February 11, 2004

Boise State's Renaissance Institute Announces Spring Schedule

Boise State's Renaissance Institute, a program for learners 50 and older who want to expand their intellectual horizons, is under way with a full spring season of seminars and lectures. Working in conjunction with community organizations, Boise State University’s Division of Extended Studies offers Renaissance Institute lectures and classes that respond to the educational interests of mature adults. Membership is open to all. Annual membership is $50; $35 for a second family member. One-season memberships are also available for $30. Because of the added costs to the Institute, there is an additional fee for each seminar series. A scholarship program is available that provides potential members with annual membership fees and half the cost of classes. To request a scholarship application, call Extended Studies at 426-1709. The spring 2004 Seminar Series includes: “It’s More Than Just Talent: Raising the Curtain on Performance Arts in Boise,” 10 a.m.-noon Feb. 10, Esther Simplot Performing Arts Academy Annex, 516 S. 9th, Opera Idaho with director Doug Nagel; 5:30-7:30 p.m. March 23, Boise Contemporary Theater, 854 Fulton St.; 10 a.m.-noon March 31, Shakespeare Festival, with Carol Whiteleather, Shakespeare Festival Theater & Reserve, 5657 Warm Springs Ave. $50. These sessions address how Boise’s major performing arts groups developed and keys to their success. Some of Boise’s premier performing arts companies will unfold their craft, explore these issues and showcase the talents of some of their performers. “North American Indigenous People - North American Indian Nations,” 10 a.m.-noon Feb. 5, 12, 19 and 26, The Flicks, 646 Fulton St., Boise. $40. Carol McGregor, author and adjunct history instructor at Boise State, will lead this journey that explores the mysteries of mound builders in present-day Illinois, the Anasazi of the four-corners area in the Southwest, encounters of Europeans with eastern seaboard tribes, the Pueblo, Navajo and Comanche experiences with Spaniards, the route of the Lewis and Clark expedition, the tribes of the Missouri River, the Bitterroot Range, and the Columbia River, and Idaho Indians, including the Nez Perce and the Shoshone. “Viva la Cultura Hispanica de Idaho,” 11 a.m.-noon March. 4, 11, 18 and 25, Hispanic Cultural Center, 315 Stampede Drive, Nampa. $40. Acquire an overview of the struggles, challenges and accomplishments of Idaho’s developing Latino community, and learn of its leaders’ involvement in government, education, religion, business, arts and agriculture. Jesse Berain and Jorge Piña of the Hispanic Cultural Center and Alice Whitney, executive director of the Hispanic Business Association, will lead these discussions. Participants will enjoy lectures and videos and will also participate in making a special holiday tradition — a Tamalada — during a hands-on cuisine class. “Mexican History: From the Fall of the Aztec Empire to the Rise of the Institutional Revolutionary Party,” 10 a.m.-noon April 7, 14, 21, 28 and May 5 and 12, The Flicks, 646 Fulton St., Boise. $50. In 1521, legend tells us a handful of Spaniards led by Hernán Cortez conquered the mighty Aztec Empire. How? What really happened? Errol Jones, professor of history at Boise State, will discuss this topic and religious syncretism, the Mexican-American War (1846-48), Pancho Villa and the Mexican Revolution, the history of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), illustrious and not so illustrious Mexicans, as well as emigration from Mexico. The spring 2004 Lecture Series includes: “Bio-terrorism and Emerging Pathogens: Are You Scared Yet?” 10 a.m.-noon Tuesday, March 16, The Flicks, 646 Fulton St., Boise. Russ Centanni, professor of biology at Boise State, will discuss the real outcomes of two “letter bombs” containing spores of bacillus anthracis that were mailed to New York City and Washington, D.C. addresses in 2001. A spectrum of biologic agents will be presented and discussed in relation to their role in bio-terrorism or as emerging pathogens. “A Tale of Two Flukes: Designing Robots that Swim” 7-9 p.m. Wednesdays, April 7 and 14, Boise State’s Micron Engineering Center, Room 106, 1020 Manitou Ave. The next generation of robots will have far greater mobility than previous designs due to recent advancements in our understanding of how animals move. John Gardner, chair of the department of mechanical erngineering at Boise State, will explain animal mobility and its implications on robotic design in this two-part lecture. They will involve film clips, computer animations and examples from labs around the country. “Provenance in the Wild West: James Castle’s Icehouse Books,” 10 a.m.-noon Thursday, April 29, The Flicks, 646 Fulton St., Boise. Enter the world of autistic artist James Castle as presenter Tom Trusky, professor of English and director of the Idaho Center for the Book at Boise State, shares the “biographies” and translations of Castle’s rarest books. These books, found by Fish and Game Warden Bill Pogue and others, survived ice, fire and the Teton Dam Disaster. -30- Contact Ellie McKinnon Division of Extended Studies 208 426-2047 emckinno@boisestate.edu Media Contact Sherry Squires communications and marketing ssquires@boisestate.edu 208 426-1563