Learning in Retirement at Iona University

LIRIC is run by a group of dedicated, creative volunteers. We govern ourselves through an executive board and formulate our own by-laws, policies and procedures. The LIRIC board is made up of the officers and the chairs of our standing committees. Our curriculum committee designs our programs and arranges for presenters from among our members, Iona faculty and the community at large. All members of LIRIC are encouraged to suggest courses, speakers and presenters and to assist in arranging for them. Our Hospitality committee provides us with daily coffee and cookies, and arranges several luncheons each year, some of which are free. Other volunteers edit or write articles for our newsletter, collect membership checks, arrange trips and special events, even stuff envelopes for mailings. LIRIC also has a paid director who is our liaison with Iona University and oversees daily operations.

Director

• Suzanne Page, Ph.D.

Board Members

• President: Shirley Radcliffe
• Vice Presidents: Viviane Ponslet & Linda Levine
• Secretary: Rosemary McDonough
• Treasurer: Bob Kent
• Comptroller: Lois Lovisolo

Committee Chairs

• Publicity: Lew Koflowitz
• Newsletter Editor: Monica Grey
• Curriculum: Linda Whetzel
• Hospitality: Gail Apfel
• Membership: Lorraine Rosano
• Trip Coordinator: Dianne Heim
• Member Liaison: Teddi Cerino

Representatives at Large

• Lori Blumenfeld
• Greg Koster
• Chris McCormick
• Jeanne de Saint Ouen

Course Descriptions: Monday

7 sessions  
October 2, 16, 23, 30;
November 6, 13, 27
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

Newsworthy Topics

Each session will delve into recent news stories within a specific field such as geopolitical concerns or scientific advances. We encourage your active participation in this current events course and will leave plenty of time for civil discourse and a lively informative discussion.

• October 2
  • Medicine: Electronic Doctor Records
  • Joyce Kent
• October 16
  • Politics
  • Jim O’Neill
• October 23
  • Foreign Policy
  • Jim O’Neill
• October 30
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Kobie Thakar
• November 6
  • Finance
  • John McGovern
• November 13
  • Influential People in the News
  • Pelle Coruzzolo
• November 27
  • Asia
  • Fred Towers

Mah Jongg

7 sessions  
October 2, 16, 23, 30;
November 6, 13, 27
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

Mah Jongg, a tile-based game thought to have originated in China several hundred years ago, spread throughout the world during the twentieth century.  While it involves a degree of chance, it is a game of skill, strategy and calculation – all of which you will learn in this class which is open to beginners who want to learn the fundamentals but also to members who already know how to play. You will need a 2023 Mah Jongg card which can be purchased from Amazon, the Mah Jongg League or at a local store.

Instructor: Linda Levine

Please call Linda Levine at (914) 235-9878 by September 26 to register, to request that we purchase a card for you, or for more information about the class.

Getting To Know You

1 session
October 2
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.

In one of our first classes of the year, led by retired teacher Linda Creary, we offer you a fun-filled – and enlightening – opportunity to get to know other LIRIC members.

Money, Money, Money

2 sessions
October 16, 23.
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.

Financial services expert John McGovern, who gave us a talk on crypto-currency last spring, returns to talk about The History of U.S. Money and the Future of Cash (October 16) and The Basics of Stock Market Investing, Money and Banking (October 23).

Spirituality, Ecology, and Justice

4 sessions
October 30;
November 6, 13, 27
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.

This course is taught by faculty from Iona’s Kathleen Deignan, CND Institute for Earth and Spirit. It will explore the insights and the vital connections between ecology and spirituality, sustainability and social justice in Catholicism, Buddhism, and indigenous traditions. Participants will be invited to reflect on the works discussed as well as apply the insights to their daily lives.

Presenters: Sister Kathleen Deignan, CND, Ph.D. and Dr. Jim Robinson, Iona University Department of Religious Studies

Play-Reading

7 sessions  
October 2, 16, 23, 30;
November 6, 13, 27
2 – 3:15 p.m.

Play-Reading is an entertaining activity open to all members of LIRIC who take pleasure in reading aloud or in listening to plays being read. This semester we will be journeying from farce to tragedy to comedy and back to farce again. Scripts will be provided.

• October 2 & 16
  • Bedroom Farce (1975) by Alan Ayckbourn takes place in three bedrooms and portrays the comic misadventures of four married British couples over the course of one night and the following morning.

• October 23 & 30
  • A View from the Bridge (1956) by Arthur Miller is a tension-filled drama set in an Italian-American community in Brooklyn dealing with illegal immigration, a longshoreman’s obsession with his wife’s adult niece, and the tragic consequences of breaking a code of honor.

• November 6 & 13
  • The Women (1936) by  Clare Booth Luce is a comedy of manners about wealthy Manhattan socialites, working class seductresses, and unfaithful husbands who manage to stay out of sight for the entire play.

• November 27
  • “The Proposal” (1889) by Anton Chekov is a one-act farce in which a marriage proposal goes hopelessly and hilariously awry thanks to the greed and stubbornness of the principal characters.

• Presenter:
  • Iona University graduate and Carnegie-Mellon M.F.A. recipient in Drama, Len Poggiali spent his 33-year career teaching mostly high school English and theater arts and directing college, community, and school productions in Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Westchester.

Art Workshop

7 sessions
October 2, 16, 23, 30;
November 6, 13, 27
2 – 3:15 p.m.

The Art Workshop has been expanding and now will include multi media forms of art. These will include watercolor, acrylic, oil paint, pencil or charcoal drawing, colored pencils and adult coloring books. Bring your own materials and work in a relaxed, brightly lit and airy space. All skill levels, from “I like art but can’t draw a straight line,” to "I have an exhibit coming up," are welcome. Join us and have fun creating something beautiful.

Questions? Call the instructor at 914-961-5661.

• Instructor:
  • Gail Apfel is a graduate of the High School of Music and Art and has participated in classes at the Westchester Art Workshop as well as art classes through Road Scholar and the Hudson River Museum. She chairs LIRIC’s Fine & Performing Arts Committee.

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Course Descriptions: Tuesday

Tai Chi

7 sessions
October 3, 10, 24, 31;
November 7, 14, 28
9 – 10 a.m.

Pre-registration and an additional fee of $56.00 are required for this class. The registration form is at the end of this catalog

Tai Chi, as it is practiced in the west today, can perhaps best be thought of as a moving form of yoga and meditation combined. In Chinese philosophy and medicine, “chi” is a vital force that animates the body; thus one purpose of Tai Chi is to enhance the health and vitality of the practitioner.  Tai Chi also fosters a calm and tranquil mind by focusing on the precise execution of the exercises. Learning to do them correctly provides a practical method for improving balance, posture, alignment, fine-scale motor control, rhythm of movement, and breathing. Tai Chi has been recommended as an adjunct therapy for chronic pain, arthritis, insomnia, asthma, high blood pressure, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis and fibromyalgia.

• Instructor:
  • Domingo Colon is the owner of the Tai Chi School of Westchester in Bronxville. He has been practicing Tai Chi since he was fifteen, and is the teacher of other Tai Chi masters as well as a frequent judge at Tai Chi competitions.

A Memoir Writing Workshop

7 sessions  
October 3, 10, 17, 24, 31;
November 7, 14.
9:00 – 10:15 a.m.

Right now, you can begin to re-experience, and reflect on, the work of your life – the exciting, wonderful, and even the unhappy events. Your grandmother’s cookies. The house that nurtured you for years and years. A special and meaningful person. A dear friend. A diving catch at a Little League baseball game. A crocheted afghan made with Mom, Grandma or Aunt Bea.

In this class, we sit and recall events that to others might mean little, but to ourselves are filled with richness. Through recollection, reflection, creation, you can return to a special day, a week, a year — experiences that you are invited to remember and put on paper via memoir writing

Contact the instructor at billwerth@aol.com to register for this limited class.

• Instructor:
  • Bill Wertheim has taught both memoir writing and poetry workshops throughout Westchester for over ten years. His BA degree in English Literature is from Columbia University; he holds an MA degree from SUNY at Stony Brook, an MSW degree in Social Work from Hunter College, and is currently at work producing a volume of his poetry and writing his own memoirs.

Academically Speaking

3 sessions 
October 3, 10, 17.
10:30  – 11:45 a.m.

Join Iona faculty members as they speak about the projects they’re working on and the topics that interest them – all New York City related.

• October 3
  • New York 1860: City on a Precipice
  • Presenter: Dr. Josh Leon, Political Science Department
• October 10

  • Immigrant Migrations Within New York City 1900 – 1960

  • Presenter: Dr. Jim Carroll, History Department

• October 17

  • New York City Policing: Broken Windows Redux, 1994-2024

  • Presenter: Dr. Paul O’Connell, Criminal Justice and Sociology Department

Fall Cornucopia

5 sessions  
October 24, 31;
November 7, 14, 28.
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

Join us for one or all of these single presentations on a variety of topics.

• October 24
  • Vietnam: Hallowed Traditions and the Hard-won Independence of a Heroic People in the Throes of Globalization
  • Presenter: Robert Henrey, World Traveler

• October 31
  • (Almost) Everything You Wanted to Know About Aviation: Aircraft Performance, Federal Aviation Regulations, Air Traffic Control
  • Presenter: Fred Towers

• November 7
  • The Rockefellers and Pacific Island Art (Think high seas tragedy and art!)
  • Presenter: Dr. Jack Rosenbluth

• November 14
  • How to Lie with Statistics
  • Presenter: Dr. Suzanne Page, LIRIC Director
• November 28
  • Demagogue: Joseph R. McCarthy and the Chaos of the Early 1950s
  • Presenter: Rick Leibert

Kent’s Comments

3 sessions 
October 3, 10, 17.
12:30  – 1:45 p.m.

These three lectures will focus primarily on significant Supreme Court cases decided during the term that ended in June of this year. After a review of the facts of each case and the decision of the court, audience members will be encouraged to express their comments and views as to whether the case were correctly decided. While this is an off-year for elections, time will be devoted to an audience discussion of the presidential and congressional races of 2024, including lower court cases involving presidential candidates.

Presenter: Bob Kent is an attorney specializing in health care and human resources. With a JD from Harvard Law School and an MBA from NYU, he has, over the years, worked with NBC Universal, Lifetime Entertainment Services and TWA among others. In the last few years he has spoken to LIRIC primarily about Supreme Court cases and the presidency.

Hate: A History of Antisemitism

1 session
October 24.
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.

Presenter Steve Goldberg returns, by popular demand, to talk about antisemitism. He is the retired chair of the Social Studies Department at New Rochelle High School, where he was recently interim principal. He is presently Co-Director of Education at the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center in White Plains.

Our Earth

4 sessions  
October 31;
November 7, 14, 28.
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.

“We came all this way to explore the moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.” – Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders 

When astronauts look at Earth from space they see no boundaries, only the magnificent land forms we’ll learn about in this class. We’ll examine: oceans, which cover 70% of our planet and contain rare minerals under the surface; deserts, whose flora and fauna must adapt to the less than 10 inches of rain received each year; forests, with their estimated three trillion trees essential to our ecosystem; and mountains, providing not just minerals, but beauty and recreation to the world.

• October 31    
  • Oceans – Lois Lovisolo
• November 7
  • Deserts – Lois Lovisolo
• November 14   
  • Mountains – Kobie Thakar
• November 28
  • Forests – Lois Lovisolo

Presenter: Lois Lovisolo, one of our most popular speakers, developed this class and will present most of the sessions. Lois is a member of the Curriculum Committee as well as LIRIC’s Comptroller. In past semesters she has presented informative classes on the history and geography of many  countries of the world.  

Spanish for Everyone

4 sessions
October 3, 10, 17, 24.
2 – 3:15 p.m.

This is a multi-level Spanish language course seasoned with tunes – both simple and sublime – including songs from Cuba and Puerto Rico.

Instructor: Rosalie Hollingsworth taught Spanish in the New York  City schools for some 35 years, and brings her expertise in both language and music to LIRIC with this class.

All That Jazz – Cubano Be, Cubano Bop!

4 sessions
October 31;
November 7, 14, 28.
2 – 3:15 p.m.

This series of All That Jazz will focus on Afro-Cuban Jazz, as pioneered by Dizzy Gillespie and featuring many native Cuban Jazz artists.  We will start with Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval Live at the Brewhouse Theatre (1992).  Then A Night in Havana with Dizzy Gillespie in Cuba (1988).  Then Ry Cooder’s documentary Buena Vista Social Club (1999).  And finally Cuban saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera and Spanish pianist Chano Domínguez, the creator of the ‘New Flamenco Sound,’ Live at the Quartier Latín (2006).

Presenter: Gregory Koster has been a Jazz fan since the early 60s, was a Jazz  DJ in college, contributed Jazz reviews and surveys to The Sensible Sound magazine for over 15 years, and is Past President of the PJS Jazz Society in Mount Vernon.

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Course Descriptions: Wednesday

Wednesdays are special at LIRIC. Classes are suspended that day to allow for additional intellectual and artistic pursuits off site. The familiar is intertwined with the new in often off-beat adventures. The goal is to expose our members to things and places that enrich and feed the mind as well as the soul. Space is limited, so LIRIC members receive first priority. Information about our trips will be included with this catalog, in your welcome packet when you join, or as a separate mailing.

Trip planner Dianne Heim likes to travel far and near. With so many things to see in the world, Dianne would like to share with you some of those in our own backyard.

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Course Descriptions: Thursday

Dutch Masters: The Age of Rembrandt

4 sessions  
October 5, 12, 19, 26.
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

This class introduces a series of 36 video lectures on the art of 17th century Holland presented by the Great Courses professor William Kloss, who last year gave us The World’s Greatest Paintings. Showing two 25-minute videos each week, retired librari-an and long-time LIRIC member and presenter Jo-Anne Weinberg will moderate the class, lead discussions and provide additional information.

Are You WEIRD?

Western, Educated, Industrial, Rich, Democratic = WEIRD

4 sessions  
November 2, 9, 16, 30.
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

The modern western world owes its prosperity to strange ways of thinking. In the text by Professor Joseph Heinrich anthropology, sociology, psychology, economics, and history come together to explain how the western world came to dominate the plan-et. Join our speaker as she looks at the evidence presented by Dr.  Heinrich, and puts you to the test.

Presenter: Shirley Radcliffe, in addition to being LIRIC’s president, is one of our most popular presenters. After teaching in the New York City public schools for more than 38 years, and ending her pre-retirement at Manhattanville College, she brought her considerable talents to LIRIC where she’s offered courses in literature, language, dining, clothes, Pre -Columbian history, and most recently art.

Lifelong Well-Being

5 sessions  
October 5, 12, 19, 26;
November 2.
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.

Iona University has recently opened the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences on their new Bronxville campus. Faculty and students from the School will present. For the first session, Dr. Kavita Dhanwada, the Dean of the School, will give an overview of the programs that are being offered, the facilities on campus, and what’s new on the horizon.  

For the other sessions, she and her colleagues will address a variety of topics that will help us to have a healthy lifestyle as we age. To start, what is the history of the allied health sciences in the U.S.? This will be followed by a discussion of well-ness and balance -- how to maintain good physical health and keep mentally sharp. They’ll move on to examine how nutritional needs change as we age, ne-cessitating changes in our eating habits.

For the last session, students from health science programs will carry out a case study using interprofessional education (IPE), which is being used frequently in the health sciences to teach collaboration and teamwork. IPE brings professionals from various disciplines together to contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of a patient and provide the best outcome from all perspectives. 

Class Representative: Joyce Kent

Autism Spectrum Disorder

2 sessions 
November 9, 16.
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.

This two-part course will discuss contemporary thinking on the topic of autism spectrum disorder, which has become increasingly prevalent in the U.S. in recent years. Topics will include diagnosis, family challenges, and therapeutic techniques.

Presenter: Eileen Sullivan Hoffman is a licensed, certified speech language pathologist who, over her 44-year career, has worked extensively with people exhibiting autism spectrum disorder.

Literary Discussion

7 sessions  
October 5, 12, 19, 26;
November 2, 9, 16.
2 – 3:15 p.m.

Cuba and Puerto Rico were colonies of the vast Spanish empire for nearly four centuries. They were called “two wings of the same bird” by the poet Lola Ro-driguez when both were struggling for independence long after other Latin American colonies were free of Spanish rule. In the Literary Discussion class, we’ll share thoughts and feelings about the works listed below. We begin with a tale of life on a sugar plantation in 19th century Puerto Rico, the riveting histori-cal novel Conquistadora.

The Westchester Library System owns many copies of the full-length books in-cluding some eBook and audio book versions. Paper copies of the readings we’ll discuss on October 12 and 26 will be distributed the prior week. Attendees are encouraged, but not required, to read the works in advance; all are wel-come.

• October 5
  • Conquistadora by Esmeralda Santiago
  • Presenter: Beth Hofstetter
• October 12
  • Selected short works by Puerto Rican authors
  • Presenter: Kobie Thakar
• October 19
  • My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor
  • Presenter: Paulette Gabbriellini
• October 26
  • Selected short works by Cuban authors
  • Presenter: Barbara Hickey
• November 2
  • Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia
  • Presenter: June Hesler
• November 9
  • The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
  • Presenter: Rick Leibert 
• November 16
  • Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia
  • Presenter: Linda Whetzel 

Class Representative: Kobie Thakar

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Course Descriptions: Friday

Lecture Series: Cuba and Puerto Rico

7 sessions  
October 6, 13, 20, 27;
November 3, 17;
December 1.
1 – 2:15 p.m.

Class meets in
Romita Auditorium
in Ryan Library

Toward the end of the Gilded Age – which we studied last spring – Cuba and Puerto Rico were the only two colonies left in what had once been a vast Spanish empire in the New World. Learn about their history and culture through this series of talks coordinated by Dr. Jimena Perry and Dr. Nereida Segura-Rico of Iona University and presented almost entirely by Iona faculty and students.

• October 6
  • ¡Óyelo!: The Puerto Rican Roots of Miguel Zenón's Esta Plena and Lin Manuel Miranda's In the Heights
  • Presenter: Dr. Adam Rosado, Arts & Languages Department
• October 13
  • An Historical Overview of Puerto Rico and Cuba
  • Presenter: Lois Lovisolo
• October 20
  • Galician Slavery in 19th Century Cuba from a
    Literary Perspective
  • Presenter: Dr. Pilar Caballero-Alias,  
    Arts & Languages Department AND
  • Socio-Political Cuban Perspectives in the 20th Century
  • Presenter: Paulo Hernández (’25)
• October 27
  • Puerto Rican Theater on the Island and in the USA
    in the 20th Century
  • Presenter: Gabrielle Rodríguez (’23) 
• November 3
  • The Music of the Cuban Revolution: The Nueva Trova
  • Presenter:  Dr. Jimena Perry, History Department
• November 17
  • Race and Cultural Identity in Cuba and Puerto Rico
  • Presenter: Dr. Nereida Segura-Rico, Arts & Languages Department
• December 1
  • Cubop: From Harlem to Havana and Back Again
  • Presenter: Dr. Adam Rosado, Arts & Languages Department

Film Course: Cuba and Puerto Rico

7 sessions  
October 6, 13, 20, 27;
November 3, 17;
December 1.
2:30 – 4:45 p.m.
Class meets in Romita Auditorium in Ryan Library

Cuba and Puerto Rico have given much to enrich America’s diverse Pop Culture scene. They’ve contributed music (Gloria Estefan, Celia Cruz, Arturo Sandoval, and composer Lin Manuel Miranda), dance (the mambo, rumba, cha cha, and salsa), and, of course, movies and TV. In fact, Cuban bandleader and producer Desi Arnaz developed the first TV sitcom which profoundly changed the television industry – I Love Lucy.  While Puerto Rico has served as a backdrop for movies like Lord of the Flies, Golden Eye, and recently Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it is Cuba that has the thriving film industry. 

Castro understood that movies could be a political tool to shape the “collective consciousness of the people.” Pledging government support and financing, he appointed his friend and ally, filmmaker Alfredo Guevara Valdes, to head Cuba’s film department. In 1979 Alfredo started The Festival of New Latin American Cinema of Havana. This world-famous festival, dubbed “The Cannes of the Caribbean,” promotes works that enrich Latin American and Caribbean cultural identity. 

This semester’s film course will examine works about – and some from – Cuba and Puerto Rico.

• October 6
  • Yo soy Boricua, pa'que tu lo sepas!
  • 2006, 1 hour 25 minutes
  • Written and co-directed by Rosie Perez and Liz Garbus, this documentary shows the complex relationship between Puerto Rico and the U.S.
• October 13
  • The Mambo Kings
  • 1992, 1 hour 45 minutes
  • Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas in his first English-speaking role portray Cuban brothers, musicians seeking fame in NYC.
• October 20
  • Havana 
  • 1990, 2 hours 24 minutes
  • Robert Redford, Lina Olin, and Alan Arkin star. Think Casablanca in Havana as the characters get involved with the Cuban Revolution.
• October 27
  • Fidel: The Untold Story
  • 2001, 91 minutes
  • This documentary, directed by a Castro supporter, features interviews with Castro, Harry Belafonte, Ted Turner, Muhammad Ali, and others.
• November 3
  • Before Night Falls 
  • 2000, 2 hours 13 minutes
  • Javier Bardem stars as the Cuban poet and novelist, Reynaldo Arenas, who was persecuted for his creative beliefs and his homosexuality.
• November 17
  • For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story  2000, 2 hours
  • Andy Garcia stars in the story of Sandoval's life up to his defection from Cuba to the United States. Music by Sandoval himself.
• December 1
  • Strawberry and Chocolate
  • 1995, 1 hour 48 minutes
  • An Oscar-nominated Cuban film pitting communism against individualism, gay freedom against Marxist strait-jacketing.

Instructor: Cheryl Passavanti is a learning facilitator and lecturer on current topics about and through film. A frequenter of film festivals, during the Cuban travel embargo she attended one of the famous film festivals in Havana and brings her experience to this course.

Class Representative: Lorraine Rosano

Four Thursdays: July 6, 13, 20, 27

BYGONE DAYS
or
PLAY-READING
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

LUNCH
12:15-1 p.m.

LIRIC LIGHT!
1-2:15 p.m.

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11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

PLAY-READING

During this special four-week session, under the direction of instructor Len Poggiali participants will read aloud George Bernard Shaw’s comic, romantic, and philosophic masterpiece Man and Superman. Scripts will be provided and time will be allowed for discussion of this lengthy, very challenging, very funny battle of the sexes.

BYGONE DAYS

July 6: My Bronx, My Oz

A multimedia presentation about growing up in the Bronx during the ‘40s, ‘50s and early ‘60s.

Presenter: Robert Blaufarb (His book will be available for $15 cash or check – all proceeds to the New York State Fire Service.)

July 13: Parisian Art of the Belle Époque (1870-1914)

Tour key landmarks of the period and explore the birth of Impressionism and Art Nouveau.

Presenter: Julie Averbach, Yale University Cohen Public Service Fellow

July 20: Remembering Remarkable Women of Westchester

Presenter: Barbara Davis, Co-Director Westchester County Historical Society

July 27: Thomas Paine’s American Revolution

Learn about the fascinating man who inspired Washington’s troops during the American Revolution.

Presenter: Dr. Michael Crowder, Public Historian, Institute for Thomas Paine Studies, Iona University

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1-2:15 p.m.

LIRIC LIGHT!

July 6: How the Other Half…

Professional actress Michèle LaRue performs two vibrant tales from America’s Gilded Age, which gleefully remind us that people haven’t changed in 100 years: Mary Wilkins Freeman’s “The Apple Tree” and O. Henry’s “Transients in Arcadia.”

July 13: A Rainbow of Birds

Learn how to identify over 40 species of birds found commonly throughout Westchester, plus interesting facts about them.

Presenter: Sandy Morrissey, President, Bronx River–Sound Shore Audubon Society

July 20: Conservation Challenges and Strategies in Westchester County

Learn about the threats to flora and fauna and the strategies being implemented to protect both wildlife and plants via trail camera footage and still photos.

Presenter: Steve Ricker, Conservation Director, Westmoreland Sanctuary

July 27: LIRIC’s own Antique Roadshow

Bring in jewelry, art, bronzes, silver, porcelain or any small items (no furniture!) for appraisal by Ronan Clarke, owner, auctioneer and appraiser, and other experts from Clarke Auction Gallery.

Course Descriptions: Monday

7 sessions
March 6, 13, 20, 27;
April 10, 24;
May 1.
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

Great Decisions

Great Decisions is a course sponsored by the Foreign Policy Association that encourages people to learn about and discuss U.S. foreign policy. Each session includes a 30-minute DVD for background and then a discussion led by LIRIC members. Although it is not required, participants who wish to get the most from the course should purchase a copy of the Great Decisions Briefing Book ($35.00 + shipping) and do the readings for each class. Copies may be ordered directly from The Foreign Policy Association by calling 1-800-477-5836 between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, or by ordering online at www.fpa.org/great_decisions.

• March 6
  • Energy Geopolitics
    Presenter: Muhammad Saleem

• March 13
  • War Crimes
    Presenter: Jim O’Neill

• March 20
  • China and the U.S.
    Presenter: Bob Kent

• March 27
  • Economic Warfare
    Presenter: Muhammad Saleem

• April 10
  • Politics in Latin America
    Presenter: Jim O’Neill

• April 24
  • Global Famine
    Presenter: Bob Kent

• May 1
  • Iran at a Crossroads
    Presenter: Lois Lovisolo

Mah Jongg

Mah Jongg, a tile-based game thought to have originated in China several hundred years ago,spread throughout the world during the twentieth century. While it involves a degree of chance, it is a game of skill, strategy and calculation – all of which you will learn in this class which is open to beginners who want to learn the fundamentals and to members who took the class last fall or in 2021-2022 and would like to refresh their skills.

Since we will be meeting in the small room, attendance will be limited. We’ll be using the 2022 card, though the 2023 card, which will be available in April, can be ordered now from the Mah Jongg League or Amazon..

Please call Linda Levine at 914-235-9878 before February 27th to register or for more information about the class

Back to Business

For the first time, LIRIC will present a full program of business classes, all from the faculty of Iona’s LaPenta School of Business.

• March 6
  • Social Styles in Your Daily Life – An interactive session showing that everyone has one of 4 social styles, and how to interact with another’s style.
    Presenter: Dr. Lynne Richardson

• March 13
  • The CPA Evolution – The impact of time on the accounting profession.
    Presenter: Dr. John DeMelis

• March 20
  • Transforming Personal Finance with Financial Technology (Session One)

• March 27
  • Transforming Personal Finance with Financial Technology (Session Two)
    Presenter: Dr. Helena He

• April 10
  • Consumer Behavior in Today’s World
    Presenter: Dr. Chrissy Martin

• April 24
  • Leveraging the Academic Trading Floor: Experiential Learning in a Financial Markets Context – How LaPenta School of Business uses the trading floor, Bloomberg and other challenges and simulations to prepare its students for careers in financial services.
    Presenter: Professor Matt Carey

• May 1
  • Networking to Stay Engaged and Alert – Actually learn how to network and discover why it’s important to your health!
    Presenter: Dr. Lynne Richardson

• Class Representative:
  • Chris McCormick

Play-Reading

Play-Reading is an entertaining activity open to all members of LIRIC who take pleasure in reading aloud or in listening to plays being read. This semester we will be covering plays dealing with marriage during the 19th and 20th centuries as portrayed by both British and American playwrights.

• March 6 & 13
  • Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton (1938) is a thriller set in London during the Victorian era about a husband’s attempts to drive his wife insane so he can reap the rewards of a former crime he committed.

• March 20 & 27
  • Barefoot in the Park by Neil Simon (1963) is a New York City comedy dealing with the first day of a marriage between a funloving wife and her workaholic husband.

• April 10 & 24
  • In An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde (1895), a wealthy noblewoman discovers that her influential husband is anything but the ideal she has believed him to be.

• May 1
  • “Bea, Frank, Richie, and Joan” (1968) is a one-act comedy by Renée Taylor and Joseph Bologna about the breakup of a young marriage and the compromises and disappointments of a mature one.

• Presenter:
  • Iona University graduate and Carnegie-Mellon M.F.A. recipient in Drama, Len Poggiali spent his 33-year career teaching mostly high school English and theater arts and directing college, community, and school productions in Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Westchester.

Art Workshop

The Art Workshop has been expanding and now will include multi media forms of art. These will include watercolor, acrylic, oil paint, pencil or charcoal drawing, colored pencils and adult coloring books. Bring your own materials and work in a relaxed, brightly lit and airy space. All skill levels, from “I like art but can’t draw a straight line,” to "I have an exhibit coming up," are welcome. Join us and have fun creating something beautiful.

Questions? Call the instructor at 914-961-5661.

• Instructor:
  • Gail Apfel is a graduate of the High School of Music and Art and has participated in classes at the Westchester Art Workshop as well as art classes through Road Scholar and the Hudson River Museum. She chairs LIRIC’s Fine & Performing Arts Committee

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Course Descriptions: Tuesday

Tai Chi

7 sessions
March 7, 14, 21;
April 11, 18, 25;
May 2.
9:00 – 10:00 a.m.

Pre-registration and an additional fee of $56.00 are required for this class. The registration form is at the end of this catalog

(Note that there is no class March 28th.)

Tai Chi, as it is practiced in the west today, can perhaps best be thought of as a moving form of yoga and meditation combined. In Chinese philosophy and medicine, “chi” is a vital force that animates the body; thus one purpose of Tai Chi is to enhance the health and vitality of the practitioner. Tai Chi also fosters a calm and tranquil mind by focusing on the precise execution of the exercises. Learning to do them correctly provides a practical method for improving balance, posture, alignment, fine-scale motor control, rhythm of movement, and breathing. Tai Chi has been recommended as an adjunct therapy for chronic pain, arthritis, insomnia, asthma, high blood pressure, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis and fibromyalgia.

• Instructor:
  • Domingo Colon is the owner of the Tai Chi School of Westchester in Bronxville. He has been practicing Tai Chi since he was fifteen, and is the teacher of other Tai Chi masters as well as a frequent judge at Tai Chi competitions.

A Memoir Writing Workshop

8 sessions
March 7, 14, 21, 28;
April 11, 18, 25;
May 2.
9:00 – 10:15 a.m.

Right now, you can begin to re-experience, and reflect on, the work of your life – the exciting, wonderful, and even the unhappy events. Your grandmother’s cookies. The house that nurtured you for years and years. A special and meaningful person. A dear friend. A diving catch at a Little League baseball game. A crocheted afghan made with Mom, Grandma or Aunt Bea.

In this class, we sit and recall events that to others might mean little, but to ourselves are filled with richness. Through recollection, reflection, creation, you can return to a special day, a week, a year — experiences that you are invited to remember and put on paper via memoir writing

Enrollment is limited, so contact the instructor at billwerth@aol.com to register.

• Instructor:
  • Bill Wertheim has taught both memoir writing and poetry workshops throughout Westchester for over ten years. His BA degree in English Literature is from Columbia University; he holds an MA degree from SUNY at Stony Brook, an MSW degree in Social Work from Hunter College, and is currently at work producing a volume of his poetry and writing his own memoirs.

Bioethics: Then and Now

4 sessions
March 7, 14, 21, 28.
10:30 – 11:45 a.m

Bob Casey, who is fascinated by all things medical, begins this series with an examination of Nobel Prize winner Fritz Haber, who both saved and destroyed many lives. Then Joyce Kent discusses the ethical dilemma Haber faced before moving on to present contemporary bioethical issues

Science: From Micro to Macro

4 sessions 
April 11, 18, 25;
May 2.
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

• April 11
  • Your DNA and You
    Presenter: Kerry Mullaney, Memorial Sloan Kettering
    Department of Pathology

• April 18
  • Planetarium Trip
  • New Rochelle High School is fortunate in having a state of the art planetarium that is used for student instruction. Its director, Bruce Zeller, has invited LIRIC to a special class at the planetarium on Tuesday, April 18th at 10:30. Since parking has been a problem in the past, we have arranged to have a bus leave the church parking lot at 10:15 and return at 11:45, but of course those of you who wish to take your own cars can meet us at the school. You will be asked to sign up for the bus the week before as it can only accommodate 42 people.

• April 25
  • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Elsewhere
    Presenter: Kobie Thakar

• May 2
• What Every Grandparent Should Know About Medicine Presenter: Adrienne Weiss-Harrison, M.D.

More Interesting Countries of the World

4 sessions
March 7, 14, 21, 28.
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.

Presenter Lois Lovisolo returns to tell us about other countries she considers fascinating and important. They are Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa and one of the most corrupt, which, though rich in natural resources is challenged by terrorism and the destruction of the environment. She moves on to Indonesia, where she discusses how 17,400 islands became one nation – and one with the largest Muslim population in the world at that. The Ottoman Empire ended following its defeat in World War I, and in October 2023 Turkey celebrates its centennial, its prosperity, and its position as a major player on the world’s stage.The final class takes us even further back in history, to The Gilded Age and the Spanish-American War, when the United States “acquired” The Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico and we are asked the question: How did that go?

Secrets and Scandals of the British Monarchy

4 sessions
April 11, 18, 25;
May 2.
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

Over the last few centuries the British royal family was often regarded as pompous, austere and repressed. However, behind the façade were behaviors that would have shocked the nation. We will delve into some of these secrets – as well as much publicized scandals – from the time of George III until the more recent past.

• Presenter:
  • Rick Leibert is a retired adjunct professor of marketing at Iona University, an educator at the Holocaust Museum and Study Center at Rockland Community College, and a course leader at Collegium at Westchester Community College. A man of many parts, he has offered LIRIC classes on the Holocaust, American and World history, and even sports, in addition to leading literary discussions.

The Arts

2 sessions
March 7 & 14.
2:00 – 3:15 p.m.

• March 7
  • Opera: Donizetti’s Daughter of the Regiment
    Join returning music teacher and performer Joan Mallory for an interactive experience of opera. Discover what this opera is about, volunteer to play a role if you like, and sit back and enjoy excerpts.
• March 14
  • Parisian Art of the Belle Époque
    Immerse yourself in the arts and culture of Paris during the “Golden Age” of the Belle Époque (1870-1914). Julie Auerbach, a Cohen Public Service Fellow at Yale University who holds a B.A. in the History of Art and Psychology, takes us on a tour of key landmarks of the period, from the Eiffel Tower to the Moulin Rouge, and explores the birth of artistic movements including Impressionism and Art Nouveau.

Academically Speaking

4 sessions
March 21, 28;
April 11, 18.
2:00 – 3:15 p.m.

Join members of the Iona faculty as they speak about the projects they’re working on and the topics that interest them.

• March 21
  • The Disney Princess Culture
    Presenter: Dr. Christina Carlson, English Department
• March 28
  • First Amendment: Thriving or Threatened?
    Presenter: Dr. Jack Breslin, Media & Strategic Communication Dept.
• April 11
  • The Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Iona University Presenter: Dr. Christopher Winkler, Founding Program Director
• April 18
  • The Coercive Force of Law
    Presenter: Dr. Alexander Eodice, Philosophy Department

Communicating

2 sessions
April 25, May 2.
2:00 – 3:15 p.m.

• April 25
  • Navigating Today’s Technology
    Iona University Assistant Professor Sinead Harrington and the Occupational Therapy students in her Assistive Technology class take on the task of explaining today’s technology to those of us in need of assistance. They will discuss mobile phones, tablets, and IPads, and show us how home devices such as Alexa, Nest, and Google home can benefit us.
• May 2
  • LIRIC’s Writers Read! Members of LIRIC’s writing workshops have been engaged in their own form of communication all year as they reflect on their lives and put their memories on paper. Today you, their friends and peers who enjoy life-long learning, will have the chance to enjoy the fruits of their labor

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Course Descriptions: Wednesday

Wednesdays are special at LIRIC. Classes are suspended that day to allow for additional intellectual and artistic pursuits off site. The familiar is intertwined with the new in often off-beat adventures. The goal is to expose our members to things and places that enrich and feed the mind as well as the soul.

This spring we have three very different, very exciting trips planned, one to a museum and a Gilded Age home – in keeping with our semester's theme – one to the theater for a production of Gypsy, and one to an aquarium that will include a two-hour river cruise. Space is limited, so LIRIC members receive first priority. Information about our trips will be included with this catalog, in your welcome packet when you join, or as a separate mailing.

Trip planner Dianne Heim likes to travel far and near. With so many things to see in the world, Dianne would like to share with you some of those in our own backyard.

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Course Descriptions: Thursday

The World’s Greatest Paintings

8 sessions
March 9, 16, 23, 30;
April 13, 20, 27;
May 4.
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

This class is a continuation of one begun a year ago, but no prerequisites are needed to enjoy this semester’s offering! Come to one session or all eight. The class consists of a 25 minute video talk by the Great Courses professor, William Kloss, who discusses an art work he has nominated as “great” – for reasons he explains. The remainder of each session is a live (and lively) presentation by Shirley Radcliffe, one of our favorite presenters. She adds historical context, biographical sidebars, and examples of art from the same period but by other artists – women – and from other cultures besides the West.

Spring Salmagundi

7 sessions
March 9, 16, 23, 30;
April 13, 20, 27.
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.

Join us for this series of seven totally unrelated – and thoroughly engaging – talks.

• March 9
  • Inventions of the 1800s
    Presenter: Kobie Thakar
• March 16
  • The Story of Hudson Yards
    Presenter: Neil Murray, Managing Director, Hudson Yards
• March 23
  • Spring Books You Won’t Want to Miss
    Presenter: Tracy Wright, Director, Eastchester Public Library
• March 30
  • Getting to Know Yourself in Your Geriatric Years
    Presenter: Dr. Arlene Hector, Psychologist
• April 13
  • Nixon: Fifty Years Later
    Presenter: Dwight Chapin, author The President’s Man: Memoirs of Nixon’s Trusted Aide
• April 20
  • Adventures in the Wild: The Serengeti and Other Great Migrations
    Presenter: Dianne Heim
• April 27
  • (Almost) Everything You Wanted to Know About Aviation: Aircraft Performance, Federal Aviation Regulations, Air Traffic Control
    Presenter: Fred Towers, Former Director of Operations, General Electric Flight Department

Literary Discussion: America during the Gilded Age

7 sessions
March 9, 16, 23, 30;
April 13, 20, 27.
2:00 – 3:15 p.m

During the late 19th century America was transformed by inventions as mundane as barbed wire and as extraordinary as the transcontinental railroad. Many abandoned farming for city or factory jobs, and immigrants arrived from China and Europe to fill the demand for cheap labor. Wealth and income inequality prompted Mark Twain to write of a Gilded Age in which the gross materialism of the upper class was a glittering distraction from poverty and political corruption.

Our readings explore both the veneer and the reality. The Devil in the White City contrasts the technological and architectural marvels of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair with the evil deeds of a predator. Set immediately after the end of the Civil War, The Sweetness of Water describes people rebuilding their lives amid devastation. The Age of Innocence depicts and deplores the social maneuvering of the wealthy. In our last selection, Small World, diverse families struggle to create a better future for their children. Selected short works will acquaint (or reacquaint) us with several authors of the time period.

The Westchester Library System owns many copies of the full-length books, including some eBook and audio book versions. Paper copies of short works will be distributed one week before the session in which they will be discussed. Attendees are encouraged, but definitely not required, to read the works in advance; all LIRIC members are welcome.

• March 9
  • The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson
    Presenter: Rick Leibert
• March 16
  • Selected short works
    Presenter: Linda Whetze
• March 23
  • The Sweetness of Water, by Nathan Harris
    Presenter: Kobie Thakar
• March 30
  • Selected short works
    Presenter: Jeanne de Saint Ouen
• April 13
  • The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton
    Presenter: Beth Hofstetter
• April 20
  • Selected short works
    Presenter: June Hesler
• April 27
  • Small World, by Jonathan Evison
    Presenter: Paulette Gabbriellini
• Class Representative:
  • Kobie Thakar

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Course Descriptions: Friday

Lecture Series: The Gilded Age, 1865-1900: The Transformation of America

6 sessions
March 10, 24, 31;
April 14, 21, 29.
1:00 – 2:15 p.m.

Class meets in
Romita Auditorium
in Ryan Library

America stands at a dramatic crossroads:

• Massive banks and corporations wield disturbing power
• The huge income gap between the 1% and the other 99% grows visibly wider.
• Astounding new technologies are changing American lives
• Conflicts over U.S. military interventionism, the environment, and immigration dominate public debate.

Sound familiar? You might be surprised to know that these headlines were ripped, not from today’s newspapers, but from newspapers over 100 years ago. These and other issues that characterize the early 21st century were also the hallmarks of the transformative period known as The Gilded Age.

• March 10
  • An Overview of The Gilded Age
    Presenter: Dr. James T. Carroll, History Department
• March 24
  • Education During the Gilded Age
    Presenter: Brother Dennis Gunn, Education Department
• March 31
  • Selling Consumer Society: The Dramatic Growth of Modern Advertising During the Gilded Age
    Presenter: Dr. Anthony Kelso, Media & Strategic Communication
• April 14
  • Criminal Justice in the Gilded Age
    Presenter: Dr. Paul O’Connell, Criminal Justice Department
• April 21
  • The Robber Barons
    Presenter: Toni McKeen
• April 28
  • The Gilded Age “Cottages” of Newport
    Presenter: Toni McKeen
• Class Representative:
  • Linda Whetzel

Film Course: The Gilded Age

5 sessions
March 10, 31;
April 14, 21, 28.
2:30 – 4:45 p.m.

The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 ushered in tremendous economic, political, and social change. The Old West of gun toting heroes and outlaws was “somewhat” tamed and settled by farming, ranching, and mining. A thriving economy based on industry and trade emerged thanks to new inventions and an influx of European immigrants providing cheap labor. Cities grew and the disparity between the rich and the poor grew wider. Abysmal working conditions led to the emergence of labor unions. During this “Gilded Age” things may have looked golden to the privileged few, but the glossy veneer hid the corruption and inequality which enabled these times to thrive. The social restrictions, especially on women, race, class, and nationality, were festering beneath the shiny surface, igniting the next era, the explosive Roaring Twenties.

• March 10
  • The Age of Innocence, 1993 (139 minutes), Set in 1870s New York, this film, based on Edith Wharton’s novel, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder and Daniel Day-Lewis, explores the social mores of the upper class.
• March 31
  • The Current War, 2019 director’s cut (105 minutes)
    Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon, the film centers on the rivalry between Edison and Westinghouse (with Tesla’s help) as they race to wire American cities for electricity.
• April 14
  • Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1960 (110 minutes)
    Written by William Goldman and starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman, the film examines what happens when a successful gang of train robbers angers the barons of the train industry – who hire the Pinkertons to take them out.
• April 21
  • Matewan, 1987 (2 hours and 12 minutes)
    Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, and David Strathairn star in this classic involving labor union organizers and strike-breakers in a coal-mining community.
• April 28
  • Houdini, 1953 (94 minutes)
    Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh star in this fictionalized biography of magician and escape artist Harry Houdini, who, following the death of his mother, makes it his mission in life to expose fraudulent mediums in the spiritualist movement.
• Instructor:
  • Cheryl Passavanti is a learning facilitator and lecturer on current topics about and through film. A frequenter of film festivals and film clubs, she has brought her expertise to the New Rochelle Resource Center, the Adult Education program in New Rochelle, and, in the last few years, to LIRIC.
• Class Representative:
  • Lorraine Rosano

Four Tuesdays:
January 10, 17, 24, 31

NOW AND THEN
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

LUNCH
12:15-1 p.m.

LIRIC LIGHT
1-2:15 p.m.

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NOW AND THEN

11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

In this course we’ll deal with the Now as we learn what forensic science today can reveal to us, and discover the impact that Latin and Greek have had on the English language. Then is covered by a pair of historians who talk about both Westchester County and New York City.

January 10

Forensic Science: The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth

Presenter: Dan Rothenberg, Forensic Science Specialist for the Westchester County Division of Forensic Science

January 17

How Historic Eastchester and Nearby Communities  Helped Win the Revolution

Presenter: Rich Forliano, Eastchester Town Historian

January 24

A Little Latin and a Peek at Greek

Presenter: George Morris

January 31 

The Bowery: The Strange History of New York’s  Oldest Street

Presenter: Stephen Paul DeVillo, author and historian
(Copies of The Bowery will be available for purchase at $25 cash or check.)

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LIRIC LIGHT

1-2:15 p.m.

While most of these classes are decidedly “light,” geared to entertain, amuse, and inform, one addresses a serious issue we’re dealing with today – book banning.

January 10

Cookin' with Books

Presenter Jo-Anne Weinberg offers us a blend of cookbook memoirs,  mysteries with recipes and tidbits on the side.

January 17

Book Banning in 2023: Where We Are - Where We've Been

Presenters: Richard Palladino, Director of Libraries and Sydni Meyer, Research and Instruction Services Librarian, Iona University.

January 24

Trivia

Pick a table and a team when you get here, and compete to see which team knows the most answers to the questions posed by Joyce Kent. Prizes awarded!

January 31

Play-Reading

Len Poggiali and members of LIRIC’s Play-Reading Class present dramatic readings of two one-act plays, the well-known  radio play, Sorry, Wrong Number, and the J.M. Barrie feminist play, The Twelve-Pound Look.