All Classes by Title   

Vamonos means “let’s go!” This course is designed to get students “going”! This is your opportunity to get started learning this beautiful language. Students who have limited or no working knowledge of Spanish will be learning the basics of grammar and conversation skills. Practice will be done in an informal setting to encourage participation in interactive activities. Come join us and you can feel the excitement of being bilingual. You can do it!

Class Size Limit: 15

Suggested Reading: "Spanish for Everyone"" ( On Amazon or Thrift Books) Books

This course is designed to help you understand what a memoir is, why as a genre it’s so powerful, and how to go about writing your own. In addition to exploring the basics of this genre, the course will walk you through the writing process, from planning to creation and revision. As the course progresses, you’ll gain the most if you complete several recommended writing exercises and an outline to get you started, then spend your break writing the body of your memoir (or as much of it as possible).

Class size limit: 12

The course explores avenues through which ancient and | traditional Scottish tales can be viewed as part of the larger cohort of globally shared stories. The course may examine fairy tales, folktales, legends, myths, lullabie or other genres found in Scottish literature.

Class Size Limit: 90

This course is designed for students who have a good working knowledge of Spanish. The purpose of the course is to help students continue to enhance their conversational skills to a higher level. We will develop skills in reading, writing and conversation. Reviewing grammar and vocabulary will facilitate conversation. This is done in an informal setting allowing each student to reach their potential in speaking this beautiful language. The aim of the class is to enjoy the learning journey.

Class Size Limit: 15

Suggested Reading: "Spanish for Everyone"" ( On Amazon or Thrift Books) Books

We'll explore the art of ancient Egypt through three themes: Art and Death, Women of Distinction, and Foreigners.

Class Size Limit: 20

Would you like to know how to add vital years to your life? This course is designed for people interested in learning about the world’s “Blue Zones” – rare hotspots around the globe where people appear to live longer and healthier than anywhere else. Together we will explore the research and science behind these long- living populations, learn more about their lifestyles and habits, and discover how to incorporate them into your daily life in sustainable and practical ways.

Class Size Limit: 15

Suggested Reading: The Blue Zones Solution, The Blue Zones both by Dan Buettner

This course will identify the categories of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) including abuse, neglect, and household challenges.  Dr. O’Kon will  discuss research focusing on the long-term effects of ACEs and will share methods for overcoming the ACEs that can hinder adult life. By learning more about these challenges, resilience can be developed and strengthened.

Class Size Limit: 20

Participants will learn and practice asanas (physical postures) and movements, breathing techniques, and other yoga practices to help to develop strength and endurance, improve alignment and posture, and help manage stress. Movements will be done in sitting in a chair and standing using the chair for balance. The focus of this course is learning to adapt each yoga practice for your range of movement and energy level, finding balance between effort and ease. An in-person class is a great opportunity to join with others and receive individual attention.

Class Size Limit: 14

Mobility requirement: able to get up and down from a chair (chair without arms). Also be able to remove shoes before entering studio space (chairs and bench at the door)

Location: Dragon Fly Studio, 1457 Old St Augustine Rd #7, Tallahassee, FL 32301

The U.S. Constitution was written in the summer of 1787 by 55 delegates from 12 states, but the depth of the debates were not revealed for over 40 years. It was not until 1840, four years after the death of James Madison, that his Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 were published. This presentation will use these notes to delve into our greatest political heritage.

Class Size Limit: 15

We will explore the fundamentals of the photographic process,  Next we’ll master basic digital camera operation (including cell phone cameras). All your photographic questions will be answered, and you’ll quickly feel comfortable capturing better digital photographs to keep and share with friends.We will also have digital image critiques from images classmates will produce and bring to class, and from the photo safaris we take during class-time.

Class Size Limit: 15

This course is about the 600,000 Cuban refugees who came to the US in the first 15 years after Fidel Castro took power in 1959, starting a diaspora that continues today. We will lean what happened when Castro took over, why Cubans left, and what happened when they got here. The course is based on the history as well as 54 interviews I conducted for my oral history book about early Cuban exiles. We will conclude by reviewing recent Cuban migration to the US and US policies affecting the diaspora.

Class Size Limit: 15

Suggested Reading: "Cuba: An American History," by Ada Ferrer; "Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba: Biography of a Cause," by Tom Gjelten; "Young Castro: The Making of a Revolutionary," by Jonathan M. Hansen

The course includes postwar conditions of WW II; collaboration of church and state; screeching sounds of low-flying Allied bombers over our village; resistance movement of the Auerhahn group; the Rheinwiesenlager; arrival of refugees from Nazi-invaded nations and bombed-out German cities; liberation; occupation; soldiers throwing candy to children-of-war; imprint of my dissident father; mandatory teaching of the Nazi genocide in German schools; reparations to Jews by the German government.

Course Size Limit: 90

Suggested Reading: Lowe, K. (2012) . Savage continent. Europe in the aftermath of World War II. Picador. St. Martin's Press, New York. Gebhardt, M. (2020). Crimes unspoken. The rape of German women at the end of the second world war. Polity Press. Cambridge. Uk. Bacque, J. (1989). Other losses. Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd.

We will explore works by important French literary authors who were also visionaries, considering beauty, humanism, nature and its healing capacities, Home/Away, and France's place in the world. We will read from Victor Hugo's 1831 Notre Dame de Paris  (as Notre Dame re-opens after the fire), St.-Exupery's 1939 Terre des Hommes, Sand's 1842  Winter in Majorca and Maillart's 1937 Forbidden Journey. Class will be taught in English; texts will be provided in English and French.

Class Size Limit: 15

When the Declaration of Independence was signed, “Florida” meant East Florida (governed from St. Augustine) and West Florida (governed from Pensacola). Both stayed loyal to King George III. What were these two Floridas like in 1776? How did loyalist refugees and patriot POWs flooding south change St. Augustine? How did attack by the Revolutionary Navy redefine Pensacola? This interactive course brings us into first-person contact with songs, plays, newspaper stories and memoirs from loyalist Florida.

Class Size Limit: 90

Suggested Reading: Wright "British St. Augustine," Kotlic "East Florida in the Revolutionary Era"

What are hurricanes? How are  they predicted? How is the science of tropical forecasting changing? These are all essential questions that Florida men and women must grapple with in our battle against the elements. The instructor will walk you through hurricane basics and history, modern forecasting tools and processes, and the new developments in storm prediction and mitigation working to protect us from the ways climate change may be modifying the nature of tropical threats.

Class Size Limit: 90

This one-time class will be a pre-concert lecture for my violin recital entitled, “Girl Power” that I’ll be giving at Westminster Oaks on Monday, March 3, 2025 at 7:00pm (free admission). The concert is in honor of National Women’s Month, and will include music by Amy Beach, Louise Farrenc, Florence Price, and others. Join me for a behind-the-scenes tour of this wonderful music by these underrepresented but amazing composers. 

Class Size Limit: 100

Jennifer Coburn is the author of The Girls of the Glimmer Factory, a historical novel set in a 'glimmer factory' during World War II. The story follows two women, a Jewish prisoner and an ambitious filmmaker, who were once childhood friends and are
willing to risk everything to reveal the truth about Terezin.

Class Size Limit: 15

Foreign Policy Association resources support class discussion surrounding eight topical areas selected for 2025 -- American Foreign Policy at a Crossroads; U.S. Changing Leadership of the World Economy; U.S.-China Relations; India: Between China, the West, and the Global South; International Cooperation on Climate Change; The Future of NATO and European Security; AI and American National Security; and American Foreign Policy in the Middle East: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead.

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. Access to a piano or keyboard outside of class would be ideal to enhance and reinforce the skills practiced during each lesson.

Class Size Limit: 7

This course offers individuals with little to no songwriting experience the opportunity to receive a fun and interactive introduction to the art of writing songs. Mr. Peace will use interesting topics and exercises to spark the student’s creativity. Students will develop basic songwriting skills.

Classes will meet on Thursday 2/20, Thursday 2/27 and Tuesday 4/1.

Class Size Limit: 15

We'll discuss Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Uncle Tom's Cabin and for context, we'll also read and discuss two recent novels that profoundly reshape those earlier books: Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Beloved and Percival Everett’s James. This rewrite of Huck was among the half-dozen titles on the short list for the 2024 Booker Prize, “the world’s most influential prize for a single work of fiction.”

Class Size Limit: 20

Exploring developments that unfolded recently and are emerging during this window with an emphasis upon the implications of transitioning into a new presidential administration within the US. The intent once again is to unpack surrounding narratives by leveraging a range of resources, spotting issues, identifying the implications thereof and attempting to reconcile with applicable legal, policy, ethical, doctrinal, historical and other frameworks creating space for divergent views.    

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.

Class Size Limit: 20

Suggested Reading: Practice Makes Perfect Italian Series, any basic phrase book like Berlitz or Lonely Planet

This class offers an overview of human trafficking awareness, focusing on child safety, sextortion, and exploitation. It covers signs of trafficking, online grooming, and sextortion tactics targeting minors. Participants will learn how to respond to trafficking situations and access resources to protect vulnerable populations.

Class Size Limit: 20

This class helps participants manage relationship disputes and develop conflict resolution skills. It offers strategies for navigating disagreements, fostering communication, and building understanding. Participants will gain tools to create more harmonious interactions.

Class Size Limit: 20

Nutrition for Healthy Aging will cover how nutrition can influence the aging process. We will try to answer the question: Can you slow the aging process and increase your lifespan as well as your healthspan with diet and a healthy lifestyle? Extending your healthspan allows you to maintain high levels of function well into old age. We will discuss theories of aging, basic nutrition, diets, Blue Zones, supplements, controversies and much more.

Class Size Limit: 90

This class covers Weeki Wachee, Cypress Gardens and Paradise Park  to explore Florida’s iconic roadside attractions. "Weeki Wachee," will show how Newt Perry created the City of Mermaids. "Cypress Gardens" will explore how Dick Pope, “Mr. Florida,” created Cypress Gardens, America’s Tropical Wonderland. "Paradise Park" will explore Florida’s only African-American roadside attraction.

Class Size Limit: 15

Whisk and knead your way through Pastry 101. You will learn the importance of using the proper ingredients to ensure a rich flavor and delicate texture to your homemade pastries. As an added bonus, there will be samples to enjoy.

Class Size Limit: 15

Post-Impressionism, 1880-1910, rejected Impressionism’s naturalistic depiction of light and color. Post-Impressionists emphasized geometric form and symbolism, distorted form and unnatural colors for expressive effect. This course follows the shift away from naturalism to abstraction, through the lens of Cezanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Seurat and Matisse.

Class Size Limit: 90

The one constant in human history is slavery. From antiquity to the Civil War and beyond, it has been a part of human existence. That was not challenged until 1750 England and 19th century America. We will follow slavery's American origins in Virginia to the Civil War. After that, the South waged a successful second civil war. By the early 20th century African Americans fought back in court and on the streets, culminating in the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts.

Class Size Limit: 90

Reading Suggestion: In Human Bondage, David Brian Davis

An overview of WW I, with an emphasis on the radical changes that the war brought about. The course will present an overview of the entire war, from its roots to its aftermath. This will include developments in politics and diplomacy, economics and trade, science, technology and medicine, military tactics and strategy, and even a look at art and literature. The emphasis will be on how people at the time kept getting overtaken by new, unexpected and drastic changes.

Class Size Limit: 90

Six weeks of afternoon tea, crumpets, savories and sweets; with lively discussions of various topics tangentially related to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Get ready for a surprisingly serious look at sense and nonsense, the nature and history of mathematics, word play, non-Euclidean geometry, set theory, logic and the roots of post-modernism.

Class Size Limit: 18

Suggested Reading: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, and The Hunting of the Snark

An introduction to the earth's most species-rich animals, including structure, function, ecology and evolution, illustrated with images, text and specimens. The course will give an overview of a range of insect groups, their biology, their habitat and their ranges.

Suggested Reading: Gullan and Cranston, The Insects, An Outline of Entomology, Wiley/Blackwell. The Complete Insect: Anatomy, Physiology, Evolution, and Ecology by David A. Grimaldi | Aug 15, 2023; Insect Biology: A Textbook of Entomology Insect Biology: A Textbook of Entomology by Howard E. Evans | Jan 1, 1984

Class Size Limit: 20

This course will examine the Vietnam War from the beginning of Lyndon Johnson’s presidency to the fall of Saigon in 1975. We will cover the military campaigns and operations of the war through Nixon’s “Vietnamization” program and into the final years of American involvement. The course will conclude with the fall of Saigon and the legacy of the Vietnam War. Come and learn about one of America’s longest and most complex foreign military engagements.

Class Size Limit: 90

Suggested Reading: Burns and Ward: The Vietnam War

Besides the spring and historic lodge, Wakulla Springs State Park is in the midst of one of the most diverse and beautiful forests in the United States. In this class the instructor will lead you on a hike, practicing identifying trees in this 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. REQUIREMENT: Must be able to walk on a forest trail and boardwalks. This class is not suitable for individuals with mobility impairments.

Class Size Limit: 15 for each hike.

Suggested Reading: How to Identify a Tree 1

Besides the spring and historic lodge, Wakulla Springs State Park is in the midst of one of the most diverse and beautiful forests in the United States. In this class the instructor will lead you on a hike, practicing identifying trees in this 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. REQUIREMENT: Must be able to walk on a forest trail and boardwalks. This class is not suitable for individuals with mobility impairments.

Class Size Limit: 15 for each hike.

Suggested Reading: How to Identify a Tree 1