RCLLA Announces Fall 2017 Semester Programming

Todays News

The Ringling College Lifelong Learning Academy (RCLLA) has announced it Fall 2017 semester programming, whetting academic appetites before registration for the Sep. 25–Nov. 17 semester opens on Aug. 29. In addition to more than 65 classes on offer, Fall 2017 auxiliary programming includes a guest lecture from author and columnist Craig Pittman, the Reinvention Convention conference on aging, two Academy talks and a documentary film series.

With more than 65 courses on the schedule, this semester is one of the biggest yet for RCLLA. “It’s getting up there,” agrees RCLLA Executive Director Janna Overstreet. Topics covered this fall range from modern architecture to the language of dance and from studies of beat poet classics like Jack Kerouac’s On the Road to beginner’s Italian and “iPad Beyond Basics.” And though courses are volunteer-led and –instructed, Overstreet stands by her faculty and the quality of learning to be found at RCLLA.

Each volunteer instructor undergoes “rigorous” examination by a 14-volunteer committee that reviews course proposals and interviews instructors, who must have a syllabus prepared. But perhaps most important for a place like RCLLA, is the method of teaching. “It’s important that the instructor understand that it is a give and take,” says Overstreet, and these aren’t kids looking to their teacher; these are educated adults looking to learn from a peer. Discussion is to be expected, she says, and very few courses, if any, are pure lecture courses.

Outside of class, the learning doesn’t stop, and the fall lecture brings Pittman, author of Oh Florida! How America’s Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country, to Sarasota to talk his book and time with the Tampa Bay Times. Informative and humorous, says Overstreet, it’s the perfect primer for those calling Florida their second (or third) home and want to know more about “where it is they’ve landed.” Also on the docket for the fall semester are two Academy Talks. A Nazi in the Family (Nov. 1) sees Jens M. Albiez talking about his understanding of the Third Reich after growing up in 1960s Germany, and How Kids Listening to the Radio Rocked America in 1955 (Nov. 8) brings David Milberg, who worked as both a radio DJ and attorney concurrently, to the stage.

But perhaps the semester’s biggest event is the Reinvention Convention: Reimagining Perceptions of Aging conference, hosted by Julie Cotton of the Advisory Council’s Strategic Program Committee and with speakers including Barbara Shipley of the AARP and Liz Redford of the UF/Harvard Implicit Bias Project. An all-day conference on Nov. 9, panelists and audiences will discuss age bias, and how it manifests both internally and externally. “There are all sorts of ways that age bias seeps into us,” says Overstreet. “This is an area that needs to be talked about.”

All ticket prices, locations and times can be found at the RCLLA website listed below. Registration for the Fall 2017 semester opens Aug. 29.

Ringling College Lifelong Learning Academy

« View The Wednesday Aug 16, 2017 SRQ Daily Edition
« Back To SRQ Daily Archive

Read More

Bianca D. Named Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota And DeSoto Counties 2024 Youth of The Year

Bianca D. Named Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota And DeSoto Counties 2024 Youth of The Year

Mar 14, 2024

Sarasota Ford and Le Mans Kitchen honor Sarasota County School-Related Employee of the Year

Sarasota Ford and Le Mans Kitchen honor Sarasota County School-Related Employee of the Year

Mar 7, 2024

New College Celebrates Successful Visit from High School Leaders from Across the Region

New College Celebrates Successful Visit from High School Leaders from Across the Region

Mar 7, 2024

Community Day School Student Qualifies for Debate Championship

Community Day School Student Qualifies for Debate Championship

Mar 7, 2024