EXCHANGE: A Hub for Learning is the adult learning program at the Boulder JCC. This program provides educational opportunities for adults to learn for the sake of learning. Due to the program’s popularity, this fall season will offer more classes than ever—8 total. Students will have the chance to sign up for multiple classes in one day or the same week, with classes ranging from 3 weeks to 6 weeks.
In addition to learning something new, the real draw of this program is making connections with others. As a student from the last session said, “The classroom and facilities, the JCC Staff, including the very helpful and friendly people at the front desk, all added to the pleasure of the course was truly excellent. Meeting friends and making new ones also added to my enjoyment of the class."
Want to learn more? Join us at an Open House on Monday, August 19, from 10 - 11:30 am at the Boulder JCC. Students will have a chance to listen to the season's instructors give a brief introduction to the class they are offering. After these presentations, computers will be available to register you with Boulder JCC staff, who will be on hand to support you. Bagels and coffee will be served, allowing everyone to socialize and meet new people.
Here’s a preview of the fall offerings:
On Mondays, September 9 - 23, from 10 am—12 pm, instructors Michael Buttermanm, Renee Gilliland, and Fernanda Nieto will teach Musical Stories with the Boulder Philharmonic. This course explores the elements of storytelling in orchestral music by studying composers' techniques to express key aspects of narrative, including characters, setting, and plot. Attendees will hear and examine samples from several eras and composers chosen to reflect fascinating uses of orchestral sounds and concepts.
Nick Chase will teach Telling Your Story on Mondays, September 30 - October 14, 10 am—12 pm. This class is a great follow-up to Musical Stories with the Boulder Philharmonic and explores playwriting principles. Participants mine their experiences to create original monologues, dialogues, and/or short plays. As you hear from one another's stories and share your own, we build deeper connections between individuals.
Jim Vacca will be teaching Comic Books: The Jewish Imagination in American Popular Culture from September 9 to October 14 from 1 to 3 p.m. In this six-week class, we will learn about what’s behind the myth-making of renowned companies like Marvel and DC. American comics were ferried across the seas to a larger cultural audience during World War II. These cheaply produced magazines gave voice to the immigrant’s American Dream, modeled patriotism for a generation, and were condemned in the 1950s as the reason for post-war juvenile delinquency.
What We Don’t Know, taught by Molly Gardner, runs from September 9 - October 14 from 1 - 3 pm. In this 6-week course, you will have the chance to explore humanity’s ever-changing relationship to knowledge. Each week, you’ll review background and relevant information, develop questions, engage in small group discussions, and finally debrief as a whole class. Together, the class will talk about the epistemological underpinnings of T/truth, the accumulation of scientific knowledge through time, truth versus faith, belief, opinion, biases, misinformation technology, and what we sincerely wish we knew.
On Wednesdays, September 11 - 25, from 10 am—12 pm, Kathryn Bernheimer will teach On the Birding Trail. Whether you are considering birding or want to learn more about these flying creatures you see daily, this course will teach you everything you need to know about our fascinating fine-feathered friends.
Joel B. Smith and Guest lecturer Dr. Joe Casola will be teaching Climate Change:
Science, Humanity, and Impact on Wednesdays, September 11 - 25, from 1 - 3 pm. This three-session class will cover an overview of the impacts of the science of Climate Change, recent trends in greenhouse gas emissions, and the status of mitigation (emissions control) and adaptation (resilience).
Eugenics: A Scientific Scheme to Justify Racism on Mondays, September 11 - 25, with Jim Edelman from 1 - 3 pm. In this 3-week class, we will explore the history of Eugenics and its many connections to issues we face today. For thousands of years, people have bred plants and animals to suit our purposes. Eugenics was a movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to do the same for humans in which they defined people as “fit” or “unfit” and then promoted policies to encourage some to procreate and prevent others from doing so.
All EXCHANGE information can be found HERE.