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> OLLI Courses By Topic > In-Person Courses

In-Person Courses   

Courses below meet in-person, mostly on the University of Pittsburgh Oakland campus.Note that some in-person classes may meet in off-campus locations, and that will be noted in the course description.
 
  • Collage Exploration 
  • Speaker: Penny Lang
    Dates: 3/13/2025 - 4/10/2025
    Times: 10:00 AM - 11:50 AM
    Days: Th
    Sessions: 5
    Modality: In-Person
    Fee: $0.00

    Did you know that collage techniques can be traced back to 200 BC in China, when paper was invented? We will take a brief walk through the history of collage, looking at the early artists who used the techniques, and will spend most our class time developing our own style.

    This course will meet in person March 13, 20, 27, April 3, and 10.

 

 

  • Criminalizing Homelessness in the U.S. 
  • Speaker: Lynn O'Connor
    Dates: 3/10/2025 - 4/7/2025
    Times: 1:00 PM - 2:50 PM
    Days: M
    Sessions: 5
    Modality: In-Person
    Fee: $0.00

    In the recent case City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a local government can enact and enforce criminal penalties such as fines and even jail for acts such as camping or sleeping on public property. Critics have characterized this as criminalizing homelessness. The course will discuss the case and its legacy, the history and causes of homelessness in the United States, and an exploration of homelessness in other countries.

    This course will meet in person March 10, 17, 24, 31, and April 7.

 

 

  • Crossing Borders: Women Immigrants in America 
  • Speaker: Joan Gundersen
    Dates: 3/14/2025 - 4/11/2025
    Times: 1:00 PM - 2:50 PM
    Days: F
    Sessions: 5
    Modality: In-Person
    Fee: $0.00

    The experience of men and women immigrating to the United States is not identical. This course explores the ways policy and life shaped the experience of women from 1550 to the present who came to the United States. The course will explore how, over time, nationality, ethnicity, and gender roles shaped women’s experiences; policies affecting women changed; the places they settled affected their lives; and how those already in America responded to those who arrived.

    This course will meet in person March 14, 21, 28, April 4, and 11.

 

 

  • Dreams and Anxieties: Stories of Fradyl Shtok 
  • Speaker: Lois Rubin
    Dates: 3/12/2025 - 4/9/2025
    Times: 1:00 PM - 2:50 PM
    Days: W
    Sessions: 5
    Modality: In-Person
    Fee: $0.00

    Although 300 Yiddish women writers were listed in biographical dictionaries, few were translated. Because of the women's movement and revived appreciation of Yiddish, twentieth century women scholars found and translated these works. Among these writers was Fradyl Shtok, whose portrayal of the inner lives of characters was ahead of her time. We see women lured by freedom of modern life and immigrants struggling against hardships. Male critics belittled her approach, and she faded from the literary scene. Rediscovered, translators collected 24 stories to create From the Jewish Provinces, which will form the basis of this course.

    This course will meet in person March 12, 19, 26, April 2, and 9.

 

 

  • Dystopian Politics 
  • Speaker: Andrew Lotz
    Dates: 3/10/2025 - 4/7/2025
    Times: 10:00 AM - 11:50 AM
    Days: M
    Sessions: 5
    Modality: In-Person
    Fee: $0.00

    A neologism of the word "utopia" (meaning "the good no-place"), the term "dystopia" was coined to describe attempts by fiction to envision a world that is politically bad, broken, oppressive, and hurtful to human life. These "bad no-places" capture the imagination in fiction and allow sci-fi and futurist fiction in particular to explore the depths that political regimes could reach. This class considers the notion of dystopia in a political theory context and will explore dystopian visions both famous and obscure. We will also spend time thinking about how we leverage the term in our political lives, and what people mean when they utter "this is dystopian": do our visions of potential bad futures have anything to say about our political now?

    This course will meet in person March 10, 17, 24, 31, and April 7.

 

 

  • Fairy Tales and Archetypes, Part 1 
  • THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
  • Speaker: Elizabeth Rodenz
    Dates: 3/10/2025 - 4/7/2025
    Times: 1:00 PM - 2:50 PM
    Days: M
    Sessions: 5
    Modality: In-Person
    Fee: $0.00

    The fairy tale is an unaffected type of story, recounting sometimes inexplicable and unbelievable events that are set in some indefinite place and time. They seem to be innocent stories, but they were not written for children. Instead, they contain profound lessons for adults who are willing to dive deep into the waters of their meaning. Myths and fairy tales give expression to unseen unconscious processes and illuminate how the personal and the impersonal worlds are entwined and weave in and out, uniting the past and present. As we explore the archetypes and archetypal themes within fairy tales, we will discern whether they are significant and apropos for us today.

    This course will meet in person March 10, 17, 24, 31, and April 7.

 

  • Films of Alfred Hitchcock 
  • Speaker: David Shifren
    Dates: 3/14/2025 - 4/11/2025
    Times: 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
    Days: F
    Sessions: 5
    Modality: In-Person
    Fee: $0.00

    Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jimmy Stewart, Claude Rains, Raymond Burr! This list of Hollywood icons, actors not just accomplished but beloved, even idolized in their time, clamored to appear in films by the undisputed master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. Come learn why as we watch and discuss some of Hitchcock's best films. Movies shown will include Spellbound, Strangers on a Train, Notorious, To Catch a Thief, and Rear Window.

    This course will meet in person March 14, 21, 28, April 4, and 11.

 

 

  • Hiking the County Parks Wednesday 2A
  • THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
  • Speaker: Melissa Sokulski
    Dates: 3/12/2025 - 4/9/2025
    Times: 10:00 AM - 11:50 AM
    Days: W
    Sessions: 5
    Modality: In-Person
    Fee: $0.00

    Each week a hike is conducted through a different county park including Settlers Cabin, South Park, North Park, Hartwood Acres, and Deer Lakes. Each hike is 2-3 miles in length, on sometimes narrow and uneven trails. Members must find their own transportation to the parks.

    Note: This class has two sections and members may only sign up for ONE section.

    This course will meet in person March 12, 19, 26, April 2, and 9.

 

  • Hiking the County Parks Thursday 2B
  • THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
  • Speaker: Melissa Sokulski
    Dates: 3/13/2025 - 4/10/2025
    Times: 10:00 AM - 11:50 AM
    Days: Th
    Sessions: 5
    Modality: In-Person
    Fee: $0.00

    Each week a hike is conducted through a different county park including Settlers Cabin, South Park, North Park, Hartwood Acres, and Deer Lakes. Each hike is 2-3 miles in length, on sometimes narrow and uneven trails. Members must find their own transportation to the parks.

    Note: This class has two sections and members may only sign up for ONE section.

    This course will meet in person March 13, 20, 27, April 3, and 10.

 

  • India Rising: The Economics of an Emerging Superpower 
  • Speaker: Gautam Mukerjee
    Dates: 3/12/2025 - 4/9/2025
    Times: 1:00 PM - 2:50 PM
    Days: W
    Sessions: 5
    Modality: In-Person
    Fee: $0.00

    This course explores India’s slow rise to become an economic superpower. An economic landscape inherited from the British faced a steep push to modernize after gaining independence in 1947. The next three decades pitched the idea of democratic socialism against capitalist market forces as policymakers struggled under Gandhi’s long shadow. The 1990s witnessed a sharp turn toward market liberalization that lent to the rise of “Modinomics” in 2014 which catapulted India into global prominence within a decade.

    This course will meet in person March 12, 19, 26, April 2, and 9.

 

 

  • Introduction to Museum Studies 
  • Speaker: Foster Krupp
    Dates: 3/10/2025 - 4/7/2025
    Times: 3:15 PM - 5:00 PM
    Days: M
    Sessions: 5
    Modality: In-Person
    Fee: $0.00

    This course is for anyone who loves museums and wants to learn more about them! We will discuss museums throughout their history, starting with early collections of curiosity. The course will then explore different types of museums that emerge over time. We will break down museum studies and conclude with a discussion of the current state of decolonization and repatriation efforts. With this course, participants will be able to gain greater appreciation and understanding of all types of museums.

    PLEASE NOTE: THIS COURSE HAS MOVED TO SESSION 2. IT WILL MEET IN PERSON MONDAYS 3:15-5 P.M.

    This course will meet in person March 10, 17, 24, 31, and April 7.

 

 

  • Introduction to Shakespeare's Later Plays 
  • Speaker: Alan Irvine
    Dates: 3/13/2025 - 4/10/2025
    Times: 3:15 PM - 5:00 PM
    Days: Th
    Sessions: 5
    Modality: In-Person
    Fee: $0.00

    At the end of his career, Shakespeare wrote a number of plays that defy easy description. Not exactly comedies, not wholly tragedies, they are often called romances or problem plays. These include some of Shakespeare’s most beloved plays and some of his more troubling or obscure plays. Basic summaries of the plays (The Tempest, Winter’s Tale, Cymbeline, Pericles, Measure for Measure) will be offered, so the class is a good introduction for someone reading these plays for the first time, but is also a chance to explore some of Shakespeare’s most complex works.

    This course will meet in person March 13, 20, 27, April 3, and 10.

 

 

  • Plato's Republic: The Most Controversial Book Ever Written 
  • Speaker: Joseph Givvin
    Dates: 3/13/2025 - 4/10/2025
    Times: 3:15 PM - 5:00 PM
    Days: Th
    Sessions: 5
    Modality: In-Person
    Fee: $0.00

    Decried as madness, admired for the power of its imagery, identifed as the forerunner of communism, and called the first argument for equality of the sexes, Plato’s Republic still challenges readers today. How should we educate our young? What is knowledge? Is there a reason for the universe? Lectures will examine various interpretations of Plato’s Republic and briefly compare it to other visions like Thomas More’s Utopia and B.F. Skinner’s Walden II. Members will be asked to read Plato’s Republic.

    This course will meet in person March 13, 20, 27, April 3, and 10.

 

 

  • Poster Design from Propaganda to Rock Concerts 
  • Speaker: Jane Dudley
    Dates: 3/14/2025 - 4/11/2025
    Times: 10:00 AM - 11:50 AM
    Days: F
    Sessions: 5
    Modality: In-Person
    Fee: $0.00

    Posters are not dead. They are everywhere, even in this digital age. A poster tells a story, conveys ideas, changes minds, and sells products. They represent the time in which they were created and have often shaped the societies in which they are seen. In the first class, we will discuss some general graphic design concepts behind effective posters and take a brief look at the history of posters, from 1880s Art Nouveau to today. Each class after that will examine a different type of poster such as advertising and travel, propaganda, movie and theater, and music and rock posters.

    This course will meet in person March 14, 21, 28, April 4, and 11.

 

 

  • Sir Winston Churchill: Life and Career 
  • THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
  • Speaker: Jack Puglisi
    Dates: 3/10/2025 - 4/7/2025
    Times: 10:00 AM - 11:50 AM
    Days: M
    Sessions: 5
    Modality: In-Person
    Fee: $0.00

    This course provides an introduction to the remarkable life and career of Sir Winston Churchill. He is renowned as a writer, journalist, orator, painter, soldier, statesman, adventurer, and the man most responsible for the defeat of the Axis powers during World War II. The innumerable accomplishments and activities of his 90-year life will be reviewed and discussed.

    This course will meet in person March 10, 17, 24, 31, and April 7.

 

  • Social Themes in the American Musical, Part 2 
  • THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
  • Speaker: Jim Cassaro
    Dates: 3/13/2025 - 4/10/2025
    Times: 1:00 PM - 2:50 PM
    Days: Th
    Sessions: 5
    Modality: In-Person
    Fee: $0.00

    In this course, we continue to examine landmark American musicals and how the musical genre engaged with major social and political issues challenging the United States through the 20th century, as well as explore musicals that overtly engage with race, class, gender, and sexuality as sociopolitical dynamics. Beginning with In the Heights, and including South Pacific, Oklahoma!, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch, this course reads musicals as documents of social and political change, investigating how song, dance, text, design and staging offered different ways of engaging with modern American life.

    Note: Part 1 is not a pre-requisite for Part 2.

    This course will meet in person March 13, 20, 27, April 3, and 10.

 

  • The Fourth Genre: Creative Nonfiction 
  • Speaker: Joseph Harris
    Dates: 3/13/2025 - 4/10/2025
    Times: 10:00 AM - 11:50 AM
    Days: Th
    Sessions: 5
    Modality: In-Person
    Fee: $0.00

    Poetry, fiction, and drama. Those are the commonly-named genres of literature. But what about authors who use the techniques of literature while writing about actual events and people? In this course we will look at the emerging and exciting “fourth genre” of creative nonfiction. Drawing on brief examples from both print and the internet, we will examine a different form of creative nonfiction each week: flash nonfiction, personal narratives, fractured narratives, personal critical writing, and hermit crab essays. You should end the course with some new favorite pieces and authors to follow!

    This course will meet in person March 13, 20, 27, April 3, and 10.

 

 

  • Three Famous Jury Trials in U.S. History Session 2, Online
  • Speaker: Tom Allen
    Dates: 3/11/2025 - 4/8/2025
    Times: 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
    Days: Tu
    Sessions: 5
    Modality: Online
    Fee: $0.00

    In this course we will look at three trials that captured Americans' attention and are now regarded as landmark events in U.S. history: the 1925 Scopes "monkey trial," where William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow fought over Tennessee's attempt to prohibit teaching evolution in the public schools; the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder trial involving a controversial defense trial strategy that led to an acquittal of the defendant but divided the country; and the 1969 trial of the "Chicago Seven," protesters at the 1968 Democratic Convention who continued their protests in a federal Chicago courtroom.

    Note: This course will be offered twice, once in person and once online. It is the same course.

    This course will meet online March 11, 18, 25, April 1, and 8.

 

 

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