Online Learning   

Building on the techniques learned in the beginning-level class, you'll learn to transform the basic dough into more beautiful, specialty seasonal bread. Prerequisite: "Artisan Bread Making: Beginning."

The Arts of Islam introduces the architecture and arts of the western Islamic world dating from the seventh through the seventeenth centuries. We will review Islamic monuments on the Arabian Peninsula, throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Spain, Turkey, and Iran. Particularly, we will look at the art of the book, paintings, ceramics, and metalworks.

Our exploration of the Earth, Solar System, and Universe continues. This semester our topics will include the Cosmic Distance Ladder, Stellar Evolution, and Supernova. Constellation Concentration will further our in-depth look at a different constellation each week. And, we will continue with ‘Selected Short Subjects’. There will be several guest speakers from the University of Arizona's Astronomy, Planetary Sciences, and Geosciences Departments.

As always we will discuss on-going discoveries in Astronomy, Planetary Sciences, and Earth Sciences. And, Science Fiction Theatre continues, with short clips highlighting a century of Sci Fi movies and TV shows. And of course there will be ’Geo-feature-of-the-Week’, ‘What’s for Launch’, and ‘Books-of-the-Week’.

Information will be conveyed using short videos, awesome photos, understandable/fun graphics, and class discussions. Please join us for this continuing journey of discovery and adventure. Being in an earlier Astronomy/Geosciences class that I have hosted is neither a prerequisite nor necessary to understand and enjoy this class.

Chico State's tradition of academic excellence goes back more than 130 years. With over 900 faculty members and 14,200 students, the University's teaching and learning community is thriving. Discover the imagination, cutting-edge research, and expertise that flourishes in our own backyard!

A scintillating review of current themes in the media will be discussed in each class. Class members present a topic, discuss it, then open the floor for discussion and debate. Poetry, literature, scientific discovery, and educational progress are examples of the issues dealt with. Special guests are welcome to present.

If you like to draw or wish you were more inspired to draw, join us for four sessions of drawing together online. Each class will feature one or more fun and inspiring drawing prompts that we will all work on at the same time. Our drawings may go in very different directions based on how we each interpret the prompts, and that is perfectly fine. Being able to draw together can help inspire us to continue drawing on our own.

Formerly "French for Travelers," this course is for those who want to focus on pronunciation, politesse, and practicalities – the vocabulary and idioms helpful as an introduction to French and for travelers in French-speaking countries. The class is conducted mainly in English, with the aim of explaining how to say and understand basic French expressions. Note: flirting WITH French, not flirting IN French!

This course is for people who have studied some French in the past. We study basic French grammar, usage, and vocabulary. The focus is communicating with others in written and spoken French. If you are new to French, consider enrolling in "Flirting with French" (formerly "French for Travelers") for an introduction to the sounds of, and expressions in, French.

You know a fair amount of French, but you sometimes blank on a verb conjugation or wonder when to use which preposition? You want to express your thoughts in French with more facility? Be prepared for classes that focus on grammar, usage, creating French sentences, and improving listening skills, plus reading French writings to hone our skills.

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.

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 (SG) you will learn foundational practices from the Himalayan Yoga Tradition. Each session of this SG 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 SG 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 SG is for you.

"Great Decisions" is the Foreign Policy Association's public education program about U.S. foreign policy and global affairs. Topics include energy geopolitics, war crimes, China and the US, economic warfare, politics in Latin America, global famine, Iran and the US, and climate migration. We will select four topics each term, plus additional topics of interest to the class.

This lecture series consists of distinct classes, each designed to address a unique area of health-related issues. Presented by highly-qualified physicians and other caregivers, these classes will provide you with an opportunity to learn more about staying healthy and active. Each class is a complete topic and participants are invited to attend any combination of the offerings during the series.

This class picks up where Part 1 left off. There is so much more to cover! We will look at illustration history in Japan, China, and Korea, with emphasis on fashion illustration and illustrators who concentrated on cartooning. I'll also talk about nature illustrations, the human body, and whatever else strikes our collective class fancy!

Over the past three years, OLLI has been exploring issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. These classes have provoked many questions, around which much stimulating conversation has followed. We agree that looking at unconscious racism is a self-examination that requires other voices. In this class we will read the book Caste by Isabel Wilkerson and use, at least in part, a study guide prepared for Oprah's Book Club. We plan to focus on how this book is and can be relevant to our daily lives.

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 hang out 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.

W.B. Yeats, in his essay "The Celtic Element In Literature," spoke of visions of a world expressed by people who "believed that trees were divine, and could take a human or grotesque shape and dance among the shadows." Once a powerful people who dominated much of Europe, the Celts were reduced to a few small groups after the Roman invasions. However, their mythology survived, thanks largely to the efforts of medieval Irish and Welsh monks who wrote down the stories.

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 class member once said that she liked reading poetry because it was like opening Pandora's box – one never knew what one would find inside. A wide range of poets and poetry will be presented, from classic to contemporary, and we will discuss them from the perspective that the poet creates the work, but the reader activates it.

This class will discuss favorite science fiction authors, their books, and the human, political, and scientific issues they raise. The books and authors will be chosen by Sydney from suggestions by participants. This is a fun, free-flowing gathering of science fiction enthusiasts. Please join us and bring your ideas, insights, and suspension of disbelief.

Once again, we will try to take apart a Shakespeare play and figure out how and why it works. As You Like It is one of the most congenial of all Shakespeare offerings, with plenty of opportunities to explore its place in the culture of its time. I'll do some talking as necessary to sketch background and add context, but will try to let it function as a group discussion. No prior exposure to Shakespeare necessary.

TED Conferences, LLC is a media organization that posts talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading." TED's early emphasis was on technology and design, consistent with its Silicon Valley origins, but it has since broadened its repertoire to include talks on many scientific, cultural, and academic topics. Join us for the opportunity to view and discuss various TED Talks and get to know fellow OLLI members better.

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.

Start your Tuesday with music and songs. Join us in a fun, informal weekly 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!