History & Social Science

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A History of Science, Part 2
Thursdays, Oct. 8, 15, 22, 29, Nov. 5, 12
Fee: $65.00
Dates: 10/8/2026 - 11/12/2026
Times: 9:30 AM - 11:15 AM ET
Days: Th Sessions: 6

Instructor: Darryl Myers
Location: Westminster Oaks Maguire Center (opens in new tab) Room: Auditorium

Seats Available: 73
Stories, personalities, and discoveries in the development of modern science over the last several centuries.

Parking on the FSU Campus

Taking a class on the FSU campus? If you plan to drive and park on campus, you will need to purchase an OLLI parking pass. Parking passes are available for purchase under OLLI Extras.

Art in Captivity: Japanese Incarceration Camps in WWII
Tuesday, Oct. 6
Fee: $15.00
Dates: 10/6/2026 - 10/6/2026
Times: 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM ET
Day: Tu Sessions: 1

Instructor: Dennis Kato
Zoom: A Zoom link will be emailed to registrants prior to start of the class.

Seats Available: 81
Imagine being wrongfully imprisoned for nearly four years and turning to art to help you describe, remember, and cope with being in prison for ‘looking like the enemy. Explore the artists and their works, arts and craft, photography, sculptors, and delve into the vocational skills made available in the ten camps. Learn more about the artists who survived the camp and later became famous in their respective fields after the war. GAMON – endure with dignity.
This is a single session. Option to combine with Imprisoned Without Trial: Japanese Incarceration in WWII at a reduced rate.
Review the Zoom "Guide for New Uses"

British Shipwrecks of Pensacola
Wednesdays, Oct. 21 Zoom - Central Time
Fee: $15.00
Dates: 10/21/2026 - 10/21/2026
Times: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM CT
Day: W Sessions: 1

Seats Available: 78
Zoom: Instructors will email a link to the course prior to the start date.
Instructor: Della Scott-Ireton

Explore Pensacola’s brief British period (1763–1781) and its lasting legacy. This presentation highlights the history and archaeology of British Navy shipwrecks in Pensacola Bay and what they reveal today.
Review the Zoom "Guide for New Uses"

Evolution and Human Sexuality - Part 2
Thursdays, Oct. 8, 15, 22 (In-Person & Zoom)
Fee: $35.00
Dates: 10/8/2026 - 10/22/2026
Times: 2:15 PM - 4:00 PM ET
Days: Th, Sessions: 3

Instructor: Geoffrey Thomas
Building: FSU Campus, Claude Pepper Center (opens in new tab)
Room: Claude Pepper Center

Seats Available: 71

Zoom: A Zoom link will be emailed to registrants prior to start of the class.
This course is a continuation from last semester’s examination of human sexuality through an evolutionary and cultural perspective. Sexual selection theory is the lens through which we will view human sexuality in a biological and cultural framework. Topics include attractiveness, sexual orientation, parental investment, and the science of sex. Online research survey results will also be discussed.
Review the Zoom "Guide for New Uses"

Experience Florida History through Tallahassee’s Historic Sites
Wednesdays, Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28, Nov. 4, 18
Fee: $65.00
Dates: 10/7/2026 - 11/18/2026
Times: 9:30 AM - 11:15 AM ET
Days: W Sessions: 6

Instructor: Johnathan Grandage
Location: Various Locations Room:

Seats Available: 7
No class on Nov. 11 for Veteran's Day.
This course will consist of visits to historic sites in Tallahassee and the surrounding area that are managed by the State of Florida. Collectively experiencing these sites through a combination of lectures and guided tours will provide students with an overview of major themes in Florida history from the pre-contact period to post-World War II.
October 7, The Grove Museum, 902 N Monroe St.

October 14, Mission San Luis, 2021 Mission Rd.

October 21, Mission San Luis, 2021 Mission Rd.

October 28, Union Bank, 219 Apalachee Pwky.

November 4, Union Bank, 219 Apalachee Pwky.

November 18, The Grove Museum, 902 N Monroe St.

Parking on the FSU Campus

Taking a class on the FSU campus? If you plan to drive and park on campus, you will need to purchase an OLLI parking pass. Parking passes are available for purchase under OLLI Extras.

French Impressionism in Art and Music
Thursday, Nov. 5
Fee: $15.00
Dates: 11/5/2026 - 11/5/2026
Times: 10:00 AM - 11:45 AM ET
Days: Th Sessions: 1

Instructor: Richard Bobo
Location: Red Hills Village Retirement Resort (opens in new tab)

Seats Available: -3
This class is currently full. Please add yourself to the waitlist and you will be contacted if a spot opens up.
A one-week interactive experience focusing the artistic milieu (music and painting) in France , roughly between 1890 and 1925. Contemporary relationships between music, art and literature of this important period will be explored. Musically, the primary focus will be on selected compositions by Claude Debussy (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) and Maurice Ravel (Spanish Rhapsody). Learning outcomes include: recognition of common concerns between symbolist poets, impressionist painters and composers, in their pursuit of subtle suggestion over obvious depiction of artistic forms and/or ideas

Great Decisions 2026 - Fall Forum
Thursday, Oct. 8, 15, 22 (In-Person & Zoom)
Fee: $35.00
Dates: 10/8/2026 - 10/22/2026
Times: 9:30 AM - 11:15 AM ET
Days: Th, Sessions: 3

Instructor: Mark Schlakman
Building: FSU Campus, Claude Pepper Center (opens in new tab)
Room: Broad Auditorium

Seats Available: 82

Zoom: A Zoom link will be emailed to registrants prior to start of the class.
This three-week mini-course will emphasize discussion and encompass two topical areas selected by the Foreign Policy Association for discussion -- U.S. Engagement involving the continent of Africa, and the Future of Human Rights and International Law in a Divided World, thereby exploring different topical areas than were explored during the Spring 2026 semester. An open forum will be maintained in one instance in an effort to be responsive to emerging issues of the day.
Review the Zoom "Guide for New Uses"

History of Leon County: World War II to the Present
Wednesdays, Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28, Nov. 4, 18 (In-Person & Zoom)
Fee: $65.00
Dates: 10/7/2026 - 11/18/2026
Times: 12:00 PM - 1:45 PM ET
Days: W, Sessions: 6

Instructor: David Proctor
Building: FSU Campus, Claude Pepper Center (opens in new tab)
Room: Broad Auditorium

Seats Available: 58

Zoom: A Zoom link will be emailed to registrants prior to start of the class.
This course will cover the significant political, military, social, economic, and cultural developments in postwar Leon County. We will examine how global, national, and state history connects with and influences Leon County. Granular stories and major events will be described to illustrate those connections.
Review the Zoom "Guide for New Uses"

Imprisoned Without Trial: Japanese Incarceration in WWII
CLASS CANCELED

This class has been canceled since the publication of the semester schedule. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.

Please stay tuned for updates on whether this class will be offered in a future semester.

Meltdown Expected—The End of the 1970s
Tuesdays, Oct. 6 - Nov. 10
Fee: $65.00
Dates: 10/6/2026 - 11/10/2026
Times: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM ET
Day: Tu Sessions: 6

Instructor: Aaron Leonard
Zoom: A Zoom link will be emailed to registrants prior to start of the class.

Seats Available: 80
The story of how the “Me Decade” transformed into the final phase of the Cold War. Starting in the final months of 1978 and extending throughout 1979 the period of torpor, malaise, and polyester was replaced by revolution in Iran, near-meltdown at Three Mile Island, tectonic shifts in China, the reworking of the intelligence authority, and the onset of a proxy war between the US and USSR in Afghanistan. Through the use of video, documents, music, and news of the day, this will tell the story of how the seventies ended before the decade was over.
Review the Zoom "Guide for New Uses"

Public Enemies: American Criminals in the 1930s
Wednesday, Nov. 4 (In-Person PC30A & Zoom)
Fee: $15.00
Dates: 11/4/2026 - 11/4/2026
Times: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM CT
Days: W, Sessions: 1

Instructor: Jay Thomas
Building: Ohana Institute (opens in new tab)
Room: Suite J 100

Seats Available: 75

Zoom: A Zoom link will be emailed to registrants prior to start of the class.
Explore how the turmoil of the late 1920s and early 1930s gave rise to infamous American criminals. This session compares Al Capone’s Chicago outfit, the Dillinger gang, and Bonnie and Clyde—their motives, methods, and lasting impact.
Non-Member option available here.
Review the Zoom "Guide for New Uses"

Roma Aeterna (Eternal Rome)
Tuesday, Oct. 6, 13, 20, 27, Nov. 3, 10
Fee: $65.00
Dates: 10/6/2026 - 11/10/2026
Times: 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM ET
Day: Tu Sessions: 6

Instructor: Michael Kinnicutt
Zoom: A Zoom link will be emailed to registrants prior to start of the class.

Seats Available: 75
Michael Kinnicutt presents an overview of ancient Roman history, spanning more than two millennia. Beginning with its founding as a kingdom in 753 BCE, we will trace the evolution of Rome from its humble, tribal beginnings into one of the world’s greatest empires. The tumultuous growing pains of the republic (510 – 27 BCE) culminated with the creation of an empire that lasted five centuries (27 BCE – 476 CE). After the Western part of the empire’s slow, but probably inevitable, decline, the legacy of Rome continued for another millennium in its final iteration as the Byzantine Empire (330 -- 1453 CE). We will focus on the political and military institutions, governance systems, and legendary personalities that combined to create a complex, and often combative, historical narrative.
Review the Zoom "Guide for New Uses"

Russia in the Early 20th Century: Belle Epoque or Revolutionary Crossroads?
Monday, Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26, Nov. 2, 9
Fee: $65.00
Dates: 10/5/2026 - 11/9/2026
Times: 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM ET
Day: M Sessions: 6

Instructor: Asya Pereltsvaig
Zoom: A Zoom link will be emailed to registrants prior to start of the class.

Seats Available: 70
The turn of the 20th century is a momentous period in Russian history, often underappreciated. While the 19th century is considered the Golden Age of Russian civilization, and the transformative events of the Soviet period attract much attention, this course will focus on the two decades known as the Silver Age of Russian literature and culture, when three revolutions occurred in Russia in quick succession. We will examine the political, philosophical, economic, and cultural developments of that period—and how Russia got from Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky to the Gulag camp.
Review the Zoom "Guide for New Uses"

Spanish Florida Crowns a King
CLASS CANCELED

This class has been canceled since the publication of the semester schedule. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.

Please stay tuned for updates on whether this class will be offered in a future semester.

The American Revolution from Britain
Tuesday, Oct. 6, 13, 20, 27, Nov. 3, 10
Fee: $65.00
Dates: 10/6/2026 - 11/10/2026
Times: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM ET
Day: Tu Sessions: 6

Instructor: Eoin Devlin
Zoom: A Zoom link will be emailed to registrants prior to start of the class.

Seats Available: 33
This course explores the events surrounding American independence from the British perspective, investigating the political, cultural, and military responses to the crisis engulfing the Empire. In particular, it will think of the War of Independence as a civil war and consider how this perspective shaped attitudes to the conflict. The course will also consider how people in the UK itself, and other parts of the British world, were inspired by happenings in America, and sought to change conditions in Britain and other parts of the British Empire in the wake of American successes.
Review the Zoom "Guide for New Uses"

The Medieval Roman Empire
Wednesdays, Oct. 7 - Nov. 18
Fee: $65.00
Dates: 10/7/2026 - 11/18/2026
Times: 9:30 AM - 11:15 AM ET
Days: W Sessions: 6

Instructor: Matthew Lupu
Location: Westminster Oaks Maguire Center (opens in new tab) Room: Auditorium

Seats Available: 39
No class on Nov. 11 for Veterans' Day
Contrary to popular belief, the Roman Empire did not come to an end with the loss of its western provinces. The eastern half of the empire survived until 476 AD and continued to thrive for another millennium. In this course we will explore the nature of this new medieval Christian Roman empire through biographies of several of its most notable rulers in addition to examining contemporary Activityounts of the rise of Islam and the Crusades.

Parking on the FSU Campus

Taking a class on the FSU campus? If you plan to drive and park on campus, you will need to purchase an OLLI parking pass. Parking passes are available for purchase under OLLI Extras.

The World-Renowned Passion Play in the Bavarian Alps
Mondays, Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26, Nov. 9, 16*
Fee: $65.00
Dates: 10/5/2026 - 11/16/2026
Times: 2:00 PM - 3:45 PM ET
Days: M Sessions: 6

Instructor: Toni Kirkwood-Tucker
Location: Westminster Oaks Maguire Center (opens in new tab) Room: Auditorium

Seats Available: 77
*No class on Nov. 2 as site is a polling location.
In 1633 the deeply religious townspeople of Oberammergau in Southern Germany prayed to their God to stop the bubonic plague that had entered their village. The plague had been ravaging Europe during the Thirty Years War (1618-48), killing an estimated two-thirds of the continent’s population. The townspeople promised to honor their God’s life, suffering, crucifixion, and ascension with a performance every ten years. God heard their prayers. The course addresses the geography, traditions, art, music, woodcarving, and historic sightseeing places of Bavaria, and evolution of the play. Charges of its alleged antisemitic text and its revision and the historical development of types of customs, orchestral music, and glorious chorus over time are analyzed in this intensive six-week class.

Parking on the FSU Campus

Taking a class on the FSU campus? If you plan to drive and park on campus, you will need to purchase an OLLI parking pass. Parking passes are available for purchase under OLLI Extras.

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