One Day University With 3 Professors (March Event)
March 18,2012

CLASSES AND PROFESSORS

 

1. The Global Economy: Where Are We Headed?

The crash of MF Global in 2011 came from their big bet that Europe would bail out Greece and other small countries. The  bet turned out wrong. But it raises a basic question.  Howdo we analyze the global economy, as its "chunks" (Europe, China, US, Japan, the BRICs) go in different political and economic directions? This talk will organize the big picture and answer the question.

 

Yale Professor Paul Bracken developed and teaches the Problem Framing course required of all first year MBA students, and also teaches in Yale College.

 

 

2. Why We Behave The Way We Do

Why do people behave the way they do? This class will highlight the recent advances in medical imaging that have given psychologists and neuroscientists unprecedented access to the inner workings of the human mind. Professor Chun will discuss what brain imaging can reveal about the unconscious thoughts, memories, emotions and even social biases that influence our everyday behavior. Behavioral Neuroscience explores the ways we can explain why we act as
we do by understanding the influences of biological processes. We'll explore answers by looking at the the relationship between brain activity and
subjective experience.

 

Cognitive neuroscientist Marvin Chun teaches in Yale's Department of Psychology and also in the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program and the Cognitive Science Program. His research is in human cognition, especially the analysis of processes at the interface of attention, perception and memory. His lab employs neuroimaging and behavioral techniques to study how people perceive and remember visual information. He received the Troland Research Award from the National Academy of Sciences, often considered the most prestigious early-career honor in the field that can be earned by an experimental psychologist, and YAle recently awarded him the DeVane Award for Teaching and Scholarship.

 

 

3. How To Listen To (And Appreciate) Great Music

This class will introduce some ways to enhance the listening experience of great music.  Although no one lecture can walk down all the possible avenues, we will take a comprehensive approach to the act of listening itself.  Assuming that historical information, knowledge of the composer's life and times, and a general understanding of the eras of musical style can all be important ways to appreciate further any great piece of music, this lecture will instead focus on specific concepts of listening that transcend any one composer, style or genre.

 

We will focus in particular on a concept sometimes called musical texture-how much is going on at any one time and how can we absorb it?  Unlike a complex painting, which allows us to stand in front of it for as much time as needed to absorb and appreciate subtleties of form, color, design against the overall impact and meaning of the painting a piece of music exists in a fixed time.  We have to get as much musical information as we can as it drifts by our ears.  Great composers and musicians, from Bach to Ellington, enjoy varying textures by moving in the same piece from a simple melody with a few back-up chords to complex moments with two melodies and more unusual chords occurring simultaneously.  Understanding how to listen for these changes is one important way to get more pleasure from the experience of listening.  Examples will be drawn from a wide variety of musical styles.

 

Orin Grossman began piano and theory instruction at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts at the age of five. After several graduate recitals there, he entered Harvard College from which he graduated Magna cum Laude in Music. He continued his studies at Yale University, earning a Ph.D. in Music.Dr. Grossman came to Fairfield University in 1975 as an Assistant Professor of Fine Arts. In 1991 he was named Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He is at present the Academic Vice President at Fairfield University, where he is also Professor of Visual and Performing Arts. Dr. Grossman has been particularly associated with the music of George Gershwin, lecturing and performing concerts of his song transcriptions, and classical pieces to critical praise around the world.

Graduate Center - 365 Fifth Avenue - NYC
365 Fifth Avenue NYC
(35th and Fifth)
New York, NY 10016
March 18,2012
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM