Tickets are sold out and no longer available to the Dalai Lama UC San Diego Event - “The Global Impact of Climate Change: Balance through Universal Responsibility, Compassion and Human Consciousness.” The public will be able to view Dalai Lama’s appearance live on the internet on the morning of April 18 at http://uctv.tv

UCTV Prime rolls out March 1 with new content every week

On March 1, University of California Television (UCTV) will launch a new YouTube original channel, UCTV Prime, the first university-run channel to be included among YouTube’s new production partnerships with recognizable brands like The Wall Street Journal, Madonna and TED. Each week, UCTV Prime will debut 15 minutes of fresh content from throughout the University of California at www.youtube.com/uctvprime and www.uctv.tv/prime.

UCTV Prime’s programming will draw on the tremendous knowledge resources available on the ten University of California campuses, five medical schools, three national labs and other affiliated institutions. Like the UC system itself, UCTV Prime will be a lively place to find new ideas, spark the imagination and discover diverse voices on just about every subject. With documentary mini-series, interviews, commentaries and video shorts each week, UCTV Prime aims to bring to light the innovations, trends, issues and personalities that shape our world.

YouTube users can subscribe to UCTV Prime at www.youtube.com/uctvprime to keep up on the latest programs and browse related playlists populated by content from UCTV’s robust YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/uctv) and other UC YouTube channels. The UCTV Prime website, www.uctv.tv/prime, will complement the channel with direct viewer engagement through related blog posts, viewer polls and other interactive features.

The UCTV Prime channel will be anchored by a collection of in-depth, 10-minute documentary mini-series. The channel’s March 1 debut will feature the first installment of “Naked Art,” a four-part mini-series exploring UC’s preeminent public art collections. Then, on April 6, UCTV Prime will debut a three-part series examining the obesity epidemic and how UC San Francisco researchers like Dr. Robert Lustig, whose 2009 UCTV video, “Sugar: The Bitter Truth,” has become a YouTube hit with over two million views, are working to combat it.

The channel will also feature “UCTV Prime: Vote,” a recurring, 5-minute segment offering election analysis and commentary by UC faculty and experts, and “UCTV Prime: Cuts,” another 5-minute recurring series reporting on research developments, entertaining events and interesting personalities on the campuses and beyond. “UCTV Prime: Cuts” premieres March 6 with a look at innovative canine cancer research and treatment taking place at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and how it translates into cancer care for humans. “UCTV Prime: Vote” kicks off March 13 with UC San Diego’s Peter Gourevitch on who’s driving the debate between austerity and spending, UC Merced’s Jessica Trounstine on factors that decrease incumbents’ responsiveness to voters, and UC Davis’ Giovanni Peri on the economic impact of immigration.

UCTV Prime is one of around one hundred original channels on the YouTube platform created specifically for today’s connected viewers around the world. The new advertising-supported channels feature well-known personalities and content producers from TV, film, music, news, and sports, as well as some of the most innovative new media companies in the world and some of YouTube’s own existing partners, including UCTV, which operates one of YouTube’s most popular education channels, with 50,000 subscribers and over 4,800 videos.

“With technology and viewer habits changing so fast, the whole nature of ‘television’ is evolving,” said Lynn Burnstan, UCTV’s director. “We’re thrilled and honored to take part in YouTube’s ambitious effort to shape the future of the medium. Since UCTV’s beginning twelve years ago, we have continually developed new and innovative uses of television and, today, thefuture is more exciting than ever.”

Based on the UC San Diego campus, UCTV presents educational and enrichment programming from the campuses, national laboratories, and affiliated institutions of the University of California. UCTV delivers science, health and medicine, public affairs, humanities and the arts to a general audience, as well as specialized programming for health care professionals, teachers and researchers. UCTV is available worldwide via live stream, video archives and podcasting at www.uctv.tv, on YouTube at www.youtube.com/uctv and www.youtube.com/uctvprime, on iTunesU in the Beyond Campus section, and on cable in select cities throughout California. For a complete list of UCTV’s outlets, visit www.uctv.tv/wheretowatch.

When Seattle resident Steve Griggs signed up for a certificate program in arts management through the University of Washington in 2002, he had recently left an IT job in the clinical-research industry and wanted to transition into work with an arts organization. Completing the certificate program, he hoped, would help him make that change. “The certificate program was a bridge between my business and creative paths,” says Griggs, who is also a professional jazz musician. Griggs, 51, later pursued a second certificate at the UW, this time in narrative nonfiction.“[The certificate program] combined my passion for research, art and storytelling,” says Griggs, who now works as a freelance writer, composing concert reviews for The Seattle Times and contributing to Earshot Jazz —a monthly newsmagazine featuring profiles, previews and reviews of jazz artists in the Northwest.

Certificate programs designed for working professionals are flourishing on college campuses coast to coast, and provide specialized training, focused instruction and practical application infields as diverse as screenwriting and stream restoration. Courses, which are taught by university faculty or industry professionals, are usually offered evenings, weekends or online (or a combination thereof), and programs average three academic quarters. UW certificate programs, for example, must include at least 90 hours of instruction. Most importantly, certificate programs offer busy adults the opportunity to update their skills, network, develop a personal interest, boost their careers or change fields entirely.
The professional certificate landscape looks nothing like it did more than 40years ago, when James R. Johnston and Lewis G. Kearns established the first certification program in the country to improve the way financial services were provided. Their six-course Certified Financial Planner credential has inspired nearly a dozen certifications in the financial services industry, says Johnston.

“Our program was quite a shock to traditional higher education,” recalls Johnston. There was no interest from universities back then, so Johnston and Kearns established the College for Financial Planning in Denver (now a subsidiary of the Apollo Group, which also operates the University of Phoenix) to host their certification program. Today, there are few colleges and universities that do not have certificate programs or courses in the field.

In fact, continuing professional education is now possible in subjects as diverse as museum studies; 3D animation for digital media; recycling and solid-waste management; cloud computing; teaching English as a second language; and lactation consulting. For example, UCLA(University of California, Los Angeles) Extension touts more than 125 certificate programs, and University of Washington Professional & Continuing Education(formerly UW Extension) also offers more than 125 certificates.

UC San Diego Extension, which features around 100 certificate programs, has seen its enrollment grow by 59 percent in the past four years, says Henry J. DeVries, assistant dean of UC San Diego Extension and co-author of Closing America’s Job Gap, a compilation of narratives about successful graduates of certificate programs.

“Many individuals and organizational leaders believe that an undergraduate or advanced degree, coupled with on-the-job experience, will provide the knowledge and skills sufficient for a professional career spanning several decades,” says DeVries. “But in today’s world, that is not always true. One of the reasons certificates have become so critical is the acceleration of scientific and technological progress, coupled with a globalizing economy.”

Demand for certificate programs is being driven by the desire to improve earning potential, says Cathy Sandeen, dean of UCLA Extension, noting that the typical certificate student has already earned one or more degrees. “More highly paid employees have lost jobs in this downturn than previously. These individuals are seeking a quick way to retool for re-employment,” she says.

Certificate programs are of shorter duration and are less expensive than master’s degree programs; they tend to be geared toward practical application rather than academic knowledge; and they are scheduled at times convenient for working professionals. For any or all of these reasons, they can be a good choice for those transitioning into a new role or career.

Another trend is baby boomers—who are retired or nearing retirement—turning to certificate programs as a way to follow a lifelong dream or passion.“Many are pursuing health care, education, nonprofit or arts-related certificates,” Sandeen notes. Additionally, recent graduates are making themselves more marketable by augmenting their bachelor’s degrees with the practical knowledge and networking skills gained in a certificate program. For example, an art history major might complete a certificate in interior design, or a music major could supplement his or her degree with a certificate in film scoring.

Bradley Snaza, a graduate of Central Washington University in Ellensburg, realized the value of adding a certificate program to his list of credentials. Snaza, 26—who is the assistant restaurant manager and sommelier for the upscale Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum, Washington—says sheer curiosity initially led him to pursue a wine trade professional certificate while earning a degree in tourism administration. His interest in wine blossomed, and he spent another year earning a second bachelor’s degree in global wine studies.

Unlike most programs that address viticulture and the study of wine (enology), the wine trade professional certificate offered by CWU’s Office of Continuing Education is one of the few accredited university programs in the United States to focus on the international business of wine, says curriculum coordinator and wine director Amy Mumma. “We created the [wine trade professional certificate] program because there were no other programs that met this need,” she says.

According to Mumma, Washington’s wine industry employs 19,000 people and has a $3 billion economic impact on the state. Most wine-related jobs, she notes, are not found in the vineyard, but rather in marketing, branding, distribution, retail, public relations and import/export.The wine trade professional certificate program boasts a 90 percent rate of placement of its graduates, including jobs with regional businesses such as Swiftwater Cellars and neighboring Suncadia Resort.

Similarly, myriad programs at UCLA are designed to help meet the needs of growing businesses. “Almost all certificates, such as digital media, technology, entertainment and financial services, relate to surrounding local industries,” says Sandeen. “Relevance is a principal goal.” Some of the most popular certificates at UCLA Extension include global sustainability and nonprofit management.

Sometimes the popularity of certificate programs can reflect local intellectual curiosity. Since the 1996 inception of the University of Washington’s certificate in museum studies, some 450 students have completed the program, which is one of the many popular offerings at the university. This comes as no surprise to Britta Simon, assistant director of academic programs for UW Professional & Continuing Education, who explains that the program garners so much interest due to its relevancy and to the combined experience of its instructors, all of whom are museum professionals.

“People realize how important museums are in their communities,” says Simon. “We’ve been wait-listing students for the past five years.” The six-course program is geared toward entry- and mid-level professionals who are interested in volunteering for or working at a museum, and also attracts art and history buffs. In the final practicum, students apply core concepts as interns in local museums, such as the Seattle Art Museum, EMP and the Henry Art Gallery. “Museums carry authority in local communities,” says Simon. “Museum professionals and volunteers join a movement where history and culture are integrated into the here and now, where history becomes present.”

Certificate programs can be a good way to explore evolving interests, as Leslie Widner found. When the graduate of San Diego State University couldn’t find work as a teacher, she found alternate ways to better her community. In her position as a front-office supervisor at a large hotel chain, she noticed the company had no recycling protocol.

“I saw such an enormous amount of waste,” says Widner. Recognizing a need,she decided to do something about it. Not only did she set up a recycling program for her employer, but she enrolled in the sustainable business certificate program at UCSD Extension.

Part of the Solar Trees Project. Copyright Regents of the University of California. Credit: UC San Diego Publications

While learning about weighty topics such as environmental economics and green marketing, Widner applied for an internship at the U.S. Green Building Council in San Diego, which led to a sales consultant job with Pasadena-based Waste Less Living, a provider of composting services to schools and businesses. There she was able to marry her love of teaching and her desire to protect the environment.

“It’s awesome to see the change in how kids think after we spend time together,” she says.

As Widner, Snaza, Griggs, and many others have experienced, certificate programs can offer a way to explore personal interests or bridge the gap to greater career satisfaction.

It’s been nearly 3 decades since the continuous improvement management system known as “lean” really began in the corporate world. Lean essentially means without waste and seeks to create value for the customer. Anything that does not add value in the eyes of the customer is waste and should be eliminated or at least reduced. Initially, lean was heavily focused in the automotive industry but has since moved to all industry, the service sector and now even government and health care. This would sound great, but there’s a dark cloud in front of the silver lining.

Many supposed lean enterprises have done all of the right things: they have hired lean consultants to provide training, they have conducted Kaizen (Japanese for Continuous Improvement) events, completed workplace organization (known as 5S) and even created standard work. Yes, these are some of the key foundations of a lean enterprise. However, as most seasoned lean veterans will tell you, this can be nothing more than window dressing. One can visit numerous facilities and see what looks like a very clean, well-organized and seemingly disciplined business that calls itself lean. Upon further examination, you may find a sluggish set of processes that are still laden with busy work that really does not create any value for the customer.

So, how can you cut through the façade and understand if the business really is becoming lean? Well, the “real” lean enterprises will tell you that while they have made good progress, they still have much to improve. Lean is a “journey” and not a destination. That being said, dig a little deeper on some key measures. Are quality complaints trending downward? Are inventory turns improving? Are customer satisfaction measures collected, posted and are their issues being addressed? Is production based on actual customer demand (meaning do we only build to order or replace inventory only when sold)? Is the business actually profitable? If the measures are accurate, these can tell you a lot.

Last, let your eyes tell you the real story in the production or value-creating process. Is there only one piece of work or order in process per person? Or do you see “batches” of work being pushed from one person or area to another? The latter is undesirable, as you may guess. Do employees follow very specific work routines and almost appear as though they are choreographed or is it a little chaotic? Each day our work will have variation but we should have more of a theater production rather than a hockey game in our important business processes per quality guru and author Phillip Crosby. Both may be fun to watch, he states, but one has a rather predictable outcome and the other does not.

Would you like to be able to spot “fake” flow and understand what a lean enterprise really is? Attend a free information session about UC San Diego Extension’s Lean Enterprise Certificate Program on February 28, 2012.  The Spring 2012 program begins March 13, 2012.  Applications are now being accepted.

Register for the Lean Enterprise Information Session >
Learn more and apply for the Lean Enterprise Certificate Program >

Jerry Wright, MBA, PE, is the Academic Coordinator and Lead Instructor for UC San Diego Extension’s Lean Enterprise Certificate Program.  Jerry is currently the Vice President of Lean and Enterprise Excellence at the DJO headquarters in Vista, California. He was one of the key change leaders that helped to introduce lean thinking and transformed the company from a traditional batch and queue manufacturer to a world-class, lean enterprise.  He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Arizona State University, and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.  Jerry is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of California and the holder of one U.S. patent.  He is also the Chair of the Southern California Lean Network, an association of more than 50 companies that meet bimonthly to share best practices in lean, excellence and continuous improvement.

“To many readers, there is no war of two worldviews, or if there is, one combatant is puny and unarmed while the other possesses tanks, robot drones and smart bombs,” says Deepak Chopra. “Science is fully armed, while a new spirituality, divorced from religious dogma, is a fledgling.”

Time Magazine heralds Chopra as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century and credits him as “the poet prophet of alternative medicine.” Chopra, the world famous physician and best-selling guru, can now add another title to his extensive resume: worldview warrior.

Chopra began battling over the issue of science vs. spirituality when he first met another best-selling author at a televised debate at the California Institute of Technology on “the future of God.” Chopra was the articulate advocate for spirituality, and taking the side of science was Leonard Mlodinow, a prominent Caltech physicist.

The central question: Does science describe the universe, or do ancient teachings like meditation unravel mysteries that are beyond the worldview of science? The ongoing discussions led to a remarkable book, War of the Worldviews, the product of that serendipitous encounter and the contentious—but respectful— clash of worldviews that grew along with their friendship.

“Hidebound science is ready to topple, making way for a new paradigm where consciousness takes center stage,” says Chopra, a global force in the field of lifelong learning. Chopra is the author of nearly 60 books, with 19 New York Times best sellers on mind-body health, spirituality, and peace.

“Don’t expect the bodies of fallen physicists littering the field. The outcome won’t be the vanquishing of science but its expansion,” adds Chopra.

The Spirituality vs. Science debate continued when Chopra and Mlodinow shared the stage at UC San Diego in October 2011 as part of “The Atlantic Meets the Pacific.”

Stating the case for spirituality was Chopra, a fellow of the American College of Physicians, a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, adjunct professor at the Kellogg School of Management, and a senior scientist with the Gallup Organization.

Aptly representing science was Mlodinow, a scholar of extraordinary achievement. He received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the UC Berkeley and currently teaches at Caltech. Mlodinow is the writing collaborator of Stephen Hawking and co-author of the recently published The Grand Design, a book that argues that invoking God is not necessary to explain the origins of the universe. For popular culture credibility, he has even written for the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

“As Leonard and I debate the great questions of human existence, my role is to offer spiritual answers—not as a priest or practitioner of any particular faith, but as a researcher in consciousness,” said Chopra, who argues the case of spirituality, not organized religion.

Chopra’s and Mlodinow’s UC San Diego session centered on such questions as “how did the universe emerge,” “what is the connection between mind and brain,” and “is God an illusion?”

“One of the issues Deepak feels science is close-minded about is the existence of a hidden or invisible realm,” says Mlodinow. “It is true historically science has rejected many suggestions of invisible realms. But that’s not because science has never examined them.”

Chopra readily shrugs off the disdain of scientists for spirituality.

“When Leonard says that I am clinging to precepts from thousands of years ago, he can’t be serious, given how much up-to-date science the new spirituality has come to terms with.”

The book is earning worldwide praise.

“We need a worldview grounded in science that does not deny the richness of human nature and the validity of modes of knowing other than the scientific,” said His Holiness the Dalai Lama. “If we can bring our spirituality, the richness and wholesomeness of our basic human values, to bear upon the course of science in human society, then the different approaches of science and spirituality will contribute together to the betterment of humanity. This book points the way to such a collaborative endeavor.”

Similar sentiments were expressed by UC San Diego professor V.S. Ramachandran, director of the Center for Brain and Cognition. He called their book “a timely revival of the debate between science and spirituality. In alternate chapters each author defends his position without disrespecting the other and the result is a remarkable contribution to the history of ideas; eminently readable, no matter which side of the fence you are on.”

Moderating “The Atlantic Meets the Pacific” session was The Atlantic editor James Bennet, who said that before he read the book, he had expected the two authors to reach common ground on a number of issues. But after his reading, he came to the opposite conclusion.

“It really felt like a war. In fact, there is no peace at the end of the book,” Bennet said.

The “Compassion Without Borders” symposium will include three major public events:

April 18, 9:30 a.m., UC San Diego, Panel Discussion: “The Global Impact of Climate Change: Balance through Universal Responsibility, Compassion and Human Consciousness”

April 18, 1:30 p.m., USD, Public Talk: “Cultivating Peace and Justice”

April 19, 9:30 a.m., SDSU, Public Talk: “Upholding Universal Ethics and Compassion in Challenging Times”

“This will be a historic event for San Diego,” said event chair The Venerable Lama Tenzin Dhonden, speaking on behalf of the Compassion Without Borders Organizing Committee. “This event will bring together people of different faiths, secularists and non-secularists, scientists, scholars and artists to celebrate our shared values.  This event will bring community together and focus our attention on internal values of the humanity so desperately needed in today’s challenging world.”

Tickets will go on sale via the website   www.dalailamasandiego.org on Wednesday, February 22, 2012. These events are entirely privately funded. No public money will be used for these events.

Joining Lama Tenzin, the Personal Peace Emissary for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, for the announcement were Suresh Subramani, Executive Vice Chancellor, UC San Diego; Julie Sullivan, Executive Vice President and Provost, USD; and Nancy Marlin, Senior Vice President and Provost, SDSU.

Left to right: Lama Tenzin, Suresh Subramani, Nancy Marlin, and Julie Sullivan.

“We greatly value the Dalai Lama’s personal principles of service to society with humility, his compassion for all human beings and his efforts on behalf of the Tibetan people,” said Subramani.  “He has had a lifelong commitment to peace and human rights and this has earned him many honors worldwide as a messenger of peace in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Theresa.”

Subramani took the opportunity to preview for the audience the compelling panel discussion – “The Global Impact of Climate Change: Balance through Universal Responsibility, Compassion and Human Consciousness,” that will occur between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and esteemed scientists Richard Somerville and Veerabhadran Ramanathan.

“I am confident we each will learn something valuable from their conversation on global climate change and the need for humanitarian values and universal responsibility in recognizing and responding to the impacts of this change on communities and ecosystems,” said Subramani.

Somerville is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Coordinating Lead Author for the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Ramanathan is a Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric and Climate Sciences at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, winner of the 2009 Tyler Prize, Co-Chair of the report, “Fate of Mountain Glaciers in the Anthopocene,” a product of a meeting organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and Founder of Project Surya (to mitigate soot emissions by providing cleaner-burning stoves to people in rural areas of India).

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the spiritual leader of Tibet and was the head of state until he retired from that position in August 2011.

In 1989 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle for the liberation of Tibet.  He has consistently advocated policies of non-violence, even in the face of extreme aggression. He also became the first Nobel Laureate to be recognized for his concern for global environmental problems.

His Holiness has travelled to more than 62 countries spanning six continents.  He has met with presidents, prime ministers and crowned rulers of major nations.  He has held dialogues with the heads of different religions and many well-known scientists. His Holiness, who has also authored more than 72 books, describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk. More information is available at his website, www.dalailama.com.

USD will award His Holiness the University of San Diego Medal of Peace. Provost Sullivan noted, “We are delighted to welcome His Holiness to San Diego and look forward to presenting him with the University of San Diego Medal of Peace in recognition of his scholarship and lifelong contributions to international peacebuilding. The Dalai Lama’s public talk, ‘Cultivating Peace and Justice,’ will address the struggles facing our world due to escalated violence in society and among nations. His Holiness will explore alternatives to violence and the shared core human values that can lead the way to peace, justice and happiness.

SDSU will host the final public talk: “Upholding Universal Ethics and Compassion in Challenging Times.”

“We look forward to hearing His Holiness’ views on upholding ethics, practicing forgiveness and tolerance, and coping with the challenges found in today’s society,” said Provost Marline of SDSU. “We expect the teachings of His Holiness to have a profound impact on the San Diego region and beyond, particularly for our students who will have the extraordinary opportunity to become inspired by the Nobel Prize recipient they only hear about in class lectures and read about in textbooks.”

In an audition, as in life, you get only one chance to make a good first impression. If you’re an actor, you know that you have to master those skills that will make you stand out from the crowd and get you the job. But, in fact, everyone needs to master audition skills, to learn how to prepare themselves for their best self-presentation, whether it’s for an interview, or to go out on a date, or any of a thousand other interactions we all face every day.

Research has shown that taking acting classes is one of the best ways a person can learn to be charismatic in social interactions. How you walk into a room, how you stand, how you present yourself, are all essential parts of how other people judge you. Acting classes help you develop self-confidence, teach those skills that enable you to effectively listen to and respond to others, and encourage you to face your fears by turning negative energy into positive creativity. Acting techniques can help you to be comfortable in a variety of situations, how to overcome stage fright, and how to prepare for a role, whether it’s a character on stage or the person you want to be in your own life.

You don’t need to be an actor to benefit from learning the audition process. Anyone can learn to feel more secure and confident by learning audition skills and techniques. Learn how use your own emotional power to prepare a monologue, create a character, establish a connection with an audience. Learn the audition processes for both the stage and movies and television. Learn about the do’s and don’ts of cold readings. Whether you want to work as an actor at one of San Diego’s local playhouses, such as Diversionary Theatre or the North Coast Rep, or just make the best impression at your next job interview, learning audition skills is an essential part of your success.

Join the talented Emmelyn Thayer, an experienced and successful actor, in a one-time UC San Diego Extension class on mastering audition techniques, Acting Workshop: The Successful Audition, starting January 14, and put your best face forward in any situation that life throws your way.

The program features Steve Kay, dean of Biological Sciences, Mark Thiemans, dean of Physical Sciences, Peter Cowhey, dean of  International Relations and Pacific Studies, and George Tynan, Associate Vice Chancellor of Research and is currently available for viewing and downloading online.

UCSD-TV is unlike anything else in San Diego, reflecting the region’s rich intellectual and cultural diversity through television programs that are unique in their intent and scope. Watch UCSD-TV in San Diego on Cox and Time Warner Ch. 135, Time Warner Del Mar Ch. 19, AT&T Uverse Ch. 99, and UHF (no cable) Ch. 35. Video archives, podcast downloads, broadcast schedules and more are available online at www.ucsd.tv.

My love affair with literature art began at an early age. As with most children, it began with fairy tales, and not those nice, sugary ones, either: I loved the tragic tales, mermaid foam and all. By the end of grade school, I had formed intimate alliances with Lewis Carroll, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Louisa May Alcott and Judy Blume.

As a teenager, I used these guides quite literally—such as the summer I lugged around a giant pot of basil trying to understand Keats’ Isabella and her tragic love of Lorenzo. I have always been interested in trying to crawl beneath the skin of such characters, to find out what makes them tick, what makes them endure.

While I still love dressing up as ill-fated heroines, I tend to use these texts and images a little more pragmatically these days. Tennessee Williams, for example, is the constant voice of compassion in my ear. Virginia Woolf reminds me how fragile and isolated we all are—even in a crowd. Toni Morrison makes me weep for the world, while Gabriel Garcia Marquez reminds me to marvel at it. To date, I have yet to encounter a situation—no matter how lovely or horrifying—that these great instructors have not helped me through.

Reneé Weissenburger, M.A., in Literature and Writing has worked as an artist for CoTA (Collaborations, Teachers, Artists), a non-profit program that seeks to integrate art into existing public school curricula, and as a literature & creative writing instructor at National University over the last six years. She is immensely interested in the relationship between literature and art. She is teaching two courses in Winter: Magical Realism: Where the Mythic Meets the Mundane and Beyond Image: Using Photography with Other Media.

UC San Diego Extension is also offering a course in Winter entitled Literature, Imagination, and the Sacred with Catherine Guthrie, who will also share view on the literary life in January.

Looking at certain landscape photographs makes me want to take a road trip. I’ve driven the remote two-lane black tops that crisscross eastern California, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico inspired by photographers Mark Klett, Terry Falke, Richard Misrach, and Philipp Scholz Rittermann. Driving out in that vast land and sky slows me down. I experience space, time and light differently. I also like the solitude (these days many people seem frightened to be alone). If, as artists, teachers, or simply as good citizens, we want to have something to say or to give back, we need to recharge ourselves regularly, alone. If I can’t get away, landscape photographs—good ones—can have that effect on me. They’re visual poetry as well as document, and carve out a space for thinking and feeling.

The beginnings of landscape photography were established with the inception of photography itself as a medium in the 1840s. William Henry Fox Talbot, the pioneer of photography, often mimicked the Romantic painters on either side of the Atlantic whose images reflected the philosophy of the Romantic and Transcendentalist writers and poets such as Emerson and Whitman. Some Civil War photographers became landscape photographers in the years right after the war, working for geological expeditions created by the government, which needed to know what resources lay west of the Mississippi to fuel America’s growing need for industrialization.

In the last 170-plus years, many photographers have taken up the environmental banner, replacing the pastoral landscapes of Talbot’s time with a dystopian eye and the inconvenient truths of Al Gore. Artists like Ansel Adams produced photographs that exaggerate the beauty and seemingly endless resource of America’s West, but the world has changed since Adams first traveled the country photographing the most remarkable spaces in our national parks. Rather than having access to unlimited raw materials and wilderness to play, we have seen natural resources depleted and overused, resulting in a dramatic change in the nature of landscape photography. These changes are acutely reflected in the call-to-action imagery of artists like Chris Jordan and Edward Burtynsky.

The key to understanding the amazing impact that landscape photography has on us all is evident in the work of a number of excellent contemporary landscape photographers. Among those talented landscape photography aficionados are Mitch Epstein, Nadav Kander and Benoit Aquin, who take their large format cameras to places you and I will never go, and show us what’s going on around our planet. The Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park currently has an exhibition showing through February 5, 2012, called Infinite Balance: Artists & the Environment showing the work of some of these outstanding photographers. If you’re not familiar with them, see the exhibition—you won’t regret it. Their images may inspire you to take a road trip…or, more likely, prepare us for a bitter, 21st century steam-punk revision of Romanticism’s sublime ruins.

Carol McCusker, Ph.D. in art and photo history from the University of New Mexico, is an independent curator, writer, and educator. For eight years, she was the Curator of Photography at the Museum of Photographic Arts. McCusker is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of San Diego. She is teaching From Manifest Destiny to ‘Inconvenient Truths’: A History of the Photographic Landscape starting in January.