Summer 2014 @ OASIS Abq

Great Courses @ OASIS:  You know about OASIS, right?  Abq Jew has featured OASIS Albuquerque on several occasions, and lists OASIS Abq courses of Jewish interest on his Learn/FiftyPlus page.

OASIS (as stated on the organization's website) is

 ... a unique educational program for adults age 50-plus who want to learn, grow and explore new ideas. We promote successful aging through lifelong learning, health programs and volunteer engagement. OASIS Albuquerque has just announced their Summer 2014 line-up of classes.

Registration will open on Wednesday May 21

Abq Jew is highly optimistic that newly-appointed Executive Director Kathleen Raskob (Michael Nutkiewicz has retired) will continue to make sure there are plenty of courses of Jewish interest.  This session's courses and instructors include:

Blowin' in the Wind with Peter, Paul & Mary
Thu 12 June 2014 @ 10:00 pm - #50
Instructor: Jane Ellen
What It Is: By popular request, we are repeating this sold-out class from summer 2013. Peter, Paul and Mary emerged during the folk revival of the 1960s, and for nearly 50 years remained one of the most durable acts in music history. Their roots were in the 1940s and the music of the Weavers, but the trio achieved what the Weavers could not: to voice political and social concerns to the public through music in an entertaining fashion.

Friday Recital: Klezmer Music - From Old Country to New Country & Beyond
Fri 13 June 2014 @ 1:00 pm - #61
Instructor: Beth Cohen
What It Is: Klezmer music began as instrumental accompaniment to the rituals of Jewish life in the "shtetls" (Jewish villages) of Eastern Europe. From untrained to conservatory-trained musicians, klezmorim (plural) made their way into orchestras, Russian military bands, and into the big band jazz bands of the US. Join Beth Cohen and her bandmates on a musical journey of klezmer.

Compromised Jewish Communities Around the World
Thu 19 June 2014 @ 10:30 am - #26
Instructor: Norma Libman
What It Is: All over the world, from China to Africa to Europe there are small communities of Jews whose survival is in question. Some are remnants of Crypto-Jews who escaped Spain during the Spanish Inquisition. The origins of others are unknown: descendents of shipwrecked sailors, perhaps? Norma Libman will discuss some of these communities, offer theories of how they got there, and describe how they try to maintain their identity today.

Saved from the Holocaust: Georgian, Iranian, & Central Asian Jews in Europe
Fri 20 June 2014 @ 10:30 am - #28
Instructor: Sara Koplik
What It Is: While working in concert with officials of the Third Reich for other matters, Georgian, Iranian, and Afghan diplomats also found a way to save their Jewish compatriots from the ravages of the Holocaust. Our class will explore this relatively unknown history, which will include a close look at archives found in the Centre de Documentation Juive Contemporaine of Paris, France.

Understanding the NM Legislature: Context is Everything
Wed 25 June 2014 @ 10:30 am - #15 
Instructor: Dede Feldman
What It Is: Why do certain measures fail and other succeed in the NM Legislature? What is the role of money, partisan politics, leadership style, and citizen advocacy? Are we being well served by this representative body and the campaigns that determine its membership? If not, what are some ideas for reform? Get the inside story from "just outside the roundhouse" from an effective, longtime legislator.

Remembering Lenny: The Life of Leonard Bernstein
Fri 27 June 2014 @ 1:00 pm - #52
Instructor: Jane Ellen 
What It Is: Composer, conductor, and perhaps most importantly, a born teacher, Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) was a unique voice in American music of the 20th century. His creative energies appeared boundless, encompassing Broadway, symphonic works, film scores, ballets, opera, chamber music, and concerts designed for children. He authored books and lectured, famously helped define jazz alongside Louis Armstrong, and gave of himself as a philanthropist as well as a political and social activist.

Waging War, Making Peace, 1917-1919
Thu 10 & 17 July 2014 @ 10:30 am - #34
Instructor: Noel Pugach
What It Is: The entry of the US in World War I posed two challenges. How was the nation going to mobilize for a modern, total war? It was not prepared to fight thousands of miles from home. And how could the US fashion a peace treaty that would satisfy its idealism and interests? After all, WWI was to be "the war to end all wars." We will analyze how well the Wilson Administration handled both problems.

How Jews Read the Bible
Tue 29 July 2014 @ 10:30 am - #68
Instructor: Rabbi Harry Rosenfeld
What It Is: Judaism reads the Bible not literally but through the "aspaclaria" - an Aramaic word for "prism" - in other words, the "lens" of Jewish tradition. Using early rabbinic sources, we will try to understand how this 2000-year-old way of looking at the Bible paved the way for modern Judaism.

We Can Do That? New Trends in Death Care
Tue 5 Aug 2014 @ 1:00 pm - #12
Instructor: Gail Rubin
What It Is: The modern funeral is changing. Learn about new trends in New Mexico: aid-in-dying, rising cremation rates, green burial, DIY/home funerals, alkaline hydrolysis, QR codes and celebrant-led services in this upbeat, fact-filled talk. Gail Rubin will also include funny film clips to illustrate these new trends.