Video: Bjorklunden

Bjorklunden [Lawrence University's Northern Campus]

The 2019 Björklunden summer seminar lineup will feature a strong showing by Lawrence University alumni eager to return to their roots at the university’s pristine northern campus.

The lineup features 40 speakers, with topics catering to a wide range of interests. Fourteen of the instructors will be Lawrence alumni. That’s no coincidence.

“We try to get alumni as well as current Lawrence faculty (to teach seminars),” Director of Björklunden Mark Breseman said. “We think it is a positive thing for everybody.

“We figure alumni can attract some other classmates, which is a cool thing, and the same goes for the faculty.”

Robert Spoo ’79, who holds an endowed chair in law at the University of Tulsa and is a former English professor and editor of the James Joyce Quarterly, is among those Lawrence alumni excited for that connection. He’s been a frequent instructor at Björklunden, and returns in June to lead “The Ulysses Starter Kit,” a seminar that will explore James Joyce’s masterpiece, Ulysses, as well as Joyce’s life, Dublin of the early 1900s and Irish history, music and culture.

“There are various ways we can give back to LU,” Spoo said. “One of those ways, for me, is to step into a role — teaching — that had such a great impact on me when I was on the learning side of the lectern. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t borrow something in my own classroom work that inspired me as a student at LU.

“Conducting seminars at Bjork is both an opportunity to give back in kind through teaching and to strengthen my connection as a LU alumnus. It’s especially satisfying when I can teach a subject at Bjork — in recent years it’s been the Irish author James Joyce — that I first encountered at LU.”

This year’s Björklunden seminar topics come in the areas of art, geology, film and television, history, literature, music, politics, religion and more. The seminars are open to both commuters and residents, who are housed in the estate’s 37,000-square-foot lodge, located on 425 acres just south of Baileys Harbor along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

One of Lawrence’s most visible alumni, ABC News chief foreign correspondent Terry Moran ’82, will lead a seminar titled “Americans First: We Don’t Actually Hate Each Other as Much as You Think.”

This is Moran’s third visit to Björklunden as a summer seminar instructor, with previous forums also focused on American politics.

Joining him in the political category is Paul Wickham Schmidt ’70, who is co-teaching the seminar, “American Immigration: A Legal, Cultural & Historical Approach to Understanding the Complex and Controversial Issue Dominating Our National Dialogue.”

Lawrence alumni are also instructing literary and artistic seminars. In addition to Spoo’s seminar on Joyce, Daniel Taylor ’63 will dive into Homer’s Odyssey, while Eric Simonson ’82 spearheads the Door Kinetic Arts Festival.

The summer seminars at Björklunden allow the lecture-goers to explore the northern campus and engage with the beautiful scenery in Door County.

Most seminars, which include meals prepared by Björklunden’s resident chef, begin Sunday evening and end Friday afternoon. Classes meet weekday mornings and some evenings, with remaining time available to enjoy Björklunden’s mile-long Lake Michigan shoreline and wooded walking trails or to explore Door County’s cultural and recreational opportunities.

A daily registration has been introduced this year. For $90 per day,  you can jump into a seminar for a single day.

Complete seminar information, including registration, dates, course descriptions and instructors, can be found at http://www.lawrence.edu/dept/bjork/ or by calling 920-839-2216. Questions can also be directed via email to mark.d.breseman@lawrence.edu.

By Nicole Witmer ’19

Bjorklunden’s summer seminar lineup

June 9-14: Listen to the Birds – Don Quintenz; Door Kinetic Arts Festival – Eric Simonson ‘82

June 16-21: Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World – Marcia Bjornerud

June 23-28: A New Leaf for Your Art – Marjorie Atwood; The Ulysses Starter Kit – Robert Spoo ‘79; Wildlife Photography: Turning Passion into Productivity – John Van Den Brandt

July 7-13: Tritone Jazz Fantasy Camp – Bob DeRosa

July 14-19: Villains, Maidens, and Spirits: An Introduction to Russian Folklore – Victoria Kononova; Modern China Through a Lens of History and Art – Shelley Drake Hawks & Brigid E. Vance; Medieval Women: Life, Work, Space and Place – Jane Schulenburg ‘65

July 21-26: Dwight Eisenhower, the CIA, and the Dulles Brothers: American Foreign Policy in the 1950s – Tim Crain; Revolutionary Russia: Politics and Culture from Lenin to Stalin – Peter Thomas; The Great Failure: Why World War I Began, Continued, and Never Ended – Jerald Podair & John Greenwald

July 28-August 2: Americans First: We Don’t Actually Hate Each Other as Much as You Think – Terry Moran ‘82; The American Civil War: News and Views – James Cornelius ‘81

August 4-9: American Immigration: A Legal, Cultural, & Historical Approach to Understanding the Complex and Controversial Issue Dominating Our National Dialogue – Paul Wickham Schmidt ’70 and Jennifer Esperanza; When History Meets Philosophy – Terry Goode; Paraphrases and Reminiscences: Exploring the Art of Piano Transcription – Anthony Padilla

August 11-17: Watercolor: The Expressive Medium – Helen Klebesadel; Three Wives of Abraham – Bill Urbrock; Smartphone Photography: Exploring Creativity with Your Camera – Philip Krejcarek

August 25-30: What Makes a Classic Movie Classic? Learning to Understand the Difference Between a Classic Film and “Just an Old Movie” – Jack Rhodes; The Geopolitics of Energy: Past, Present and Future – Tom Cutler ’73 & J. William Ichord; The Prosecutor’s Art: From the Streets to the Suites of the Oval Office – Steve Licata ’75 & Charlie Schudson

September 8-13: Creating Emotional Landscapes Through Poetry – Marilyn L. Taylor; Wildflowers, Birds, and Mushrooms – Don Quintenz & Charlotte Lukes; Human Microbes: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – David W. Hines ‘76

September 15-20: Watercolor: A Fresh Start – Helen Klebesadel; The Migration Phenomenon: Perspectives from Both Sides of the Atlantic – Christopher Murray ‘75; TV’s Middle Period, Late ‘70s to Century’s End: Time of Tele-Transition– Paul McComas ‘83

September 22-27: Stealing the Show: Memorable Supporting Players of the Classic Film Era – Jack Rhodes; Prosperity to Debacle: The Third Century Crisis in Roman History – Gerry Max ‘67; Experience Björklunden: Explore Door County on Your Own

September 29-October 4: Lincoln’s Spies – Doug Waller; Homer’s Odyssey – Daniel Taylor ‘63; Experience Björklunden: Explore Door County on Your Own

October 6-11: Baseball Double Header: Classic Baseball Films and the 2019 Postseason – Steven Landfried ‘66.