Holiday Teacher Appreciation Party Presented with Brooklyn Art Library

Our holiday party celebrating all of the new teachers at Think Olio with Mini-Olios, drinks, and raffle prizes.

Join us for a 2-hour celebration of all of the great teachers who joined us in 2017 and nominate new professors to join the Think Olio community. We’ll have three mini-Olios, complimentary Lagunitas, and raffle prizes!

Minimalism, Glassworks, and the experience of listening with Whitney George

Philip Glass, who had been creating, composing, and performing in New York’s vibrant new music scene prior to the release of Glassworks in 1982, wanted to expose audiences to a cross-over between concert music and prerecorded concept album. According to Glass “Glassworks was intended to introduce my music to a more general audience than had been familiar with it up to then”. The entire album, while divided into six smaller sections, functions as a complete, continuous composition. Join lecturer Whitney George for a close listening and analysis of the “Opening” & “Closing” sections of Philip Glass’s album Glassworks. As a pivotal representation of the iconic minimalist school, Glassworks end caps “Opening” and “Closing” are reworkings of the same musical material from Glassworks in two totally different orchestrational approaches, giving this beautifully circular album an ending that is very much like the beginning…but also radically different. We’ll take a guided listening through these two selections, and talk about how the “medium” (recording) impacts our understanding of the “message” for this album, originally released on vinyl.

A look into meme culture with Makeba Lavan

The word meme is derived from the ancient Greek word ‘mimeme’ which means, “imitated thing.” The term as used today was first introduced by scientist Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene. Memes have become an integral way of communicating in the 21st century. But what are they exactly? And how do they relay societal meaning?  In this olio, we will briefly discuss the history of memes as well as their relevance in our communities. Finally, we’ll close-read a few popular memes in order to peel back their palimpsest of cultural cues.

Philosophizing on Sexual Desire with Jeanne Proust

Sexual desire and eroticism were and still are considered today as a-philosophical, even anti-philosophical topics. When we wonder why philosophers rarely speak about sexuality, we seem to face not only a moral question, but also a linguistic one. Is the language itself unable to capture such a subjective, qualitative – and physiological experience? And if some descriptive approach is still possible, what does appear to be at play when we question the origins of sexual desire?

Nominate a great teacher for 2018. We’re looking for new voices who will speak to topics we haven’t touched on, ideas that deserve more attention, and anything you think we’re missing at Think Olio.

Click here to nominate a teacher