Course Title: Beijing 2008
Ever seen the Forbidden City, where the ancient emperors of China lived? Interested in Chinese culture? This course will focus on Beijing, where the 2008 Olympic Games will be held. We will take a look at the beautiful antiques and architecture in the Forbidden City, the various parts of the Great Wall and experience different aspects of Chinese culture such as traditional holidays, daily life, and folk music. Instructor Becky Ding was born and raised in Beijing. She has created several educational videos about Beijing, has done archaeological research there and has served as a city tour guide.
Fee: Free
Location: Kendade 303
Dates/Time: T/Th 1-3 pm: 1/8, 1/10, 1/15, 1/17
Instructor: Becky Ding
To Register: ding20m@mtholyoke.edu
Course Title: Karma 101
You’ve probably heard people toss around the phrase “bad karma”, but what is karma? Just how does “what goes around, come around”? Take this 8-hour course and find out! Working within the Buddhist tradition, I’ll explain how the “good” and “bad” karmic seeds that you plant with your actions “ripen” into positive and negative experiences. I’ll also explain how emptiness, karmic projection and reincarnation fit into the equation. But wait! There’s a really fun, practical part we’ll do lots of hands on practice so you get the hang of how to be a good karmic gardener and plant more happiness-producing karmic seeds. (Yes, if you plant the right seeds, your parents might just back off, your annoying roommate might just change her exasperating ways, and that professor you swear hates you could decide you’re a genius!) Don’t worry- you don’t have to be a Buddhist or believe you once lived as a spider in order to enjoy this class and reap the benefits! Instructor Susan Downing is a senior lecturer in Russian at MHC and is a practicing Buddhist.
Fee: $2/student copying fee
Location: 316 Reese
Dates/Time: T/TH 9:30- 11:30 am: 1/8, 1/10, 1/15, 1/17
Instructor: Susan Downing
To Register: E-mail sdowning@mtholyoke.edu
Course Title: Origami: The Art of Paper Folding
Do you ever look at a piece of paper and think to yourself, “There are so many ways I could fold that!” Well…neither do most people! However, this will be a fun class serving as an intensive introduction to origami. Starting off with the simple goldfish, we’ll progress to more advanced designs such as the crane, with our ultimate creation as the dragon. All levels are welcome. Instructor Crystal Menninga has been an avid creator of origami for almost 10 years and enjoys teaching it to others.
Fee: $3/ person for origami paper
Location: Blanchard Meeting Room 108
Dates/Time: Mon/Weds: 4-5:30 pm: 1/7, 1/9, 1/14, 1/16
Instructor: Crystal Menninga
To Register: E-mail menni20c@mtholyoke.edu
Course Title: Lapidary & Silversmithing
Learn to cut, polish and set stones to create beautiful original jewelry for yourself or others. Work with experienced community instructor, Bill Wordsworth, to develop the skills to enjoy this unique craft activity. The $25 materials fee also covers membership in the Lapidary Club for the Spring Semester and includes use of the stone inventory and club equipment. Use of silver stock is additional, based on actual weight used. No previous experience necessary. Must work only during group hours under the supervision of the Club Advisor. Due to space, equipment and supervision needs, registration for this class is limited to 10 people.
Fee: $25 for stones (not including silver)
Location: Wilder Basement/Lapidary Club Room
Dates/Time: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 1/8, 1/10, 1/15, 1/17, 1/22, 1/24: 7-9 pm
Instructor: Bill Wordsworth
To Register: Sign up at the Blanchard Info Desk. Payment required at sign-up.
Course Title: Quilt Making
The course will begin with the basics of quilt making, starting with some basic quilting projects. From there, each student will be able to determine her own path and will only be restricted by the limits of her imagination. Instructor Patricia Spees is an award winning quilt maker with years of teaching experience. She is the head costumer in the MHC Theater Dept. costume shop.
Fee: Free, for basic materials (optional investment for additional/custom materials)
Location: Costume Shop, Rm 207 Rooke Theater
Dates/Time: T/Th 1:30-3:30 pm: 1/8, 1/10, 1/15, 1/17,1/22
Instructor: Patricia Spees
To Register: E-mail pcspees@mtholyoke.edu
Course Title: Guffaw!
Love to laugh? Love to perform? Why not put the two together? In this workshop we’ll watch, study, and perform three different forms of comedy: improv, sketch, and stand up. The course will culminate in a show held for the MHC community, and will include an optional weekend field trip to a comedy club in Boston. No previous acting skills required, just a sense of humor. Get in touch with your comedic voice! Instructor Griffan Randall is currently the co-director of MHC’s comedy improv troupe, The Unusual Suspects. She has performed stand up comedy at several well known comedy venues in the USA & was recently asked to compete on NBC’s Last Comic Standing.
Fees: Free (optional estimated $25/ ticket for comedy club trip)
Location: Blanchard Meeting Room 108
Dates/Time: Tues/Thurs 10-12pm: 1/8, 1/10, 1/15, 1/17
Instructor: Griffan Randall
To Register: E-mail gdrandal@mtholyoke.edu
Course Title: Introduction to Chinese Folk Dance
This class welcomes anyone and everyone regardless of dance experience (or lack
thereof!). We will learn basic techniques and use props most common to Chinese folk
dance, such as silk fans and ribbons, as well as explore the different styles of China
and Taiwan's minority tribes. Choreography will be taught and students are encouraged to
perform in any of the upcoming cultural events during the following spring semester.
Instructor, Yen Chiang '08, has been dancing since age 8 and is the founder of the
Chinese Dance Troupe on campus.
Fee: Free
Location: Kendall Dance Studio #2
Dates/Time: Mon-Fri, 1/7-1/18: 6:45pm-8pm
Instructor: Yen Chiang
To Register: E-mail jychiang@mtholyoke.edu
Course Title: Chinese Dim Sum 101
Join us in making real Chinese cuisine! We’ll teach you how to make basic Dim Sum dishes that are oh-so-delicious. Expect to experience food that goes beyond the Americanized food that Chinese fast-food restaurants have to offer! Instructor Jeanette Li comes from a background of traditional Chinese cooking and sees Dim Sum not only as a time to enjoy good food, but also as a long-standing tradition and an integral part of Chinese culture. Her class will be a lesson in culture as well as a chance to make and enjoy authentic Dim Sum cuisine.
Fee: $5 contribution for ingredients
Location: Ace House Kitchen
Dates/Time: Mon/Weds/Fri 8-9pm: 1/7, 1/9, 1/11, 1/14, 1/16, 1/18, 1/23
Instructor: Jeanette Li
To Register: E-mail Li22j@mtholyoke.edu
Course Title: A Crash Course in Web Design
Everything from basic XHTML to advance style sheets will be covered in this crash course in web design. Instructor Kylie McCormick returns to
teach this popular J-Term course for the fourth year. She has been designing websites for over 10 years and is currently employed by the Office of Student Programs as their web master.
Fee: Free
Location: Kendade G06
Dates/Time: M-F 10 am-12 noon: 1/14, 1/15, 1/16, 1/17, 1/18
Instructor: Kylie McCormick
To Register: E-mail kmmccorm@mtholyoke.edu
Course Title: Advertising Leadership Process (ALP)
This valuable program covers all fundamentals of marketing and advertising. Participants will experience a process for creating breakthrough marketing communications. Course participants will work in groups to develop brand positioning, identify customer needs, focus on a target audience, build a competitive framework, create an advertising strategy, develop dynamic advertising ideas, plan successful commercial and print executions, and maximize brand-agency relations. The course utilizes a business school, case study approach with extensive exposure to international television and print advertising from all business franchises. This is the program required globally for all Johnson & Johnson marketing personnel, and is an annual favorite course during MHC January Term.
Fee: Free
Location: Willits Hallowell Center, executive Boardroom
Dates/Time: Friday, January 18 - 9:30am-12:30pm and 2-5pm
Saturday, January 19 - 9:30am-12:30pm with a free lunch in Willits to follow
Instructor: Roderick McNealy, director, Johnson & Johnson Marketing and Advertising College (and father of Becky McNealy '04)
To Register: Sign up at the Blanchard Information Desk.
Course Title: Introduction to Swing Dance
Designed for total beginners and great for those with previous experience! This class will begin with East Coast Swing and move into Lindy Hop and Charleston throughout the series. You will learn both 6 and 8 count movement. Vintage and current swing clips will also be shown for better understanding of the dance and its history. When you register, please indicate whether you plan to be a leader or follower for the class.
Fee: Free
Location: Kendall Dance Studio #2
Dates/Time: Monday/Wednesday/Friday, 1/9, 1/11, 1/14, 1/16, 1/18: 2-3:15 pm
Instructor: Joanna Adler, Director of Experiential Learning at the CDC
To register: E-mail jadler@mtholyoke.edu
Course Title: M&C’s and AIM: Bringing MHC traditions into the 21st Century
Were you psyched to get Elfed? Do you still talk to your Big Sister? Do you climb the mountain every year? Do you wish more students came to M&C’s? From Convocation to Laurel Parade, Mount Holyoke offers traditions that not only mark the way through each academic year, but also offer benchmarks in each student’s MHC experience. As the student body changes and grows, some of our beloved traditions have lost their widespread appeal. Rather than lose these links to students of the past, this class will seek to brainstorm ways to revitalize our traditions for the dynamic community that is MHC today. Much of the class time for this course will be spent in the College Archives. Participants will use student resources and publications found in the Archives to see how our traditions have evolved over the College’s history. Armed with the information of what has been, participants will then brainstorm ways to revitalize these treasured traditions and create proposals for the offices or organizations that coordinate them.
Fee: Free
Location: Clapp 501 Tower Room* (tentative)
Dates/Time: Mon/Weds/Fri 1/7, 1/9, 1/11, 1/14, 1/16, 1/18: 1-3:30 pm
Instructors: Maggie Lichter and Kaitlin Leibowitz
To Register: E-mail mrlichte@mtholyoke.edu OR leibo20k@mtholyoke.edu
Course Title: J-term Math Refresher: Pre-calculus and Algebra Review
This is a great class to take if you have not done any mathematics for
a while and need a review. Participants can work on their specific
areas of weakness, such as the algebra behind exponents, inequalities,
and word problems. The course can cover functions (linear, quadratic,
polynomial, trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic) and possibly
review some analytic geometry. It can emphasize calculus applications
of the material throughout, for those intending calculus, so that
setting up functions to model situations using the ideas of velocity,
acceleration and rate of change will become familiar and comfortable.
Fee: Free
Location: Clapp* TBD
Dates/Time: Mon-Thu, times TBD: see registration notes below
Instructors: Ingrid Cronburg '09 and Tamar Wilson '09 (sponsored by the
Math/Stat Department)
To register: Email lkamins@mtholyoke.edu by Dec 9
Include in your email:
a) your ranking of the following possible meeting times, using 1 for
most preferred, 2 for second choice, 3 for 3rd choice, and/or X for
any that are impossible: ___10 a.m.-12, ___12-2 p.m., ___2-4
p.m., and
b) a list of the topics you would like to work on in January.
Course Title: Introduction to Hiplife: A new music genre
You thought there was only hip-hop, urban, rock, alternative, gospel… But guess what? There is a new genre of music and it is hiplife. Hiplife is a blend of traditional Ghanaian music, highlife and hip-hop. This course will be about gaining an appreciation for hiplife as well as learning a few dance steps associated with the music. The course will explore the origin and evolution of hiplife and also focus on related aspects of Ghanaian culture. Instructor Abena Opokua Bampo Opoku was born and raised in Ghana and has collected a wide variety of hiplife music and videos. Put on your dancing shoes and musical ears for this cultural journey!
Fee: Free
Location: Blanchard Meeting Room 108
Dates/Time: Mon/Weds/Thurs: 1/7, 1/9, 1/10, 1/14, 1/16, 1/17, 1/21, 1/23: 8-9 pm
Instructor: Abena Opoku
To Register: E-mail opoku20a@mtholyoke.edu
Course Title: The Sky for a Winter Night
Learn the legends and lore of the stars and constellations. Course format will be classroom lectures and slide shows followed by outdoor sky viewing. Sign up with your friends and be sure to dress warmly for cold January nights in the observatory and outside. Cocoa and marshmallows will be served.
Fee: Free
Location: MHC Observatory Classroom, Route 116
Dates/Times: Tuesdays and Fridays 1/4, 1/8, 1/11, 1/15, 1/18, 1/22: 7-9:30pm
Instructor: Ronald Zissell
To Register: E-mail rzissell@mtholyoke.edu
Course Title: Justice, Safety, and/or Enforcement? Behind the Scenes in Public Safety
Are you thinking of graduate school in law, politics, public health, or special justice? Or just interested in knowing more about what makes a complicated place like MHC run? Join Public Safety staff, officers, and other students for a look at what goes on behind the scenes. Specific topics and activities will be chosen by the interests of the participants, but may include civil rights issues and search warrants; jurisdiction, legal issues, arrest procedures; sexual assault and domestic violence, defense tactics, case studies, and field trips.
Fee: Free
Location: Blanchard Lounge Room 227
Dates/Time: Mon - Thurs, 1/14 -1/17: 1:30pm - 4:30pm
To Register: E-mail Elizabeth Cahn, ecahn@mtholyoke.edu
Course Title: The Chinese Medicine Theory of The 5 Elements
Over 2000 years ago, the Chinese developed philosophies that led to a system of medicine that was used to treat each person individually based on his or her constitution, or elemental makeup: a combination of the five elements (Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood). The 5 Element paradigm can help you reach an awareness of who you are in a way you may never have known before. This class will discuss the directional vibrations of each element, how they manifest in people, and how we can utilize this knowledge in day to day life, career, and relationships. We will also discuss how the 5 Elements are used as a healing paradigm in Chinese Medicine. Instructor Leta Herman is an MHC alumna with years of experience leading workshops on the 5 Elements and other aspects of Chinese philosophy and medicine. She practices acupressure, massage and energywork in Belchertown, MA.
Fee: Free
Location: Kendade 303
Dates/Time: Mon/Weds/Fri: 10 am-12 Noon 1/14, 1/16, 1/18
Instructor: Leta Herman
To Register: E-mail leta@letaherman.info
Course Title: Global Boring or Climate Justice?: Discourse and Action on Global Warming
Even though scientists unanimously agree that global
warming is occurring, why isn't there a mass movement to face such a
challenge never seen before in history? This J-term course is for
anyone who is interested in expanding the climate discourse beyond
melting ice caps and polar bears. It will include issues of social
justice, the role of politics and science, psychology of awareness and
action, and (re)envisioning through action and art. We will be making
field trips to learn about local issues and activism, conducting a
focus group, and preparing for the nationwide global warming
symposium, Focus the Nation, coordinated by the Center for the
Environment for January 31, 2008. The student leaders are Tracy Zhu, a
senior environmental studies major, and Molly Buermann, co-chair of
EAC (Environmental Action Coalition).
Fees: Free
Location: TBD
Dates/Time: Mondays/Wednesdays, 1/7-1/23: 1-3 pm
Instructor: Tracy Zhu and Molly Buermann
To Register: tracyzhu@mtholyoke.edu
Course Title: Relaxation Yoga
Its time to melt that mountain of stress that has been piling up in
your body (and mind) since last semester.
No need to be a Yoga Expert.
We'll enjoy an evening of the easiest Hatha Yoga movements, followed
by complete relaxation and guided meditation.
Come to Blanchard wearing PJ's or sweats,or your favorite stretchy yoga wear.
And be sure to bring a yoga mat, or at least a big towel. Your body
will thank you.
This class is geared towards students with little or no yoga
experience. This means several things. One, I will explain and model
the poses. Two, all yoga poses may be taught in either beginning,
intermediate or advanced stages. The focus will be on the beginning
stage. Finally, the goal of the class is relaxation and renewal. The
tone of the instruction will be gentle and supportive.
Fees: Free
Location: Blanchard Lounge, Room 227
Dates/Time:
Class #1:Wednesday evenings, 1/9, 1/16, 1/23, 1/30 from 7:30 PM to 8:45 PM
Class #2: Thursday evenings, 1/10, 1/17, 1/24, 1/31 from 7:30 PM to 8:45 PM
Instructor: Theresa Antonellis, Registered Yoga Teacher
To Register: anton20t@mtholyoke.edu or theresaanto@gmail.com
