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UT OLLI SAGE
www.olli.utexas.edu
Spring 2017 Seminars
MONDAYS
April 10 – May 15
The University of Texas at Austin
TEXAS Extended Campus
Thompson Conference Center
2405 Robert Dedman Drive
Austin, TX 78712-1523
512-471-3124
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UT OLLI SAGE Spring Session 2017
Fall seminars will meet for six Mondays, April 10 – May 15, 2017. The UT OLLI SAGE
curriculum committee has approved 13 seminars for the Spring 2017 session. Seminars
will meet on Mondays at the Thompson Conference Center (TCC) except where noted
in the seminar description. Each Monday the room numbers for all seminars will be
posted in the lobby. Rooms do change so please check the lobby reader board daily.
Seminar registration begins Monday, March 13th at 9:00 am. Seminar registration is
done on a first come, first served basis and the number of registrants is limited based
on classroom size and instructor preference. Volunteers for class assistant or a/v tech
receive priority in seminar selection.
Please indicate your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices within each time slot. When there are limited spaces available for a seminar, out of respect for fellow members, please be certain of your interest in the topic and your commitment to consistent attendance before you register.
CE17009A 9:30 AM Bad Girls Martha Wofford
CE17009B 9:30 AM From Rocks to Cognitive Blocks Pete Rose
Thomas Ewing
CE17009C 9:30 AM Future Leaders of US Army Dougald McMillan
CE17009D 11:00 AM Archetypes - Familiar Characters or Situations That Transcend Time, Place, & Culture
Marye Tharp
CE17009E 11:00 AM The United States Navy Brian Teets
CE17009F 11:00 AM Building a 21st Century Downtown in Austin Dorothy Reiser
CE17009G 1:15 PM The Genius of Gilbert and Sullivan Part 1 Paul Lehman
CE17009H 1:15 PM Evolution of Life by Natural Selection from Darwin to Evo-Devo
Nancy AufderHeide
CE17009I 1:15 PM Leadership in Life: Ancient Stories and Modern Practices
Sandy Kress
CE17009J 3:00 PM Ethical Decision-Making for Young Adults and Why They Need It
Eli Cox
CE17009K 3:00 PM Treasures at Our Fingertips Patricia Brown
CE17009L 3:00 PM Cuba Libre Jerry Buttrey
CE17009M 3:00 PM Memoir Writing Fatima Kola
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09:30 – 10:45 AM Seminars
CE17009A – Bad Girls
What do YOU think is meant by the label, "bad girl?" How you define the term depends on your gender, your religious/cultural/political beliefs, your sense of humor, your upbringing and life experiences, your age, and the prevailing societal viewpoints of your times. Martha Wofford will dig deep into the lives of some of history's most complex women. We think we know all about them - but we don't! We'll find that even so-called bad girls have a good side - and good girls have a so-called bad side - but we won't overlook the deeds that made these women simultaneously famous and infamous. They raised more than a few eyebrows in their time, but they also accomplished a great deal.
Bad girls aren't clueless; they KNOW the rules, but may or may not play by them, and they are always interesting. Martha Wofford looked at a lot of women in her search for six bad girls to present. Some were flat-out evil (Bloody Mary), some were true criminals with no compassion for others (Bonnie Parker). Martha's selection criteria included the following: 1) Her whole life had to be interesting; 2) She had to be worthy of respect; and 3) We'd all love to sit down and have a glass of wine with her. Meet the winners of the bad girls competition, each of whom will be profiled in a seminar session:
Week 1: Janis Joplin Week 2: Mae West Week 3: Sally Ride Week 4: Belle Starr Week 5: Eva Peron Week 6: Shirley MacLaine Director: Martha Wofford was born and raised in the Texas Panhandle, and is a
retired audiologist. She worked at The University of Texas Medical Branch at
Galveston, as well as in private practice. She has taught at Southwest Texas State
University and Lamar University. She served as an Assistant Clinical Professor at
Baylor College of Medicine, Chief Audiology/Speech Pathology Service at the Houston
Veterans Administration Medical Center and worked as a Quality Coordinator in a small
hospital in the Texas Panhandle after retirement from the VA system.
Martha attended The University of Texas at Austin where she received her Bachelor of
Science degree in 1967, her Master’s in 1969, and her Ph.D. in 1977.
She loves to attend the ballet, visit museums, and go to UT football games, art exhibits,
the symphony, movies, theater, and festivals.
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CE17009B – From Rocks to Cognitive Blocks
Pete Rose will present the first two classes of the seminar focusing on cognitive bias, how it can result in bad decision making, and developing various methods to combat it. Cognitive bias is believed to be a factor in the retraction of multiple scientific papers over the past few years, which is, of course, detrimental to science. This sort of bias affects decisions from finance, petroleum engineering, medicine, social policy (e.g. war on drugs), psychology, etc.
Rose will then present three lectures on the geology of Texas, especially of the Austin area. This will be based in part on his recent major paper concerning the geologic history of central Texas, before and after Balcones Faulting, which has generated some new insights about the Hill Country - Edwards Plateau landscape evolution.
The final class, given by Thomas Ewing, will be an exploration of the landscapes, rocks, and resources of Texas and 1.7 billion years of Earth history in Texas as presented in Ewing's recent book, Texas Through Time.
Director: Peter R. Rose earned his Ph.D. in Geology at the University of Texas, Austin
and has been a professional geologist for 55 years, specializing in Petroleum Geology,
E&P Risk Analysis, and Mineral Economics. In 1998 he founded Rose & Associates,
LLP. Pete retired in 2005, but the firm continues as the global standard among
consulting companies in that field, providing instruction, software and consulting
services on an international scale. His 2001 book, Risk Analysis and Management of
Petroleum Exploration Ventures, now in its 7th printing, is considered by many as the
“Bible” on that topic, and has been translated into Chinese, Japanese, and Russian.
In 2005, Pete was the 89th President of the American Association of Petroleum
Geologists. In 2013, the Geological Society of London awarded him its prestigious
Petroleum Group Medal for lifetime contributions to Petroleum Geology, the first
American to be so recognized, and in 2014 the AAPG honored him with its Halbouty
Outstanding Leadership Award.
He is a lifelong compulsive reader and a man of wide interests and skills: geology,
global energy, history, economics, psychology, philosophy, ranching, water, writing,
music, baseball and golf. His talents as a teacher are widely recognized.
Rose is a fifth-generation Texan, and hails from an old Texas ranching family. He and
his wife, Alice have five children between them, and eight grandchildren. They divide
their time between Austin and their El Segundo Ranch near Telegraph, Kimble County,
Texas.
Director: Thomas E. Ewing has been an earth scientist in Texas for 35 years, first
with the Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG) and later as owner of Frontera Exploration
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Consultants, and also an occasional lecturer at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
He has given talks and led field trips across Texas for geologists and others, and his
extensive publications include serving as principal author of the Tectonic Map of Texas
(BEG, 1990) and writing Landscapes, Water, and Man: Geology and History in the San
Antonio Area of Texas (South Texas Geological Society, 2008). Ewing has held offices
in the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, as well as in local and regional
geology groups, and has received several awards for his service to the field.
CE17009C – Future Leaders of the U.S. Army
Six active members of the U.S. Army War College will give a series of presentations on
current topics.
Week 1: The U.S. Army War College and its role in today's Army - Dougald MacMillan
Week 2: U.S. Army response to a Chemical, Biological, Nuclear threat to the Homeland - Will Dionne
Week 3: The Joint Communication Support Command and its response to the Ebola epidemic - Marne Sutten
Week 4: U.S. Army Signal Corps response to the threats of Cyberspace - Vanessa Ragsdale
Week 5: The U.S. Army Reserve Civil Affairs Corps - Straus Scantlin
Week 6: The role of a female chaplain in a military environment - Julie Rowan
Director: LTC Dougald MacMillan II serves as the Program Coordinator for the Army
War College Fellowship and as Research Associate, LBJ Centennial Chair in National
Policy, LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin. He earned his Master
of Public Affairs degree in 2002 at the LBJ School and taught Organizational Leadership
in the College of Communication from 2005-2007.
Lieutenant Colonel MacMillan graduated from the United States Military Academy in
1975 and was commissioned in the Infantry. He served with the 1st Cavalry Division at
Ft. Hood, Texas; twice with the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina; on
the Commandant’s Staff at West Point; with the 8th Infantry Division in Mainz, Germany;
as Assistant Inspector General, Army Criminal Investigation Command, Washington,
D.C.; on the Army Chief of Staff’s Congressional Activities Team in the Pentagon; and
with the 18th Airborne Corps, Ft. Bragg. His awards include the Expert Infantry Badge,
Master Parachutist wings, Pathfinder Badge, Legion of Merit (2 awards), Meritorious
Service Medal (4 awards), British and German jump wings.
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11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Seminars
CE17009D - Archetypes, familiar characters or situations that transcend time, place, & culture
Archetypes, how they tell who we are to ourselves and others
1. Introduction of archetypes 2. Discussion of archetypes we recognize; discussion in groups 3. Introduction to the five storylines and discussion of stories with archetypal
characters 4. Development of personal profile: stories, celebrities, movies, TV shows 5. Personal profile: technology/electronics 6. Personal profile: media, vehicles, clothing 7. Evaluation/discussion of personal archetypes and brand preferences
Director: Marye Tharp completed her doctoral studies at The University of Texas at Austin in 1976 in Marketing, International Business and Latin American Studies. Her teaching career began at Universidad de las Americas in Puebla, Mexico (1972-1973), followed by marketing courses at the University of Texas at San Antonio, College of Business (1976-1987), advertising courses at The University of Texas at Austin, College of Communication (1987-2002), and marketing communication courses at Emerson College where she served as inaugural Chair of the Marketing Communication Department. Recently she taught marketing and international business classes at Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas and then served as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Marketing at The University of Texas in San Antonio, from which she retired in 2015. In addition to these permanent teaching posts, she has taught summer, Master’s and Executive Education courses in 21 countries in Latin America, Asia, North America and Europe.
Tharp is the author of articles and books in the fields of international and multicultural marketing and marketing communication. Her most recent book is Transcultural Marketing: Building Customer Relationships in Multicultural America (M.E. Sharpe, 2014). Her consulting work with global advertising agencies is reflected in “The Global Network Communication Agency,” published by the Journal of International Marketing (2001) and “Exploring the Missing Point-of-View in Advertising Management: The Experience and Perceptions of Local Managers in Global Advertising Agencies” published in the International Journal of Advertising (2002). Her research focused on the U.S. Hispanic market has been presented at international conferences and in refereed journals and books. She continues to do research and consulting in the areas of strategic planning, cultural and qualitative research and multicultural marketing management.
Tharp currently lives in Fredericksburg, Texas located in the Hill Country where there’s not much to do other than enjoy the wildflowers, fresh peaches, Texas wineries and
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long, lonesome Texas roads. She practices inter-species communication with a 32-year-old Moluccan cockatoo and a 10-year-old African Gray parrot.
CE17009E – The United States Navy
After reviewing some key historic naval engagements we will discuss in detail aviation, surface, and submarine warfare utilizing images, videos, and sea stories. The same approach will take us through the equipment and warfare systems of the Marine Corps. Finally, the making of a modern sailor and marine will be discussed and how today's naval warrior has changed over the last few decades.
Week 1: Naval History class will delineate key naval leaders and battles since inception of the service. This class will also provide the construct of current strike group operations and ships that comprise them, and will also address current operations and missions of the fleet. Week 2: Naval Aviation Warfare class will focus on current and future aircraft and aircraft carriers of the fleet, their capabilities and limitations, the training pipeline required for the aircrew that operate them, and typical missions they execute. Week 3: Naval Surface Warfare class will cover all combatant and support ships of the fleet including destroyers, cruisers, amphibious, logistics, command and control, minesweeping, and the new littoral combat ships. Expect a brief overview of the special warfare and explosive ordinance disposal communities as well. Week 4: Naval Submarine Warfare class will address the capabilities and missions of our fast attack, ballistic missile, and guided missile submarine platforms, typical deployment routines, training of the crews, and a review of the nuclear reactor plants that power them. Week 5: Naval Warrior class will address the recruitment, assignment, training, advancement, and career milestones of both enlisted and officers of the fleet. Also covered will be current changes to force composition, administrative policies, and personnel initiatives. Week 6: Marine Corps class will be a compressed review of history, missions, equipment, weapons, and personnel that constitute the "First to Fight" force. Instructors will vary amongst warfare community subject matter experts from the University of Texas Naval ROTC staff and locally assigned naval personnel.
Director: CAPT Brian Teets, a native of Urbana, OH received his commission in March
of 1990 through the Navy ROTC program at Ohio State University where he earned a
BSBA in Production and Operations Management.
His first tour was with the “Swampfoxes” of HSL-44 at NAS Mayport, FL, flying the SH-
60B helicopter. Serving three years with HSL-44, he deployed to the Arabian Gulf and
embarked in USS Samuel B. Roberts and in USS Vicksburg to the Mediterranean and
Adriatic Seas. Teets’ first shore tour in 1995 was as Aide to the Commander, Naval
Training Center Great Lakes, IL, and then to the Chief of Naval Education and Training
in Pensacola, Florida. He reported aboard the Norfolk, Virgina-based USS Enterprise in
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1997 as the Operations Administration Officer where he qualified as Officer of the Deck
and deployed in 1998 to the Arabian Gulf taking part in Operation Desert Fox.
In 2000 Teets joined the HSL-45 “Wolfpack” stationed at NAS North Island, California.
Embarked in USS Ingraham he deployed to the Indian Ocean/Arabian Gulf with the Carl
Vinson Battle Group in 2001 for Operation Enduring Freedom.
Completing his tour as squadron Operations Officer, he detached in 2002 and reported
to the Officer Plans and Promotions office on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations.
Teets next reported to the National War College for the 2005/2006 academic year
graduating with a M.S. in National Security Strategy. Concurrently, he earned a M.A. in
National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College in 2006.
He reported as Executive Officer of the HSL-37 “Easyriders” aboard MCBH at Kaneohe
Bay, Hawaii in February 2007 and assumed command in May 2008. In August 2009 he
completed his command tour and reported to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Strategic Plans
and Policy Directorate where he specialized in international security cooperation and
foreign military sales policy.
Following his tour as Executive Officer, Teets assumed command of the amphibious
assault ship USS Wasp in July 2013 and conducted at-sea testing trials for the F-35
Joint Strike Fighter, and executed a $250 million ship modernization overhaul.
In June 2015 he assumed command of the Naval ROTC Unit at the University of Texas
at Austin.
CE17009F – Building a 21st Century Downtown in Austin
Week 1: "How Did We Get Here?" Austin's Downtown - Molly Alexander, Executive
Director of Downtown Alliance
Austin, Texas – Youth, Music, Innovation & Tacos. Austin is one of the youngest,
largest, and fastest growing cities in the United States. The friendly, laid back
atmosphere, tolerant and accepting nature, and refreshingly youthful vibe continues to
attract people to the state capital of Texas. From its claim as the Live Music Capital of
the World, to its growing foodie scene with upscale restaurants and over 1,200 food
trailers, Austin is experiencing a renaissance. The exploding downtown area has
emerged as ground zero for the city’s high-tech start up community. New investments
in innovation are happening everywhere and as an early adopter city, Austin is a lens
for what the future might hold. What will it take to keep its youthful, manageable feel
and create a new model for the 21st century?
Week 2: "Why Downtowns Matter" - Former Austin Mayor Will Wynn
Wynn will discuss the importance of a vibrant downtown as an economic engine, an
expression of a community’s values and a city’s identity, as a place to “connect,” as well
as the inherent environmental advantage of compact, urban development.
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Week 3: "Building for Downtown Residents" - Kent Collins, Developer
From his perspective as a developer, Collins will discuss what is involved in building
downtown residential space, highlighting challenges, costs, prices, and market. He will
also shed light on who is living in the new downtown and who is not.
Week 4: "Using Public Assets to Create an Accessible and Diverse Downtown"
- Jana McCann, Architect, Urban Designer
McCann will discuss using the public realm and public assets to create an accessible
and diverse downtown.
Week 5: "The New Central Library in the New Downtown" - John Gillum, Facilities
Manager, Austin Public Library
Gillum will describe how the library’s leadership came to define the mission of a new
building in the internet age, how the mission defined the building’s design and
equipment, the challenges posed by the site and those that emerged during the
construction process, and the special features and amenities of the new facility.
Week 6: “How the City Did It" - John-Michael Cortez, Mayoral Assistant
Cortez will discuss using public land as the catalyst for planned development drawing
on examples such as the Green and Seaholm projects, Waller Creek Conservancy, Dell
Medical School and uses for the Brackenridge Hospital tract.
Director: Dorothy Reiser is experienced at leading expert project teams solving complex
issues related to disaster recovery planning, land use and neighborhood revitalization,
community development, and housing development and rehabilitation. For the past 17
years, she has directed field work and supervised all technical assistance teams as the
Senior Project Administrator at Dennison Associates, a minority–owned consulting firm
based in Washington, D.C., whose primary client has been the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD contracted with Dennison to assist its
state, local government and non-profit grantees to improve the design and management
of federally funded housing and community development programs.
Reiser is a graduate of Cornell University and studied at New York University’s
Graduate School of Public Administration. She had been a lifelong resident of New
York, prior to moving to Austin with her husband, John, in 2005 and joined UT OLLI
SAGE three years ago.
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1:15 - 2:45 PM Seminars
CE17009G – The Genius of Gilbert and Sullivan Part 1
The course will be the first of a two-part series giving a broad sampling of the works of
Gilbert and Sullivan. Handouts will be provided so that participants can follow as the
music is presented.
Director: Paul R. Lehman is a professor emeritus and the former Senior Associate
Dean of the School of Music at the University of Michigan.
Before accepting his appointment at the University of Michigan, Lehman taught in the
public schools of Ohio and at the University of Colorado, the University of Kentucky, and
the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
He also served as music specialist with the U.S. Department of Education in
Washington, D.C. He has served as president of The National Association for Music
Education, as a member of the board of directors of the International Society for Music
Education, and as a member of the executive board of the College Music Society.
He is the author of more than 200 publications on education reform, education
standards, and music teacher education. He is a member of the Music Educators Hall
of Fame and an honorary life member of the International Society for Music Education.
CE17009H - Evolution of Life by Natural Selection from Darwin to Evo-Devo
Summary: The evolution of life on Earth by its mechanism of natural selection will be presented. Charles Darwin’s radical, revolutionary, and reluctant theory is explained in detail. From Darwin’s extraordinary voyage on the HMS Beagle to the current science of evolutionary developmental biology (Evo-Devo), evolution, its formidable array of evidence, its mechanism by natural selection, and its relevance to today are thoroughly explored. Week 1
Preview of Classes 1-6
Darwin’s Life and Times
Voyage of the HMS Beagle and Aftermath
Scientific Theories Week 2
Categories of Evidence for Evolution: The Fossil Record; Biogeography and Plate Tectonics; Homologous Structures and Comparative Anatomy; Genetics,
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DNA, and Molecular Biology; Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Evo-Devo) as Historically Studied
Visualizing Geologic Time
Overview of Evolution of Life on Earth Week 3
Natural Selection (The Mechanism for Evolution or How Evolution Happens)
Four Basic Principles to Natural Selection: 1. Overpopulation, 2. Variation Within a Species, 3. Competition for Resources and Struggle to Survive and Reproduce, 4. Individuals with Advantageous Adaptations Tend to Survive and Reproduce and Pass These Advantageous Traits to Their Offspring
Compare Natural Selection and Artificial (Human Driven) Selection (as Darwin did)
Week 4
How Might Life Have Evolved? Stanley Miller’s 1952 Experiment, Rock and Mineral Strata, Amino Acids, Nucleic Acids, Membrane Formation, Complex Molecules, Deep Sea Vents & Stromatolites. The RNA World Hypothesis, DNA Basics
Why is Evolution Vitally Important for Us to Understand? Agriculture, Conservation, Biofuels, Medical Applications, New Super Molecules for Cancer Detection and Treatment, Homeland Defense
Week 5
EVO DEVO (Evolutionary Developmental Biology) and its Impact on Studying Evolution
“Tool Kit” (HOX) Genes: how all animals have the same basic genes to build and work their bodies
Using Evolutionary Concepts to Engineer Solutions to Real-World Problems (Beacon -An NSF Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Collaboration of Scientists & Engineers to design safer cars, emergency response plans, stronger computer security, medical treatments)
Week 6
Human Evolution: “The Descent of Man” from Darwin to Present, What Do We Know?
“Endless Forms Most Beautiful”
Director: Nancy AufderHeide graduated with Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in
Biology from University of Missouri. She worked in cancer research at Mallinckrodt
Institute of Radiology, Wistar Institute, and Monsanto Company in its Life Science
Division. She taught science in Wisconsin Public Schools for 23 years at the middle
and high school levels, during which time she was awarded Wisconsin Society of
Science Teachers’ Teacher of the Year, the Senator Herb Kohl Teaching Fellowship,
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Talented and Gifted Youth Choice for Teacher of the Year, and was a finalist for
Wisconsin Teacher of the Year.
CE17009I - Leadership in Life: Ancient Stories and Modern Practices
In this seminar, we will explore the pragmatic leadership decisions, behaviors, actions, and conflicts of major Biblical (Old Testament) judges, kings, and prophets. The actions of these ancient figures will be overlaid and compared with some of the best contemporary leadership research and practices cited by the Harvard Business Review. We will find that there are striking similarities in the lessons learned from both the ancient stories and modern enterprises.
The main takeaway from this seminar may very well be how the tried-and-true methods of leadership help us govern our own personal lives as well as our government, our civic groups, and our business.
Sandy Kress is uniquely qualified to speak on this subject; he is an Old Testament scholar as well as having extensive experience in local, state, and federal policy-making.
Director: Sandy Kress received his bachelor's degree with great distinction from the
University of California at Berkeley. He received his law degree with honors from the
University of Texas at Austin, where he also served as president of the student
government.
He started his legal career as an associate in a Washington law firm and has since
been a partner and recently senior counsel at law firms in Dallas and Austin. He has
served in numerous government positions during his career. He was deputy assistant
secretary at the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington during the Carter
administration, president of the Dallas School Board, and Senior Education Advisor to
President George W. Bush.
Though active in partisan politics earlier in his career, Sandy's commitment over the last
20 years has turned to the nonpartisan endeavor of reforming public education. He has
served at the request of Lt. Governor Bullock and Governors Bush and Perry on
numerous state panels to improve education in Texas.
Over the past decade, Sandy has increasingly turned his spirit and energy to studying,
writing, and teaching on religious matters, especially the interpretation of ancient texts
and wisdom and their application to modern life.
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3:00 - 4:30 PM Seminars
CE17009J – Ethical Decision - Making for Young Adults and Why They Need It
Young adults (Millennials) are paradoxical. They comprise the most open-minded
generation in American history. They are dismissive of the prejudices that have
preoccupied previous generations and are remarkably generous. At the same time,
they view right and wrong as a matter of personal choice without recognizing an
external standard of behavior. This seminar proposes a program for teaching ethical
decision-making designed to help prevent wonderful young men and women from
making decisions they may regret for the rest of their lives.
The overall objective is to present and get feedback on a proposed course designed to
impart skills in ethical decision making to young adults.
Week 1: Young adults and moral disengagement – Examines why the vast majority
of high school and college students admit to cheating and what it means.
Week 2: Why be good when it doesn’t pay? – Discusses why we are inclined to
behave properly and experts’ explanations for why humans are inclined to do so.
Week 3: The vocabulary of ethical decision-making - Distinguishes between “cultural
relativism” and “situational ethics” and other important concepts.
Week 4: Solitary ethical decisions – Presents a framework for identifying and
evaluating ethical decisions confronted by individuals.
Week 5: Ethical decisions in groups – Extends the framework to include situations
where the individual is a group member.
Week 6: Ethical decisions for outsiders – Extends the framework to include
situations where the individual is an outsider.
Director: Eli Peace Cox III has retired from his position as the La Quinta Motor Inns
Professor of Business at the University of Texas at Austin after a forty-seven year
teaching career. He received his B.B.A. and M.B.A. from Michigan State University and
his D.B.A. from Indiana University. He taught in B.B.A., M.B.A., Executive M.B.A., and
Ph.D. programs and spent over half his career serving as department chair and director
of three academic programs. He published in the top journals of his discipline of
marketing as well as two textbooks, and a research guide for managers.
Eli served as director of the Business Honors Program in the McCombs School for
fifteen years. Part of his responsibilities was to offer the Honors Lyceum to
approximately 120 sophomores during the fall semester of each year. Rich Causey,
then Enron’s Chief Accounting Officer, was scheduled as a guest speaker, but the day
before his secretary called to say that Rick would be unable to speak because he had to
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attend an emergency board meeting in New York. A student in the class asked the
substitute speaker some strange questions that bordered on rudeness. Within weeks it
became apparent that Enron was in big trouble.
Both Rick Causey and Sherron Watkins who also worked for Enron, had graduated from
the Business Honors Program and the Masters in Professional Accounting program,
and were highly regarded by faculty and their classmates. Eli has devoted the last
fifteen years of his career addressing the question of why Rick wound up in federal
prison and Sherron appeared as Time Person of the Year. He has recently completed a
book entitled Seeking Adam Smith: Finding the Hidden Curriculum of Business which
describes his intellectual journey and indicates how his teaching failed to prepare
students for the perils of professional life. He spent the last five years of his career
training college freshmen in ethical decision making.
CE17009K - Treasures at Our Fingertips
The University of Texas at Austin houses many wonderful collections of art, artifacts, photography, fine art prints, rare books, and other collectibles from around the world. Participants in this seminar will enjoy walking through the campus to see these treasures.
Week 1: The Hyder Collection at the Law School features a thousand pieces from the collection of Martha and Elton Hyder, Jr.--oil portraits, furniture, African masks, and modern art.
Week 2: The LBJ Presidential Library features personal objects owned by the president and first lady as well as objects ranging from Middle Eastern antiquities and coins to postage stamps to Oval Office furniture. The art collection includes drawings by schoolchildren to masterpieces by artists such as Frederic Remington, Charles Russell, Winslow Homer, and Diego Rivera.
Week 3: The Benson Latin American Collection in Sid Richardson Hall features an archival collection of manuscripts, art, maps, letters, and other one-of-a-kind materials such as the papers and photographs of Nicaraguan poet Ernesto Cardenal.
Week 4: The UT Art School Visual Arts Center is a vibrant collaboration and exhibition space for contemporary art and design. On display will be the Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition featuring artworks in various media and an exploration of design.
Week 5: The Bass Concert Hall, the flagship theatre of Texas Performing Arts, boasts a vast stage, an orchestra pit that holds 100 musicians, dressing rooms to accommodate more than 100 performers, computerized lighting, advanced sound and rigging systems, and a mammoth backstage area complete with workshops for
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carpentry, costumes, painting, metalwork, and props. It houses special artwork, such as the David Hare sculpture "The Swan's Dream of Leda."
Week 6: The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. The Briscoe's Research and Collection Division, located in Sid Richardson Hall, holds the vast majority of the Center's book, manuscript, map, newspaper, photographic sound, and ephemera collections, including the Briscoe’s' 1849 daguerreotype of the Alamo.
Director: Patricia H. Brown, a native Texan born in Hallettsville, Texas, has been a
junior high school teacher, legislative assistant for the Texas House of Representatives,
government affairs officer for GTE/Verizon, and is currently a legislative consultant.
A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, she enjoys photography, interior
design, ballet/dance, museums, early baroque music, opera and arts and crafts and is
an active member of UT OLLI SAGE.
CE17009L – Cuba Libre
Poor Cuba: so close to the United States, so far from God. Cuba Libre is a historical
survey of Cuba since the Spanish conquest. It focuses on the several unique historical
phenomena which fashioned a truly unique nation which has been repeatedly frustrated
in its quest for independence and sovereignty. Significant emphasis is placed on the
role of the U.S. in the Cuban historical experience.
Director: Jerry Buttrey is a retired middle school teacher. He has an M.A. in Latin
American History from The University of Texas at Austin and did further work in Latin
American History at the University of Florida. He taught for three years at the
Universidad del Valle, Cali Colombia and for three more at St. Edwards University.
Twenty years ago he started going once or twice a year to Cuba, taking modest
contributions to a couple of hospitals and their staff members. More than 10 years ago
he first gave this class, Cuba Libre, for Sage. He has subsequently given it several
times for the Lifetime Learning Institute of Austin.
CE17009M – Memoir Writing
Please note: This is a participatory seminar, not a lecture series. Out-of-class preparation is necessary.
This seminar will seek to provide an understanding of memoir as a genre, an exposure to successful memoir writing; the impetus to generate new work of our own, and a supportive writing community. We will discuss the following, among other questions: How can the style and structure of language convey memory and emotion to a reader? What narrative and stylistic choices are the right ones for my project? What
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obligations, if any, do we have to the reader? How do we know what are the most interesting parts of our own stories? How do we choose what to leave in and leave out? How can we tell stories that are both universal and deeply individual? Students must come having read the assigned reading (from their fellow students and class handouts) each week.
The goal is for students to complete the class with a plan and scope of their own memoir project, to have benefited from the feedback of the class as to the design and content of their projects, and to have written a draft of at least one chapter of a memoir. Students should also leave the class with a holistic overview of memoir writing, and of a better understanding of the artistic choices available to them as memoir writers.
For weeks 1 and 2, we will identify and define our individual memoir writing projects with the help of the class, and engage in generative activities designed to prompt students on the content of their own memoirs.
For weeks 3-6, we will split sessions between discussing weekly readings in a range of genres that are helpful to memoir writers (allocated in week 1), including critique of other student work to help each other with individual projects.
Class size will be limited to 12.
Weeks 5 and 6 will be student led, as the seminar director will not be in attendance.
Director: Fatima Kola is a fellow in fiction and screenwriting at the Michener Center
for Writers at The University of Texas at Austin. In 2015 she was shortlisted for the
Caine Prize for African Writing. Her work has appeared in One Story, the Guardian, and
Granta.
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