2020 Björklunden Seminars

2020 BJÖRKLUNDEN SEMINARS LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY’S NORTHERN CAMPUS D O O R C O U N T Y, W I S C O N S I N

Help keep Björklunden a great place to learn! Björklunden’s year-round operations are supported by donations from friends like you. Please consider designating a tax-deductible gift for this purpose on your seminar registration form.

BJÖRKLUNDEN VID SJÖN Björklunden vid Sjön, Swedish for “Birch Grove at the Lake” (but commonly translated to “Birch Forest by the Water”), is a 441-acre estate on the Lake Michigan shore just south of Baileys Harbor in Door County, Wis. A place of great beauty and serenity, the estate was bequeathed to Lawrence University in 1963 by Donald and Winifred Boynton of Highland Park, Ill. Since 1980, Lawrence has offered a series of adult education seminars at Björklunden (pronounced “bee-yorkLUN-den”).

The 37,000-square-foot lodge contains a great room, multipurpose and seminar rooms, dining room and kitchen, as well as 22 guest rooms. There are two lakeside decks, a second-story observation deck, an elevator and a computer lab. The entire facility has wireless Internet access and plenty of parking.

This magnificent, year-round facility also allows Lawrence University, an undergraduate liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Appleton, Wis., to extend its mission through weekend student-faculty seminars. These popular weekend seminars have been running since 1996.

Winifred Boynton captured the enduring spirit of Björklunden when she said of her beloved summer home: “Far removed from confusion and aggression, it offers a sanctuary for all.”

Photos by Liz Boutelle

2020 BJÖRKLUNDEN SEMINARS At-a-glance listing JUNE 14 –19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Listen to the Birds Wildlife Photography: Turning Passion into Productivity JUNE 21–26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Two Irishmen, Two Novels, Two Portraits JULY 5–11 . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tritone Jazz Fantasy Camp

PAGE 6 Don Quintenz John Van Den Brandt

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PAGE 7 Robert Spoo ’79

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PAGE 8 Bob DeRosa

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JULY 12–17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Give My Regards to Broadway—The American Musical The Great Patriotic War: World War II Through Soviet Eyes JULY 17–19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Family Weekend/Grandparent-Grandchild Weekend

PAGE 9 Dale Duesing ’67 Victoria Kononova

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PAGE 9 David Stokes

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JULY 19–24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 10 African America in Slavery and Freedom: How Our Susan Pappas ’69, Joe Patterson ’69,

Racial Past Informs Our Present Jerald Podair Poignant, Prosaic and Possibly Pointless: The Stories of Anton Chekhov Peter Thomas Richard M. Nixon: The Triumph and Tragedy of an American Politician Tim Crain JULY 26–31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 12 Water Cycle: A Journey Around the Science and Peter Levi ’01 and Titus Seilheimer ’00 Policy of Earth’s Most Precious Molecule Stitches in Time: The Genius of Medieval Embroideries and Tapestries Jane Tibbetts Schulenburg ’65 The Stars: Mansions Built by Nature’s Hand Megan Pickett AUGUST 2–7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The 2020 Verdict The American Civil War in Historical Perspective

AUGUST 9–14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Fall of Rome: From Caesar to King and From Jupiter to Jesus in 500 Years Is Belief in God Rational?

AUGUST 16–22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Family Ties—The Case of King David Creative Photography Watercolor: The Expressive Medium

PAGE 14 Terry Moran ’82 James Cornelius ’81

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PAGE 16 Nikolas O. Hoel ’99 Terry Goode

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PAGE 16 Bill Urbrock Philip Krejcarek Helen Klebesadel

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AUGUST 30–SEPTEMBER 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 18 Flirting with Disaster: Turning Personal Obsession into Memoir David McGlynn The Original Book Club: Literary Legacies of Medieval Women Catherine Keene and Danielle Joyner What Happens Next? The Importance of the Strong Storyline in Classic Hollywood Films Jack Rhodes SEPTEMBER 13–18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Which Way to the White House?

Presidential Campaign Parades from 1896 to 2020 Writing Poetry in Forms Wildflowers, Birds and Mushrooms

PAGE 20 Steve Bruemmer and Charlie Schudson

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Marilyn L. Taylor Don Quintenz and Charlotte Lukes

SEPTEMBER 27–OCTOBER 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hollywood Votes: Images from the World of Politics in Films of the Classic Era A Brief History of Creatures that Rule the Earth (Hint: They’re not humans) Anatomy of a Murder Trial OCTOBER 4 –9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SPQR: The Senate and the Roman People Watercolor: A Fresh Start The 2020 Elections: What Next for American Foreign Policy?

OCTOBER 11–16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Weimar Republic: Grandeur and Disaster OCTOBER 18–23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

World Religions in the Contemporary World

PAGE 22 Jack Rhodes David Hines ’76 Steven Licata ’75

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PAGE 24 Dan Taylor ’63 Helen Klebesadel Chris Murray ’75

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PAGE 26 Jon Greenwald

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PAGE 27 Brian H. Smith

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2020 B J Ö R K L U N D E N S E M I N A R S J U N E 14 –19 Sunday–Friday

$950 double; $1,230 single; $475 commuter

Listen to the Birds

Our goal is to see as many birds as we can find, especially ones you select, in the most beautiful preserves in the county. My goal is to deepen your love and excitement for these amazing creatures and to expose you to a new way of birding where you learn from the birds, not just identify them.

You will also learn field identification skills, bird sounds using a variety of sound tools, techniques for understanding the complex behaviors of birds, and fascinating discoveries that science has made about birds. The emerging importance of conserving and enhancing bird stopover habitats will be shared, as well as some of the results from the breeding bird census that is currently being done throughout Wisconsin, such as birds of greatest conservation need. You must be able to walk on unpaved trails for distances of two miles over a period of 2 ½ hours.

Don Quintenz has been teaching environmental education since 1967 and came to the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center in 1981. He previously worked with the Milwaukee Public Schools as their environmental specialist for five years, and before that he was with the Wisconsin Humane Society for three years as their environmental educator and the Wisconsin DNR as a resource technician. He is currently the Senior Ecologist at Audubon. The skill Quintenz has that he cherishes the most is his ability to excite and fascinate people about the natural world because of his intimate familiarity with the native flora and fauna.

Wildlife Photography: Turning Passion into Productivity

This seminar is designed to increase knowledge and skills in wildlife photography, from field craft, tactics and strategy to aesthetics and image composition. Participants will discover how to use blinds and concealment to get closer to wildlife as well as learn the criteria for a strong photo image and tips that will make pictures stand out in a sea of “me too” digital images. Van Den Brandt also discusses his favorite and most Photo credit: John Van Den Brandt productive national and international wildlife photography destinations. Class time will be split between lectures and dawn field sessions at local natural areas.

Veteran shooters as well as those new to wildlife photography will leave the seminar with new and tangible skills that can be immediately applied toward becoming a more productive photographer. The only real prerequisites are an SLR camera, basic understanding of its operation, and enthusiastic passion for wildlife photography.

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John Van Den Brandt is a professional wildlife photographer with over three decades of photography experience. While successful in wedding, portrait, product and model photography, he has focused solely on wildlife since 1995. Since founding his wildlife photography company, Wild Wind Images LLC in 2007, Van Den Brandt’s wildlife images have appeared in numerous articles, websites, textbooks and ads.

His framed fine art prints grace the walls of homes and businesses across the country. Van Den Brandt’s presentations are illustrated with his own stunning images. Many of those images have appeared in his nationally distributed wildlife calendars that have sold over 100,000 copies. Van Den Brandt makes his home in northeastern Wisconsin with his wife Jean, his “field assistant, muse and co-conspirator in planning an adventurous life.”

J U N E 21 –26 Sunday–Friday

$950 double; $1,230 single; $475 commuter

Two Irishmen, Two Novels, Two Portraits

In a lively, collaborative seminar, we will read and discuss Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, and follow it with James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Both novels tell the story of a young man’s painful development and the influences that aid or thwart him; and both works fit intriguingly but uncomfortably within the tradition of the Bildungsroman (the novel of growth). These authors were rebellious Irishmen who wanted to break from literary, social, and sexual conventions, and their novels were accused of indecency and irreverence. Joyce knew Wilde’s writings well, and was deeply affected by his life, career, and final tragedy.

Required Reading: any complete edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray (Dover Thrift Edition, ISBN13:978-0486278070); A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Dover Thrift Edition, ISBN-13:9780486280509)

Robert Spoo ’79 holds an endowed chair in law at the University of Tulsa and is a former English professor and editor of the James Joyce Quarterly. He earned his Ph.D. in English at Princeton University, and his J.D. at Yale Law School. He has published numerous books and articles on Joyce and other modern authors, including James Joyce and the Language of History: Dedalus’s Nightmare and Without Copyrights: Piracy, Publishing, and the Public Domain, both with Oxford University Press. He has lectured throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, and serves as General Counsel for the International James Joyce Foundation. He was awarded a 2016 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship to complete his latest book, Modernism and the Law, which contains a chapter on Oscar Wilde and his writings.

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J U LY 5–1 1 Sunday–Saturday

$1,265 tuition and meals; $895 tuition only

Sorry, there are no vacancies in the Björklunden lodge.

Please request waiting-list placement. Also, plenty of space in Baileys Harbor motels.

Tritone Jazz Fantasy Camp

Enjoy a high-quality, fun, engaging experience for adult jazz musicians and singers of all levels, from beginner to semi-pro. The week’s musical activities include playing and performance opportunities in combos and large ensembles, jazz master classes, jazz improvisation/theory classes, specialtopics sessions, jam sessions and performances with professional jazz artists. Summer 2020 will be Tritone’s 22nd consecutive year at Björklunden.

Tritone was co-founded by the late Fred Sturm ’73, Kimberly Clark Professor of Music and director of jazz studies at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music. It is now run by co-founder Bob DeRosa, a busy part-time bassist in upstate New York. Faculty includes legendary guitarist Gene Bertoncini, recording artist and veteran of the Benny Goodman Orchestra and the NBC Tonight Show Band; trumpeter Terell Stafford of NYC’s Village Vanguard Orchestra and director of jazz studies at Temple University; pianist John Harmon ’57, D.F.A. ’05, Lawrence jazz director from 1971 to 1974; drummer Zach Harmon, a busy freelancer and graduate of the Thelonious Monk Jazz Institute; vocalist Janet Planet, Lawrence instructor of music and renowned Wisconsin jazz/pop vocal soloist; saxophonist Tom Washatka, a busy sideman, producer and recording engineer; bassist Ike Sturm, music director for the jazz ministry at Manhattan’s Saint Peter’s Church (the “Jazz Church”) and a busy freelance bassist in NYC; trombonist Dean Sorenson, director of jazz at the University of Minnesota; and pianist/ composer/arranger Rod Blumenau, freelance jazz artist in upstate New York.

To register, contact Bob DeRosa at Tritone Jazz Fantasy Camps PO Box 297, Penfield NY, 14526 | 585-377-2222| tritonebob@gmail.com

J U LY 1 2–1 7 Sunday–Friday

$950 double; $1,230 single; $475 commuter

Give My Regards to Broadway—The American Musical

After two decades of classes devoted to opera and art song, Dale Duesing now leads a class about the American Musical. Although best known for his opera roles which include many world premieres, Dale has performed in musicals since his earliest years as a Lawrence post-grad in Europe. His experiences confirm the generally accepted opinion that the musical is the most distinctly American art form. From the early influence of European operetta, the American musical flourished using music in the popular styles of the times to reflect American society and mores, ranging from Romantic melodies of the Gilded Age to hip-hop and rap tunes of today. In this class, we will explore the musical’s origins from an early post-Civil War production, developing through the well-known composer/lyricist pairs Rodgers and Hammerstein and Lerner and Loewe, and culminating in such contemporary artists as Sondheim and Miranda. As always, the class will include personal anecdotes, film excerpts and cherished recordings.

Dale Duesing ’67 received a Grammy in 1993 for his recording of Samuel Barber’s The Lovers with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, was designated Singer of the Year by Opernwelt magazine in 1994 and has been described by Le Monde de la Musique magazine as a singer who transformed opera, turning it “upside down” with his performances of Alban Berg’s Wo z z e c k. In addition to his singing, Duesing has been described as “one of the greatest actors on the opera scene” by Die Welt. In the past several years, Duesing has expanded his work to include stage direction. He was nominated in Opernwelt as Director of the Year for his direction of Il Viaggio a Rheims by Rossini at The Frankfurt Opera (Germany). Duesing was honored twice among the 10 Best Productions/Performances in Europe, once for his work as director for The St. John Passion by J.S. Bach and once for his performance in the title role of Sweeney Todd in Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd at the Nationale Reisoper Nederland (The Netherlands).

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The Great Patriotic War: World War II Through Soviet Eyes

This seminar will explore a variety of materials related to the Great Patriotic War, as the conflict between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in 1941–1945 is called in the countries of the former Soviet Union. While in the West Victory Day might be seen only as a pretext for the military parade on the Red Square and Putin’s demonstration of Russia’s military might, in fact, the memory of the war is very strong and very personal in Russia. This war was arguably the most traumatic event in the history of the USSR: the war affected every family, as more than 27 million Soviet people perished and many more were injured or displaced.

After a brief historical introduction, we will concentrate on the experience of the war by Soviet citizens. Participants will read selections from war memoirs, as well as excerpts from fiction and poetry; look at photographs, paintings, and propaganda posters; and listen to musical selections in class. Optional film screenings will be held in the afternoon.

Recommended readings: Werth, Alexander. Russia at War, 1941–1945: A History. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2017.

(ISBN: 978-1510716254).

Alexievich, Svetlana. The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II. Transl.

by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. New York: Random House, 2018 (ISBN: 978-0399588747).

Victoria Kononova is Assistant Professor of Russian at Lawrence University, where she teaches a variety of courses on Russian language, literature and culture. She is originally from Velikie Luki—a small town in western Russia that was entirely destroyed during World War II. She earned her “specialist” degree (B.A. and M.A. equivalent) in Russian literature and language from Lomonosov Moscow State University, and her Ph.D. in Slavic languages and literatures from UW–Madison.

J U LY 1 7–1 9 Friday–Sunday

Resident: $150/adult; $75/child (ages 5–14); Commuter: $75/adult; $50 child

Family Weekend/Grandparent-Grandchild Weekend

Enjoy an adventure-filled weekend, exploring nature at Björklunden with highly entertaining and energetic David Stokes. We will explore the beach, hike the forest, sing songs and experience “live animal mania.” There will be campfires, stories and sunrises. Join us for an unforgettable weekend!

The weekend starts at 5 p.m. Friday and ends at 10 a.m. Sunday.

David Stokes is a naturalist, educator and entertainer who has been the sole energizing force behind The Frog Chorus Nature Education since 2001. Previously he was with the Schlitz Audubon Center in Milwaukee as director of education for family and elementary programs. He has taught students and families since 1972, while at Michigan State University, where he received his degrees. For him the most important part of nature education is being involved, hands-on and interactive. He uses humor, songs, stories, live animals and lots of props (concept facilitators) in his teaching. He is interested in fostering a sense of wonder, working with parents and children together, teaching on different levels, and having people enjoy the experience so much they want to do it again. His programs have been described as “humorous, highly interactive, and solid education.”

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J U LY 1 9–24

Sunday–Friday

$950 double; $1,230 single; $475 commuter

African America in Slavery and Freedom: How our Racial Past Informs our Present This course will trace the African American journey through a 400-year struggle for survival and dignity, exploring slavery, emancipation, segregation, migration and the civil rights and post-civil rights movements. We will examine the ways in which African Americans, beginning with the racialization of slavery at Jamestown, Va., in 1619, adopted strategies to survive in, cope with, adjust to and struggle against systems of oppression throughout our nation’s history, working both inside and outside American institutions to pursue their goals of citizenship, identity and inclusion.

We will discuss the African American community of Bronzeville in 20th-century Chicago as a case study of these strategies and conclude with a consideration of contemporary American race relations and the ongoing impact of our racial past upon our lives today.

Sue Pappas ’69 is a docent for the Chicago Architecture Center. In 2011 she developed the sites in the Bronzeville neighborhood on Chicago’s south side for the CAC’s first Open House Chicago event. She also helped create a bus tour in 2015 which celebrates Bronzeville, its people and their stories.

Joe Patterson ’69 received the 2019 Gertrude Breithaupt Jupp M-D’18 Outstanding Service Award for alumni service at his 50th Reunion. As a real estate management entrepreneur in greater New York City, he has over 30 years of corporate experience in global asset management and domestic real estate investments for Guardian Life, CIGNA, HSBC, and GE. He earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration in real estate finance from The Wharton Graduate School (University of Pennsylvania).

While at Lawrence, he received the inaugural Martin Luther King Award. He also earned All-Midwest Conference Football Team selections plus All-American honors as a co-captain in addition to gaining NFL recognition in 1970 as a contracted draft selection of Coach Vince Lombardi and the Washington Redskins. As a member of the undefeated Midwest Conference Championship 1967 Football Team, he was inducted into the Viking Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017 for a second time after his sole induction in 1999.

As a Certified Property Manager and vice president, global corporate real estate operations at HSBC, he earned the inaugural Award for Excellence for a complex and highly profitable sales leaseback transaction in Upstate NY. After serving one term as an alumni trustee on the LU Board of Trustees, he began service as a member of the Board of Directors of the School of Visual Arts of NYC in 2000. Throughout the years of his real estate career, he has tirelessly promoted diversity of students on college campuses and public high schools, creating support programs to ensure successful experiences and achievement for all.

Jerald Podair is a professor of history and the Robert S. French Professor of American Studies at Lawrence University, where he specializes in 20th-century United States history. He is the author, co-author or co-editor of seven books, including The Routledge History of the Twentieth-Century United States and two books about civil rights in America, The Strike That Changed New York: Blacks, Whites, and the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Crisis and Bayard Rustin: American Dreamer.

He is the recipient of the Allan Nevins Prize, awarded by the Society of American Historians for “literary distinction in the writing of history,” and the first two-time winner of Lawrence’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship. He is currently writing Promised Lands: A History of the American People in the Twentieth Century, a comprehensive history of the American century written for a general audience, to be published by Princeton University Press.

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Richard M. Nixon: The Triumph and Tragedy of an American Politician

Richard Nixon was one of the best known politicians in 20th Century American history.

A native of California, Nixon was born to a poor family in Yorba Linda. He graduated from Whittier College and received a full scholarship to law school at Duke University. However, his real interest was politics. A fast riser in the Republican Party, Richard Nixon was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946, and the U.S. Senate in 1950. He became nationally known as a staunch anti-communist and an influential member of HUAC (House of Un-American Activities Committee), and that led to his nomination as Dwight Eisenhower’s running mate for the 1952 Presidential Election. Nixon served eight years as Eisenhower’s vice-president, and in 1960, he lost a close election to John Kennedy. In 1962, Nixon suffered another unsuccessful campaign for the governorship of California, and he retired from political life altogether. However, during the turbulent 1960s, Nixon saw an opportunity to re-enter national politics, and he was able to defeat Hubert Humphrey in the Presidential Election of 1968. Nixon was a bright and talented politician, especially in foreign policy, yet he also suffered from many insecurities. Watergate brought an end to both his presidency and political life. The focus of the seminar will be on the on the rise and fall of Richard M. Nixon.

Tim Crain received a Ph.D. in modern Europe and modern Jewish history at Arizona State University after earning a B.A. and M.A. from Marquette University. His areas of specialization include modern Jewish history, modern Europe, and the modern Middle East. Crain taught for 15 years at Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is the former director of the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education at Seton Hill University, where he was also an assistant professor of history. He is now a fundraising consultant for the non-profit industry. Crain has received numerous distinguished teaching awards from Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin System, and in 2015, he received Marquette University’s National Alumni Award for Leadership Excellence. He has instructed over 20 seminars at Björklunden, and Tim and his family always look forward to their time there each summer.

Recommended Reading: Richard Nixon: The Life, by John Farrell. ISBN: 978-0385537353

Poignant, Prosaic, and Possibly Pointless: The Stories of Anton Chekhov

This seminar will explore the medically precise descriptions and farcical humor that shape the work of Anton Chekhov. We will trace his focus on the minutia of everyday life to Monty Python skits, “Seinfeld” and “The Office.” We will also follow themes in his writing, such as the nature of faith or responsibility or love; the hazards of education or art; and the modern economy’s collision with the family and the environment. Readings will include short stories, parts of novels, plays, travel literature and correspondence. Viewings will include films based on Chekhov, as well as contemporary theatrical productions.

Peter Thomas has been teaching Russian language and culture in the Russian Department at Lawrence University since 2006. Before coming to Lawrence, he taught courses in comparative literature and in Russian language, culture and film, at Northwestern University, Beloit College and St. Olaf College.

Since arriving at Lawrence, Thomas has received the Young Teacher Award (2013) and the Freshman Studies Teaching Award (2015). This is his 10th summer seminar at Björklunden.

Required Readings: Anton Chekhov’s Selected Stories, ed. Cathy Popkin. 978-0393925302 Chekhov: Four Essential Plays, trans. Michael Henry Heim. 978-0375761348 Strongly Recommended Reading: Chekhov: The Complete Short Novels, trans. Pevear and Volokhonsky. 978-1400032921 • Chekhov: A Life in Letters, ed. Rosamund Bartlett.

978-0140449228 • Sakhalin Island, Anton Chekhov, trans. Brian Reeve. 978-1847492913 or 978-1847492913 (same translation, different price!)

Recommended background reading: Anton Chekhov: A Life, Donald Rayfield. 978-0810117952 Chekhov: Scenes From a Life, Rosamund Bartlett. 978-0743230759 11

J U LY 26–31

Sunday–Friday

$950 double; $1,230 single; $475 commuter

Water Cycle: A Journey Around the Science and Policy of Earth’s Most Precious Resource Water is Earth’s most important resource: life requires it, communities thrive on it, and economies depend on it. Yet water crises are becoming more common, from floods and droughts to contaminated drinking water and microplastics. In our seminar, we will explore the science and policy of this mighty molecule and how water availability, conservation, policy, and cultural attitudes vary from place to place. While on the shore of Lake Michigan, we will discuss questions of local and global relevance: can current laws protect the Great Lakes in the future? How will Lake Michigan fish and their fisheries change as climate does? What technologies can alleviate future water shortages? Will water stress lead to armed conflict? Seminar participants will be fully immersed in social, economic, environmental, and ethical discussions each day as we consider our past and present relationship with water and look forward into the future.

Peter Levi ’01 started his career in freshwater ecology alongside Titus Seilheimer ’00 during Bart De Stasio’s ’83 limnology course. Currently, he is an assistant professor of environmental science and sustainability at Drake University. His research addresses the health and quality of streams and rivers in human-dominated landscapes, such as urban and agricultural watersheds. Prior to Drake, Levi studied Great Lakes tributaries while at UW–Madison and the University of Notre Dame.

Email contact: peter.levi@drake.edu

Titus Seilheimer ’00 started on a career path in aquatic science and fish ecology at Lawrence University. He has been a fisheries specialist with Wisconsin Sea Grant since 2012 where he leads research, outreach and education activities around Great Lakes fisheries and ecosystems. Seilheimer has spent more than 100 days on Lake Michigan commercial fishing boats since 2015. His past research took him to all five Great Lakes as well as the southern Great Plains.

Required reading: The Great Lakes Water Wars by Peter Annin (islandpress.org/books/great-lakes-water-wars) Email contact: tseilheimer@aqua.wisc.edu

Stitches in Time: The Genius of Medieval Embroideries and Tapestries

Among the marvelous treasures that have survived from the medieval world are the stunning tapestries and embroideries of the period. As important symbols of wealth, status and power, these magnificent works were essential to the aristocracy, royalty and the medieval church. Embroideries and tapestries adorned the walls of castles and cathedrals—depicting famous battles and courtly and mythical scenes, as well as biblical stories and saints’ lives. In their official ceremonial roles, the aristocracy/royalty and churchmen wore sumptuous, heavily embroidered robes or vestments covered with threads of gold, silver, colored silk and pearls. While these exquisite works of art remain little known to the general public and have not received the kind of attention they deserve, they provide fascinating insights into the Middle Ages and their extraordinary artistry.

This course will explore the artistic and social contexts of medieval tapestries and embroideries.

It will look at the artists, techniques, designs, iconography, production, patronage and special use of these works. Some of the examples to be discussed include: The Bayeux Tapestry, Creation Tapestry, Apocalypse Tapestry of Angers, Life of the Virgin Tapestry, Lady and the Unicorn Tapestry, Hunt of the Unicorn Tapestry, Devonshire Hunting Tapestry, the famous late medieval English embroidery work (opus anglicanum) and late medieval German monastic embroideries.

The instructor will also discuss her own work in designing and stitching her medieval style embroideries. For those who are interested, the seminar will provide participants with an opportunity to create their own embroideries.

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Reading (Highly Recommended): Kay Staniland, Medieval Craftsmen: Embroiderers. University of Toronto Press. 1991. (Out of print—used copies can be purchased online.)

Recommended: Tracy Chevalier, The Lady and the Unicorn. 2004. A novel about the making of the famous Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries today at the Cluny Museum, Paris.

ISBN: 978-0452285453

Jane Tibbetts Schulenburg ’65 (Ph.D., UW–Madison) is professor emerita of history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison where she taught in the Department of Liberal Arts and Applied Studies, the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies and the Medieval Studies Program. Her areas of specialization include medieval social and religious history, medieval women’s history, women saints, female monasticism, gender and sacred space and medieval embroidery. She is the author of numerous studies on medieval women, including her major work, Forgetful of Their Sex: Female Sanctity and Society, ca. 500–1100 (University of Chicago Press, 1998/2000). She is presently working on a book on gender, sacred space and materiality in the Middle Ages. Schulenburg is the recipient of a number of research fellowships and was recognized with Lawrence’s Lucia Briggs Distinguished Achievement Award in 2001 and the University of Wisconsin–Madison Van Hise Teaching Award in 2013. Over the years she organized and led 39 University of Wisconsin medieval study tours to Europe. Schulenburg has also been making her medieval style embroideries for the past 40 plus years and has had several major exhibits of her work.”

The Stars: Mansions Built by Nature’s Hand

On a clear night, far from the light and the rush of the city, you can see thousands of stars. They tell our stories, guide our way, and quietly mark time. From a twinkle of light, the stars reveal something much more: the history of our celestial home, the Universe. From the formation of our planet, to the life of our Sun, the swirling maelstrom of our galaxy, and the unimaginable deep of Infinity, the lights of the night sky reveal the vast sweep of the cosmos.

In this course, we will explore the nature of stars and galaxies, clusters and nebulae. Weather permitting, we will—“mid song of birds, and insects murmuring”—learn practical astronomy with naked eye and telescopic night observations. No prior background in astronomy or physics is required. Please join me in what Wordsworth would call the “poetry of the heavens.”

Megan Pickett is an associate professor of physics and the department chair of physics at Lawrence University. She earned a B.A. in physics as Cornell University in 1988, and a Ph.D. in Theoretical Astrophysics from Indiana University in 1995. She was a research fellow at NASA’s Ames Research Center until 1999, after which she taught at Valparaiso University and Purdue University, before joining Lawrence in 2006. Her scholarly interests include the origins of solar systems, neutron star and black hole formation, and inclusive physics education.

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A U G U S T 2 –7

Sunday–Friday

$950 double; $1,230 single; $475 commuter; $395 auditor

The 2020 Verdict

For four years, American politics have been in turmoil. Protests, scandals, a constant media frenzy, an impulsive president who is breaking norms, reshaping domestic and international policies and dominating the headlines—it’s exhausting. And it’s a pivotal moment. This presidential election poses profound questions for American voters. What kind of country are we? What does it mean to be an American in the Age of Trump? How is our democracy functioning in such a polarized time? Since this seminar will take place after the Democratic convention and before the Republican convention, our focus will be on current events. But we will also try to put the turmoil of our times into the context of our history, and explore how Donald Trump’s version of American populism— which is the dominant political fact of our time—both connects with and contradicts some of the oldest strains in our history.

Terry Moran ’82 is Senior National Correspondent at ABC News. Based in Washington, D.C., Moran covers national politics and policy, reporting from the White House, Congress, the Supreme Court and the campaign trail for all ABC News programs. Previously, Moran served as ABC’s Chief Foreign Correspondent, based in London, as co-anchor of the ABC News show Nightline from 2005–2013 and as Chief White House Correspondent from 1999–2005.

The American Civil War in Historical Perspective

The death toll was by far the highest in U.S. history—yet there is a new and hot debate about how many died. The political friction leading to the war has been deemed our worst—unless you count 1775, 1916, and 2016? 2020? Lincoln is now a hero—though his failures at the time were unprecedented. Reconstruction after the war was a success—or so most people thought until the 1960s. The soldiers were the cream of American youth—until you look into the problems of desertion and crime. But more than those problems: How did ‘the American Tragedy’ compare to previous civil wars? And wars since? We will review the main facts and features of 1860–1865 for half of this class week and devote the other half to these and other questions, trying to gain insight, and hope.

As in recent years, we will join Terry Moran’s class for one morning to debate our overlapping topics.

James M. Cornelius ’81 has studied Lincoln and the Civil War for more than 20 years, including 11 years as curator of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum and six years as secretary and editor for the Abraham Lincoln Association. His doctoral degree in British history helps launch this year’s comparative approach.

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A U G U S T 9 –1 4

Sunday–Friday

$950 double; $1,230 single; $475 commuter

The Fall of Rome: From Caesar to King and From Jupiter to Jesus in 500 Years

In the year 300, Rome was still the greatest empire the West had known to that point. By 800, the city of Rome was a shadow of its former self, Charlemagne had been crowned by the pope as Emperor of Europe, Irene was the Byzantine Empress, and Harun al-Rashid was Caliph in Baghdad. The world was a much different place. Within 500 years, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa had changed greatly.

Where once there were citizens, there were now barbarians. Where once there was one empire, there were now many kingdoms. Where once there were traditional religions, now there were Christianity and Islam. This class will examine the incredible political, cultural, social, and religious changes that occurred during the period that has become known as Late Antiquity. We will start with a look at the Roman world in 300 and a snapshot of the same area in 800. We will then examine the people, events, movements, and developments that resulted in the Early Middle Ages. We will see emperors, kings, queens, caliphs, popes, saints, sinners, thinkers, doers, those that work, those that fight, those who pray, and, at the very end, even a Viking or two. In conclusion, we will see that whereas Edward Gibbon thought that Rome fell suddenly and dramatically, Rome actually became Europe slowly but perhaps just as dramatically. Plus, it’s a fun story.

Nikolas O. Hoel ’99 is an Instructor of History at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. He is a graduate of Lawrence University and went on to earn an M.A. at the University of Colorado-Boulder and a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is trained in both medieval and Byzantine history.

At NEIU he teaches classes concerning both ancient and medieval Europe, for which he has been honored with several Instructor Excellent Awards. Hoel’s primary research interests concern the religious, cultural, and intellectual history of the Middle Ages, and he became a medieval historian because of the passion for the barbarians he learned at Lawrence.

Highly Recommended: Douglas Boin, A Social and Cultural History of Late Antiquity (Wiley-Blackwell, 2018). Paperback ISBN: 978-1-119-07681-0; eBook ISBN: 978-1-119-07698-8.

Is Belief in God Rational?

The problem of God has been more widely discussed than any other in Western philosophy.

Arguments for and against the existence of God abound! But, the “problem of God” is much broader and deeper than just the question of existence. There are questions about the very nature of God. What properties can be ascribed to “the being than whom no greater can be conceived”? Is such a being even possible? Is such a being within the bounds of human understanding? And, ultimately, is belief in God rational ... whether or not God exists? This seminar will examine the concept of God in the Western philosophical tradition. Major philosophers to be discussed include: Anselm, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Hume, Berkeley, Kant, Bartley and Plantinga. Everyone is welcome, believers and non-believers! No prior background in philosophy or theology required. Join Terry for an exciting week exploring an age old problem from a new perspective.

Terry Goode received his B.A. from Ripon College, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from Wayne State University. He has taught philosophy at the University of South Carolina, UW–Fox Valley and UW–Oshkosh. In his retirement he regularly teaches philosophy for The Clearing in their winter program and for Björklunden in their summer program. Prior to his retirement he owned and managed two technology companies, and then served as a senior technology officer and information technology consultant to a number of firms in the Fox River Valley. Terry and his wife Pam are active volunteers in many Door County organizations.

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A U G U S T 1 6 –22

Sunday–Saturday

$1,055 double; $1,440 single; $475 commuter

Family Ties—The Case of King David

The heroic Biblical story of David in the books of Samuel and Kings contains fascinating episodes concerning his family connections. This seminar will highlight David’s ties to his father and brothers, to King Saul and his children Michal (David’s wife) and Jonathan (David’s loyal friend), and to several of David’s other wives (including Abigail and Bathsheba) and children (especially Solomon, Adonijah, Tamar, Amnon and Absalom). Family rivalries, intrigue, deception, adultery, rape, revenge, murder—and prophetic pronouncements—all find a place in these rousing accounts of David’s rise to power and reign as king. A dramatic reading and a bit of Hollywood will add a touch of flair to the seminar.

Bill Urbrock (Ph.D., Harvard) is honorary Rosebush Professor emeritus of Religious Studies at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, where he taught biblical studies and ancient near eastern religions. He has presented courses, seminars and lecture series for a variety of civic and educational groups, including Björklunden. Recent recognition of his contributions to lifelong learning include The Clearing’s White Cedar Award and the Robert Berner Teaching Excellence Award from the UW–Oshkosh Learning in Retirement program.

Guest performer Liz (Megan) Cole ’63 has had a long acting career on the professional stage and has made frequent guest-star appearances on television.

Required text: A Bible

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Creative Photography

Discover how to use your digital and smartphone camera to develop your imagination and creativity in art. Spend a week in Door County creating images through photography. Students will be given daily shooting assignments to inspire their personal vision. Participants will be asked to come with specific camera and editing apps on their phone. Instruction will be given on using those apps to edit and enhance your photographs. Students will have the opportunity to make professional enlargements of their work on an ink jet printer. This class is designed for both the beginner as well as those who have a more advanced understanding of their cameras and photo editing.

Recommendations to bring to the workshop: • Any digital camera (smartphone to DSLR) • Camera apps for your smartphone • A simple tripod

Philip Krejcarek is a professor of art at Carroll University where he has taught since 1977. He has also taught photography classes at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. He is the author of the book, An Introduction to Digital Imaging. His work has been displayed in national exhibitions and has been included in collections at the Milwaukee Art Museum, The Denver Art Museum, Wustum Museum of Fine Arts and the Haggerty Museum of Art.

Watercolor: The Expressive Medium

This seminar is for novice through experienced artists. Drawing skills are useful but not required.

Participants will be a part of a creative community that invites them to experiment with a wide-range of traditional and non-traditional watercolor techniques and learn to create strong individualized artistic statements. Participants from previous summers are welcome to repeat this class and are welcome to focus on independent projects or work with the instructor to figure out next steps. A list of suggested materials to bring to this seminar will be sent to participants at a later date and can also be found on Björklunden’s website.

There is a $35 materials fee for this course added upon registration.

Helen Klebesadel was a tenured member of the Lawrence University faculty, teaching studio art and gender studies from 1990 to 2000. She has continued to offer her summer Björklunden watercolor seminars annually since that time. Helen served as director of the University of Wisconsin System Women’s and Gender Studies Consortium (2000–2018) and as director of the Wisconsin Regional Arts Program (2013–2017). She is known as an engaging teacher and for her evocative and highly detailed narrative watercolors. Klebesadel maintains an art studio in Madison, Wis. and exhibits her paintings nationally and internationally. She has been invited to teach watercolor and creativity workshops from Texas to Alaska. Klebesadel is proud to be a past member of the Wisconsin Arts Board and a past-president of the national Women’s Caucus for Art. Learn more about her artwork and exhibition schedule at www.klebesadel.com.

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AUGUST 30–SEPTEMBER 4

Sunday–Friday

$950 double; $1,230 single; $475 commuter

Flirting with Disaster: Turning Personal Obsession into Memoir

Memoirists and personal essayists, by definition, fashion their art from the rubble-field of their memories and desires, their ghosts and guilts. But turning a life into a story is risky business. Your secrets may be exposed, your friends and family embarrassed. Or maybe you’ll be accused of “navel gazing,” mistakenly believing the world is waiting to read your diary. Either way, it seems, it’s a disaster. This class will focus on how essayists and memoirs navigate these treacherous waters, as well as how to avoid sounding narcissistic and how to turn ordinary interests and everyday obsessions into stories worthy of a reader’s attention.

Students will submit 10-pages of original nonfiction material ahead of time. Manuscripts should be typed, in 12-point font and double-spaced. The class will be conducted as a “workshop” in which the class group will read and discuss each manuscript in a roundtable discussion.

David McGlynn is the author of One Day You’ll Thank Me: Lessons from an Unexpected Fatherhood, published by Counterpoint Press in 2018. He’s also the author of the memoir, A Door in the Ocean, and the story collection, The End of the Straight and Narrow. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Best American Sports Writing, O., The Oprah Magazine, Men’s Health, Real Simple, Parents, and many other publications. He teaches at Lawrence University in Wisconsin.

The Original Book Club: Literary Legacies of Medieval Women

Women living in medieval Europe (c. 450–1450) were not only avid readers, they also were the patrons, authors, scribes, artists and authorizers of an array of textual genres. This class will consider some of these learned women as we read, in translation, their autobiographical, historical, religious, poetic, romantic, scientific and even medical writings. From a concerned mother living in the ninth century, to a famous lover-turned-abbess in the twelfth century, to a fourteenth-century visionary who criticized Rome, we will explore the lives, words, illuminations and books of these illustrious and ordinary women. By the end of the week, not only will the integral place of women within intellectual and cultural circles be apparent, but the unfortunate label of the “Dark Ages” for this fascinating millennium will be entirely wiped from your minds.

Catherine Keene earned her Ph.D. from Central European University in Budapest, Hungary and was teaching as adjunct assistant professor of medieval studies at Southern Methodist University in Dallas (where she met Danielle) until her recent retirement. Her work explores questions of sanctity and medieval women, and her monograph, Saint Margaret, Queen of the Scots: A Life in Perspective (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, 2016), returns this remarkable sainted queen to her rightful place in scholarship.

Catherine Keene continues to work on a variety of medieval projects as she divides her time between her native Wisconsin and Dallas, and she is thrilled at the opportunity to teach at Björklunden.

Danielle Joyner is an assistant professor of art history at Lawrence University. She earned an M.A. in medieval studies from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. in art history from Harvard University. She is the author of the 2016 book, Painting the Hortus Deliciarum: Medieval Women, Wisdom, and Time, as well as articles on the subjects of time, gardens and the natural world in medieval arts. She taught at the University of Notre Dame and Southern Methodist University before joining the faculty at Lawrence University. Danielle is eager to team up again with her colleague from Dallas and embark on medieval adventures along the shores of Lake Michigan.

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hat Happens Next?: The Importance of the Strong Storyline in Classic W Hollywood Films

A generally-acknowledged asset of films of the Classic Era is their dependence on the strength of the storyline and the development of that certain quality which keeps the audience involved and entertained. This seminar will focus on several excellent examples of cinematic stories that seize the interest of the audience in the opening moments and hold the filmgoer’s attention until the last frame. These compelling storylines may occur in any given genre, and examples will be offered from film types as diverse as mysteries, war dramas, suspense films, romantic comedies, westerns and others. Some attention will be given to the craft of the screenwriters who have made these scripts a pleasure for many subsequent generations to admire and enjoy. The class will also examine the other aspects of filmmaking that support the strong storyline: character development, the skillful use of dialogue, directorial style and the technical expertise which all combine to create a memorable example of the Golden Age of Hollywood Film.

Jack Rhodes received his Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Texas at Austin and later became interested in communication and film studies. His principal academic assignments were at Colorado College, the University of Utah and Miami University (Ohio), where he taught the graduate course on rhetoric of film for several years. Rhodes also served as chair of the Department of Communication at Miami and retired as executive director of Miami’s regional campus in Hamilton, Ohio. He is the author of three books and several scholarly articles and has recently concentrated his research and lecturing on the rhetoric of film genres. This will be his 12th year teaching Björklunden seminars.

This seminar was made possible, in part, by the Robert L. Berner Memorial Endowment for Björklunden.

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S E P T E M B E R 13–18

Sunday–Friday

$950 double; $1,230 single; $475 commuter

Which Way to the White House? Presidential Campaign Parades from 1896 to 2020 March in America’s quadrennial parade of presidential history. Feel the fun of campaign culture— buttons and banners, cartoons and slogans, conventions, debates and stump speeches. With magnification from the lens of history, see both the shining and soiled sides of candidates and their strategies. Consider how campaigns have evolved to influence the 2020 election.

Wrestle with this year’s issues—from foreign interference to voter suppression, from climate change to immigration. Consider third parties, slick ads and social media, big bucks and dirty tricks, and the Electoral College. With special concentration on the elections of 1896, 1912, 1960, 2000 and, of course, 2020, ask tough questions about our presidential election system. Does the American road lead to the best candidates? Does our quadrennial parade produce the best presidents? And if not, what reforms are possible?

Enjoy recommended readings and movies recounting past campaigns (and, if our calendar is lucky, one live debate). Bring your own campaign memorabilia and campaign memories, your own passions and respectful opinions. With history’s help, forecast the 2020 outcome. And by week’s end, test Franklin Roosevelt’s words: “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.”

Steve Bruemmer is the retired Wright Family Distinguished Faculty Chair of the History Department at the University School of Milwaukee. In the last 30 years, he has amassed one of the country’s most impressive collections of original presidential campaign cartoons, dating from the 18th century to 2020.

Acknowledged as among the nation’s leading scholars of political satire, Steve, with his cartoon collection, is returning to Björklunden with Charlie and items from his own collection of campaign memorabilia to present their quadrennial exploration of America’s presidential elections.

Charlie Schudson is a Wisconsin Reserve Judge Emeritus, law professor and Fulbright Scholar. He has served as the Lawrence University Law and Literature Scholar in Residence and has authored many published works including Independence Corrupted/How America’s Judges Make Their Decisions (University of Wisconsin Press, 2018). Charlie has been a featured guest on NPR, PBS, and Oprah.

In 2006, he served as an International Observer for the Venezuelan presidential election. This will be Charlie’s 13th Björklunden seminar.

Steve and Charlie both are Phi Beta Kappa graduates of Dartmouth College. They both completed their graduate degrees (Steve, in history; Charlie, in law) at the University of Wisconsin. Back by popular demand, they are delighted, once again, to lead Björklunden’s campaign parade.

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Writing Poetry in Forms

“The joy of working in form is, for me, the paradoxical freedom form bestows to saying the hard truths,” stated the widely-acclaimed former United States Poet Laureate, Maxine Kumin. Could it do the same for you? In this poetry workshop, we’ll be experimenting with a variety of poetic forms, from the traditional sonnet to the French rondeau to the contemporary Golden Shovel— equipping you with a number of new stylistic techniques for your poet’s-bag-of-tricks. (Working in forms is likely to do wonders for your free verse, too!) In the end—with the help of your fellow workshoppers, some great examples, and your own good ear—you’ll have a whole new set of tools for combining your own fresh ideas with time-tested patterns from the past, and some irresistible innovations from the present day.

Marilyn L. Taylor, Ph.D., former Poet Laureate of the state of Wisconsin and the city of Milwaukee, is the author of eight poetry collections. Her work has appeared in Poetry, Able Muse, Measure, Light and Raintree Review, among many other journals and anthologies. She was recently awarded the Margaret Reid Poetry Prize for verse in forms and was a finalist for the Howard Nemerov Sonnet award, the X.J. Kennedy Parody Contest and the 2017 Lascaux Review prize. She also edited the recent anthology titled Love Affairs at the Villa Nelle (Kelsay Books, 2018). Taylor currently serves on the editorial staffs of Verse-Virtual and Third Wednesday poetry journals.

Wildflowers, Birds, and Mushrooms

These three most popular nature subjects will be the object of our explorations in Door County’s many parks and preserves. The early tinges of nature’s fall color palette will make the scenes most picturesque. Our goal is to find as many beautiful wildflowers, birds and fungi as we can. Autumn is the time of abundance for fungi. You must be able to walk on unpaved trails for distances of two miles over a period of 2 ½ hours.

Don Quintenz has been teaching environmental education since 1967 and came to the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center in 1981. He previously worked with the Milwaukee Public Schools as their environmental specialist for five years, and before that he was with the Wisconsin Humane Society for three years as their environmental educator and the Wisconsin DNR as a resource technician. He is currently the Senior Ecologist at Audubon. The skill Quintenz has that he cherishes the most is his ability to excite and fascinate people about the natural world because of his intimate familiarity with the native flora and fauna.

Charlotte Lukes has been studying Door County’s wild mushrooms since 1972 and has compiled a list of 585 species she has seen and identified. The Ridges Sanctuary was where she began her workshops and mushroom forays when her husband, Roy, was manager and chief naturalist there. She has presented mushroom slide programs in many parts of eastern Wisconsin. Charlotte has taught mushroom classes for over 40 years and leads frequent mushroom forays in the state parks of Door County. UW–Green Bay has 250 of her mushroom species in their Biodiversity Center website and she plans to add more over the next winter. She has taught many classes at Björklunden with her husband over the past 20 years.

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S E P T E M B E R 27– O C T O B E R 2

Sunday–Friday

$950 double; $1,230 single; $475 commuter

Hollywood Votes: Images from the World of Politics in Films of the Classic Era

Depictions of political contests, government intrigues and the challenges faced by elected officials all made for several excellent movies during the Classic Era. Many talented screenwriters and directors explored the political arena with wit, solid characterizations, good-natured humor and a few genuine insights into the lives of historical figures such as Abe Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Andrew Jackson, Mayor Jimmie Walker of New York and many others. This seminar will focus on some of the best examples of Hollywood’s attention (national, local and international) to the politics and personalities of those earlier days in the national memory. Both historical and fictional accounts within this genre will be considered and evaluated, not only for their glimpses into political history but also for their intrinsic worth as quality products of the Golden Age of Film.

Jack Rhodes received his Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Texas at Austin and later became interested in communication and film studies. His principal academic assignments were at Colorado College, the University of Utah and Miami University (Ohio), where he taught the graduate course on Rhetoric of Film for several years. Rhodes also served as chair of the Department of Communication at Miami and retired as executive director of Miami’s regional campus in Hamilton, Ohio. He is the author of three books and several scholarly articles and has recently concentrated his research and lecturing on the rhetoric of film genres. This will be his 12th year teaching Björklunden seminars.

Björklunden now has hearing loops in Vail Hall! You can access the system by turning hearing aids to Channel T. If you do not have a hearing aid, but need a little more amplification, four receivers are available in the north office. Headphones are provided, but you can bring your own. We hope it makes your time spent at Björklunden even better.

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A Brief History of Creatures that Rule the Earth (Hint: They’re not humans) Some of the topics will include: • the insect responsible for the Louisiana Purchase and the Panama Canal • the typhus vaccine that saved 8,000 Poles from Nazi concentration camps • milkmaids that cured smallpox and began the vaccine revolution • Christopher Columbus’s true legacy: trading smallpox/measles for syphilis • how Dr. Snow solved the cholera epidemic in London before the germ theory • the plumber’s union that kept Chicago free from Legionnaire’s disease • England’s experiment with biowarfare in WWII that left a Scottish island uninhabitable … and other fascinating stories for which we have microbes to thank.

David Hines is a 1976 graduate of Lawrence University and practices Infectious Diseases (ID) in Chicago. He started medical school in Guadalajara, Mexico, in part because of a lower than expected GPA, but he’s really not that dumb. He finally applied himself there and did well enough on boards to transfer into the third year class at Rush Medical College in Chicago. He deludes himself thinking that the U.S. medical establishment finally realized their mistake of not accepting him two years earlier.

While south of the border, he diagnosed a case of leprosy which may have kindled his interest in infectious diseases. He remained at Rush for his internal medicine residency and fellowship in ID. With another Lawrence ’76 graduate, Nancy Gazzola, they managed to raise three pretty outstanding children in Oak Park, Ill. This seminar is for anyone interested in the influence of microbes on history and geopolitics.

Bibliography: The Mosquito by Timothy Winegard; The Ghost Map by Steven Berlin Johnson The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough; Rats, Lice, and History by Hans Zinsser; When Churchill Slaughtered Sheep and Stalin Robbed a Bank by Ciles Milton (Readings optional)

Anatomy of a Murder Trial

From the initial investigation and charging decision through the presentation of the case to the jury and sentencing, explore with veteran state criminal prosecutor Steven Licata how homicide cases are prosecuted in the criminal justice system. How is the evidence evaluated and what factors guide the prosecutor’s charging decision? How is the case presented to the jury? What exactly is the “insanity” defense to a homicide charge? How are homicide cases handled in Wisconsin’s juvenile courts? These questions and others will be considered by an examination of several real-life homicide prosecutions as well as through film and literature. Participants will be asked to analyze facts and evidence and to decide, as the prosecutor must, what can be proven at trial. Participants will also be asked to decide what is the right and ethical thing to do as the prosecutor when faced with the unique facts of the homicide cases that will be studied.

Steven Licata graduated from Lawrence University in 1975 and the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1981. He served three years as an Assistant Wisconsin State Public Defender and 31 years as an Assistant District Attorney for Milwaukee County. He prosecuted thousands of cases, including many murders. For three years, he also served as the Legal Director of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Unit. Following his graduation from Lawrence, Steve studied in East Germany, West Germany and England as a Watson Fellow and, years later, served as the Executive Director of the Thomas J. Watson Foundation, administering the Watson Fellowship Program.

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O C T O B E R 4 –9

Sunday–Friday

$950 double; $1,230 single; $475 commuter

SPQR: The Senate and the Roman People

Mary Beard is arguably the most well-known contemporary historian of ancient Rome’s vibrant culture and certainly its most eloquent spokesperson. Cambridge professor, salty blogger, television personality, and best-selling authoress of riveting and dramatic prose, Beard teases new interpretations out of ancient literary and historical texts, archaic Latin inscriptions on stone and papyrus, and senatorial laws and imperial decrees. What is most exciting, however, is that she gives a voice to the underclasses—the slaves, the poor, and the women—without whom the mighty Roman republic could never have become the even mightier Roman empire. Beard’s SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome is a modern classic, both authoritative and popular, magisterial and eminently readable, and enhanced by over a hundred illustrations of Roman sculptures, coins, and monuments as well as by maps and a timeline that give visual testimony to her many new and fascinating “takes” on what she calls a “conversation” with the Senate and Roman People or SPQR as they were known then and now. In fine, Beard strives, as she says, “to tell Rome’s story and to explain why ... it matters,” and she does so in stellar fashion. Ergo, we’ll have much to learn and to discuss as we explore and relive Roman history from 753 BCE to 212 CE. Required Reading: SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome, by Mary Beard., Paperback, New York, Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2016. (ISBN: 978-1-63149-222-8).

Daniel Taylor ’63 is the Hiram A. Jones Professor and Chair Emeritus of Classics at Lawrence University. He is the author of three books and dozens of articles. He was named Lawrence’s Outstanding Teacher in 1998, Wisconsin’s Distinguished Foreign Language Educator in 1990 and was nationally acclaimed for Excellence in Teaching the Classics in 1983. He is a two-time year-long National Endowment for the Humanities Research Fellow and a Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Italy. Now retired, he and his wife Donna live in Summit County, CO, and have organized and led four Björklunden Seminars Abroad to Greece and Italy. “Dr. Dan” revels in the Björklunden experience and is looking forward to his 30th Björklunden seminar.

Photo credit: Dolores Howse

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Watercolor: A Fresh Start

This watercolor seminar is designed for absolute beginners as well as for those who have had some experience painting with watercolor but need a refresher to gain the confidence to start again.

Explore the fall at Björklunden while enjoying this opportunity to learn or re-learn watercolor from an artist passionate about the medium in a supportive and friendly learning environment. Seminar participants will explore basic traditional approaches to watercolor painting as well as fresh and experimental wet-into-wet watercolor techniques. Seminar participants will go home with the skills and tools to keep on painting.

There is a $35 materials fee for this course added upon registration.

Helen Klebesadel was a tenured member of the Lawrence University faculty, teaching studio art and gender studies from 1990 to 2000. She has continued to offer her summer Björklunden watercolor seminars annually since that time. Helen served as director of the University of Wisconsin System Women’s and Gender Studies Consortium (2000–2018) and as director of the Wisconsin Regional Arts Program (2013–2017). She is known as an engaging teacher and for her evocative and highly detailed narrative watercolors. Klebesadel maintains an art studio in Madison, Wis. and exhibits her paintings nationally and internationally. She has been invited to teach watercolor and creativity workshops from Texas to Alaska. Klebesadel is proud to be a past member of the Wisconsin Arts Board and a past-president of the national Women’s Caucus for Art. Learn more about her artwork and exhibition schedule at www.klebesadel.com.

The 2020 Elections: What Next for American Foreign Policy?

President Donald Trump has swept away many pillars of postwar U.S. foreign policy. His transactional approach to diplomacy is a sharp break from traditional American support for the liberal world order. From trade strategy to the Middle East, President Trump has radically changed U.S. behavior on the world stage. Few would say that these changes have been a success. Some would say, however, that Trump initiatives, such as a tough line on trade with China, have been long overdue. This coming November will find the voters issuing their verdict on the Trump presidency.

The Democratic party nominee will propose new avenues of American engagement with the world.

Whoever wins will face the same challenges of climate change, relations with Russia and China, terrorism, energy security, international trade and migration. But on another level, the President will have to stake out policies that bear on American ethics. These include unilateralism versus multilateralism, and the pursuit of shared values with our allies. The President must also address global populism and nationalism, and rising authoritarianism. The seminar will take up all these issues, including the nature of Presidential leadership.

Optional Reading: Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How it Changed the World.

Walter Russell Mead, Routledge, 2002 (ISBN: 978-0415935364) A Democratic Foreign Policy: Regaining American Influence Abroad. Richard Ned Lebow, Palgrave MacMillan, 2019. (ISBN: 978-3030215187)

Christopher Murray ’75 served for 40 years as a diplomat with the United States Department of State. His assignments included service as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of the Congo, Political Advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander for NATO Forces in Europe and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels. He was also posted in Lebanon, Algeria, Syria, Tunisia, Jamaica and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. His assignments at the State Department in Washington, D.C., dealt with U.N. political affairs, non-proliferation, the Horn of Africa and NATO. After graduating from Lawrence, Ambassador Murray received a J.D. from Cornell Law School.

He resides in Brussels, Belgium.

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O C T O B E R 1 1–16

Sunday–Friday

$950 double; $1,230 single; $475 commuter

The Weimar Republic: Grandeur and Disaster

The Weimar Republic, born in 1919 amid the chaos of Germany’s defeat in war and humiliation at the Versailles Congress, died in 1933 with the Nazis’ ascent to power. Its brief life included spectacular advances in culture and science as Berlin became the global center of art, music, film and nuclear physics. It experienced devastating inflation and spectacular recovery, then the Great Depression. National life—most dramatically Berlin’s streets—was the stage for the struggle of democracy against revolutionary communism and National Socialism. The actors included many of the century’s great personalities and movements, such as Albert Einstein, Bert Brecht, Fritz Lang, Marlene Dietrich, Bauhaus and, ultimately, Adolph Hitler. The seminar will examine history, politics, culture and social trends, while asking was the grim end of this fruitful and dramatic period inevitable; and what lessons may it hold for our own turbulent times.

Required reading: Before the Deluge: A portrait of Berlin in the 1920’s, Otto Friedrich, 1972 (ISBN: 978-0060113728); or Weimar Germany—Promise and Tragedy, Eric D. Weitz, 2013 (ISBN: 978-0691157962). A film will be offered on at least one evening.

After graduation from Princeton and Harvard Law School, Jon Greenwald served 30 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, the bulk of it in Europe, including East Berlin as the Wall fell and ending with the Mission to the European Union. He taught diplomacy and foreign policy at Lawrence as the Scarff Professor, 1998–1999, coordinated foreign policy for Bill Bradley’s presidential campaign (2000), then served as vice president of the International Crisis Group, the Brussels-based conflict prevention organization, for 16 years. He has taught frequently at Björklunden. He presently leads a project to bring youths from conflict zones—beginning with Israelis and Palestinians—to study together at top U.S. and other prep schools.

Björklunden’s beautiful garden is the perfect setting for theatre on a summer evening. Door Shakespeare’s 25th anniversary season brings engaging performances to this magical location with three productions: William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, David Davalos’ Wittenberg and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised], by Adam Long, William Singer and Jess Winfield. For more information about Door Shakespeare’s 25th anniversary season, including pre-show activities and the popular summer theatre program for youth, Camp Will, visit doorshakespeare.com.

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O C T O B E R 1 8–23

Sunday–Friday

$950 double; $1,230 single; $475 commuter

World Religions in the Contemporary World

This seminar focuses on the basic teachings several of the world’s major religions— Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Basic texts of these religions will be analyzed as well as the theological and ethical beliefs in their respective scriptures.

We will also examine how these religions today are addressing some contemporary global issues, such as the deteriorating environment, justice for the poor, gender equality, violence and respect for members of the LGBTQ community.

Brian H. Smith is emeritus professor of religion at Ripon College, where he held the Charles and Joan Van Zoeren Chair in Religion, Ethics and Values from 1987 until his retirement in May 2020.

His advanced degrees are in political science (Ph.D. Yale, 1979), religion (Master of Divinity, Woodstock College, 1970) and ethics (Master’s in Sacred Theology [STM], Union Theological Seminary, 1971).

He has done research in Latin America, including Chile and Colombia, on religion and politics and the role of nongovernmental organizations in socioeconomic development. He has taught briefly at Fordham University and Georgetown University, and for seven years in the political science department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1980–1987).

He was a member of the Jesuit Order in the Catholic Church for 21 years and served as a priest for nine years, including one year in Chile during military rule in 1975.

Recommended Reading: Huston Smith, The World’s Religions. Harper One Paperback, second edition, 2009.

ISBN # 978-0-06-166018-4 $12.99 (new), $8.14 (used) Amazon Prime

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INFORMATION • Seminar participants choose only one seminar for each week of attendance.

• Class sizes are limited. Early registration will help ensure participants get into the seminar they prefer.

• Registration is open to the general public—participants need not have a connection to Lawrence University in order to attend.

• All seminar correspondence will be done via email if possible. Participants should provide an email address on their registration form.

• Seminar participants may either reside at the estate or commute from the area. Houseguests who reside at the estate but do not participate in seminars are also welcome, though first preference on housing is given to seminar participants.

• Handicap-accessible rooms are available. Please note this on your registration form if applicable.

• All guest rooms have private bathrooms. Linens are provided. There is an elevator.

• Participants may arrive for seminars after 4 p.m. on Sunday; seminars officially begin with dinner on Sunday evening. Instructors usually hold a “meet and greet” session with class participants after dinner on Sunday. Please plan accordingly.

• Classes typically meet weekday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon, leaving the remaining time free.

Instructors may offer optional afternoon or evening sessions and have the freedom to change the typical schedule if need be.

• Public events are often held at Björklunden any given seminar week, which participants may be able to attend. Details about these events will be posted at the lodge and announced during Sunday dinner. Information about events will not be provided to seminar participants before arrival.

• Participants are invited to sample local cuisine on Wednesday evening, our staffs’ night off— dinner will not be served at the lodge Wednesday evening. Please plan accordingly.

• Seminars ending on Friday after lunch will have a regular session in the morning. Seminars ending on Saturday after breakfast will not meet in the morning.

• Participants are responsible for acquiring any seminar texts and/or materials, and some seminars require a materials fee. The necessary information can be found within each course description at go.lawrence.edu/bjorkseminars and will also be sent to participants two months before the start date of their seminar. Please note some seminar instructors may assign coursework throughout the week.

• Participants are responsible for bringing their own writing utensils, notebooks, folders and any other items that will aid in taking notes and organizing class materials. Björklunden will not provide these items.

• If a seminar reaches its maximum participant limit or if the lodge no longer has vacancies for residents, those interested in attending may add their names to a waiting list. They will be notified as soon an opening becomes available.

• Björklunden may take photographs, videos, audiotape recordings and other images and soundbased media during courses and events and may use such media for educational, promotional, advertising and other purposes.

Participants are HIGHLY ENCOURAGED to visit the Björklunden seminar web page at go.lawrence.edu/bjorkseminars for: • Longer, more detailed seminar descriptions, instructor biographies and required text listings • Information about accommodations and amenities • A typical seminar week schedule • Updates on lodging availability and seminar cancellations • Seminar and facility photos 28 • Directions to Björklunden

FEES Residents

• For weeks ending Friday afternoon: $950 per person, double occupancy

$1,230 per person, single occupancy • For weeks ending Saturday morning: $1,055 per person, double occupancy

$1,440 per person, single occupancy • This all-inclusive fee covers seminar tuition, lodging and meals.

• Participants who register for a double occupancy room but do not specify a roommate will be paired with a same-gender roommate if possible. If the lodge fills up before a roommate can be assigned, participants will have to find a roommate or be charged the single occupancy rate.

Commuters

• $475 per person • This fee covers seminar tuition, Sunday dinner and all lunches. Other meals charged separately.

Houseguests • For weeks ending Friday afternoon:

$690 per person, double occupancy

$975 per person, single occupancy • For weeks ending Saturday morning: $720 per person, double occupancy

$1,080 per person, single occupancy • This fee covers lodging and meals only. First preference on housing is given to seminar participants. *Gratuities for student staff members are not included in any fees*

SUMMER SAVINGS! Refer a friend discount: Participants who have attended Björklunden seminars in the past and who refer a new seminar participant are eligible to receive a discount of $100 if the new participant attends as a resident or $50 if the new participant attends as a commuter. Limit one discount per person. Please indicate on your registration form if this discount applies.

Viking Decade discount: Lawrence University alumni who graduated during the Viking Decade (2010–2019) are invited to attend seminars at half-price. Please indicate on your registration form if this discount applies.

DEPOSITS AND TERMS • A deposit of $400/resident, $200/commuter or $300/houseguest per seminar week is due upon registering via check or credit card. Please make checks payable to Lawrence University.

Registrations submitted without a deposit will not be processed. The balance is due 30 days prior to arrival. Participants may also choose to pay in full upon registering.

• Participants who cancel their reservations more than 30 days in advance of their arrival date will receive a full refund. Those canceling with less than 30 days’ notice will receive a refund of all but $150.

• If Björklunden cancels a seminar, participants may receive a full refund of any fees paid, transfer the registration to another seminar, or donate the fees to Björklunden as a tax-deductible gift.

If you have further questions or are interested in teaching a seminar at Björklunden, please contact the assistant director of Björklunden at 920-839-2216 or bjorkseminars@lawrence.edu.

go.lawrence.edu/bjorkseminars 29

Find us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/bjorklunden

You can now register online with our secure online registration site.

Introducing Björklunden Daily Registration!

Never taken a Björklunden seminar before and want to try things out? Can’t afford a full week this year? A spur-of-the-moment decision to go to Door County for a few days and do something enriching for your mind and spirit?

We look forward to seeing you. Björklunden is giving individuals the chance to sample Björklunden’s seminar offerings without signing up for a full week. Unless a seminar is fully booked (it happens), you can choose your days of attendance with just 24 hours advance notice. Class is in session 9 a.m. to 12 noon, followed by lunch. Participants also will have the opportunity to explore Björklunden’s beautiful 441-acre campus.

The daily rate is $75.

Call or email us to register for your customized Björklunden experience today! 920-839-2216/ bjorkseminars@lawrence.edu

BJÖRKLUNDEN-SPONSORED TRIPS 2020 HERITAGE OF AMERICA TRIP

Please join Jerry Podair, professor of history and American studies at Lawrence University on the Heritage of America trip, which will take place on September 6–14, 2020.

Celebrate America’s rich and varied heritage on an in-depth tour of the eastern United States featuring essential landmarks and incredible vistas.

First stop, Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, view the Liberty Bell and see Independence Hall. Walk the hallowed battlefield at Gettysburg and tour the National Military Park & Museum. Enjoy a choice between visiting President Eisenhower’s home (a National Historic Site) or a walking tour of historic downtown Gettysburg. Stop in quaint Harper’s Ferry, then travel along the famous Skyline drive for amazing views of the Shenandoah Valley. Visit the presidential estates of Washington’s Mount Vernon and Jefferson’s Monticello. Tour some of Colonial Williamsburg’s 88 restored historic buildings and dine in a traditional tavern. Learn about the American Revolution at Yorktown and explore the outdoor living history museum, including a recreated Continental Army encampment and Revolution-era farm. Explore the countless treasures of the Smithsonian Institution with your choice of visiting the National Air and Space Museum or the National Museum of American History. Tour Washington, D.C.’s National Mall and view the moving World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Korean War Memorial. Visit Arlington National Cemetery.

For more information and to download the registration form: lawrence.edu/alumni/connect/alumni-travel/heritage-of-america-trip

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