Adult Learners Institute announces its April schedule
submitted by Joan Gaughan, Adult Learners Institute
April showers bring … more exciting Adult Learners Institute (ALI) classes. During the pandemic, three talented musicians, Catherine Ellis, Bob Elkins, and Alma Muxlow, came together to explore music that not only entertains but can also provide a soothing space for refreshing the mind and spirit. Their In-Person and Zoom class, Relax and Restore, on April 8 will offer acoustic music that, combined with gentle breathing and relaxation techniques, should restore a sense of calm to body and mind.
In his three In-Person classes, Change in American Art: Luminists and Tonalists: America’s Search for Transcendental Paradise, on April 5, 12, and 19, Edwin Hoffman will argue that although the period following the Civil War was dark, it was not entirely pessimistic. American artists reflected a unique creativity that reflected acceptance not only of the wrenching burden of our heritage but also of our emergence as a global power. Painters such as John Frederick Kensett and Thomas Wilmer Dewing and sculptors such as Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson created works that suggest what might be a typically American achievement — the unending search for a transcendental paradise.
No, Charlie Taylor’s two In-Person and Zoom classes on the Art and Craft of Fly Fishing on April 17 and 24 are not about catching flies. This is an ancient craft that has been highly refined over many generations. The class will look at all kinds of fly-fishing gear, including the kinds of rods, lines, and reels that allow for long accurate casts, and playing with strong fish in such a way that they don’t get away. A few casting techniques will be demonstrated along with a look at Kirk Wallace Johnson’s book The Feather Thief on the craft of tying.
“He who sings, prays twice.” From the chants of Buddhist monks to the cantor of a Jewish rabbi to the ghazals of Muslim Sufis and the hymns of medieval monks and Martin Luther, devotion to God has elicited some of the earliest and, arguably, most beautiful music in human history. In his first ALI In-Person and Zoom classes, Music from the Early Church on April 11, 18, and 25, Pastor Pezzica of Chelsea’s Our Savior Lutheran Church will describe the genealogies of many of the hymns we now sing in church.
In her two In-Person classes on April 22 and 29, Elizabeth Thoburn, who has visited many of the archeological sites she discusses, will be Looking Again at Ancient Monuments as she explores the ancient palace of Knossos associated with Theseus and the Minotaur, and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem from which the Prophet Mohammed ascended into Heaven.
Prison is hard. For the one in three American adults who have a criminal record, getting free is often just as hard. Concerns about safety, housing, education, getting a job, dealing with criminal background checks, trauma, and simple safety — all these and more hurdles impact their path forward. Kathie Gourlay and Carolyn Madden are passionate about criminal justice reform and in their In-Person and Zoom classes on April 30 and May 7, they will discuss the perils of Re-entering Society with a Criminal Record.
Catalogs containing more information on these and ALI’s other Winter/Spring classes, as well as the registration form, are available at grocery stores, libraries, senior centers, and several churches and businesses throughout the Five Healthy Towns area, as well as at www.alimichigan.org.
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