I am really enjoying Know Thyself from UVa Professor Mitch Green!  

I have decided to create an online keepsake from this course by posting my reflections every week on my blog, Live & Learn! (rkastenmayer.wordpress.com.)

You may keep your discussion comments anonymous in the Coursera discussion, but comments to my blog are publicly viewable.

RuthK
ruthk@virginia.edu

The Senior Center and the Charlottesville Track Club are encouraging everyone who can to sign up – pretty please! – as a volunteer for the race on Saturday, March 16.  These are our greatest position needs:

• Course Traffic Volunteers at various intersections in town – 125 volunteers (this is the most important position so attendance is a MUST regardless of weather)
• Breakdown and Clean-up (various areas) – 10 volunteers
• Packet pick-up at JPJ
• Food preparation at JPJ – 8 volunteers
• Finish line assistants at JPJ – 13 volunteers

Each year this event enjoys the support of more than 400 volunteers, half of whom are usually UVA students. As this year’s race date coincides with UVA’s spring break, we are appealing to the community to help fill the volunteer gap.

You can find volunteer position descriptions and register online at volunteer position. 

 The Senior Center is the 2013 beneficiary of the 38th Charlottesville Ten Miler. Each year, this event enjoys the support of more than 400 volunteers from runners’ families, civic groups, church groups, friends, and supporters volunteering in a number of positions that ensure a safe, enjoyable race. 

 Charity Chaser –  See Peter Run!

Peter Thompson

Center director Peter Thompson will start the race at the back of the pack and is collecting pledges based on the numberof runners he can pass. We forecast he’ll pass 1,000 runners. Based on that, we currently have pledges totaling $6,900; the goal is to get to $20,000. If you haven’t already, please consider pledging 10¢, 25¢ or $1 (or any amount) for each runner he passes. Every dollar raised — up to $50,000 — will be matched by an anonymous donor, so your support will have double the impact.  All proceeds benefit the Center!

With this kind of incentive, we forecast he’ll pass about 1,000 runners.

There is a sign-up sheet at the front desk at the Senior Center, or you can pledge online at seniorcenterinc.org.

Printable pledge form: Charity Chaser form_2013

Thank you in advance for your help and support of a great community event and a vital community resource!

The UVa Coursera course Know Thyself  by Professor Mitch Green is now open!

There is still time to sign up if you would like to take a look at the course and view the first week’s lectures.  This is promising to be a very low-stress, fun way to learn.  See you in class!

RuthK

The Delphic Oracle is said to have had two premier injunctions: NOTHING IN EXCESS, and KNOW THYSELF. This course will be an examination of the latter injunction. Our central questions fall into two categories. First, What is it? We shall inquire
… Continue: www.coursera.org/course/knowthyself

There is still time to sign up and join the tens of thousands of students eagerly waiting for the course to open.  Many Lifelong Learners around the globe.  Hope you will join us!

I hope that you will join us for Know Thyself, a free Coursera online course offered by the University of Virginia!

I have been preparing for this course by taking the Introduction to Philosophy Coursera MOOC, which is being given by the University of Edinburgh.  Last week I bumped into a fellow student in the discussion board who said that she was 83 years old.  The youngest person that I have found so far is 14 years old, so you can see that in terms of age, this is a VERY diverse group. Many countries across the world are represented by enthusiastic students which makes the discussions really interesting.

But remember, if all you do is watch professor Mitch Green’s wonderful lectures, then that is fine.  You are free to choose the parts of the course that you want to do.

There will be one quiz a week (that you will have a couple of chances chances to retake), which will lead towards a certificate from UVa.   I am finding the quizzes in Coursera courses a wonderful way to make sure that I am paying attention and learning, but you do not need to take them if you choose not to.

I have been helping with the preparations for this new online course, and I can assure you that it will be well worth your time!  I will be available for help with Know Thyself  by email at ruthk at virginia.edu , so if you need any assistance (or just encouragement) just let me know. ~ Ruth Kastenmayer, OLLI Webmaster

 Sign up HERE!

More information … https://www.coursera.org/course/knowthyself

The Modern World: Global History since 1760

Philip Zelikow

This is a survey of modern history from a global perspective. It begins with the revolutions of the late 1700s, tracks the transformation of the world during the 1800s, and analyzes the cataclysms of the last century, concluding with the new phase of world history we are experiencing today.

via The Modern World: Global History since 1760 | Coursera.

Fill Your New Kindle, iPad, iPhone with Free eBooks, Movies, Audio Books, Online Courses & More

via Fill Your New Kindle, iPad, iPhone with Free eBooks, Movies, Audio Books, Online Courses & More | Open Culture.

Building on the resounding success of our Winter Session last year, OLLI is very pleased to continue its partnership with Michie Tavern by offering another lecture-and-lunch series. Join us to learn and socialize in an historic setting, where fires will be ablaze on these cold winter days.

The OLLI Winter Session at Michie Tavern will feature talks, cumulatively titled “The Fascinations of Thomas Jefferson,” presented by award-winning historian Rick Britton on three consecutive Thursdays in January: the 17th, 24th and 31st.

A true renaissance man, Thomas Jefferson was fascinated by a seemingly endless list of disciplines and pursuits. Three of his greatest interests were science (which he would have termed “philosophy”), architecture, and invention. Did you know, for example, that Jefferson is considered the father of one science and one of the founders of another? How many existent structures were designed wholly, or in part, by the author of the Declaration of Independence? Join us to hear about the many valuable contributions to science and architecture that Jefferson made and to see an incredible array of gadgets and thingamajigs that are on display at Monticello. Did Jefferson invent them?

• January 17 – “The Tranquil Pursuits: Thomas Jefferson and Science”

• January 24 – “A Sage and a Man of Taste: Jefferson’s Architectural Legacy”

• January 3 1 – “Thomas Jefferson, Inventor: Monticello’s Amazing Gadgetry”

The lectures begin at 10:30 a.m. A question-and-answer period follows at 11:15, with lunch at 11:30. The $16.50 fee for each event includes light refreshments prior to the lecture, the lecture, lunch with the speaker, a book signing, and a complimentary ticket for a tour of historic Michie Tavern. The registration deadline is the Friday before each lecture, and no refund requests will be accepted after that day. Sign up early to attend one, two, or all three presentations and to enjoy a traditional, colonial, Michie Tavern lunch, as well. (Maximum capacity: 80. Snow date: February 7.)

Rick Britton is a Charlottesville-based author and lecturer with more than 200 articles to his credit—the vast majority on the history of Virginia. Rick’s most recent book is Jefferson, A Monticello Sampler, which was awarded a bronze medal at New York City’s Book Expo, the nation’s largest book convention. He also teaches classes on the history of Albemarle County, conducts tours of Civil War battlefields, illustrates maps for history books, and is a frequent radio and podcast commentator.

Click here to view the embedded video.

“The Delphic Oracle is said to have had two premier injunctions: NOTHING IN EXCESS, and KNOW THYSELF. This course will be an examination of the latter injunction. Our central questions fall into two categories. First, What is it? We shall inquire into just what self-knowledge is: Is it a form of inner perception, somewhat like proprioception, by virtue of which our minds (and hearts) have internal scanners of their own states? Or should we construe self-knowledge in a way not crucially relying on a perceptual model? In that case, what other model might we use? Second, Why is it such a big deal? We shall inquire into the question why self-knowledge should be thought so important. Just what, if anything, is missing from a person lacking in self-knowledge that makes her significantly less wise, virtuous, or able than others who have this capacity? Our exploration will take us into research in Western philosophy, psychoanalysis, current experimental psychology, neuroscience, aesthetics, and Eastern philosophy as well. In aid of these investigation we will become students of our own dreams, and cultivate some meditative practices.