Online Learning   

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were one of the most popular comedy duos in vaudeville, radio, television, and movies. In this class we will look at the timeline and arc of their success in entertainment by viewing slides and video clips of their most famous routines. Their impeccable timing made routines like "Who's on First" a comedy classic. We will look at how Kate Smith and, later, Seinfeld factored into the popularity of the duo. We will also look at the dynamics of the relationship between the two which was fraught, at times, with jealousy and animosity. Through it all they provided entertainment.

Mary Cassatt was the only American artist to participate in the exhibitions held in Paris between 1874 and 1886 by a group of French painters known as the impressionists. Cassatt received her early art education at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. She moved to Paris at the age of 22 to receive further training and spent most of her adult life there. This class will examine her oil and pastel works as well as her printmaking. In addition we will see how Cassatt's influence extended beyond her own works through her support for the suffragette movement and the guidance she provided to wealthy Americans looking to bring European art home.

This class features a wide range of topics, from the classics of European art to American landscapes. Please join us for this exciting series, as we learn about the lives and works of four fascinating artists.

This continuation of personal experiences from the instructor's participation in military, agricultural, and aerial firefighting aviation will include aviation stories from after World War II. This term's vignettes will emphasize the local history of agricultural flying and aerial firefighting.

Shakespeare is justly celebrated as a masterful poet and dramatist. But do his plays have a larger purpose or intention? What do all those enchanting fairies and mythical Athenians in A Midsummer Night's Dream have to do with that play’s otherwise mundane love story? Which Macbeth is meant by the title of that eponymous play? Why did Shakespeare choose to retell Homer's Iliad through Troilus and Cressida? What do these oddities have to do with Shakespeare's overall point, if any? By closely considering his text, this class explores how such features point to Shakespeare as more than a "mere" playwright but also as a thinker with big ideas.

No previous Tai Chi experience is necessary. All the movements are slow and gentle, and no martial arts applications will be taught or practiced in this study group. These methods may help lessen body pain, correct spinal misalignment, cultivate a sense of internal energy, and rest the mind. Participants can wear comfortable roomy or stretchy clothing and some soft tai chi shoes or socks to wear on their feet.

This class includes short presentations (talks, slides, videos) followed by discussions on all sorts of current US and world topics involving history, government, policy, science, technology, literature, education, culture, and many more. Participants are welcome to make presentations, suggest topics, discuss, or just listen. Special guests are also welcome to present.

How did America's founders devise a system that limited state religion while extending religious freedom to all and how has that balance been tested ever since? Drawing on landmark legal challenges to religious freedom, this class explores the revolutionary First Amendment framework the founders created, the ongoing tensions between religious liberty and competing social interests, and what it truly means to live in a pluralistic society. A timely and thought-provoking look at one of America's most enduring constitutional debates.

Figure skating has inspired generations of filmmakers, historians, and fans. Through selected documentary films and archival footage, this class explores some of the people, events, and turning points that have shaped the sport's history. Topics may include legendary champions, Olympic triumphs and tragedies, the evolution of competition, and the personalities whose influence extends far beyond the ice. Each session will feature guided viewing, historical context, and discussion, by using film as a window into the sport's rich history and culture. Along the way we'll examine how these stories continue to influence modern figure skating and, when appropriate, highlight connections to Rochester and the surrounding region. No prior knowledge of figure skating is required, just curiosity and an interest in the stories behind one of the world's most captivating sports.

This class is for people who have studied some French in the past. We study basic French grammar, usage, pronunciation, and vocabulary. The focus is communicating with others in written and spoken French.

This class is centered around a French book. The class reads aloud, followed by translation into English, with some discussion of vocabulary, grammar, and the plot. We will review grammar when questions about usage or form come up, perhaps dedicating a class to a particularly irksome topic.

On parle français dans cette classe, sans traduction (si nous avons de la chance). On doit avoir l'envie d'entendre et de parler mieux le français, et peut-être un jour le parler couramment. Il n’y a pas de textes.

Explore how voices in harmony helped shape music, culture, and community across nearly a thousand years of history. This class traces the emotional power of blended voices, from sacred chant and barbershop harmony to big band vocal groups, gospel, soul, country, doo-wop, rock harmonies, the folk music revival, the birth of the sonic layer, the British Harmony Invasion, and beyond. Through guided listening, storytelling, rare footage, and unforgettable performances, we'll celebrate the timeless magic of voices blending together to move, inspire, and unite us.

Let go of stress and come home to yourself. Over millennia, the sages of the Himalayan Yoga Tradition developed highly effective methods of movement, relaxation, and meditation. In this study group you will learn foundational practices from the Himalayan Yoga Tradition. Each session will have three phases: gentle movement and breathing, deep relaxation, and meditation. Members can expect to leave this class refreshed. Please note that the movements taught in this study group are not acrobatics. They are suitable for people with no yoga experience. If you've attended yoga classes and found them to be too strenuous or otherwise challenging, this study group is for you.

Earth's history is filled with moments of upheaval, uncertainty, and transformation. In this study group, we will explore four geological stories that reveal how our dynamic planet has shaped climate, civilizations, and even human origins. From sudden global darkness to the near-collapse of ancient societies, from a restless supervolcano to the deep forces that helped create us, each session blends science, history, and discovery to uncover how we know what we know and what remains uncertain.

"Great Decisions" is the Foreign Policy Association's public education program about US foreign policy and global affairs. Currently, relations with other nations are undergoing great change; there are new winners and new losers. Old rules don't apply and the world is struggling to make new ones. However, the geographical map of natural resources, manufacturing, trade routes, and population centers has not changed. Join us for a thoughtful examination of the major issues and new directions in foreign policy.

Dick Scott first spoke to his primary care physician about his suspicions in March 2026. Fortunately, treatment is now available, and he had his first infusion 10 weeks later in June. Therapy and life changes are currently progressing without complications. He will give you information you can use to be your own, or another's, advocate in living with this disease. Fellow member Alex Marcus, a neurologist and psychiatrist, will join Dick in discussing this important topic.

Igor Stravinsky was one of the 20th century's most astonishing musical innovators. During a career spanning more than 60 years, he repeatedly surprised audiences by reinventing his musical style, from Russian fairy tales and lush ballets to elegant neoclassical works and powerful sacred music. At the core of his achievement stands The Rite of Spring whose Paris premiere provoked one of the most famous incidents in music history. Each class will combine Robert Greenberg's engaging (and humorous) lectures with performances and video excerpts from some of the world's finest musicians and dance companies. We will also hear insights from conductors and teachers who will help us listen.

The vast majority of insect species live solitary lives, with interactions among individuals largely confined to mating. Yet there are a few groups of insects –all ants and termites, as well as some bees and wasps – that live in colonies with individuals specialized for different tasks. Depending on the species, these colonies can be made up of anywhere from a handful of individuals to millions of them. As a result, these social insect groups make up a major fraction of the insect biomass on earth. Their ecological impact is equally important. In this class we will examine the ecology, evolution, and behavior of these insects as well as their effects, both beneficial and deleterious, on human societies.

This class concerns itself with the history of ideas, a branch of history that explores the climate of intellectual thoughts in given eras. We will focus on the ancient Greeks. We will look at the "great thinkers" like Plato and Aristotle and also other "schools" of thought like the Stoics and the Pythagoreans, et al. We will also survey art and ethics. There is a current and a continuum in Western thinking that still feeds our current take on cosmology (how the world works), epistemology (what is "truth" or "realism") and what we value.

Who was Katherine Routledge? How did her extraordinary but tragic life impact the world's understanding of Easter Island? Why were her anthropology field notes from Easter Island "lost?" How has their rediscovery changed our understanding of Easter Island's history and culture? Join this class to discover how one woman's 16 months on Easter Island in 1914 could have changed how it was known, and how this knowledge has yielded an accurate understanding of its history.

Knitting with others is a wonderful learning environment. This class is designed to give knitters who have mastered the basic stitches of knit and purl a chance to work on a project of their choosing while we chat and share ideas online with other knitters. All levels of ability are welcome! Gale contributes to the class by offering tips and suggestions for patterns, yarn, and tools based on her years of knitting experience.

When did France become France? Using maps, this class will examine the changing boundaries and structures within the territory now known as France from the fall of the western Roman Empire circa 450 CE to the French Revolution in 1789. Key events and personalities will punctuate the story of the origins of the France we know today.

West Africa is unlike anywhere else on Earth. In Benin, Togo, and Ghana, ancient Voodoo traditions continue to shape everyday life alongside Christianity and Islam. Explore remarkable ceremonies, tribal cultures, the Ashanti kingdom, and the moving legacy of the Atlantic slave trade in a presentation with many photos and videos. Visit a fetish market, partake in funeral rites, and attend the Festival of Akwasidae at which the Ashanti chiefs gather to pay homage to the Asantehene, the Ashanti King. Try and understand what it was like in the horrific dungeons at Elmina, Ghana, where enslaved people were warehoused before being shipped to the new world. And much, much more.

Can certain foods improve memory? Can what you eat actually lower your risk of Alzheimer's disease? In this class, ASU Clinical Nutrition Professor and Registered Dietitian Tina Shepard shares what the latest research says about how food and lifestyle choices affect the brain and how specific nutrients impact cognitive function and overall brain health. You'll leave with practical, evidence-based dietary recommendations you can start using right away.

The giant planet Jupiter has captivated astronomers, scientists, and inquisitive minds for centuries. From Galileo's first telescopic observations of four its moons in 1610 to exploration by today's cutting-edge spacecrafts, Jupiter has proven to be one of the most scientifically rich objects of investigation in our solar system. This class takes participants on a guided journey through decades of exploration, drawing on data from NASA's Pioneer, Voyager, Galileo, and Juno missions. We will investigate the physics, geology, and astrobiology of the Jovian system and confront one of science's most tantalizing questions: could life exist in our own cosmic backyard?

Each week the class will read poems by an individual poet, a collection of poems on a specific subject, or a collection of poems in a specific style. A wide range of poets and poetry will be presented, from classic to contemporary. We will discuss poetry from the perspective that the poet creates the work but the reader activates it.

This class, the second in a sequence based on Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, focuses on the Agricultural Revolution, one of the most consequential and most debated transformations in human history. The class traces the emergence of villages, cities, kingdoms, and empires, examining what farming made possible and what it cost the people who adopted it. Along the way we consider how hierarchies, laws, and religions emerged as tools for holding complex societies together, how writing transformed human memory and administration, and how Harari builds his case that the Agricultural Revolution was not a liberation but a trap. Throughout the class, particular attention is given to separating well-established evidence from interpretation and informed speculation.

This class will explore the works of science fiction and fantasy authors. We will discuss the differences and similarities between the two genres, and note the many crossover authors who write in both realms. We are in for a fun ride with authors who have crafted characters and worlds which will carry us to worlds of adventure far, far away.

Few authors are as quotable, or as consistently underestimated, as Dorothy Parker. Her caustic wit and succinct wisdom have secured her status as a literary powerhouse who moved seamlessly between essays and poetry, fiction and observation, sharp social commentary and deep personal feeling. Yet Parker herself worried that audiences were too dazzled by her "calisthenics with words" to grasp the deeper truths behind her cultural observations. This class gives Parker's life and literature the thoughtful, close reading they deserve. We'll sketch her character and intentions through her own words, then discuss a selection of her most notable work. All readings provided.

We trace the Crusades from the world that spawned them to their enduring legacies, beginning with the pressures facing Byzantium, the Islamic Golden Age, and the feudal rivalries of medieval Europe. We examine the religious, political, and economic forces behind the First Crusade and the fall of Jerusalem in 1099. We follow the Muslim resurgence under Saladin, his rivalry with Richard the Lionheart, and the decline and fall of the Crusader movement through the fall of Acre in 1291. We close with legacies of cultural exchange, military orders (e.g., The Templars) and lasting tensions.

Join us for a relaxed, welcoming eight-week art series designed for beginners and anyone returning to creativity. Using a single sketchbook throughout the class, you'll build a simple, enjoyable creative habit – one page at a time. Each week explores a new approach: gentle drawing, marker basics, watercolor, watercolor pencils, colored pencils, smartphone photography for inspiration, and maintaining your sketchbook practice. No experience or perfection needed – just curiosity. By the end, you'll have a sketchbook filled with your artwork. Please bring the same sketchbook each week.

Join the Honorable Jennifer G. Zipps, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, and her law clerk, Iesha Phillips, for a three-part series on how free speech shapes everyday life, empowers individuals to challenge unjust systems, and strengthens democracy. Using real-world examples, the series will explore when speech is protected, when the government can set rules, and how the First Amendment applies to protests, schools, public meetings, journalism, social media, and controversial speech.

Persia, now called Iran, has an ancient and rich history of producing fascinating architecture and artifacts whether they be paintings, ceramics, decorated tile works, metal works, or carpets. The beauty of Persian culture from earliest times has significantly influenced a large part of the world's creative endeavors. This class will introduce select works from early Persian history through the early twentieth century.

Start your Tuesday with music and songs. Join us in a fun, informal sing-along. Bring your voices and/or musical instruments. The operative word is "fun." If you like music, you will like this class. All levels welcome!

Throughout history scientific progress has often advanced in dramatic bursts following long periods of dormancy. This class examines the revolutionary discoveries that transformed our understanding across the major branches of science: mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, and geology. Topics include the rise of the Copernican universe, atomic theory, plate tectonics, Darwin's theory of evolution, and Newton's laws of motion and gravity. The emphasis is on historical perspective: why did these breakthroughs happen when and where they did? This class is for scientists and non-scientists alike.

Join us to learn more about the various services B-Line, Butte County's public transit provider, offers for older adults and people with disabilities.

In this class we will look at what research in neuroscience is teaching us about how the brain and mind work. We will also learn about using that knowledge to provide better care for patients. The role of AI, brain imaging, immunology, and genetics will be included. Selected topics on health, medicine and biotechnology may also be discussed.

It was a time of radical change, a time of violence. England was under siege internally and externally. Being on the wrong side, politically or religiously, could result in torture and death. Into this confusing and disordered world strode a young married man who had left his home of Stratford-upon-Avon to attempt his hand at playwriting for the London stage. His name was William Shakespeare. Join us for a discussion of the TV show Will, described as "Shakespeare on sex, drugs, and rock and roll."

Learn to write a short 10- to 20-minute play. We will cover the basics of playwriting, including format, structure, character, conflict, and dialogue. This is a workshop-style class in which we discuss concepts and techniques, share what we have written, and write short exercises to develop skills. Prompts will be offered to stimulate your ideas. There will be an opportunity for some of the plays to be performed in the annual OLLI Play Festival.