All Classes by Title   

This is a fun and adventurous look at the magic behind the visual effects seen in motion pictures today. From the earliest days of motion pictures, we’ll explore the twists and turns in the history and evolution of basic filmmaking technologies that have enabled storytellers to bring fantastic and beautiful worlds to the silver screen, dazzling audiences from the days of Georges Melies to the Marvel Movie Universe.

Class Size Limit: 15

An open conversation about the growing disconnection of people of all ages with nature. Nature Deficit Disorder is rampant in today's society. Which has been proven to be physically and mentally detrimental to current generations and will continue to grow in future generations unless corrective action for all ages is taken. Excerpts from Richard Louv's book, "The Last Child In The Woods" will be referenced. This will be a very interactive and open program for every participant!

Suggested Reading: The book, Last Child In The Woods by Richard Louv.

Class Size Limit: 90

We will set up and effectively use Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw in the photo editing process. 

Course Requirement: Bring your digital DSLR and your laptop with Adobe PhotoShop already registered.

Suggested Reading: Any basic photoshop tutorials from Youtube or books

Class Size Limit: 15

This class addresses the life of Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady who occupied the U.S. White House with her newly elected husband, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) in 1933. Her husband’s long-term affair with Lucy Mercer redirected Eleanor’s energies and she became a social and political activist against the demands of FDR’s Cabinet and FBI Director J. Herbert Hoover. She became a fearless advocate for civil rights and immigrants and homeless mineworkers in West Virginia. She served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, chairing the Human Rights Committee, resulting in the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Eleanor’s love relationship with Lorena Hickok concludes the class.

Class Size Limit: 90

The goal of this course is to teach you the tools and knowledge to enjoy bird watching at whatever level you wish to attain. Class includes: How to make your backyard enticing to birds; basic and advanced observation tips for identifying bird species in your backyard and at nearby birding hotspots; tools (equipment, phone applications, books) available to enhance your bird watching experiences; locations of various and incredible bird- watching hot spots in the Tallahassee area, Florida and the world.

Class Location and Dates:

10/26 Tall Timbers; 

11/2 Birdsong Nature Center; 

11/9 St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge;

11/16 Location TBD

Rain dates:  Birdsong Nov. 22 or 23; Tall Timbers Nov. 22; St. Marks Dec. 17

Mobility Requirement: Participants must be able to walk without a walker or cane and hold binoculars at shoulder level for 2-3 minutes. This class is not suitable for individuals with mobility impairments.

Suggested Reading: 1) The Crossley ID Guide Eastern Birds, Crossley; (2) • Birdwatching Basics or https://myfwc.com/media/10650/birdwatching-basics-2010.pdf; & (3) • Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America, Kaufman

AND MORE SUGGESTED READING! https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/16/opinion/hope-social-problems-justice.html?unlocked_article_code=1.LE4.qd5l.ZcIwuBe2DkEV&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb; Windmasters: The Lives of North American Birds of Prey, $10.89, Pete Dunne

Class Size Limit: 15

This course takes you behind the scenes of MOFA’s fall exhibitions. You will learn about the artwork, making and installation of two exhibitions: Homo Sargassum--contemporary artists considering the migration of seaweed--and The Quilts of Mrs. Gussie Beatrice Arnold Hill, a collection inherited by School of Dance professor and fifth-generation Tallahasseean Anjali Austin.

Class Size Limit: 15

Biologists from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will discuss the biology of Florida’s manatees and sea turtles and the conservation efforts to protect them. This class will explore the life cycles and ecology of these iconic creatures and describe the research and management strategies to protect these charismatic marine megafauna. Stretch out your flippers and come dive into the astonishing world of sea turtles and manatees!

Suggested Reading: Our Sea Turtles: A Practical Guide for the Atlantic and Gulf, from Canada to Mexico by Blair and Dawn Witherington; The Florida Manatee: Biology and Conservation by Roger L. Reep and Robert K. Bonde

Class Size Limit: 90

Introduction to digital photography via digital single lens reflex camera or cell phone. Class includes projects, discussions and photoshoots with critique.

Course Requirement: Bring your camera and your editing laptop or tablet to each class. Camera Manual is a plus!

Suggested Reading: Basic digital photography Youtube videos

Class Size Limit: 15

Mendelssohn is beloved among Romantic-era composers, and his writing for strings is lyrical and compelling. He created beautiful music from the heart, including many favorites like the Italian Symphony, the Violin Concerto, his oratorio Elijah, the Overture to the Hebrides, and the Christmas carol, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. In this course, we'll investigate Mendelssohn’s life, his significance and his compositional trademarks through an exploration of his glorious string quartets.

Class Size Limit: 90

Explore the basics of artificial intelligence (AI) in this introductory course. Designed for beginners, the course covers key concepts, history and applications of AI in various fields. Topics include machine learning, neural networks, and ethical considerations. Through lectures and hands-on exercises, you'll gain a solid understanding of AI principles and how they're transforming industries. No prior experience required, just a curiosity to learn about the future of technology.

Class Size Limit: 90

If you've always wanted to feel safe, have fun, and become conversational in French, this class is for you. We will go over pronunciation of meaningful, prepared dialogues together, while adding expressions where students would like to. We will discuss cultural norms and highlights of France while getting comfortable in the lingua franca. For everyone wishing to learn how to begin and build on a comfort level in French-speaking. We will also have food and beverage tastings each class.

Class Size Limit: 20

This three-week  course focuses on three topics selected for discussion by the Foreign Policy Association, including technology denial and Sino-American rivalry: invisible Indonesia; and High Seas Treaty, along with other emerging issues. The general approach will be to spot the salient issues, identify the implications and attempt to reconcile within applicable frameworks, which also creates space for widely divergent views.

NOTE: This course will be presented via Zoom and In-person and is considered a hybrid. You do not have to choose the delivery method. If you wish to come to class in-person, please be sure you have arranged where to park. Parking passes are available for purchase through OLLI under the OLLI Extras category - Click Here for Parking. All participants will receive the zoom link whether you intend to participate via zoom or come in-person.

Class Size Limit: 90

This course offers individuals who have little or no piano experience the chance to receive a thorough introduction to playing this versatile instrument. The group setting will help make learning less daunting and more enjoyable. Students will develop elementary note-reading skills, the ability to play chords, simple repertoire pieces and familiar tunes. Additionally, the class will include collaborative learning activities such as playing duets and other ensemble pieces.

Class Size Limit: 7

What do diaries, newspapers, letters and memoirs whisper about the balls, toasts and soirees that shaped policy, showcased status, and fascinated astute observers in Tallahassee 200 years ago? Parties made history in Territorial Tallahassee. Find out how partygoers ate, drank, dressed up, put on their party manners and danced. Six hands-on encounters with food, fights, songs, dances, memoir, and manners from Tallahassee in the 1820s prep you to celebrate the Bicentennial … elegantly.

Class Size Limit: 50

Of five southward flowing rivers in Florida’s Big Bend, only the Wakulla and St. Marks were shielded from invaders arriving by sea from the Gulf of Mexico. After 1783 (the end of the American Revolution) native Creek life along Wakulla River's Fuerte de San Marcos at Apalache was chaotic.The British left, Spain returned, the U.S. began to scheme. From 1783 until 1818 the area was at the heart of international conflict.

Class Size Limit: 90

What is philosophy, and what do philosophers do? In this course, we answer these questions by exploring even bigger questions that have captivated philosophers over millennia: What gives life value? What can we know? Does God exist? And more!

Class Size Limit: 90

The focus of this  course is to explore actions/events that have unfolded since Hamas struck Israel on October 7, and Israel's response, including issues that resonate regionally and involving the U.S., also unpacking some of the developments within the international system.

NOTE: This course will be presented via Zoom and In-person and is considered a hybrid. You do not have to choose the delivery method. If you wish to come to class in-person, please be sure you have arranged where to park. Parking passes are available for purchase through OLLI under the OLLI Extras category - Click Here for Parking. All participants will receive the zoom link whether you intend to participate via zoom or come in-person.

Class Size Limit: 90

Italian for Travelers is an introduction to the basics with an emphasis on functional language, fun and enrichment. Through an imaginary journey to six Italian cities, students--beginner or intermediate--will learn practical strategies for getting around in Italy through the lens of culture. Students can pace and tailor the course to suit their interests and experience, whether they travel by airplane or armchair.

Suggested Reading: Practice Makes Perfect: Italian series (various topics)

Class Size Limit: 15

Know Your Rights as You Age will expose you to the basic legal concepts one should be familiar with as they age. Topics will include advance health care planning, powers of attorney, guardianship, rights in long-term care facilities, Medicare and Medicaid, protecting yourself from financial exploitation and abuse, and more. Trained law students from the Claude Pepper Elder Law Clinic will join in on the presentations and provide insight on specific areas of law they are studying.

NOTE: This course will be presented via Zoom and In-person and is considered a hybrid. You do not have to choose the delivery method. If you wish to come to class in-person, please be sure you have arranged where to park. Parking passes are available for purchase through OLLI under the OLLI Extras category - Click Here for Parking. All participants will receive the zoom link whether you intend to participate via zoom or come in-person.

Class Size Limit: 90

More than half of America’s small business owners are over 50, with 33% between 50-59 years old, 17% between 60-69, and 4% at 70 or older. (ww.score.org) Are you thinking about starting your own "hustle"? If so, this six-week course will walk you through the basics for marketing a small business successfully. Commonly referred to as the “Six Ps,” we’ll explore everything from product to people and how to strategically use each to position your small business idea for success.

Suggested Reading: All In Startup: Launching a New Idea When Everything Is On the Line, by Diana Kander; Entrepreneurs: Talent, Temperament and Opportunity, by Bill Bolton and John Thompson; The Standout Business Plan, by Vaughn Evans and Brian Tracy

Class Size Limit: 90

This course is designed for students with some working knowledge of Spanish who want to enhance their conversational skills. The aim of the class is to provide an informal and enjoyable environment where students feel comfortable learning about and speaking this beautiful language-- español! Using interactive activities to encourage speaking there will be a fun, immersive feeling -- as if you are actually visiting a Hispanic country.

Suggested Reading: Spanish for Everyone (on Amazon)

Class Size Limit: 15

This class is based on Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way, by Jeffrey Blount. Join in on this three-session book club experience as we read and discuss this moving novel that addresses societal issues and the quest to be "good." The first 20 participants will receive a signed copy of the book prior to the start of class. Special visit during the last session by the author, Jeffrey Blount.

Class Size Limit: 35

This course discusses the postwar conditions of defeated Germany of WWII; creation of occupational zones by the Allies; some aspects of the tensions between Western and Soviet allies; the Soviet blockage of supply lines to Berlin, the Berlin airlift and the Soviet construction of the Berlin Wall, concluding with the peaceful resistance movement of East Germans against Soviet governance; the Soviet lifting of the Berlin blockade, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of East and West Germany. 

Class Size Limit: 60

This course follows Gauguin, van Gogh, Seurat, Cézanne, Matisse and Kandinsky from the late 1880s to the late 1910s. Each artist broke with Impressionist spontaneity and naturalism to create more ordered views of nature, express emotional responses to nature, or depict deeper spiritual symbolism. Using simplified colors and definitive forms, their art was characterized by stylistic innovations that led to 20th-century abstraction.

Class Size Limit: 60

Using recordings, photos and live music, the course traces the mountain dulcimer from its Appalachian origins to the present. From mountain family gatherings and church services through the Greenwich folk revival to the current crossover into other musical genres, such as jazz, blues and rock 'n roll, the course explores the role this simple instrument has played in American culture.

Class Size Limit: 60

In this class Stan Rosenthal, University of Florida Extension Forestry Agent Emeritus, will lead you on a hike practicing identifying trees in a highly species diverse forest. Whether you are a well-seasoned plant identification person or a beginner, there will be something for everyone on this fun adventure.

Mobility Requirement: Participants must be able to hike a forest trail. This class is not suitable for individuals with mobility impairments.

Suggested Reading: UF/IFAS Extension Publication “How to Identify a Tree1.” Found on the web at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr296

Class Size Limit: 20

Mr. Meyers, who spent 2016-2022 teaching Conversational English in Viet Nam (including at a HIV orphanage in rural Hanoi), shares insights from his immersion in Vietnamese culture and his close relationships with two local families, with whom he celebrated various traditional festivities.

Class Size Limit: 90

This course will examine the earliest origins of the Vietnam War and conclude with the Tet Offensive of 1968. We will begin with an overview of French colonial involvement and then discuss the arrival of American advisers under Truman and Eisenhower and the collapse of French rule in Indochina. We will then examine the events that led to direct U.S. involvement and conclude with Lyndon Johnson’s role and the peak of U.S. engagement in 1968.

NOTE: This course will be presented via Zoom and In-person and is considered a hybrid. You do not have to choose the delivery method. If you wish to come to class in-person, please be sure you have arranged where to park. Parking passes are available for purchase through OLLI under the OLLI Extras category - Click Here for Parking. All participants will receive the zoom link whether you intend to participate via zoom or come in-person.

Suggested Reading: Geoffrey Ward and Ken Burns: The Vietnam War

Class Size Limit: 90

Linda Schuyler Ford combines intriguing biographical sketches, anecdotes and oral storytelling in this fascinating celebration of "America's author," Washington Irving. A colorful presentation carries listeners from Irving's life in New York City to the Hudson Valley, with forays into government service and, ultimately, writing. Woven into this presentation are folktales that may well have shaped the author's passion. We'll close with a retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow!

Class Size Limit: 90