Monday, February 1, 2021

Life Long Learning in Montgomery County with Live and Learn Bethesda

Winter Catalog

Welcome to Live & Learn Bethesda's Winter catalog with classes for January, February and March. As we continue to observe the Covid-19 restrictions, all of our classes will be presented online using the Zoom video conferencing platform.

 

Our Winter 2021 Catalog with all of our January, February and March classes is now available online and has been uploaded to our website or you can also access the catalog by clicking here. We will not be mailing the Winter catalog.

 

Class Changes:

 

Class 1597, The Dancing Geniuses - Part II, scheduled for Tuesday Feb 2nd from 10:30 AM to Noon, has been changed to 1:00 to 2:30 PM.

 

Class Registration

 

The first step is to click the Class link below for each of the classes that you want to attend or click Register to go the RezClick registration page and sign up for classes. Once you have registered for classes you will receive an acknowledgment email from RezClick.

 

One day prior to each class that you have signed up for you will receive an email with the link to join the Zoom webinar. You can join the webinar with your PC/Mac/Tablet/Smartphone.

 

If you have any questions about signing up for classes please send them to info@liveandlearnbethesda.org or call 301-740-6150

Upcoming Classes

The Many Pasts of Pompeii and Herculaneum

When Mt. Vesuvius erupted in the year 79 A.D., it inadvertently preserved the most extensive and intact ruins anywhere in the ancient world. This lecture will use the material remains of Pompeii and Herculaneum to paint a lively portrait of daily urban life in the ancient Roman world. At the same time, we will also take a look at the fascinating history of the earliest digs at these sites during the 18th century, when they were regarded as a private quarry of Roman antiquities for a Bourbon king.

 

Justin Jacobs, PhD, Professor and Historian, Author

Wednesday        10:30 AM to 12:00 PM         Jan 27

1 Session           $15 Class 1594

Biden’s First 100 Days

This discussion will center around President Joe Biden’s domestic and foreign inheritance from the Trump administration and the challenge this presents for the Biden administration. The discussion will include the personnel, the policies, and the process that President Biden will create in order to advance the national interests of the United States. The special situation that includes the pandemic, the problems of social and economic inequality, and the climate crisis will be addressed. The obstacles in terms of Republican opposition in the Congress and the economic limits as a result of serious deficit spending will also be assessed.

 

Melvin Goodman, Retired CIA and State Department Analyst, Author

Thursday          10:30 AM to 12:00 PM         Jan 28

1 Session          $20 Class 1596

The Dancing Geniuses - Part II

The choreographer evolved in the musical to not only just create dance but to oversee it all and become a director. These creative geniuses became major forces of the Broadway musical. From Balanchine and De Mille to Fosse and Bennet, to name a few, the impact of dance on the musical became an important part of story-telling. Join with Resident Broadway Musical expert Steven Friedman for this two part class as he shares the impact that the great dancing impresarios had on the Musical from the reinvention of dance and story-telling in West Side Story and A Chorus Line, among many great masterworks.

 

Steve Friedman, Trained Classical Tenor, Broadway Musical Lecturer

Tuesday             1:00 PM to 2:30 PM  (This is a time change)        Feb 2

1 Session           $15 Class 1597

India's Jewish Culture and the Art of Siona Benjamin

India's Jewish community is diverse, coming from different places at different times, and settling in different locations across the vast subcontinent. Most of its members have in turn left in the last 70 years, settling in Israel, the US and elsewhere. Among these is the renowned Indian Jewish artist, Siona Benjamin, whose work reflects disparate religious and cultural influences on her own life and her desire to use her art as a multicultural instrument of world-wide rapprochement. This talk will introduce unique aspects of Indian Jewish culture and Benjamin's unique art. Ms. Benjamin will make a guest appearance at the end of the talk.

 

Dr. Ori Soltes, Professor of Theology, Philosophy and Art History, Author

Siona Benjamin, Artist

Wednesday    1:00 PM to 3:00 PM          Feb 3

1 Session       $20 Class 1598

Rome the Eternal City

The ancient Romans referred to their city as the “caput mundi”, or the “capital of the world”. Stretching as far west as the Atlantic Ocean, as far south as the Sahara, north to modern-day Scotland, and east to the Euphrates River, the Roman Empire encompassed nearly half of the known world. The ancient monuments of Rome still stand as testimony to the former power of the city. We shall examine these monuments firsthand and stand in the shadow of one of the most extraordinary ensembles of monumental architecture in history.

 

Rocky Ruggiero, PhD, Professor of Art and Architectural History

Part II

Thursday           3:00 PM to 4:30 PM            Feb 4

1 Session           $20 Class 1599

 

Part III

Thursday            3:00 PM to 4:30 PM            Mar 11

1 Session           $20 Class 1614

From Berle to Letterman: A History of TV Comedy

From the earliest days of television, making people laugh was one the central goals of TV programmers. Successful radio formats like the sitcom and the comedy/variety show moved to television in the late 1940s, joined a few years later by the medium’s own innovation, the late night comedy talk show. For the next seven decades, these three formats dominated the airwaves, led by brilliant comedians such as Sid Caesar, Jackie Gleason, Johnny Carson, Carol Burnett, Gilda Radner, and Jerry Seinfeld. This presentation will survey the extraordinary landscape of American TV comedy, examining how comedy changed from the vaudeville shtick of Milton Berle and the slapstick artistry of Lucille Ball to the social satire of Saturday Night Live and the self-reflexive absurdities of David Letterman and The Simpsons.

 

Brian Rose, Professor of Film and TV History

Tuesday         1:00 PM to 2:30 PM          Feb 9

1 Session       $15 Class 1600

Thingvellir: The Viking Colonization of Iceland

Spread out over a scenic rift valley riddled with unique geologic features, Thingvellir National Park marks the site of the first open-air parliament in Iceland and serves as the historical backdrop for the transformation of seafaring Vikings into some of the most isolated and hardy farmers in the world. This lecture will provide an overview of the Viking migrations, their strategies for survival on an impoverished and volatile island, and the innovative political institutions they developed to prevent large-scale violence on Iceland.

 

Justin Jacobs, PhD, Professor and Historian, Author

Wednesday    10:30 AM to 12:00 PM          Feb 10

1 Session       $15 Class 1601

Ella Fitzgerald -- First Lady of Song

Today, Ella Fitzgerald is commonly considered the greatest female vocalist in the history of jazz. That wasn't always the case. She became a teen star when she hit it big with the Chick Webb Orchestra in 1938 with "A-Tisket, A-Tasket." Yet, she faded from the limelight, only to hit it big once again in the mid-1950's with her legendary Songbook recordings. From then on, Ella was always at the forefront of jazz royalty. Musician Seth Kibel will present recordings and video clips, and live performances from the instructor will make this class as lively as the music itself.

 

Seth Kibel, Musician and Composer

Wednesday         1:00 PM to 2:30 PM          Feb 10

1 Session       $15 Class 1602

Charlemagne: Father of Europe

Charles the Great, “Charlemagne,” king of the Franks and the first emperor of the Romans in the West after a hiatus of three centuries, was the greatest and most successful of the barbarian rulers who rose to power after the Fall of the Roman Empire. In a reign marked by constant warfare, he created an empire that encompassed what is today France, Germany, northern Italy, and Catalonia. To secure God’s favor, Charlemagne promoted a program of Christian moral and spiritual reform that involved the revival of art, learning, and religion. Although the purpose of this Carolingian Renaissance was to purify the practice of religion in his kingdom, its greatest contribution to Western Civilization was the preservation of the legacy of the Classical World into the Middle Ages and modern times. In the Middle Ages, Charlemagne was a figure of legend. In the second half of the twentieth century he became the symbol of a united Europe. In this lecture, Dr. Abels explores both the man and the myth of Charlemagne, the “Father of Europe.”

 

Dr. Richard Abels, Professor of History

Thursday       1:00 PM to 2:30 PM          Feb 11

1 Session       $15 Class 1603

The Destruction of Slavery in the Civil War

Abraham Lincoln had been elected to the presidency in 1860 on a platform of stopping the spread of slavery into free territories in the northwest, not attacking slavery where it already existed. But, as University of Maryland historian Richard Bell demonstrates, enslaved people slowly and surely pushed the president and his commanders in the field to embrace emancipation as a war aim. When the Civil War began African Americans wasted no time fleeing their enslavers and rushing to the Union lines. Once there, many enlisted in Lincoln’s army and fought slavery while wearing Union blue. Despite harassment and racism in the ranks, they flocked to the Union lines casting themselves as liberators and turning the world upside down. As a result of their efforts, the great struggle would end with the destruction of American slavery and the passage of the 13th Amendment.

 

Richard Bell, PhD, Professor of History, Author

Tuesday         10:30 AM to 12:00 PM          Feb 16

1 Session       $15 Class 1604

The Birth of Ashkenaz

The Jews were originally a Semitic tribe living in Judea, later called Palestine. How, why and when did they come to northern and eastern Europe? How did their special customs, which came to be called Yiddishkeit, develop? Join author AndrĂ©e Aelion Brooks in this lecture and discussion about Jewish history.

 

Andrée Aelion Brooks, Author, Journalist, Lecturer

Wednesday       10:30 AM to 12:00 PM          Feb 17

1 Session          $15 Class 1605

Cybersecurity & Cyberwar: What it Means for You

In view of the growing reliance on computer systems; the inherent vulnerability of these systems; the global nature of these systems; and the anonymity that the internet provides bad actors, it is essential that we understand what is meant by Cyber Security and Cyber War. On the internet foreign-states and their intelligence services can impose significant harm on computers anywhere in the world with low probability of immediate detection. The massive Russian hacking of U.S. systems in 2020 was an example of the serious cyber threat that is omnipresent and may be impossible to defend. This lecture will try to demystify the subject and provide essential information in order to call attention to the risk to our national and personal security from cyber-hacking. Finally, we will examine the likelihood of international agreements to create rules for the use of cyber actions by nation-states in order to reduce the risk of cyber-war.

Melvin Goodman, Retired CIA and State Department Analyst, Author

Thursday       10:30 AM to 12:00 PM          Feb 18

1 Session       $20 Class 1606

Israel’s Coat of Many Colors

From its earliest years as a state, absorbing Jewish survivors and refugees from post-War Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and beyond, to the present moment when Jews from around the world continue to make their homes in Israel, the nation has formed a patchwork of languages, customs, races, and religious traditions. But maintaining one of the most ethnically diverse populations in one of the world’s smallest countries isn’t always a simple feat. This lecture addresses two related themes: the history of immigration to Israel, and the ethnic, religious, and racial implications of maintaining a multicultural society in an environment with many other challenges. On the best of days, it’s a combination of jachnun (Yemenite pastry) and kugel (European sweet noodle casserole) for Shabbat morning meals. On other days, it’s a whole world of tastes, trapped in a pressure cooker. Breakfast, anyone?

 

Lauren Strauss, PhD, Professor of Modern Jewish History and Culture

Tuesday         1:00 PM to 2:30 PM          Feb 23

1 Session       $15 Class 1607

The Secrets of the Brooklyn Bridge & Brooklyn Bridge Park

Discover the history behind the Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge Park and explore their many hidden secrets! Like did you know that there is a cold war era bunker inside the Brooklyn Bridge? Or that it was the site of the nation's first White House? Our unique Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge Park webinar will give you a whole new appreciation for those two iconic NYC landmarks.

 

Justin Rivers, Historian, Lecturer

Wednesday        10:30 AM to 12:00 PM                     Feb 24

1 Session           $20 Class 1620

President Biden and the International Arena

This discussion will center on the difficult and unpredictable international situation that confronts the Biden administration, particularly the worsening relations with both Russia and China as well as the regional challenges that exist as a result of the usual turmoil in the Middle East. The Middle East discussion will revolve around U.S. relations with Iran, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. The talk will also assess the various roles for the major instruments of U.S. policy such as the role of diplomacy vs. the role of military power. The U.S. reliance on the preponderance of military power has not been successful so there needs to be a better understanding of the policy of arms control and disarmament. The importance of an enlightened trade policy will be highlighted as well.

 

Melvin Goodman, Retired CIA and State Department Analyst, Author

Thursday       10:30 AM to 12:00 PM          Feb 25

1 Session       $20 Class 1608