Introduction Video

For more than two years, the James Webb Space Telescope, orbiting a million miles from Earth in the deep freeze of space, has sent back remarkable information and dramatic images of the faint heat rays that come from objects in the universe. The Hubble Telescope continues to observe some of the same stars and galaxies with visible light. Never before have we had images of the cosmos so rich in color and detail. In this profusely illustrated course, we will be taken on a guided tour of the wider universe as astronomers understand it today. Fraknoi will cover this information in everyday language and without any math. We will look at star birth and star death, the organization and structure of the Milky Way, cosmic mergers and collisions, and the great web of galaxies that gives us clues about the beginning and development of our cosmos.  

Your instructor: Andrew Fraknoi, MS 

Andrew Fraknoi was the Chair of the Astronomy Department at Foothill College. He was chosen as the 2007 California Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Endowment and has won several national prizes for his teaching. He is the lead author of OpenStax Astronomy, a free, electronic textbook, which is the country’s most-used introductory text in the field. He has also written books for teachers, children, and the public. He appears regularly on local and national radio, explaining astronomical ideas in easy-to-understand terms. The International Astronomical Union has named Asteroid 4859 Asteroid Fraknoi to recognize his contributions to the public's appreciation of science.

Class Dates and Time:

Class schedule: Live lecture will take place on Tuesdays via ZOOM

Registration is required to attend and space is limited to 13.

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Introduction Video

Artists use color to create an array of symbolism, emotions, and sociopolitical meanings within the context of the time period in which they created their works of art. Additionally, within these works, artists utilized their knowledge of color to portray mood, light, depth, and point of view. Progressing through the colors of the rainbow each week, we will discuss a variety of paintings throughout art history to understand the artists’ intention and the stories behind the paintings within their respective color spheres. We will also discuss the histories of color, their meanings in various societies and cultural contexts, and the materials and processes used to make colors.  

Your instructor: Eleanor Schrader 

Eleanor Schrader is an award-winning educator, lecturer, and author. She lectures and leads tours worldwide on art and architectural history. She has been named a distinguished instructor at UCLA Extension, where she teaches history of architecture, interior design, furniture, and decorative arts. She is a Professor Emeritus of Art and Architectural History at Santa Monica College. She has completed graduate work in fine and decorative arts at Sotheby's Institute in London and New York. She has served as a design review commissioner for the City of Beverly Hills.

Class Dates and Time:

Class schedule: Live lecture will take place on Mondays via ZOOM

Registration is required to attend and space is limited to 13.

Register Today!

Introduction Video

What comes to mind when you think of the post office? Is it the unique beauty of a stamp, the thrill of an awaited delivery, or an iconic blue collection box? Do you equate the post office with obsolescence, or do you think of recent coverage of controversial austerity measures? As the country's second-largest employer, the US Post Office has a fascinating history that showcases the best and worst of American society. In this course, we will explore what precipitated the creation of the Post Office, its role in fostering and hindering democratic communication, and numerous examples of innovation over the centuries up to the present-day USPS. We will conclude by considering what the future of the post office might look like, with a renewed appreciation for the democratic ideals for which it stands. 

Your instructors: Caroline Nappo, PhD 

Caroline Nappo, PhD is an independent scholar with interests in the history of public information institutions, information as a public good, and the political economy of information. She has taught as an adjunct lecturer for graduate students and previously taught an OLLI course on the history of the public library in the United States. She holds a master's and PhD in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois and has published and presented on postal history.

Class Dates and Time:

Class schedule: Live lecture will take place on Tuesdays via ZOOM

Registration is required to attend and space is limited to 13.

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Introduction Video

Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is often misunderstood as a boy's adventure book or merely a dialogue on race. Instead, this classic novel addresses youth violence and bad boys, schools and parents, and civil rights and minstrel shows. The novel, banned in New England, needs to be read and discussed anew for a better understanding of America, then and now. Join this course for a new and fresh analysis of this highly criticized and misunderstood novel. 

Your instructor: Jeff Walker, PhD 

Jeffrey Walker, Emeritus Professor of English at Oklahoma State, authored a critical study of the Revolutionary poet and traitor Benjamin Church, edited collections of essays on Fenimore Cooper, co-edited the first scholarly edition of Cooper’s 1821 bestseller The Spy, and is completing an edition of Cooper’s unpublished letters. A Fulbright lecturer in Norway and Belgium, he won the Phoenix Award for outstanding graduate teaching, the A&S Outstanding Professor Award, and the Regents Distinguished Teaching Award. His teaching interests include American literature, Dickens, the history of the book, textual editing, comedy, mystery, and film.

Class Dates and Time:

Class schedule: Live lecture will take place on Mondays via ZOOM

Registration is required to attend and space is limited to 13.

Register Today!

Introduction Video

In this course, we will document the fertile interaction between minorities that transformed not only 20th century music but the entire entertainment industry. We will examine how minorities significantly impacted American popular culture and explore their contributions to various musical genres, record labels, booking agencies, venues, innovations, and production. With strong support from audiovisuals, anecdotes, and the instructor's decades of experience as a concert promoter working with some of the biggest names in the industry, we will learn about Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Benny Goodman, Stan Getz, Norman Granz, Bob Dylan, Milt Gabler, Leonard Cohen, Lou Reed, Al Kooper, Adam Sandler, Avishai Cohen, Kiss, and many more. 

Your instructor: Emanuel Abramovits, MBA 

Emanuel Abramovits, MBA, is a mechanical engineer and has also been a concert promoter for over two decades. He is directly involved in events by international artists like Itzhak Perlman, Gustavo Dudamel, Sarah Brightman, Roger Hodgson, ASIA, Journey, Kenny G., and many more. Abramovits has designed and staged many original orchestral events, including an Event of the Year winner and several world premieres. He served as the cultural director at Union Israelita De Caracas from 2008 to 2019, releasing books and organizing film cycles, concerts, and art exhibits. He consistently teaches online and in-person across the US. 

Class Dates and Time:

Mondays, Jan. 27 through March 3 

4 p.m. CDT

Each session is 90 minutes.

Class schedule: Live lecture will take place on Mondays via ZOOM

Registration is required to attend and space is limited to 13.

Register Today!

Introduction Video

This course will explore Native American history in the late 19th and 20th centuries, a time punctuated by the violence of American expansion and consolidation, the boarding school systems that sought to erase Native cultures, and the effects of imperialism, which conspired to keep Native people in a subordinate status compared to their white neighbors. Yet, at this time, Native Nations began to rebuild and reclaim the United States as Native ground, drawing on ancient traditions to revitalize communities and fight for their rights in the American court system, the political system, and the court of public opinion. Together, we will explore how, in this history, Native peoples have proven themselves to be resilient and powerful. 

Your instructor: Matt Jennings, PhD 

Matt Jennings, PhD is on faculty at Middle Georgia State University. His research includes Native American history, early American history, and the history of violence. He has studied Thomas Paine’s interactions with Native Americans and the roots of John Brown’s ideas about violence. He is currently studying the relationship between Native American peoples and the mounds at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, and the intertwined history of tourism and archaeology at the site. He has published several books including New Worlds of Violence, The Flower Hunter and the People, and Ocmulgee National Monument: A Concise History with Field Notes. 

Class Dates and Time:

Wednesdays, Jan. 22 through Feb. 26 

4 p.m. CDT

Each session is 90 minutes.

Class schedule: Live lecture will take place on Wednesdays via ZOOM

Registration is required to attend and space is limited to 13.

Register Today!

Introduction Video

Evolution. Vaccines. Global Warming. Regardless of one’s choice of news media, it is nearly impossible to navigate today’s information-heavy world without coming across stories on evolution, vaccines, and global warming. Each of these topics is the subject of various conspiracy theories and misinformation campaigns. How do we make sense of what we hear on the news when so much information comes from unvetted and non-neutral sources, such as the Internet and the media? This course is a non-technical introduction to these three critical matters in modern science. We will examine what scientists know, how they know what they know, how certain they are, and why there is such a disconnect between scientific understanding and the public’s perception of the science. 

Your instructor: Kjir Hendrickson, PhD 

Kjir Hendrickson, PhD is a teaching professor in the School of Molecular Sciences at Arizona State University (ASU). They hold a PhD in chemistry and authored the textbook Chemistry in the World. As an erstwhile quantum chemist, their academic work focuses on science communication, the reciprocal relationship between science and society, matters of workplace climate, and matters of DEIJ in STEM. Hendrickson is an associate researcher with the ADVANCEGeo Partnership and is pursuing research on functional scientific literacy in partnership with OLLI at ASU. 

Class Dates and Time:

Thursdays, Jan. 30 through March 6 

2 p.m. CDT

Each session is 90 minutes.

Class schedule: Live lecture will take place on Thursdays via ZOOM

Registration is required to attend and space is limited to 13.

Register Today!

Introduction Video

How does one honor the legacy of parents who survived the Holocaust while at the same time recognizing the ripples of the inherited trauma they experienced? Growing up in the shadow of the Holocaust, the adult children of survivors are striving to find ways to keep their parents’ stories alive. Using their unique intergenerational lens, authors of the recent award-winning anthology, The Ones Who Remember: Second Generation Voices of the Holocaust, will reveal the variety of ways in which their parents' history of survival seeped into their souls and affected their lives as children and adults.   

The goal of this course is to explore the challenges that resulted from this trauma and the gifts that came forth – gifts of resilience, tolerance, fortitude, and compassion. Each week our instructors will explore and share reflections around themes of their lived experience.   

Your instructors: Ruth Wade | Joy Wolfe Ensor, PhD | Rita Benn, PhD 

Ruth Wade is a retired training and development executive, a speaker and docent at the Florida Holocaust Museum, and leadership committee chair of Tampa Bay Generations After. Wade assists her father, a Holocaust survivor, with his Holocaust presentations at schools and his book Sevek and the Holocaust: The Boy Who Refused to Die. 

Joy Wolfe Ensor, PhD is a retired psychologist whose clinical, teaching, and leadership activities over 45 years centered on the social determinants of health and the multigenerational legacy of trauma. She is active in the Michigan Psychological Association, of which she is a Fellow and past president. 

Rita Benn, PhD is a clinical psychologist and was University of Michigan faculty for 20+ years where she taught integrative medicine and published numerous academic papers and chapters. As a founder of Michigan Collaborative for Mindfulness in Education (MC4ME), she trains educators and professionals in mindfulness meditation practice. 

All three women are Founding Committee members of the Irene Butter Fund for Holocaust and Human Rights Education. 

Class Dates and Time:

Thursdays, Jan. 23 through Feb. 27 

4 p.m. CDT

Each session is 90 minutes.

Class schedule: Live lecture will take place on Thursdays via ZOOM

Registration is required to attend and space is limited to 13.

Register Today!

This course provides a unique opportunity to learn from the experts in the Osher Collaborative for Integrative Health, an international group of eleven academic health centers funded by The Bernard Osher Foundation to study, teach, and practice integrative healthcare.  

The eleven Osher Centers are located at highly respected medical schools and medical centers and emphasize integrative healthcare approaches to promote health and well-being. Each Osher Center focuses on whole-person health and wellness using healing strategies such as acupuncture and East Asian Medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, yoga, massage, meditation, physical activity, and nutrition. 

 In this course, Osher Collaborative practitioners, researchers, and educators will discuss the science behind integrative healthcare remedies and explain its impact. 

Your instructor(s): Health Professionals from the Osher Centers for Integrative Health 

Class Dates and Time:

Fridays, Jan. 31 through March 7 

2 p.m. CDT

Each session is 90 minutes.

Class schedule: Live lecture will take place on Fridays via ZOOM

Registration is required to attend and space is limited to 13.

Register Today!

Introduction Video

Many individuals contribute to history but never get their due. Women and other marginalized groups traditionally received less ink in history books than the "great men" of history who were mainly white males. This course looks at nine women--three each session--whose achievements are not commonly known. Among the nine women are a scientist, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, a pioneering pilot, a suffragist, a candidate for the US presidency, an activist for women's and African-American's rights, a British anthropologist, and a pioneering politician from the Western US. 

Your instructor: Diana Carlin, PhD 

Diana Carlin, PhD is Professor Emerita of communication at Saint Louis University. For 30 years, she has taught courses on and written about First Ladies. She is the co-author of U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies and Remember the First Ladies: America's History-Making Women. Carlin has published articles and book chapters on a variety of First Ladies and researches and writes on the topics of women in politics, presidential communication, and political debate.

Class Dates and Time:

Class schedule: Live lecture will take place on Mondays via ZOOM

Registration is required to attend and space is limited to 13.

Register Today!

Introduction Video

The adventure begins in New York City, where the echoes of Tin Pan Alley's Great American Songbook still resound. We witness a new generation of talented songwriters, singers, and groups, who filled the airwaves and shaped the soundtrack of our lives. This course is a journey into the melodies, stories, and vibrant personalities behind the Brill Building era of the late 1950s and 1960s. We will discuss the music of legendary songwriters such as Carole King & Gerry Goffin, Neil Sedaka & Howard Greenfield, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, Phil Spector, Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, Ellie Greenwich & Jeff Barry, Burt Bacharach & Hal David, Neil Diamond, and others. Together we will rediscover the tunes from Elvis Presley, the Coasters, Dion and the Belmonts, the Drifters, Dionne Warwick, the Ronettes, the Shirelles, the Animals, the Monkees, Manfred Mann, Andy Williams, the unforgettable Righteous Brothers, and many others. 

Your instructor: Michael Agron 

Michael Agron, a passionate music aficionado, grew up in Los Angeles, the heart of the recording and entertainment industry. While his early love for music inspired dreams of becoming a recording engineer, his career took a different path into entrepreneurship and high tech with companies like Apple and Oracle, including founding a webinar and digital marketing agency. Over the past fourteen semesters, Agron's deep passion for music and entertainment has led him to deliver distinct and engaging seminars for Sacramento State University’s Renaissance Society, as well as numerous lifelong learning organizations across the nation.

Class Dates and Time:

Class schedule: Live lecture will take place on Tuesdays via ZOOM

Registration is required to attend and space is limited to 13.

Register Today!

Introduction Video

Longevity comes down to one simple truth: our ability to weather the inevitable challenges life unexpectedly drops in our lap. Resilience is our ticket to extended healthspan. Western society is entering a phase of significant transformation that will change how we age. This course is a condensed version of Fulton’s Whealthspan Masterclass which focuses on the five foundations for extending healthspan and looks at societal changes that will impact all of us. We will distill the latest and most relevant age-related science for a general audience and explain the strategies for optimal outcomes that fit a wide range of cultures and values. 

Your instructors: Scott Fulton 

Scott Fulton is recognized internationally as a “Redefiner” in the positive aging space. Accustomed to big systems engineering challenges, Fulton focuses his research on improving adult aging outcomes. He teaches Lifestyle Medicine and Aging, is an American College of Lifestyle Medicine member, sits on the prestigious True Health Initiative Council, and is past president of the National Aging in Place Council. His critically acclaimed book, WHEALTHSPAN, More Years, More Moments, More Money, hit #1 on Amazon, and he is known for creating the MEDAC system for optimal aging. Fulton is a multiple Ironman triathlete and lives in a demonstration home he recently designed and built for the future of optimal aging across a lifespan.

Class Dates and Time:

Class schedule: Live lecture will take place on Wednesdays via ZOOM

Registration is required to attend and space is limited to 13.

Register Today!

Introduction Video

Spring is a time of new life, as we watch the world around us change from dormant to full of life. This course is an introduction to film movements and styles. We will watch several classic films all of which have a theme of change. We will begin by discussing film genres, film history, and how films are made. We will also explore what to look for as you watch the films selected for the course. Films are watched on your own outside of the classroom (at least one film will be assigned per week beginning week 2) and are available on Plex with a free account, through Turner Classic Movies, or with a Max subscription. Some titles may also be available through your local public library. During each class session, we will unpack the film in terms of its style, story, filmmaking technique, and how it fits with the theme of change. During this course, we will discover great films that help us see and think about change in our world. 

Your instructor: Jeremy Fackenthal, PhD 

Jeremy Fackenthal PhD is an independent filmmaker and nonprofit director. Jeremy served as Director of the Common Good International Film Festival from 2019 through 2023. After completing a PhD in Philosophy of Religion and Theology from Claremont Graduate University, he began using his philosophical background beyond academy to raise questions and craft narratives. Jeremy shot and edited a short documentary on spoken word poetry, and he is currently working on a feature-length documentary. From making films to curating a film festival, Jeremy enjoys films as an art form, a means of expression, and of course as entertainment.

Class Dates and Time:

Class schedule: Live lecture will take place on Tuesdays via ZOOM

Registration is required to attend and space is limited to 13.

Register Today!

Introduction Video

In this course, we will explore key eras of automotive history, as a way of understanding the profound impact cars have on society and culture. We will discuss the role of influential designers, the creation of iconic vehicles like the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Corvette, and the appeal of visionary concept cars like the Ford Nucleon – all of which highlight the creativity and innovation of each era. We will discuss how global car cultures, from America’s muscle cars to Japan’s futuristic designs, reflect the unique identities and values of their societies. These vehicles have become symbols of creativity, status, and technological progress. Whether it's Germany’s precision-engineered sports cars or Italy’s exquisitely crafted performance masterpieces, each region brings its own distinct flavor to the world of automotive design. Learn how the worldwide car scene showcases the diversity of human innovation and cultural expression, cementing automobiles as both a tool of progress and a reflection of societal evolution. 

Your instructor: Pandora Paúl 

Pandora Paúl, former curator at America’s Automotive Trust and LeMay America’s Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington, enjoyed driving her father’s red ’59 Convertible Corvette, her mom’s ’70 Opel GT, and cruising in her own ’77 Malibu Classic station wagon. Her career has included both work and play in museum education, training, and curation. Paúl was part of the team at the San Diego Automotive Museum who created award-winning exhibits. She has served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Automobile Museums. She loves to showcase vehicles that have not been seen before. She believes that automobiles are snapshots of our culture, and she enjoys interpreting cars in unique ways that inspire conversation and create wonder and awe. 

Class Dates and Time:

Wednesdays, April 9 through May 14 

6 p.m. CDT

Each session is 90 minutes.

Class schedule: Live lecture will take place on Wednesdays via ZOOM

Registration is required to attend and space is limited to 13.

Register Today!

Introduction Video

This course begins by unraveling the mysteries of the brain. We will explore how to navigate the complex and fragmented healthcare system and discuss strategies for advocating for personalized care. In addition to simplifying common neurological conditions—such as headaches, dizziness, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and memory loss—we will examine testing and imaging of the nervous system. The course will also focus on illness prevention through healthy lifestyles and provide an intimate discussion of end-of-life issues. 

Your instructor: Paul Schanfield, MD 

Dr. Schanfield, a retired neurologist from Minnesota, practiced privately for 40 years before retiring in 2015. He continues to teach medical students and residents as a Clinical Professor of Neurology at the University of Minnesota. In 2017, he was recognized as the first-ever Community Educator of the Month by the University of Neurology. A perennial Minneapolis/St. Paul “Top Doctor” since 1992, Dr. Schanfield has received numerous teaching awards, including the 2018 Community Teacher of the Year from United Family Medicine Residents. 

Class Dates and Time:

Thursdays, April 10 through May 15 

2 p.m. CDT

Each session is 90 minutes.

Class schedule: Live lecture will take place on Thursdays via ZOOM

Registration is required to attend and space is limited to 13.

Register Today!