Some days, it seems as if new Minnesota craft breweries are popping up faster than spring flowers (of course, given the winter we just went through, that may actually be true--metaphorically AND literally speaking!).

Since 2006, the number of breweries has increased more than threefold, and the current lineup of libation producers runs the gamut from large regional breweries like Summit and Schell's, to small production breweries like Castle Danger, located just outside of Two Harbors.

Coming up next month, LearningLife participants will have a chance to explore the craft beer scene with an expert: beginning July 10, Certified Cicerone® and local beer and brewing blogger Michael Agnew will lead The View From Here: Exploring Minnesota's Craft Beer Scene.

His tasty tour will "hop" around the Cities and take in three breweries, each filling a different niche in the industry. Along the way and in between samples of some of the "beers that made Minnesota famous," attendees will also learn about the history and economics of Minnesota beer, trends in the craft-beer market, and the brewing process.

This month, Living A Learning Life blog readers get a special sneak preview of Agnew's course, as he talks about the establishments highlighted on the tours: Surly, Summit, and Dangerous Man.

Michael Agnew's Guide to The View From Here: Exploring Minnesota's Craft Beer Scene

Summit Brewing Company
Why we're going: Founded in 1986, Summit is a craft-beer pioneer. It represents the first wave of the movement that began in the 1980s. Summit's slow growth over 25 years traces the trajectory of many of those early brewers from tiny operations to large, regional concerns producing over 100,000 barrels of beer annually. The brewery built its reputation on a solid lineup of classic styles, but new focus on more boundary-pushing brews reflects a current industry trend in which even long-established brewers must constantly innovate to stay relevant in the marketplace.

My Summit favorite: India Pale Ale (IPA) - At 6.5 percent ABV and 60 bittering units, it is a beautiful example of the English-style IPA. It pours amber with a tall, off-white head. The crisp bitterness and earthy, lightly citrus Golding hop character is lusciously backed by ample caramel malt.

Surly Brewing Company
Why we're going: The mid-2000s marks the beginning of the current boom in craft brewing. Growing acceptance of craft beer allowed the emergence of a new breed of brewer, marked by brash attitudes, bold flavors, and business savvy. Rapid growth in the market pushed these new brewers to expand quickly. Growth that took decades for earlier brewers happened in a matter of years. At circa 25,000 barrels annually and growing, Surly Brewing Company is the perfect representation of this upstart generation. The same period also saw the emergence of a new breed of beer fan with an almost fanatical devotion to beer, as exemplified by the so-called "Surly Nation."

My Surly favorite: Bender - Surly Bender is a stylistic conundrum. If you ask owner Omar Ansari, it's an American Brown Ale. Brewer Todd Haug has called it an Oatmeal Brown Porter. I just call it good. Layers of English malt character reveal caramel, cocoa, coffee, and comforting roastiness. The malt is balanced and enhanced by crisp but subtle hops. Bender is a soothing session beer that works equally well on a cold winter's night or a sunny summer afternoon.

Dangerous Man Brewing Company
Why we're going: Right now the American beer industry is growing at a rate that is almost too fast to track. In the two years from December 2010 to December 2012 the number of breweries in the upper-Midwest increased by 41 percent. This phenomenal expansion is being driven by tiny breweries that are subverting old, accepted business models. Nano-breweries crafting beer on three-barrel systems are putting beer on shelves at a fraction of the startup costs of traditional operations. While larger than a nano, Dangerous Man is producing beer only for sale at its taproom. You won't find Dangerous Man beer in stores or bars.

My Dangerous Man favorite: "Wow" is all I could say when I first tasted this beer. It's a silky-smooth, chocolate bon-bon of a beer with a moderate dose of roast. Nutty notes of grainy, toasted malt sent it over the top.

Want to learn more about the craft beer industry, Minnesota's rich microbrew market, and the three breweries previewed here? Register for The View From Here (three-session short course; begins July 10) and taste for yourself what all the fuss is about!

"Great Beer Brewed Here" image courtesy Adam Turman

Snag a slice of pizza at Savoy; take flight with a craft beer or two at the Happy Gnome; enjoy the local walleye at Tavern on Grand; order your steak still mooing at Kincaid's; reserve a table for fine dining at W.A. Frost's... No matter what your culinary curiosity asks for, chances are, you can find it in St. Paul.

And, of course, being the metropolitan area that it is, there's always a chance for a celebrity sighting or two when you are out and about. Maybe you'll end up having a drink next to Lady Gaga at the Turf Club, or catch a glimpse of hometown hero and Twins catcher Joe Mauer as he chows down on a Juicy Lucy at the Nook in Highland Park.

While it sometimes gets short shrift compared to its larger twin on the other side of the river, as it turns out, the Capital City is just as "happening," and has long been a hangout for the rich and famous...or, in some cases, infamous.

Thanks to the protection of the infamous O'Connor System agreement between the St. Paul Police and criminals across America, the city served as a haven for public enemies, allowing them to rest, relax, plot, and, yes, dine, unmolested--provided they followed the (unwritten) rules.

Says Paul Maccabee, crime historian and author of John Dillinger Slept Here: A Crooks' Tour of Crime and Corruption in St. PauI, "Back in the 1930s, in particular 1932-34...that was the heyday of John Dillinger, Babyface Nelson, etc. At that time, it wasn't unusual to go to a restaurant, like Vince Guarnera's place in White Bear Lake or Boulevards of Paris on University and Lex in St. Paul, and you would be having dinner with your wife or husband and kids, and there would be John Dillinger sitting there eating a sausage at a table nearby with his gun moll, or Babyface Nelson having a steak. And you'd RECOGNIZE them...but you wouldn't be scared."

Continues Maccabee, "Here they are, the most dangerous, most wanted men in America--named Public Enemy Number One by the FBI, pictures on wanted posters at the post office, etc. But when you saw them dining, literally just feet from you, not only would you not report them to the police, you wouldn't feel like you were in danger."

And that, he explains, was because the "fix was in." Otherwise known as the "O'Connor Agreement," the arrangement came about when St. Paul chief of police John O'Connor made a bargain with the underworld community welcoming outlaws as long as they checked in with police, paid a small bribe, and promised not to kill, kidnap, or rob within city limits.

"So people knew that as long as you didn't try to turn them in, or arrest them or whatever, they were safe. Sitting down to eat, with John Dillinger five feet away from you eating spaghetti, wasn't a terrifying experience--it was a celebrity moment. It was like eating next to O.J. Simpson. Someone who was notorious, infamous, and a famous criminal...but not someone who you are worried about. It would be like having dinner next to Babe Ruth or Clark Gable. People would go home afterwards and excitedly tell all their friends, 'You will NEVER guess who I got to sit by! John Dillinger!' And their friends would say, 'No way! Did you get his autograph?'"

That type of celebrity dinner dish was common in that era, because gangsters liked to eat...and they liked to eat good food. "Sure, they were on the lam, but they had a lot of money," says Maccabee. "You'd hear about how Dillinger would drive up to the Hollyhocks Club and send a henchman in to get a steak and bring it back out to him. And he'd sit in his car, there on the bluffs above the river, eating his dinner, and then send the plate back in. So here's the most wanted man in America, a guy with a huge price on his head, and he's risking his freedom, his life, because he wanted a good steak--and the Hollyhocks reportedly had the best steaks in town."

In fact, St. Paul was not just the place for good food; it was a regular vacation hotspot (or on-the-lam hidey hole) for some of the most nefarious names in history. "For a period of about 30 years, this arrangement with the police meant that St. Paul was everything the crooks needed," says Maccabee.

"The fix was in, so they had protection. They could get guns--machine guns, tommy guns--the best in the world were flown in to Minnesota. They could get girls (in fact, Alvin "Creepy" Karpis met the love of his life in St. Paul). And they could get getaway cars. If you needed a high performance car, the best getaway cars for bank robbery in America were sold here in St. Paul. Specialty heavily armored cars."

Gun molls, getaway cars, and good burgers... basically, Maccabee says, "St. Paul was a WalMart for gangsters. One-stop shopping."

The Era of the Infamous finally came to an end in the mid-1930s, when 10 St. Paul businessmen pooled their money to hire a detective to bug the city police department. "They wiretapped the phones, and the transcripts of those calls showed, very plainly, cops talking with crooks."

And when those transcripts got turned over to the newspaper, and then the story was printed, exposing in black and white the "dirty little secret that everyone already knew," it was an end of an era. "Everybody knew what was going on already, but it was like they were rubbing the people of St. Paul's noses in it. So in 1935-36, they cleaned house--and it was quite the undertaking, as it involved not just police on the take, but politicians of all levels, judges, mayors, etc."

These days, even though the "fix" may have been "out" for going on three-quarters of a century, in true Minnesota "pride of ownership" fashion, St. Paul not only acknowledges, but also embraces, its semi-sordid past and (in)famous adopted sons and daughters. Maccabee is a leading expert on the topic, and in addition to penning the book John Dillinger Slept Here, he has also been featured in numerous TV documentaries on Prohibition-era gangsters and crime.

For those who hunger to learn more about the era, Maccabee will bring his knowledge of all-things-shady-in-St. Paul to the LearningLife daylong immersion course, A Haven for Public Enemies: St. Paul in the Gangster Era, on June 25. A combination presentation and tour, the course will visit the sites of brothels, crime scenes, speakeasies, and mob hideouts, and learn the underworld secrets of Dillinger, Nelson, and Karpis, and many more, including Bugsy Siegel and Ma Barker. Details and registration information are on the LearningLife website.

All this spaghetti talk whet your appetite?

The gangsters are long gone, and Maccabee's course isn't until June, but if you want to indulge in some gangster gastronomy, check out some of these local watering holes with ties to the Twin Cities most notorious n'er-do-wells:

Café (inside Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul, open during limited hours), is in the Old Federal Courts Building where members of the Dillinger and Barker-Karpis Gang were tried and convicted of kidnapping and other crimes.

The Eagle Street Grille (W. 7th, St. Paul) features a gangster-themed menu and décor as a tribute to the city's infamous history.

Phil's Tara Hideaway (Highway 36, Stillwater) is a historic landmark that has been operating since the mid-twenties. It was originally opened as Lynch's Chicken Shack, a popular speakeasy that fed such "dignitaries" as Al Capone and John Dillinger.

DeGidio's (W. 7th, St. Paul) was founded by bootlegger Joe "Kid Bullets" DeGidio in 1933 and was a favorite watering hole for many of the most notorious mob figures of the era. Still family-owned, it is a popular Italian restaurant known for its Hot Dagos.

What's Next? is a four-part series of Saturday morning seminars in which leading University experts tackle some of the biggest issues facing us in the future. And while most events will be held Saturday mornings in February, the series will kick off at a special edition of Headliners on January 10 (7 p.m.), featuring University president Eric Kaler.

Says LearningLife director Margy Ligon, "We began the celebration of CCE's centennial in 2012 with A Century of Ideas, a look back at transformative ideas and innovations from the last 100 years. As we embark on the next 100 years, we felt it was time to focus on the future. With President Kaler preparing his first biennial budget request since taking office, we thought it was the perfect time to ask him to present his vision for What's Next for the University of Minnesota under his leadership. We're excited that during the very same week the 88th session of the Minnesota Legislature convenes on Capitol Hill, he will address the more than 400 people we're expecting for the first Headliners event of the New Year."

What's Next? Powering the Future will be led by smart-grid technology pioneer Massoud Amin. Amin will share his vision of what needs to be done to improve the reliability, security, and efficiency of the country's essential power supply. "Twenty-four states are still picking up the pieces from Hurricane Sandy," says Ligon. "It left people without power for weeks on end, and it couldn't have been more obvious how dependent we are on reliable access to electricity. Professor Amin has been a voice of warning for decades that our power infrastructure has become outdated, leaving us vulnerable to natural disasters and cyber-attacks. It's kind of terrifying, but he has visionary solutions to offer, and we're excited to have him on board."

Another seemingly simple facet of life that gets taken for granted until it doesn't work is design. What's Next? Designing the Future examines a world wherein design is becoming an integral part of our lives.

"New research has shown that the way a health care facility is designed can actually contribute to faster recovery times, businesses recognize that design contributes to their competitive edge in a global economy, and educators are studying design studios to learn how to teach creative thinking," says Ligon. The topic will be tackled by Tom Fisher, dean of the College of Design, who will look at cutting-edge designs and how they will transform our future physical environments.

Journalism professor Heather LaMarre will examine the future of our virtual environment when she discusses the growing influence social media is having on public policy, global attitudes, and human behaviors at What's Next? The Growing Influence of Social Media. "Many people think that things like Facebook and Twitter are fads or are 'just for fun,'" says Ligon. "But look at this fall's election," she continues. "It clearly demonstrated the power of social media to get people fired up to give money, to volunteer, and to get out the vote. Politicians, governments and businesses around the world have taken notice. It's fascinating stuff."

The fourth seminar features Jonathan Foley, director of the U's renowned Institute on the Environment, as he tackles one of the biggest issues facing not just the U.S., but the world--our growing population and what it will mean for the food supply--at What's Next? Feeding the World and Sustaining the Planet. "Last year world population hit 7 billion! And it's expected to reach 9 billion in the next four decades," says Ligon. "There is no more urgent question than how we will increase food production without completely destroying the planet in the process. [Jonathan Foley] served on an international team of researchers studying this problem and was the lead author of a visionary five-point plan of how to increase global food production while reducing the environmental damage from agriculture. His perspective on this topic is invaluable."

The Headliners special edition with President Kaler is Thursday, January 10, at 7 p.m. The What's Next? Saturday morning seminar series begins on February 2 and runs through February 23. All morning seminars are from 9-11 a.m. on the St. Paul campus. For complete series details, including ticket pricing and registration information, please visit the LearningLife website, or call 612-624-4000.

As I write this message, retailers are vying for the dubious distinction of being the first to open their doors to the consumer frenzy known as "Black Friday." But this year, I think they've gone too far - and down the wrong track. In their zeal to start the spending spree earlier and earlier, they've intruded on the one day set aside to give thanks for family, food, and friendship...and just as more and more studies are reporting a concerted backlash to this consumption-fueled start to the holiday season.

This won't be news to any of our LearningLife audiences! Together we've been witnessing this trend firsthand for years. Every day you share inspiring stories with us about the learning experiences that have created lasting memories for you: a grandmother and granddaughter enjoying a geology tour of the St. Croix River Valley together; a son bringing his father to a Saturday morning seminar on a topic of shared interest; a husband and wife subscribing to Headliners and making the Thursday evening discussions their own special date nights; a group of friends enrolling in a short course about Norway before embarking on a cruise through the fjords; sisters revisiting the women's movement of the 1970s during last summer's Century of Ideas series.

It's been our privilege to organize these LearningLife experiences for you, and you've made it a particularly gratifying year. You responded in record numbers to our Century of Ideas series last summer. So, this winter, we're building on the seminal ideas of the past century to explore the future in another special series, "What's Next?" So many of you attended our fall Sampler, we've got another one planned for you in January. (Mark your calendar now: January 15, 7 p.m.!) The variety of topics covered by our short courses has never been greater or your response to them more positive. The Saturday morning seminars--new just last year--increased in enrollment this fall by 25 percent, and Headliners is regularly attracting capacity crowds.

You don't need to be told that experiences are more valuable than consumer items. You prove it every day.

On behalf of the LearningLife staff, I wish you a joyous holiday season and look forward to sharing many more learning experiences with you in the New Year.

Margy Ligon
Director, Personal Enrichment Programs

To help students shake some of these notions, two of Minnesota's most recognized poets, Deborah Keenan and Jim Moore, will teach Poetry 101: Reading and Appreciation on Saturday, November 10 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This intensive daylong course offers students the chance to explore poetry in a warm, welcoming environment. Keenan and Moore will guide students in using various tools helpful to enriching their understanding and enjoyment of poetry. Students will quickly discover they need not be a professional scholar or critic to develop an excellent ear for poetic composition.

But Moore contends that poetry isn't something to fear; rather it is something to enjoy in the way any art form is that people already know and love. "Poetry is meant to be a pleasure...like listening to music," he explains. "...It offers the same challenges, comforts, irritations, and inspiration that music does...it offers a way to be in the world...that attempts to link the personal experience of the poet to the larger world around him or her, through image, metaphor, sound, and rhythm. I hope that at least some of the poems Deborah and I bring in by a range of poets will break through that sense that poetry is too difficult or arcane to read."

Both Keenan and Moore agree, however, that because poetry is a richly varied genre it is unlikely a person would enjoy all, or even most, poetry. This speaks to one main benefit of a co-taught course such as this: two perspectives, Moore says. "This should make it absolutely clear to the people in the class that poetry is subjective."

"Having two poets in a room teaching will add layers of intensity, complexity, disagreement, and mixed points of views which should enrich the experience," Keenan adds. "I think Jim and I are choosing poems to share that we believe are approachable, emotionally resonant, smart, funny, human documents. I hope folks take [this] course for the pleasure of it, and if they resist some poem choices, they enjoy how Jim or I present them and discuss them. Usually by the end of any class, students who were indifferent to poetry have found at least a few poems that they truly value."

Complete course details and registration information can be found on the LearningLife website.

Keenan is a professor in Hamline University's bachelor of arts (creative writing), master of fine arts in writing, and master of liberal studies programs. She also teaches at The Loft Literary Center and privately. Moore teaches regularly in Hamline's master of fine arts in writing program and at Colorado College. He is a current Guggenheim Fellow in poetry, is a PushCart Prize winner, and has previously served as a mentor in The Loft's mentor program. These accomplished poets have each authored several collections of poetry and won numerous awards for their work. In 1984, Keenan and Moore collaborated on the poetry book, How We Missed Belgium, which won a competition for collaborative text from Milkweed Editions.

The students met to discuss how racial equity, privilege, and diversity are addressed in their countries. The summit's aim was "to exchange ideas and experiences in addressing issues of social justice, as manifested in aspects of race, racism, racial integration, and racial reconciliation in higher education."

Xay Yang, a 2012 graduate from the College of Continuing Education's Inter-College Program, was one of the U's delegates. It was, she says, an amazing and thought-provoking experience, and a fitting capstone to her academic career (Yang earned her interdisciplinary degree in social justice, youth studies, and graphic design).

Those visiting students, Yang explains, were part of the UFS group Leaders for Change--an organization founded in 2010 to expose students to positive models of racial integration in the former apartheid university.

"[University of the Free State] started out as a white Afrikaner-only institution, but became integrated awhile back... [In 2008,] a video came out showing some white Afrikaans students threatening and forcing black Afrikaans staff to eat food that had been [urinated] on," she says

That leaked video, which was said to be a "mock initiation," outraged black and white citizens, and was replayed around the world. It resulted in student protests and riots, and helped put pressure on government and universities to respond to overt and covert racism in schools. UFS developed Leaders for Change in response to the incident.

Continues Yang, "The student leaders came up here, trying to get at some of those issues of diversity; looking to learn about how we handle integration and diversity and race, especially in our schools."

Yang was so moved by serving as a U.S. mentor, she applied for the summit in South Africa in March. "I'd never even been out of the country before...I think pretty much all I knew about Africa [that the media showed] was about lions and safaris," she smiles. "And even though I'd worked with the student group when they came here, and even though we had reading and stuff to do before the summit to give us background in apartheid...it was really shocking to see how 'diverse' diverse was there.

"Here, we think of cultural diversity as black, white, Asian, Native American...as races, more or less. But there, it's not just the races--which are predominantly black and white, it's the cultural/ethnic divisions within them. There are white Afrikaans and white English speakers; black Africans and within that numerous tribal affiliations, and... it's really different."

Not only that, she says, but summit participants also encountered differing views on apartheid and its effects on the nation after the fact. "It wasn't just one simple way of dealing with the 'after' of it. We'd talk with younger people, and their attitudes were one of 'Oh, that's history. It's the past. Let's just move on; go from here.' And then you'd talk to older people who had experienced it, and they'd say 'No, we can't move on--we need to think about it. Talk about it.' There were really different ways of viewing how to deal with it."

It sparked discussion, Yang says, about many of the issues in our own country about race and healing. "At first I [identified with the younger group]--thinking, you know, 'yeah, this WAS a while ago. Do we still need to be having conversations about it, instead of moving on? And then, I thought about the U.S. and our own history. About slavery, and then segregation. About taking the land from the Native Americans and the reservations. And that's more than a hundred years ago, and we still are talking, working through it. I realized, compared to that...the end of apartheid is really new to these people, especially the older people."

And although the ways the younger population of South Africa is dealing with the aftermath of apartheid may differ from that of their elders, Yang says, their drive to deal with racism and integration was committed. "They [the UFS/Leaders for Change students] were really self-motivated. It wasn't like that first cohort of students was put together and TOLD to work on it, to come to the U.S. They wanted to be leaders, wanted to open a dialogue about race, about social justice. Talking to them now, you get the sense that they aren't just trying to be 'do-gooders' or something--they are living this every day. That's their lives."

The two-week summit was intense, filled with lectures and presentations. Participants were broken into groups and cohorts to discuss issues of race in colleges and universities around the globe; to talk about integration, about what it meant to be a leader in a variety of communities, and about the reconciliation process.

The issue of reconciliation, in particular, resonated with Yang. "The issue of reconciliation and forgiveness was one of the most powerful ones. In one workshop, our instructor had video footage of people sharing stories, parents talking about losing their children, people recounting about how they had lost homes and land and family and friends ..."

She recounted another experience where they met a man, a vintner, who had moved away to England, and while living abroad witnessed how the outside world viewed his home country. "He was so moved," Yang says, "that he came back to South Africa and used his own property as credit to buy up the neighboring farmland, which had been seized from the native people years ago. Now, the indigenous people live there and work at the winery, and he shares the proceeds from his wine with them. That was his way of making amends and reconciling what his ancestors had done; his way of healing.

"Those messages and ideas were a great thing to bring back--the process one takes to grieve, to grow, to forgive, and forget--or move on. They were lessons we really discussed about how and where we can apply those in our own country."

Returning to the States, Yang says, "was an eye-opener. You see the world differently. I realized how fortunate I am. I came back and really asked myself, 'what am I doing with my life? Where do I want to be in five, ten years?' It was an experience that changed not just my thinking on issues of race and diversity and what those things mean...but also made me think about my own personal goals."

From its very beginnings, the College of Continuing Education has been one of the standard bearers for the University's outreach mission--bringing lifelong opportunities to people not just on campus, but in the far corners of the state, the country, and even around the globe. For 100 years, the College has provided individuals with access to experts who helped them to challenge their perspectives, change their lives, or transform their communities.

To celebrate those 10 decades of innovation and education, LearningLife's summer programming will feature A Century of Ideas, a series of seminars examining the defining moments and movements that made our society what it is today. Each two-hour event will highlight an individual decade and feature University faculty and prominent Twin Cities' experts.

She continues, "This summer we'll cover breakthroughs in social history and music, science and technology, economics and medicine over the course of ten weeks. Whether it's the revolution in mass communications from the first experimental radio broadcasts at the turn of the last century to tweets from the Arab Spring at the beginning of this century; the politics of FDR's New Deal in the 1930s that are still being debated during this election cycle; or the nuclear arms race that started with the Manhattan Project in the 1940s and continues today in North Korea and Iran."

The series, which will replace Curiosity Camp during the 2012 centennial summer, begins July 10, with the 1910s and radio and the birth of mass communication. It runs through August 9--the 2000s and the global economic crisis. Each seminar is $50, and can be taken as a stand-alone course, although package discounts are available for individuals wanting to attend multiple events. All events are from 9-11 a.m. on the St. Paul campus, and include continental breakfast and parking.

"From the roots of early jazz music, to family life in the post-war, Mad Men era; the physics of the atomic bomb and the nature of radioactivity to the history--and controversy--of stem cell research, no matter what your interest," says Ligon, "there will be at least one 'decade' that will grab you. It's going to be a living history lesson led by foremost authorities on their subjects. "

And while A Century of Ideas will only run this summer, and regular LearningLife short course programming will return in the fall, the same spirit of lifelong learning that has been a College hallmark for 100 years will continue on, says Ligon. "One series could never begin to cover all the profound changes that have happened since 1913, so we'll continue to explore the key people and ideas of the past century during the coming academic year with specially designed LearningLife short courses and seminars."

For complete series details, course descriptions, instructor bios, and package discount details, visit the Century of Ideas website.

As both a visual media librarian and an art historian, Allan Kohl has devoted much of his career to the study of art and its cultural impact and ramifications. A popular instructor for LearningLife, he has led numerous courses at the U, including The Civil War in Art, Getting to Know the Art of the Middle Ages, Art History 101: From Caves to Cathedrals, and The Grand Tour Cities Series (Venice, Rome, Florence, London, Paris, Vienna, Athens, Istanbul).

This spring, he will be leading the three-session short course, Getting to Know Islamic Art (begins April 26). It is an offering he hopes will not only showcase many beautiful and intricate works of art, including ornamental calligraphy used in manuscripts and dazzling patterns based on mathematical formulas, but also help people better understand the culture behind the works.

Even now, two decades later, there are often gaps in what individuals may have learned about the Muslim world and its inhabitants. "Much of what we read and hear about Islam as a faith, about Islamic culture, and about the more than one billion people who identify themselves as Muslims focuses on how different they are from 'us,'" he says.

"This perception is ironically inaccurate in many ways. Millions of Americans are Muslims. In school we are often taught about political and military conflict between the Islamic world and the West (back to the time of the Crusades), but less frequently about the cultural and religious traditions common to the three great monotheistic faiths--Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--that trace their monotheistic roots back to Abraham. Muslim science and technology have given us the Arabic number system, algebra, the navigational instruments that allowed explorers to reach the New World, and much of our knowledge of pharmacology."

Approaching history through the lens of art, Kohl feels, can provide a good way of understanding a culture in a non-political, non-divisive way, and help show the similarities among people, as well as differences. "I feel that experiencing art and visual culture is a particularly accessible way to open a window of understanding about Muslim beliefs, values, perceptions, and modes of thought," he says.

Kohl's short course will be richly illustrated, and cover "a little bit of everything, from the life of the Prophet Muhammad (as represented in Persian miniatures) to the architecture of the mosque; from the role of art and architecture in Muslim worship to the development of mathematical patterns in tilework and mosaic; from carpets and calligraphy to garden design, and how each of these reflects significant cultural values and experiences.

"Anyone who would like to develop an appreciation for a visual culture both similar to, and different from, the Western art traditions with which most of us are more familiar, will find something that appeals to them."

The three-session short course Getting to Know Islamic Art begins Thursday, April 26, and runs through May 10.

Want to see more of the striking images you'll cover in the class? Take a slideshow tour on the LearningLife facebook page.

Images (from top to bottom): Spain, Nasrid: Holy Qur'an, calligraphic page, late 13th-early 14th century
Turkish, Ottoman: Album of the Conqueror (Sultan Mehmet II), calligraphic page based on geometric permutations of "Allah," 15th century

The bi-monthly series will focus on hot-button issues, addressed by one or two newsmakers, a MinnPost journalist, and a U of M faculty expert. A moderated public Q&A will follow each panel's discussion.

Said Margy Ligon, director for the College's personal enrichment programs, "This format will allow people to hear about the issues from several angles. The newsmakers, obviously, and then the journalist and the faculty member who will be serving in the 'interviewer' roles. The reporter will typically tackle the issue from the 'right now' perspective--he or she will have the latest information and breaking news on the topic. The professor offers a historical perspective and brings the academic insight."

"The goal is to gather experts and newsmakers together for a real discussion, for a civil debate on the issues. We want to tackle those issues from a local level, and see how they are affecting our region and our lives."

For the April 12 kick-off event, The Marriage Amendment: The Meaning Behind the Messages, Richard Carlbom, executive director of Minnesotans United for All Families (the anti-amendment coalition), will be interviewed by MinnPost journalist Beth Hawkins and University of Minnesota Communications Studies Department Chair Ed Schiappa.

(Please note that an invitation to participate was extended to Minnesota for Marriage, the pro-amendment coalition. The invitation was declined but remains open. Other pro-amendment groups were also invited to participate, but did not respond.)

The discussion will focus on messaging being used in Minnesota and elsewhere by groups fighting for and against the amendment. Video clips will be shown and analyzed.

Tickets are $25 ($15 for MinnPost and Learning Circle members). All events will begin at 7 p.m. and will be held at the Continuing Education and Conference Center on the U of M St. Paul campus.

The new series is not the first partnership between the two organizations. MinnPost has long been a media sponsor for LearningLife events, so the pairing seemed very natural, said Ligon. "They have been a wonderful media partner for LearningLife, and their original MinnPost Asks series featured some great speakers, including University President Eric Kaler, and interesting discussions. Partnering with them allows us to take our programming in a new direction."

She continued, "It's a very collaborative effort and a good way to keep in touch with the community around us. By combining the U's distinctive faculty and the great roster of reporters at MinnPost we can present these topics to our lifelong learners in a way that neither of us could have done alone."

For tickets, call 612-624-4000 or register online.

A somewhat peculiar utterance for anyone, but an even stranger one for someone who isn't a farmer, rancher, veterinarian, or in some other way associated with agrarian or bovine-related pursuits.

Liberman, who will be teaching the Saturday morning seminar The Future of English, is, in fact, a linguist. More specifically (and correctly), he is a philologist--one who studies language in written historical sources; a pursuit that combines literary studies, history, and linguistics. He is also a professor of German, Scandinavian, and Dutch at the University of Minnesota (where he has worked since he emigrated from his native Russia in 1975). And, one day, almost 25 years ago, because of a cow (albeit indirectly), he launched himself headfirst into the massive task of creating an etymological dictionary for the English language, and a bibliography to accompany it.

"And I said to myself, 'well, now that's interesting.' And I thought of a word, in English, heifer, which is similar to those two in pronunciation--at least in its historic sense (now it rhymes with "deafer" as opposed to something more like "wafer"), and spelling. I wondered if perhaps in the origin of the English heifer, I might find out about the beginnings of Heiðrún."

Liberman turned to The Oxford English Dictionary, to Walter Skeat's 1910 version of An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, and to several other reference books--and found nothing but a few conflicting and widely disparate accounts on the origins of heifer. "The word is old--at least from the 10th century, but its origin is hardly known. And as I continued to look, I realized that there are no bibliographies of English where you can open it up, and say 'heifer' and it will give you a list of dictionaries and articles where mentions of the origins of the word can be found.

"And what irritated me was that there was no literature in any of these etymological dictionaries (e.g. Skeat's) that said where these opinions on the origins had come from. There are dictionaries for other languages--dead languages like Sanskrit and Latin, and living languages, Icelandic, and Russian, and Polish, and the Romance languages--and you can see the word, and then the editor's opinions or ideas, and then half a page of references as to where it came from. But for English, nothing. No references. If you want to know more about English, you have no place to start."

So, frustrated at English's role as an etymological orphan, Liberman (pictured at left) did what any self-respecting language connoisseur would do (or, maybe not): he set out to write one himself. The massive undertaking is made up of the multi-volume history of more than 1,000 common English words, and the bibliography--a tome featuring approximately 15,000 English words, "common and rare, recent and archaic, stylistically neutral and slangy." Those words were culled from 21,000 articles, notes, and reviews in more than 20 languages.

"For the dictionary, I am sticking to a relatively few words, common words that when you look them up they say 'origin unknown' or 'origin uncertain.' Those, and words that have no cognates outside of English. Words like 'boy' and 'girl'. Very common, but of disputed origin--and they only appear in English. For the bibliography, though...that is anything and everything. All words are grist for the mill, so to speak. I avoid words that are not for English etymologists--for example 'emperor', which is obviously Latin; or 'idea' which is Greek. Those belong to Latin and Greek etymologists. But otherwise, the more I read, the more I include.

"I am," he sums up, "quite omnivorous when it comes to the bibliography, but rather choosy when it comes to inclusion in the dictionary."

It is a more-than-a-lifework scale of project, one that began when Liberman was already in his early 50s. "Ah, you will often read in prefaces something to the effect of 'If I had known the time and effort this would have required, I wouldn't have started the project,'" Liberman says with a smile. "But I had no illusions whatsoever about the magnitude of the endeavor. If anything, I am more surprised at how much ground I've covered.

"With the help of student workers, and volunteers, and some grants here and there, we have been opening up bibliographies and journals and books from all over the world, year after year, and copying articles and entering data."

It has been a rewarding process for Liberman, and one that provides not only linguistic knowledge, but a broader picture of humanity as a whole. "Knowing the history of language, of language change, you know the history of civilization, the history of human thought. You learn about everything from politics to music to flowers... everything in the man-made world is reflected in language."

(Editor's note: This also makes him immensely skilled at Jeopardy and Trivial Pursuit. A man who knows what the nest of a grey squirrel is called is not one to be trifled with.)

No matter how rewarding the work, however, it has not been without its challenges. The funding for this type of work is difficult to come by, says Liberman, as "many organizations are reluctant to offer any--they look for short-term projects, with immediate results. And, well, when you more or less tell them that your work will take up the rest of your life... it's not something they want to sign on to. They say 'oh, nothing will ever come of that; it is a waste of our money.' But some, some have said 'this is exactly the kind of project the world needs! We have been waiting for years for this!' And they have helped. And the University has always had trust in the project, and they know that dictionaries are not written overnight."

Still, he adds, with a hint of a smile, "perhaps someone, a millionaire, would like to fund my dream of The Center for English Etymology? Where I could have a post-doc, and perhaps one or two graduate students, and an administrative assistant...

"But it is all right the way it is," he says. "We get along this way. Every year we add several hundred new titles to the database. About a hundred people have worked on this project over the last two-plus decades; 50 of them volunteers. I have three working with me right now, including one fellow who has been helping for 20 years. He's in his 80s now, and has opened probably tens of thousands of pages in that time."

Pointing to a database entry on a species of small fish, Liberman shows that if you look hard enough, and long enough, you can find, and then document, reference material for words like "goby." There is satisfaction in that, even if there is perhaps not fame, fortune, and glory. And that sense of satisfaction and pride is obvious when Liberman discusses his work. "There is no fame in scholarship... [but] even if I die tomorrow...this will stay, and the database will stay. And if someone wants to write, say, an article on the name of a fish, on 'goby'...well, there will be this with an entry. It may only be two references in this case, but that is more than would have been collected before."

Not that he plans to shuffle off his mortal coil anytime soon, of course: "Ah, a point going for me," he concludes (also with some satisfaction), "is that many of the great lexicographers--Wedgwood, Skeat, etc.--they are all exceptionally long-lived. I suppose you might have to be, in this line of work."

Join Professor Liberman on March 17, as he leads the LearningLife Saturday morning seminar, The Future of English. The two-hour course will be a mix of discussion and lecture, and will tackle questions such as "Is there such a thing as 'good' or 'bad' English?" "What does it mean when there are more ESL speakers than there are native English speakers?" "How will the digital age and texting affect the language? How will the decrease in average literacy levels affect it?"

Complete course details and registration information can be found on the LearningLife website.

In addition to lecturing and teaching courses in linguistics, etymology, and folklore at the U, Anatoly Liberman is the author of the book Word Origins and How We Know Them: Etymology for Everyone (Oxford University Press, 2005) and regularly appears on MPR's "Midmorning" to discuss words and phrases as they enter popular usage. He also is the author of the blog The Oxford Etymologist, written weekly for Oxford University Press. He recently received the 7th annual MLA Prize for a Distinguished Bibliography for his work on A Bibliography of English Etymology: Sources and Word List.

Want to help?
If you are interested in volunteering for the etymological dictionary and bibliography project, contact Professor Liberman at aliber@umn.edu.

Image at top: Some rights reserved by Muffet

Love (101) is in the air on Saturday, February 11. The daylong course, led by Charles Taliaferro, St. Olaf philosophy professor and author of Love, Love, Love and Other Essays, will explore the myriad ways this complex emotion can be defined, as well as key questions suggested by cultural, religious, and personal expectations about love.

Through insightful lectures, lively discussions, creative thinking, humor, and frivolity, you'll explore what guides and influences the human heart in all of its absurdity and joy--and what we need most to live humanely, happily, faithfully, and well.

The Fine Chocolate Renaissance

The cartoonist Charles Schulz once said, "All you need is love...But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt." Scientist and chocolate connoisseur Anna Bonavita agrees: she will be leading the two-session short course The Fine Chocolate Renaissance beginning Thursday, February 2.

Bonavita is the founder of Chocolate BonaVita, an organization that celebrates the joy and delight in artisanal chocolate, as well as increases awareness about the survival of the rainforest. So it is perhaps no surprise that the course will follow the winding journey from cocoa bean in the tropical rainforest to chocolate at the local candy counter.

Participants will explore the history, geography, and economics of cocoa; meet the pioneers who started the chocolate revolution; and learn about a small number of avant-garde chocolate makers who are challenging the way we think about the "food of the gods." And, of course, comparative tastings of up to six artisanal chocolates per session will be included.

Celebrate Valentine's Day in style!

Want to earn a gift for your sweetheart? (Or maybe something for yourself?) All LearningLife members who enroll in both The Fine Chocolate Renaissance and Love 101 will receive a signed copy of Charles Taliaferro's Love, Love, Love and a sampling of artisan chocolates from Chocolate BonaVita.

Amaze your beloved with these Valentine's Day tidbits

Tastier than a vanilla nougat, and far less fattening...entertain your friends and loved ones this Valentine's Day with some of these trivia treats about romance, candy, and the holiday we love to hate.

• Valentine's Day isn't as commercial as you might think. February has long been a month to celebrate love and its trappings: For the ancient Greeks, the period between mid-January and mid-February was the month of Gamelion, dedicated to the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera.
• The Romans celebrated Lupercalia (February 13-15)--an archaic rite connected to fertility. And while Lupercalia was local to the city of Rome, the more general Festival of Juno Februa, meaning ("Juno the Purifier" or "Juno the Chaste"), was celebrated on February 13-14.
• In 496, Pope Gelasius I abolished Lupercalia and established February 14 as St. Valentine's Day, in honor of two martyred saints, Valentine of Terni and Valentine of Rome.
• The first recorded reference to Valentine's Day as a celebration of romantic love was in Geoffrey Chaucer's Parlement of Foules (1382), written to commemorate the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia.
  For this was on seynt Volantynys day
  Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.
• The oldest known Valentine's poem still in existence was written by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife. The poem was composed in 1415, while the duke was imprisoned in the Tower of London.
• When you think of sweet foods and Valentine's Day, you probably think of chocolate. But the tasty confection wasn't always a decadent candy--in fact, for most of its history, chocolate was a beverage...and a bitter one, at that. Etymologists trace the origin of the word "chocolate" to the Aztec word "xocoatl," which referred to a bitter drink brewed from cacao beans.
• Aztec sacrifice victims who felt too melancholy to join in ritual dancing before their death were often given a gourd of chocolate (tinged with the blood of previous victims) to cheer them up.
• Chocolate first came to Europe in 1528, when Hernando Cortéz presented the Spanish King, Charles V with cocoa beans from the New World and the necessary tools for its preparation. Cortez also suggested adding sugar to the bitter drink--resulting in a delicacy reserved for the aristocracy. Chocolate was a secret that Spain managed to keep from the rest of the world for almost 100 years.
• Joseph Fry is credited with making the first modern chocolate bar in 1847. He did it by making a moldable chocolate paste of melted cacao butter and Dutch cocoa.
• Chocolate is an honored veteran of WWII! The U.S. government allocated valuable shipping space for the importation of cocoa beans, as chocolate was a quick source of energy, helping tired soldiers have the strength to carry their gear. Today, the U.S. Army D-rations include three, four-ounce chocolate bars.
• Just the sight of chocolate can evoke a smile, according to a recent British survey. Sixty percent of women ranked chocolate as the most smile-worthy experience, edging out loved ones and other smiling people.
• Phenylethylamine is sometimes called the "love drug" because it causes your pulse rate to increase a bit--similar to the feeling someone experiences when in love. It is also found in certain foods, including chocolate.
• The Greek god of love is Eros (son of Aphrodite, or one of the primordial gods, depending on which version you read); his consort is Psyche. Together they had a daughter, Hedone (meaning physical pleasure or bliss). Eros' Roman counterpart is Cupid, son of Venus and Mars (love and war, respectively).
• In a 2007 study of individuals in love, scientists found that men show more activity in the visual part of the brain, while women show more activity in the memory portion. The researchers theorize this is because men look for fertility features in women, and since women can't judge fertility in men by physical appearance, they must remember certain characteristics that will determine if he will be a good mate.
• Giving a ring to your beloved is a tradition dating back to Roman times, but giving a diamond is relatively "recent": the first recorded occurrence of a diamond engagement ring was in 1477, when the Archduke Maximilian of Austria gave one to his fiancée, Mary of Burgundy.
• Approximately 9,000 "in love" couples take out a marriage license each year...and then fail to use it.
• The Roman physician Galen said passions were located in the liver and emotions in the heart. Aristotle also believed that the heart was the seat of emotions. Long after theories like these were rejected, the heart continued to be the symbol of emotion.
• Did you know that if you register for both Love 101 and The Fine Chocolate Renaissance this season, you will receive a signed copy of Love, Love, Love by Charles Taliaferro and a sampling of artisan chocolates from Chocolate BonaVita?

That's why I wanted to take this opportunity to say "thank you!" to all of our LearningLife participants. I know there are a lot of choices out there when it comes to how you spend your precious time, and I'm grateful that you have chosen to make LearningLife a part of your busy schedule.

Based on your response to our fall programs, this is going to be a year for the record books. Just this fall alone, more than 2,000 of you have taken part in our unique learning experiences!

Our Saturday morning seminars came about as a result of feedback from many of you, asking for more opportunities on weekends to fit into your active lives. At the first two seminars many of you grabbed a cup of coffee and engaged in lively, two-hour discussions of topics ranging from constitutional law to the controversy swirling around the international best-seller, Three Cups of Tea. The final seminar of the season, Reading the Tea Leaves: The Rise of Political Parties, led by superstar political scientist Kathryn Pearson, is scheduled for December 10 and still has a few seats available.

In addition to Saturday offerings, there was a call for a return to daytime courses. We're excited to announce that we have two short courses coming up this winter on weekday mornings: Writing Our Lives Again will focus on new books by pioneering feminist authors as a springboard to think about and actively shape your future, and The Poems of Emily Dickinson will be led by perennial LearningLife favorite, Professor Toni McNaron. You can view full information and a roster of all the winter programs online starting in mid-December.

Your feedback is essential in helping us develop the programming you enjoy, both in terms of format and content. We love to hear from you, and encourage you to visit our Facebook page to see photos from recent events, join in discussions, get program updates, take part in contests and giveaways, and connect with like-minded learners.

We are excited about our new programs, and think we've got some great things in store for you in the coming months. Thank you again for being such an important part of the LearningLife community during 2011. I hope to see you at a course or event in the New Year!

Happy Holidays,
Margy Ligon
Director
Personal Enrichment Programs

The period 1900-1930 was a time of sweeping change in the design and production of everyday objects and environments in America, encompassing everything from home architecture and décor to clothing styles.

A design movement cloaked in an aura of reform, the American Arts and Crafts era was characterized by advocacy of hand craftsmanship using simple forms, coupled with the objective of social reform. Says Kathleen Campbell, a grant writer at the U's Goldstein Museum of Design and a former curator there, "Arts and Crafts advocates such as Britons John Ruskin and William Morris and Gustav Stickley in America sought to improve the standard of design for useful objects and make them readily accessible to all. Reformers at heart, they believed that art and design could improve quality of life."

On November 9, the two-session short course Design, Democracy, and Reform: The American Arts and Crafts Movement will take participants on a tour of the era's design and social impact. Guided by Campbell and Goldstein curator Jean McElvain, participants will examine articles from the museum's collections (decorative objects, home textiles, and clothing) and photographs (architecture) that trace the flavor, themes, and design elements of the movement.

Explains McElvain, "After the British Arts and Crafts movement found its way to America (ca. 1880), it experienced its fullest expression and broadest adoption. Why? In part because the movement's ideals and visual expression were transformed and energized by American ingenuity, pragmatism, and American methods of production, distribution, and communication."

"And," adds Campbell, "the time was right. Americans were tired of heavy Victorian home furnishings, body-inhibiting clothing, and ornate gingerbread-encrusted homes. Designers and consumers alike welcomed the lighter color palette, freer-flowing clothing, nature-inspired textiles, and family-friendly Bungalow and Cottage-style homes."

The work and ideals of some of the prominent individuals behind the movement--Morris, Ruskin, and, in particular, Stickley also will be highlighted. The consummate interpreter of the American movement's philosophy, Stickley expounded on everything from women's dress to furniture design in his journal, The Craftsman. At the same time, he sold a variety of handcrafted products and design plans for Craftsman homes, which would became a signature of the American Arts and Crafts lifestyle.

Architecture buffs, fashionistas, artists, and everyone in between will find something of interest in the course, which, like good design, covers quite a cross-section. "Anyone interested in design movements and their impact, Bungalow homes, art pottery, textiles, or the relationship between women's dress and social change will enjoy this course," says McElvain.

Concludes Campbell, "Design is a hot topic today," she says. "Target Corporation uses it as a sophisticated marketing tool; design exhibitions and galleries have sprouted at art museums; and on Thursdays and Sundays, the New York Times devotes entire sections to design. [I think] the major spokespeople for the movement--such as Morris and Stickley--might be pleased to see that design is a topic spoken of with such familiarity by so many, and that today good design is available at all price points."

The two-session short course Design, Democracy, and Reform: The American Arts and Crafts Movement begins November 9 on the St. Paul campus. For complete details and registration information, visit the LearningLife website.

Photos:
Vase, 1900-1915; Belleek, Willets Mfg. Co.; Gift of Helen Ludwig
Photo Courtesy of the Goldstein Museum of Design

Stickley Chair, 1900-1920; Gift of the Estate of Ruth Hall
Photo Courtesy of the Goldstein Museum of Design

Like a rolling stone, the man born Robert Allen Zimmerman bounced around Minnesota before going on to become one of the state's most famous sons.

Following his graduation from Hibbing High School in 1959, Zimmerman enrolled at the U of M, adopted a new moniker, became a staple on the Dinkytown folk music scene, dropped out of the U of M, and then headed for New York City in 1961.

Now age 70 and better known as Bob Dylan, the gravelly voiced singer/songwriter's works still bear the hallmarks of his "North Country" heritage.

"The North Country influences on Bob Dylan are evident in his work. There's an abiding respect for the working class, especially the mining folk, and you can hear it throughout his career," says Dylan historian and U of M music professor, Alex Lubet. Lubet, who will be teaching a fall short course on Bob Dylan, has been a fan--and later a scholar--of Bob Dylan ever since he first heard the artist's Freewheelin' in the 1960s.

"(Dylan) came to folk music from rock and roll.".

"He came to folk music from rock and roll," continues Lubet. "Many people don't realize that, because they try to look at his career in a linear fashion, following just his albums. But there's a lot you miss out on that way. Things that didn't make the cut from the recording session, work he did with bands starting with the very first album that were ultimately not included on the recordings. Dylan started out in rock and roll in his teens, turned to folk music in Minneapolis...and then returned to the electric sound while never abandoning acoustic. You miss that perspective if you solely study what's on his albums."

Continues Lubet, "Part of what makes Dylan stand out, is his unique ability to fuse genres. In listening to some of his latest works, you can hear blues, folk, rock, classic pop, jazz, 19th century ballads...even a little bit of old-time Hawaiian popular music. This is why some critics credit him as the inventor of the recent 'Americana genre.' The man just has music coursing through his veins."

Despite his long career and tremendous influence on popular culture, Bob Dylan has been occasionally labeled as inscrutable and impossible to truly know. Critics point out that he has, in the past, fabricated stories about his background and life as "Robert Zimmerman," and that he isn't an open, accessible celebrity. "He's definitely no Brittney Spears or Madonna, that's for certain," says Lubet.

"In truth, though, I think a lot of those impressions come about because Dylan is just an intensely private, shy person. He tries to keep his work and his family and home life completely separate. To him, I believe, the 'Bob Dylan' on stage is not the same 'Bob Dylan' at home. Especially in the early years--when he was younger it was almost like a stage persona. Like he was inventing this character that he only played when he was performing. In a way, he reminds me of Greta Garbo. In her case, it probably ended her career prematurely. In Dylan's, well, he's had a remarkably normal family and home life. His kids have led normal lives. And his career is still going strong."

"As Minnesotans," says Lubet, "I think we want to own a tiny piece of him, claim him as 'one of us.'" And although he only spent a year studying in Minneapolis, the University is also proud to claim the singer as one of its own, as well. Dylan left a lasting impression on the Minnesota music scene--and of course, on American culture in general. His name is on the U's Wall of Discovery, sharing space with such notables as former Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Robert Cray (inventor of the world's first supercomputer), Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger, and author Saul Bellow.

In the past, the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum hosted the touring exhibit "Bob Dylan's American Journey, 1956-1966," and the University also sponsored a major symposium: "Highway 61 Revisited: Dylan's Road from Minnesota to the World, Bob Dylan Symposium."

Lubet, who has taught several University classes about Bob Dylan, will again share his knowledge and insights with LearningLife beginning October 27. With an emphasis on Dylan's music, Bob Dylan: The First 70 Years will consider the artist as a composer of songs whose musical intuitions are a full partner with his lyric gifts. Using archival audio and video recordings, including rarities and surprises from the instructor's vast private collection, participants will explore Dylan's enduring artistic legacy within the social and political context of his times.

Concludes Lubet, "Dylan's career isn't like that of other artists, say Elvis or the Beatles. It isn't linear, and it isn't a clear progression from day one to the end. His work is really almost like a multi-faceted gem--every which way you turn it, every different angle you glimpse it at, you see something new. This course, it will help people see that."