss:

April 22:

• Re-Branding a 100-Year-Old Company
• Presenter: Professor Mike Volza

April 29:

• What is Research and What We Need to Know About It
• Presenter: Dr. Jeffrey Haber

Class Representative: Chris McCormick

Play-Reading

8 sessions
March 4, 11, 18;
April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
2 – 3:15 p.m.

We are going to keep our spring 2024 semester play selections light and whimsical at our temporary home at Iona Bronxville. We will return to our mix of serious and comic plays in the fall of 2024 when we return to Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.

March 4, 11, 18:

• The Good Doctor (1973) is Neil Simon’s adaptation of ten short, mostly comic stories by the great Russian playwright, Anton Chekhov. By way of a preface, we also will read Chekhov’s one-act farce, “The Marriage Proposal.”

April 1 & 8:

• You Never Can Tell (1897) is George Bernard Shaw’s joyous comedy of errors about a down-and-out dentist, a middle-aged couple at odds with each other, their two outlandish younger children, and their all-too-formal older daughter who has no intention of marrying anyone, especially not an amorous dentist.

April 15, 22, 29:

• The Matchmaker (1954) by Thornton Wilder was the source material for Hello Dolly and is a splendid and endearing comedy in its own right. In addition, here is a delightful Act IV and some wonderful supporting characters which were cut from the musical version.

Presenter:

• An Iona graduate and an M.F.A. in Drama recipient from Carnegie-Mellon University, Len Poggiali directed over forty full-length plays and dozens of shorter works in high school, college, and community productions in Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Westchester.

Art Workshop

8 sessions
March 4, 11, 18;
April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29:
10:30-11:45 a.m.

LIRIC’s Art Workshop has evolved from a Watercolor Workshop into a multi-media Art experience. All skill levels are welcome. If you enjoy painting, drawing, coloring, even doodling, the Art Workshop is the creative place to be. Unleash your “inner artist” and express yourself in a friendly, well lighted, atmosphere. A list of suggested materials can be provided, or bring what you already have from home, and be prepared to enjoy yourself. For more information contact Gail Apfel at gdapplehead@optonline.net.

Instructor:

• Gail Apfel is a graduate of the High School of Music and Art and has participated in classes at the Westchester Art Workshop as well as art classes through Road Scholar and the Hudson River Museum. She chairs LIRIC’s Fine & Performing Arts Committee.

Course Descriptions Tuesdays

Tai Chi

7 sessions
March 5, 12;
April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30;
9 a.m.-10 a.m.

Pre-registration and an additional fee of $56.00 are required for this class. The registration form is at the end of this catalog (Note that there is no class March 19th.)

Tai Chi, as it is practiced in the west today, can perhaps best be thought of as a moving form of yoga and meditation combined. In Chinese philosophy and medicine, “chi” is a vital force that animates the body; thus one purpose of Tai Chi is to enhance the health and vitality of the practitioner. Tai Chi also fosters a calm and tranquil mind by focusing on the precise execution of the exercises. Learning to do them correctly provides a practical method for improving balance, breathing. Tai Chi has been recommended as an adjunct therapy for chronic pain, arthritis, insomnia, asthma, high blood pressure, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis and fibromyalgia.

Instructor:

• Domingo Colon is the owner of the Tai Chi School of Westchester in Bronxville. He has been practicing Tai Chi since he was fifteen, and is the teacher of other Tai Chi masters as well as a frequent judge at Tai Chi competitions.

A Memoir-Writing Workshop

8 sessions
March 5, 12, 19;
April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30;
9 a.m.- 10:15 a.m.

Right now, you can begin to re-experience, and reflect on, the work of your life –the exciting, wonderful, and even the unhappy events. Your grandmother’s cookies. The house that nurtured you for years and years. A special and meaningful person. A dear friend. A diving catch at a Little League baseball game. A crocheted afghan made with Mom, Grandma or Aunt Bea.

In this class, we sit and recall events that to others might mean little, but to ourselves are filled with richness. Through recollection, reflection, creation, you can return to a special day, a week, a year — experiences that you are invited to remember and put on paper via memoir writing.

Contract the instructor at billwerth@aol.com to register for this limited enrollment class.

Instructor:

• Bill Wertheim has taught both memoir writing and poetry workshops throughout Westchester for over ten years. His BA degree in English Literature is from Columbia University; he holds an MA degree from SUNY at Stony Brook, an MSW degree in Social Work from Hunter College, and is currently at work producing a volume of his poetry and writing his own memoirs.

Bioethics: Issues in Contemporary Society

4 sessions
March 5, 12, 19;
April 2;
10:30-11:45 a.m.

This four-part series will examine ethical issues presented by recent events:

• Is Ozempic the answer to the obesity epidemic?
• Intersex athletes in competitive sports
• End of life choices
• Sterilization of the disabled

Presenter:

• Joyce Kent is the retired chairperson of Science at New Rochelle High School where she introduced a course on Bioethics. Her class at LIRIC on bioethical issues has become a spring tradition. Joyce chairs the Science and Technology arm of the Curriculum Committee

Neuroscience: The Brain and Behavior

4 session
April 9, 16, 23, 30
10:30-11:45 a.m.

In this four-part series, we will discuss a range of neuroscience-related topics, including:

How brain health is supported by exercise and sleep, and how stress disrupts brain health and negatively impacts mood,

How the brain responds to rewards, and how dysregulation of the brain’s reward system leads to compulsive drug, alcohol, or food consumption as well as other addictive behaviors (gambling, compulsive shopping, hoarding, etc.),

How we learn, and how adopting a growth mindset facilitates the acquisition of new knowledge and skills, and

Neuroethics and the societal implications of neuroscience for human self-understanding and policy creation.

Coordinator:

• This program was coordinated by Dr. Mary Jane Skelly, Assistant Chair of Iona’s Psychology Department, who has been actively involved in creating Iona’s new neuroscience major.

Class Representative: Joyce Kent

Writing and its Role in Shaping Culture

4 sessions
March 5, 12, 19;
April 2;
12:30-1:45 p.m.

The series explores and invites discussion on how the invention of writing some 4,500 years ago made it possible for humans to domesticate language and cope with settled city states supporting increasing populations by developing civilizations that thrived on trade and on shared cultures and foreshadowed the advent of technology.

March 5:

• The invention of writing in the Ancient Near East – How a Sumerian innovation spread across Mesopotamia

March 12:

• How the Mediterranean and Near Eastern world gravitated toward a phonetic approach to writing

March 19:

• Rediscovering Ancient Egypt through what was thought to be a long-forgotten language and the mysterious signs used to write it

April 2:

• The recovery of Mesopotamian civilizations through the decipherment of cuneiform signs buried under the sands of time

Presenter: Robert Henrey, scholar and traveler, who recently gave a talk on Vietnam for LIRIC.

Well-Being

3 sessions
April 16, 23, 30;
12:30-1:45p.m.

April 16:

• What’s in Your Medicine Cabinet?
• What oral care products are you using? Guidelines and considerations to help you buy the best ones for you.
• Presenter: Lois Dreyer, Dental Hygienist

April 23:

• What Did You Say?
• The social, emotional, and mental effects of hearing loss, and new developments in hearing technology
• Presenter: Dr. Marisa Boyle, Doctor of Audiology

April 30:

• Inventors of the Roaring Twenties
• Presenter: Kobie Thakar
• Moved from Friday Lecture Series

Spanish (La clase de español)

4 sessions
March 5, 12, 19;
April 2;
2-3:15 p.m.

This class is intended for beginners and for those who wish to renew their skills– enhanced with songs on all levels from Spain and Latin America.

All that Jazz - "Soundies" & Big Bands

3 sessions
April 16, 23, 30;
2-3:15 p.m.

This series of All That Jazz will focus on Big Bands. We will start with a selection of “Soundies” three-minute films from the 1940s that played on jukebox-like Panorams and featured music, dancing, and stars like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Stan Kenton, and Gene Krupa. Then the 1965 profile of Duke Ellington Love You Madly with performances at Basin St. West, the Monterey Jazz Festival, and the first Concert of Sacred Music. Finally, we’ll go out swinging with Count Basie at Carnegie Hall in 1981.

Presenter:

• Gregory Koster has been a Jazz fan since the early ‘60s, was a Jazz DJ in college, contributed Jazz reviews and surveys to The Sensible Sound magazine for over 15 years, and is Past President of the PJS Jazz Society in Mount Vernon

Course Descriptions: Wednesdays

Wednesdays are special at LIRIC. Classes are suspended that day to allow for additional intellectual and artistic pursuits off site. The familiar is intertwined with the new in often off-beat adventures. The goal is to expose our members to things and places that enrich and feed the mind as well as the soul.

Space is limited, so LIRIC members receive first priority. Information about our trips will be included with this catalog, in your packet when you join, or as a separate mailing

Trip planner Dianne Heim likes to travel far and near. With so many things to see in the world, Dianne would like to share with you some of those in our own backyard.

Course Descriptions: Thursdays

Dutch Masters: The Age of Rembrandt

4 sessions
March 7, 14, 21;
April 4;
10:30-11:45 a.m.

This class continues with the series of 36 video lectures on the art of 17th century Holland presented by the Great Courses professor William Kloss, who last year gave us The World’s Greatest Paintings. Showing two 25-minute videos each week, retired librarian and long-time LIRIC member and presenter Jo-Anne Weinberg will moderate the class, lead discussions and provide additional information.

Prologue to the Canterbury Tales as History

4 sessions
April 11, 18, 25;
May 2;
10:30-11:45 a.m.

The medieval period was a time of enormous upheaval and change in England. Among those changes is the emergence of the first truly great writer in the English language, Geoffrey Chaucer. A civil servant and a courtier in the court of three kings (Edward III, Richard II, and Henry IV), Chaucer was a keen observer of human behavior. Through our introduction to those pilgrims on their way to Canterbury, we will also look at some of the major historical events of the time.

(Copies of The Canterbury Tales in modern English are available in local libraries.)

Presenter:

• Shirley Radcliffe, in addition to being LIRIC’s president, is one of our most popular presenters. After teaching in the New York City public schools for more than 38 years, and ending her pre-retirement at Manhattanville College, she brought her considerable talents to LIRIC where she’s offered courses in literature, language, dining, clothes, Pre-Columbian history, art, and most recently, being WEIRD.

More Countries

4 sessions
March 7, 14, 21;
April 4;
12:30-1:45 p.m.

These talks will cover interesting countries with complex problems and examine the historical, political, and social dynamics of each nation..

March 7:

• Why have over seven million people left Venezuela?

March 14:

• Why is there such a disparity in the lives of North and South Koreans?

March 21:

• Sudan and the world’s newest country, South Sudan, are on the United Nations list of countries that desperately need help, especially food aid.

April 4:

• The Philippines has diverse issues and is now engaged in maritime problems with an aggressive China.

Presenter:

• Lois Lovisolo is a member of the Curriculum Committee as well as LIRIC’s Comptroller, and regularly presents informative classes on the history and geography of countries of the world.

The World Around Us

3 sessions
April 11, 18, 25;
12:30-1:45 p.m.

April 11:

• Around the World in 86 Days
• Presenter: Dr. Jack Breslin, Media & Strategic Communication Department, Iona University

April 18:

• Wildlife Management: Supporting Local Wildlife from Bobcats to Butterflies
• Presenter: Steve Ricker, Conservation Director, Westmoreland Sanctuary

April 24:

• Geology in Your Backyard&
• Presenter: Jeffrey Rappaport, Geo-Science Educator

Literary Discussion

7 sessions
March 7, 14, 21;
April 4, 11, 18, 25;
2-3:15 p.m.

The author Yunte Huang has described America in the 1920s as “a sprawling party that would seem to go on forever." In the Literary Discussion class, we’ll explore this vibrant era by reading and sharing our reactions to the works listed below. We begin with an engrossing chronicle of the Roaring Twenties, One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson.

The Westchester Library System owns many copies of the full-length books including some eBook and audio book versions. Paper copies of the readings we’ll discuss on March 14th, April 11th, and April 18th will be distributed the prior week. Attendees are encouraged, but not required, to read the works in advance; all are welcome.

March 7:

• One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson
• Presenter: Jeanne de Saint Ouen

March 14:

• Short works by Sherwood Anderson, Sinclair Lewis, and others
• Presenter: Rick Leibert

March 21:

• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Presenter: Barbara Hickey

April 4:

• The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
• Presenter: Paulette Gabbriellini

April 11:

• Short works by Dorothy Parker and Katherine Anne Porter
• Presenter: Linda Whetzel

April 18:

• Short works by writers of the Harlem Renaissance
• Presenters: June Hesler and Linda Whetzel

April 25:

• Jazz by Toni Morrison
• Presenter: Beth Hofstetter

Class Representative: Kobie Thakar

Course Descriptions: Fridays

Lecture Series: A Century Ago: The 1920s

6 sessions
March 8;
April 5, 12, 19, 26;
May 3;
1-2:15 p.m.

So – where were we one hundred years ago? Well, the ‘20s began with women’s right to vote – and, coincidentally, Prohibition – and ended with the Great Depression and the repeal of Prohibition. In between we had bootleggers and speakeasies, Lindbergh and the first solo transatlantic flight, the Jazz Age, the Harlem Renaissance, the Art Deco style of architecture, the Scopes Trial, the revival of the Ku Klux Klan, the advent of “talking” movies, the popularity of radio, the development of both the telephone and television. We could go on ad infinitum, but in this series we’ll deal with just a few movements and events

March 8:

• An Overview of The 1920s
• Presenter: Dr. James T. Carroll, History Department

April 5:

• How Buster Keaton (Almost) Broke the Movies
• Presenter: Dr. Dean Defino, Director of Film Studies, English Dept.

April 12:

• The “Oxydolization” of the Airwaves: Radio and the Age of the Sponsor
• Presenter: Dr. Tony Kelso, Media & Strategic Communication Dept.

April 19:

• Crime and Punishment in the 1920s
• Presenter: Dr. Paul O’Connell, Criminal Justice & Sociology Dept.

April 26:

• Modern Art in the 1920s
• Presenter: Professor Kristy Caratzola, Fine & Performing Arts Dept.

May 3:

• Westchester in the 1920s
• Presenter: Barbara Davis, Co-Director, Westchester County Historical Society

Note: Kobie Thakar’s talk on Inventors of the Roaring Twenties was originally scheduled for March 22nd as part of this series. However, there is no room available on campus that day. The talk will be given instead on Tuesday, April 30th from 12:30 – 1:45 on the Bronxville Campus.

Film Course: The Twenties – Flashy Flicks

6 sessions
March 8;
April 5, 12, 19, 26;
May 3:
2:30-4:45 p.m.

"The Roaring Twenties” was shaped by the Women’s Right to Vote, post-World War I prosperity, new inventions, a growing consumer economy, and Prohibition. Vast cultural and social changes ensued, birthing new styles of music, the arts, dancing, and fashion. Women bobbed their hair, hemlines went up, and morals went down. Illegal alcohol greased the engine as cars, radios, phones, bootleggers, gangsters, flappers, and “all that jazz” formed the mise en scène of a new era.

March 8:

• The Great Gatsby
• 1974, 146 minutes
• The Robert Redford, Mia Farrow version. “The careless rich smash up things. Other people clean up their messes.”

April 5:

• Midnight in Paris
• 2011, 94 minutes
• In Woody Allen’s film a novelist time travels to Paris in the ‘20s where he meets the artists and literati of the period. Hello, Hemingway, Fitzgerald et al.

April 12:

• Chaplin
• 1992, 145 minutes
• Charlie Chaplin, played by Robert Downey, Jr., reminisces about his life with the editor of his autobiography.

April 19:

• The Man Who Laughs
• 1928, 110 minutes
• In this silent film, based on a script by Victor Hugo, when a noble refuses to kiss the hand of the king, his son’s face is carved into a permanent grin.

April 26:

• The Artist
• 2011, 100 minutes
• In this silent black and white film, the lives of a French silent movie star and a young ingenue intertwine as he loses his career to the talkies and her star rises.

May 3

• The Untouchables
• 1987, 119 minutes
• Kevin Costner plays federal agent Eliot Ness who is trying to bring Al Capone to trial during Prohibition, assisted by Sean Connery as his second in command. The movie features period music by Duke Ellington.

Instructor:

• Cheryl Passavanti is a learning facilitator and lecturer on current topics about and through film. A frequenter of film festivals and film clubs, she has brought her expertise to the New Rochelle Resource Center, the Adult Education program in New Rochelle, and, in the last few years, to LIRIC.

Class Representative: Lorraine Rosano