> OLLI Courses By Topic > In Person Courses

In Person Courses

Courses below meet in person during the Fall 2021 term.

“You Say You Want a Revolution": A Study of Five Revolutions
Thomas Jefferson once wrote to James Madison, “I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing and is as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.” The American Revolution changed the course of world history and was a model for others worldwide. Other revolutions have had similar effects. This course will examine five revolutions and identify similarities and differences among them. This course aims to better understand why societies seek change, whether through violent or non-violent means.
Show Description
Instructor: L. Jon Grogan Fee: $0.00
Dates: 6/29/2023 - 7/27/2023 Days: Th Times: 10:00 AM - 11:50 AM Sessions: 5
THIS CLASS FORMAT HAS CHANGED AND WILL NOW MEET OVER ZOOM
This class will meet on June 29; July 6, 13, 20 and 27.

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Gene Kelly: A Pittsburgher in Pictures
A native of Pittsburgh and graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Gene Kelly had one of the most successful careers in motion pictures. He was a dancer, singer, actor, choreographer, and director – often more than one at a single time. His screen persona was often of the ‘good guy’, but he also played against type, such as his dramatic performance in Inherit the Wind. He was influential not just as a performer in classics such as Singing in the Rain and An American in Paris but on the art of filmmaking itself.
Show Description
Instructor: Michael Young Fee: $0.00
Dates: 6/28/2023 - 7/26/2023 Days: W Times: 1:00 PM - 2:50 PM Sessions: 5
THIS CLASS WILL MEET IN-PERSON
This class will meet on June 28: July 5, 12, 19 and 26.

Healthy Aging: Part II
This course is the second in a 2-part series that focuses on addressing what are normal changes that accompany aging. However, it is important to recognize that complaints about troublesome symptoms should not be automatically ascribed as part of “growing older” and instead may need evaluation and treatment. Topics for this course include normal age-related changes and diseases associated with skin and wound healing, thermoregulation, impaired sleep, urinary and GI function, and sexuality/intimacy. The course will discuss the legal issues of autonomy, capacity, and competence in making health-care decisions. Finally, care for older adults when hospitalized, with chronic conditions, or with symptoms that would benefit from palliative care will be discussed. No personal medical advice will be given during this course.
Show Description
Instructor: Eileen Chasens Fee: $0.00
Dates: 6/29/2023 - 7/20/2023 Days: Th Times: 1:00 PM - 3:10 PM Sessions: 4
THIS IS A FOUR-WEEK COURSE

THIS CLASS WILL MEET IN-PERSON
This class will meet on June 29; July 6, 13 and 20.

History of Astrology: From Megaliths to Modern America
In lectures illustrated by images of art and architecture, members will review astrology's 5000-year-old history including religious, philosophical, and scientific influences. Focusing on the Western world, the class will begin before 3000 BCE by exploring the megalithic culture of Stone Age astronomy. The course will explore celestial omens and sky gods in Babylon and Egypt. Members will learn about the development of horoscopes in Greece, examine astrology in Judaism and Christianity, and investigate its expansion in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The class will close with its decline during the Scientific Revolution and its revival in modern times. Members will consider arguments against astrology and hear from its advocates including Ptolemy, Galileo, and Carl Jung.
Show Description
Instructor: Lilan Laishley Fee: $0.00
Dates: 6/29/2023 - 7/27/2023 Days: Th Times: 1:00 PM - 2:50 PM Sessions: 5
THIS CLASS WILL MEET IN-PERSON
This class will meet on June 29; July 6, 13, 20 and 27.

Insurrections, Coups, and Conspiracies in America
Members will briefly examine examples of past attempts to undermine or even overthrow democracy in the United States. This course will focus on the findings of the January 6 Committee in detail. The Committee's Report is available online and in inexpensive paperbacks.
Show Description
Instructor: Louise Mayo Fee: $0.00
Dates: 6/28/2023 - 7/26/2023 Days: W Times: 1:00 PM - 2:50 PM Sessions: 5
THIS CLASS WILL MEET IN-PERSON
This class will meet on June 28: July 5, 12, 19 and 26.

Lewis Carroll: Through the Looking Glass and "The Hunting of the Snark"
Along with the Bible and the works of Shakespeare, the Alice books are the most widely quoted texts and have never been out of print. Their author, the Oxford Don of Mathematics, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, revolutionized children’s literature when one of the daughters of the dean of his college asked him to write down the tale he had spun for her one lazy afternoon rowing down the river Isis. In travelling with Alice through the looking-glass and into an animated chess game, members will get a glimpse of Carroll’s imaginative use of puzzles, word play, and games–before they head off on a tongue-in-check, Moby-Dick-like quest with Carroll’s shipmates in The Hunting of the Snark.
Show Description
Instructor: Eleni Anastasiou Fee: $0.00
Dates: 6/26/2023 - 7/24/2023 Days: M Times: 1:00 PM - 2:50 PM Sessions: 5
THIS CLASS WILL MEET IN-PERSON
This class will meet on June 26; July 10, 17, 24 and 31.

Noteworthy American Historians
To increase understanding of America's past, this course looks at the life and work of ten historians, five women and five men. Historians range from Mercy Otis Warren to Gerda Lerner, from Frederic Bancroft to Philip Foner, and the fascinating husband-and-wife team of Charles A. and Mary Ritter Beard.
Show Description
Instructor: John Burt Fee: $0.00
Dates: 6/26/2023 - 7/24/2023 Days: M Times: 10:00 AM - 11:50 AM Sessions: 5
THIS CLASS WILL MEET IN-PERSON
This class will meet on June 26; July 10, 17, 24 and 31.

Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Art
Note: This course has two sections: one online (Tuesdays) and one in-person (Thursdays). The course content is identical. Members may only sign up and only attend one version.

Ovid’s Metamorphoses has long been the most popular source of classical mythology – the stories of Pygmalion, Pyramus and Thisbe, Jupiter and Europa, Apollo and Daphne, Vulcan, Venus, Mars, and many more. Members will be reading the Metamorphoses during the semester – not all the stories, but enough of them to give a sense of the whole followed by discussion about the ways in which the stories have been interpreted through the years. Then, the course will discuss medieval and Renaissance art based on the stories: Veronese’s “Mars and Venus,” Titian’s “Two Venuses,” Pietro Perugino’s, “Apollo and Marsyas,” Titian’s “Rape of Europa,” paintings by Botticelli and Cranach, sculptures by Bernini – and even some Pre-Raphaelite things. Each week members will be notified in advance as to what stories will be discussed, so that they can read the relevant portions of the Metamorphoses. This reading will be helpful and rewarding, but not necessary.

Show Description
Instructor: H. David Brumble Fee: $0.00
Dates: 6/27/2023 - 8/1/2023 Days: Tu Times: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM Sessions: 5
THIS CLASS WILL MEET OVER ZOOM
This class will meet on June 27; July 11, 18, 25 and Aug 1.

Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Art
Note: This course has two sections: one online (Tuesdays) and one in-person (Thursdays). The course content is identical. Members may only sign up and only attend one version.

Ovid’s Metamorphoses has long been the most popular source of classical mythology – the stories of Pygmalion, Pyramus and Thisbe, Jupiter and Europa, Apollo and Daphne, Vulcan, Venus, Mars, and many more. Members will be reading the Metamorphoses during the semester – not all the stories, but enough of them to give a sense of the whole followed by discussion about the ways in which the stories have been interpreted through the years. Then, the course will discuss medieval and Renaissance art based on the stories: Veronese’s “Mars and Venus,” Titian’s “Two Venuses,” Pietro Perugino’s, “Apollo and Marsyas,” Titian’s “Rape of Europa,” paintings by Botticelli and Cranach, sculptures by Bernini – and even some Pre-Raphaelite things. Each week members will be notified in advance as to what stories will be discussed, so that they can read the relevant portions of the Metamorphoses. This reading will be helpful and rewarding, but not necessary.

Show Description
Instructor: H. David Brumble Fee: $0.00
Dates: 6/29/2023 - 7/27/2023 Days: Th Times: 10:00 AM - 11:50 AM Sessions: 5
THIS CLASS WILL MEET IN-PERSON
This class will meet on June 29; July 6, 13, 20 and 27.

Photo Explorations
Get that camera out and start exploring the wonders around you! This course will benefit beginners and advanced photographers. Weekly photo walking explorations and critiques will take place while learning the ins and outs of participants’ cameras. The first week of class, participants will select the locations of our photo explorations. Join the “foto phun!”
Show Description
Instructor: Germaine Watkins Fee: $0.00
Dates: 7/1/2023 - 7/29/2023 Days: Sa Times: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM Sessions: 5
THIS CLASS WILL MEET IN-PERSON
This class will meet on July 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29.

Pittsburgh Jazz Legends: The Land of the Innovators
Pittsburgh is known by jazz insiders as the "Land of the Giant Killers." The lexicon of exceptionally accomplished jazz musicians who were either born in or began their careers in Pittsburgh before building national and international reputations will be featured during the course. Pittsburgh innovators have established unique stylistic trends that have proliferated among succeeding generations. The course will highlight and explore the music, history, and artists that carry on the legacy of Pittsburgh's jazz heritage.
Show Description
Instructor: Nelson Harrison Fee: $0.00
Dates: 6/29/2023 - 7/27/2023 Days: Th Times: 3:15 PM - 4:45 PM Sessions: 5
THIS CLASS WILL MEET IN-PERSON
This class will meet on June 29; July 6, 13, 20 and 27.

Roots of Canada in History and Literature
This course will provide an overview of the formation of what today is the country of Canada, up to the late 1870s soon after it gained independence. To do this, course discussion will be about both historical events and evidence of them in non-fiction and literature of the times. Members will explore the colonization from both the view of the French and the British, which lead to war (including in and around Pittsburgh) and created a nation of diverse languages, faiths, and traditions.
Show Description
Instructor: Michael Young Fee: $0.00
Dates: 6/26/2023 - 7/24/2023 Days: M Times: 1:00 PM - 2:50 PM Sessions: 5
THIS CLASS WILL MEET IN-PERSON
This class will meet on June 26; July 10, 17, 24 and 31.

Shadows: Culture, Science, and Art
Although individuals might relate to shadows as that dark image that sometimes follows them around, shadows are much more than that. Shadows cast a vast net across culture, from Plato to Carl Jung to Peter Pan, to shadow metaphors and myths. Shadows also help us perceive objects, shapes, and textures, serve as a device to measure time and the height of buildings, and play a vital role in creating the habitats of plants, animals, and humans. Shadows also serve as dynamic players in painting, photography, and film. This class will help members fully appreciate shadows by travelling beyond the shadows they encounter in their everyday experiences. This course was previously taught in 2021. A book by Dr. Goldstein based on the topics discussed in this course will be published by the University of Cambridge Press in 2024.
Show Description
Instructor: Bruce Goldstein Fee: $0.00
Dates: 6/26/2023 - 7/24/2023 Days: M Times: 10:00 AM - 11:50 AM Sessions: 5
THIS CLASS WILL MEET IN-PERSON
This class will meet on June 26; July 10, 17, 24 and 31.

Summer Beauties: Reds, Whites, Pinks, and Orange
This course will be held at Dreadnought Wines, 3401 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15201 and will require a $45 fee.

Reds, whites, pinks, and orange—wines just like the roses in summer gardens. Dreadnought Wines and Palate Partners School of Wine & Spirits, Pittsburgh’s premier providers of boutique wine and spirits and consumer education courses, will present three classes that explore why wines are assorted colors and different intensities. What does the wine maker do and what does nature do to make this happen? This course will explore these questions and more.

Show Description
Instructor: Deb Mortillaro Fee: $45.00
Dates: 6/26/2023 - 7/17/2023 Days: M Times: 1:00 PM - 2:50 PM Sessions: 3
THIS IS A THREE-WEEK COURSE

THIS CLASS WILL MEET IN-PERSON AND OFF CAMPUS
This class will meet on June 26; July 10 and 17.

Woody Allen’s Films and Life
Who is Woody Allen? He has been called many names: comedic genius, sexual pervert, nerd, moral reprobate, auteur, philosopher, great filmmaker. This class will explore many aspects of his life and work. Questions participants will consider are: can we appreciate the art or comedy of a person for whom we have questions about that person’s moral character? Is it possible to separate the art from the artist? The class will emphasize Allen’s films with a view to understanding and evaluating the character and thought behind them.
Show Description
Instructor: Joseph Givvin Fee: $0.00
Dates: 6/29/2023 - 7/27/2023 Days: Th Times: 1:00 PM - 2:50 PM Sessions: 5
THIS CLASS WILL MEET IN-PERSON
This class will meet on June 29; July 6, 13, 20 and 27.

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