Summer Programs   

You’re invited to check out the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UMass Boston and what awaits if you join our learning community! Spotlight on OLLI is our open house event where prospective members (and current ones) can explore a mini-classroom experience, learn what OLLI offers members, and connect with one another. This program will be offered at three locations: online via Zoom, in-person at Thayer Public Library, and in-person at the UMass Boston campus. Each location will offer a specific learning experience and there will be one common presentation for all to learn a bit more on cyber security. After the classroom presentations, all participants will learn more specifics about OLLI at UMass Boston. Refreshments will be served at the two in-person locations, and for those joining us at UMass Boston, you’ll be able to enjoy a Boston Harbor cruise after the event has ended! Please be sure to register for the correct location.

You’re invited to check out the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UMass Boston and what awaits if you join our learning community! Spotlight on OLLI is our open house event where prospective members (and current ones) can explore a mini-classroom experience, learn what OLLI offers members, and connect with one another. This program will be offered at three locations: online via Zoom, in-person at Thayer Public Library, and in-person at the UMass Boston campus. Each location will offer a specific learning experience and there will be one common presentation for all to learn a bit more on cyber security. After the classroom presentations, all participants will learn more specifics about OLLI at UMass Boston. Refreshments will be served at the two in-person locations, and for those joining us at UMass Boston, you’ll be able to enjoy a Boston Harbor cruise after the event has ended! Please be sure to register for the correct location.

You’re invited to check out the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UMass Boston and what awaits if you join our learning community! Spotlight on OLLI is our open house event where prospective members (and current ones) can explore a mini-classroom experience, learn what OLLI offers members, and connect with one another. This program will be offered at three locations: online via Zoom, in-person at Thayer Public Library, and in-person at the UMass Boston campus. Each location will offer a specific learning experience and there will be one common presentation for all to learn a bit more on cyber security. After the classroom presentations, all participants will learn more specifics about OLLI at UMass Boston. Refreshments will be served at the two in-person locations, and for those joining us at UMass Boston, you’ll be able to enjoy a Boston Harbor cruise after the event has ended! Please be sure to register for the correct location.

Curious to learn about what others are reading this summer (or have read during the winter)? Have you ever found yourself at the beach, in your backyard, or on a bench during the summer wishing you had a book with you? Need a break from the computer screen? This event allows participants to share book titles and quick, personal reviews to help others build their summer reading lists. Don’t have a book to share? No problem! Join and listen to recommendations that might inspire you to check them out.

Pick up those sketchbooks and join in this fun and fast-paced OLLI drawing workshop. After a brief presentation on gesture/quick drawing tips, we will spend most of the workshop drawing from photographs of summer-related subjects. By speeding up, participants will sharpen his or her drawing skills by discerning what is necessary to include and what can be ignored. Feel free to draw with whatever medium you like- black/white, full color, anything goes!

Beyond the Frame: American History through Artworks at Smithsonian American Art Museum 
Art created by residents of New England and New Spain tells the story of a growing sense of nationhood and identity. Explore the historical context and peoples involved in the creation of our nation, territorial expansion and displacement, and economic development through artworks from colonial to Jacksonian America. The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s presentations encourage participants to share their thoughts and to actively participate in the conversation throughout presentation.

About the Beyond the Frame series: Artists give us a window on American life, often reflecting the cultural and social climate of the time in which they work. Explore the question, “What does art reveal about America?” as you examine better- and lesser-known aspects of American history to reframe your perspective. Join trained study group leaders as they facilitate an examination of America through artists’ eyes.

Osher at Dartmouth Summer Lecture Series
In this talk—marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the 70th anniversary of the coining of the term artificial intelligence at Dartmouth—we revisit the Declaration as a lens for understanding AI. We begin with a curious question: why do modern AI systems often claim that the Declaration of Independence is AI-generated? Using this example, we unpack how these systems actually work. Along the way, we explore both their remarkable capabilities and their fundamental limitations.

From there, we zoom out. The Declaration of Independence raises enduring questions about what makes a system legitimate: who it serves, where its authority comes from, and when it should be challenged. As AI becomes embedded in everyday life, these questions feel more relevant than ever. This talk offers a clear, accessible introduction to AI, grounded in both technical intuition and broader ideas about trust, responsibility, and human judgment. 

During World War II, over 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry were forcibly removed from their homes and incarcerated without due process of law. Although little remains of the barbed-wire fences and tar-papered barracks, the Minidoka concentration camp once held over 13,000 Japanese Americans in the Idaho desert. Minidoka preserves their legacy and teaches the importance of civil liberties. Question to consider while watching the film will be sent out ahead of time. Programming Note: This event is in collaboration with the OLLI Reads program that has selected the book, They Called Us Enemy, as the common book to be read over the summer. A community book discussion will be held on August 4 (in-person) and August 6 (online).

Join us at the Hyde Park Branch of the Boston Public Library for an evening with local author Caroline Kautsire. Caroline will read excerpts from her books and talk about her personal experience of immigrating from Africa and adjusting to life here in Boston. Her books will be available for purchases and signing. Visit Caroline’s website to learn more about her books as well as her work in the community.

Caroline Kautsire is originally from Malawi, Africa, and now lives in Weymouth, Massachusetts. She is an English professor at Bunker Hill Community College and the author of the books, What Kind of Girl? and Some Kind of Girl. She is a mentor at Brown University for the Women’s Launch Pad program, the Founder and President of the Caroline Kautsire Scholarship Program, and a keynote speaker in Boston. Professor Kautsire has been featured on WCVB Chronicle, CBS Boston, GBH, The Boston Globe and The Patriot Ledger as a notable writer in the Boston area.

In 1959, Lucy (as in Charlie Brown) opened her ‘Psychiatric Booth’ where she cunningly charged for her personal assessments and advice. Seeking advice, telling a story, carrying trouble, being resilient, and maintaining hope all in the mix of human experience. In this writing workshop we will consider advice sought or given, wisdom lost or gained, rules absorbed or cast off. Join us for a summer writing time. Through writing prompts and writing sessions, your imagination will be invited to the page. Participants will be encouraged to share their work and offer positive comments to others. Prior creative writing experience is not necessary. Please come ready to write, please keep camera on during sharing and prompts to encourage our special community. 

Everyone knows that there's something about lighthouses that gives them broad appeal, but their vital role in our history and culture is little appreciated. Due to automation, traditional lighthouse keeping is a way of life that has faded into the past. Jeremy D'Entremont tells the history of New England's historic and picturesque lighthouses, primarily focusing on the colorful and dramatic stories of lighthouse keepers and their families. 

Osher at Dartmouth Summer Lecture Series
What does it mean to name a disease, make a diagnosis, or truly understand what is wrong with someone? This talk explores those questions through a wide-ranging and accessible story about medicine, technology, and the changing nature of medical knowledge. Over the past two centuries, medicine has moved from bedside observation and the study of symptoms, to statistics and population health, to computers designed to assist with diagnosis. Today, with the rise of artificial intelligence, we are once again being asked to rethink what medical expertise is and how it should be used.

Rather than offering a narrowly technical account, this lecture invites a broader reflection on how medicine has tried to bring order to the uncertainty of illness. Why have doctors and scientists repeatedly turned to new tools in the hope of making care more accurate, more rational, and more humane? What has been gained, and what has been lost, along the way? The second half of the talk turns to the present moment. It offers a balanced introduction to modern medical AI, including its genuine strengths, its important limitations, and the risks of relying on it too easily. The session will conclude with practical suggestions for how older adults can use AI tools to better understand health information, prepare for medical visits, and take a more active role in their own care. 

This workshop is for anyone interested in learning how to effectively capture the essence of the ocean in watercolor painting. We will examine the value structure of the ocean to realistically show the vastness of space in your paintings. Students will have time to paint from reference photos projected on the computer screen as well as from their own inspirational images. From painting a crashing wave, to the stillness of water, students will have multiple opportunities to paint the concept of water in watercolor. All levels are welcome, but some watercolor experience is helpful.

Resistance took many different forms in the Japanese incarceration camps of WWII: from draft resistance, to saying NO-NO on the loyalty questionnaire, to expressions in art, music, poetry and photography. What you will see is the harshness of their daily lives, being held against their will. Additionally, we will explore the vocational side of the camps, from job training to the many work positions that the Japanese performed, jobs and services that the War Relocation Authority was unable to provide. Programming Note: This event is in collaboration with the OLLI Reads program that has selected the book, They Called Us Enemy, as the common book to be read over the summer. A community book discussion will be held on August 4 (in-person) and August 6 (online).

Ellis Island was known for years as both the Gateway to America and the Island of Tears. From the 1890s to the 1920s, some 75 percent of immigrants to America entered the country through New York. It has been estimated that some 40 percent of Americans have at least one immigrant that passed through Ellis Island. This talk will describe the history of Ellis Island, how immigrants were processed there, and the evolution of American immigration law during this time. 

Osher at Dartmouth Summer Lecture Series
Dan Reicher, will discuss his take on AI from several perspectives: fast growing applications; problematic uses; political and financial considerations; and his own experience with this transformational technology. Importantly, he will examine the massive energy and water demands of the AI data centers and how to address them. At the same time, Dan will consider ways that AI might accelerate the clean energy transition—and help address climate change—by improving electric grid operations, increasing industrial energy efficiency, and managing building energy use. 

Beyond the Frame: American History through Artworks at Smithsonian American Art Museum 
Beginning with the Civil War and stretching through WWII, artists’ depictions of America during troubled times reflect a changing national identity. The presentation and art depicted will trace the sweeping economic, social, and cultural evolution of the United States from the onset of the Civil War through the brink of World War II.

About the Beyond the Frame series: Artists give us a window on American life, often reflecting the cultural and social climate of the time in which they work. Explore the question, “What does art reveal about America?” as you examine better- and lesser-known aspects of American history to reframe your perspective. Join trained study group leaders as they facilitate an examination of America through artists’ eyes.

Drawn from years of friendship and weekly conversations, author and humor columnist Scott Kerman presents a funny, candid, and engaging look of former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis in his book, The Duke: Weekly Conversations with the Last Honest Politician. More than a political discussion, this interactive program explores leadership, public service, friendship, family, and the human side of a public figure most people thought they already knew. Audience members often say it feels like sitting at the kitchen table listening in on the conversations. The presentation includes audience Q&A and signed books will be available for purchase following the program. 

Clear out the furniture, put away the cellphone, put on your favorite t-shirt-- we are going to recreate a beloved TV show. The past you say? It is all here still…Fonzie, Richie, the gang, Arnold’s Drive-In. You will be sent a script a week before we meet. Participants will be invited to read parts aloud. It will be as fun as it was when we made plays in the living room. Acting experience is not necessary. No memorization! Just reading the play together. Programming Note: A minimum of 10 people is needed in order to for this event to occur.

Osher at Dartmouth Summer Lecture Series
Artificial intelligence represents a transformation comparable in scale to electricity or the internet, yet most business leaders are approaching it as simply another productivity tool. Wheeler will argue this is a fundamental strategic error with consequences extending far beyond individual companies to the broader economy and workforce.

Drawing on his experience living through the internet transformation—where companies like Amazon reimagined everything while others like Sears merely optimized existing models—Wheeler will examine why the current moment demands urgent rethinking, what’s at stake when leaders prioritize short-term efficiency over long-term transformation, and what becomes possible when change is embraced correctly. He will explore specific examples across industries, discuss implications for the next generation entering the workforce, and explain why the choices being made today will determine economic outcomes for decades to come.

How a Floating City Rose to Rule the Seas – and Still Fights to Survive. This presentation traces the remarkable 1,500-year journey of Venice from a desperate refuge built on mudflats after the fall of the Roman Empire to a dominant maritime and commercial power that connected Europe with the riches of the East. Told in four acts, the program shows how geography, trade, naval innovation, and pragmatic politics created a tiny but global empire; how that wealth was transformed into unparalleled art, architecture, music, and civic culture; how shifting world trade and Napoleon’s conquest ended the republic; and how the city has continually reinvented itself to survive modern threats from mass tourism to rising seas. It is a story of resilience, ingenuity, and identity, revealing how a city with almost no natural advantages became one of history’s most influential and enduring places.

They Called Us Enemy is an autobiographical graphic novel by George Takei, co-written with Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott, and illustrated by Harmony Becker, detailing Takei's childhood experience in Japanese American internment camps during World War II. The book recounts his family's forced removal from their Los Angeles home and imprisonment in camps in Arkansas and California, exploring themes of courage, loyalty, and the impact of legalized racism on his family and his own coming-of-age. The story comes to us through a child’s eyes, but the questions Takei wants us to consider are grown up: What does it mean to be an American? And who gets to decide? It is a New York Times bestseller and award-winning work that serves as a powerful reminder of this period in American history.

Join OLLI this summer for our common read selection, They Called Us Enemy, and attend one of our book discussions on this graphic novel and memoir. OLLI Reads is open to all OLLI members and guests, and allows us to come together as a community reading and discussing the same book. OLLI Reads is a community reading project created by OLLI’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. OLLI members, friends, and neighbors are enthusiastically invited to read one book over the summer, then gather (in person or on Zoom) to share ideas and enjoy each other’s company. Our past OLLI Reads were: So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo, There There by Tommy Orange, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride, and Being Heumann by Judith Heumann.

Osher at Dartmouth Summer Lecture Series
AI lies at the heart of the strategic competition between the U.S. and China, including the use of AI in intelligence, cyber and military operations.  As AI adoption accelerates in the national security space, the American people and their elected representatives must grapple with a number of critical questions: How will AI change the future of deterrence and warfare?  What ethical issues will the use of AI in national security raise?  What norms or principles should serve as guardrails for the use of AI? How do we get other nations to embrace these norms?  And how do we train a whole generation of military officers to ensure human accountability for AI-driven outcomes on the battlefield? 

They Called Us Enemy is an autobiographical graphic novel by George Takei, co-written with Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott, and illustrated by Harmony Becker, detailing Takei's childhood experience in Japanese American internment camps during World War II. The book recounts his family's forced removal from their Los Angeles home and imprisonment in camps in Arkansas and California, exploring themes of courage, loyalty, and the impact of legalized racism on his family and his own coming-of-age. The story comes to us through a child’s eyes, but the questions Takei wants us to consider are grown up: What does it mean to be an American? And who gets to decide? It is a New York Times bestseller and award-winning work that serves as a powerful reminder of this period in American history.

Join OLLI this summer for our common read selection, They Called Us Enemy, and attend one of our book discussions on this graphic novel and memoir. OLLI Reads is open to all OLLI members and guests, and allows us to come together as a community reading and discussing the same book. OLLI Reads is a community reading project created by OLLI’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. OLLI members, friends, and neighbors are enthusiastically invited to read one book over the summer, then gather (in person or on Zoom) to share ideas and enjoy each other’s company. Our past OLLI Reads were: So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo, There There by Tommy Orange, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride, and Being Heumann by Judith Heumann.

Beyond the Frame: American History through Artworks at Smithsonian American Art Museum 
Americans entering the post-War era experienced a boom time clouded by global uncertainty. Artists grappled with how to reflect America’s changing social and political landscape. Analyze and interpret works made in response to various movements, and ponder together works that ask us: “What does it mean to be an American today?”

About the Beyond the Frame series: Artists give us a window on American life, often reflecting the cultural and social climate of the time in which they work. Explore the question, “What does art reveal about America?” as you examine better- and lesser-known aspects of American history to reframe your perspective. Join trained study group leaders as they facilitate an examination of America through artists’ eyes.

Osher at Dartmouth Summer Lecture Series
Artificial intelligence (AI) is now being used to make many lifechanging decisions in medicine, law, transportation, the military, business, and other areas. Critics object that using AI in these areas is inhumane and too likely to lead to harm, unfairness, and other moral wrongs. I will admit these dangers but reply that these decisions can be made safer and more ethical by building human moral values into the AI decisionmaker. Our team does this by surveying human moral judgments at two levels and then correcting for ignorance, confusion, and partiality. To show how our methods work in practice, I will demonstrate our websites, report initial empirical findings for kidney allocation and dementia, and finally discuss potential future applications to criminal law, transportation, business, and the military.