History, Classics, & Philosophy   

• Comedy Explored: Is It Just for a Laugh?

• This course focuses on the many facets of comedy. We will explore the historical and contemporary scholarship that focuses on defining comedy and the characteristic elements of comedy. Emphasis will also be placed on the psychological components of jokes/jest and laughter production. Lastly, we will consider the significance of comedy, for the individual, community, and society as we look at stand-up comics and comedic theater/television and laughter. This course is primarily lecture based with some opportunities for discussions.

   

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• Instructor: Orin James          Fee: $0.00

• Dates: 6/27/2022 - 8/1/2022     Days: M     Times: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM     Sessions: 5

• This course will be held over Zoom

• This course will meet on June 27th; July 11th, 18th, 25th and Aug 1st.

Members: To view ADD TO CART below a course, Registration must be open. You must be signed in to your account. Your membership must be active and paid up -OR- you have added a membership to your cart. If you are new to OLLI: you must create an account and be signed into it - AND- have a membership in your shopping cart in order to view "ADD TO CART" buttons below courses. How do you know if you are signed in? You will see "Welcome, YourFirstName" in the upper left side of the page, under the OLLI at Pitt logo.

• Mythology of the Ancient and Modern World: Monsters and the Misunderstood

• Mythological traditions from all over the premodern world are haunted by the non-human: supernatural creatures, immortal beasts, and dangerous monsters are familiar figures of story-telling and oral tradition. But how do we define a monster, versus a scapegoat? Who gets to decide who is a victim and who is a villain? And what is the sociological purpose that makes these alienated figures recur in various forms, many of which are still familiar to this day? In this course, we will read and examine a diverse range of myths from the ancient world, using these ageless stories to examine genre, the art of retelling, and the re-purposing of legends. The myths that we study will be sourced from cultures all over the world, as we seek to understand why myth is riddled with those who may be variously seen as either monstrous or misunderstood.

   

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• Instructor: Marcie Persyn          Fee: $0.00

• Dates: 6/29/2022 - 7/27/2022     Days: W     Times: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM     Sessions: 5

• This course will be held over Zoom

• This course will be held on June 29th; July 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th.

Members: To view ADD TO CART below a course, Registration must be open. You must be signed in to your account. Your membership must be active and paid up -OR- you have added a membership to your cart. If you are new to OLLI: you must create an account and be signed into it - AND- have a membership in your shopping cart in order to view "ADD TO CART" buttons below courses. How do you know if you are signed in? You will see "Welcome, YourFirstName" in the upper left side of the page, under the OLLI at Pitt logo.

• The People’s Empire: British History, 1603-1760

• In an age where absolute monarchy is emerging everywhere in Europe, how does England avoid that path?  This set of lectures examines Britain’s fraught quest for “alternatives” to absolutism beginning with the Stuart dynasty up through the early Hanover kings.  We will give special attention to the English Civil War, the era of the republic under Cromwell, the Restoration, the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the era of Robert Walpole, England’s first “prime minister.”

   

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• Instructor: Jared Day          Fee: $0.00

• Dates: 6/29/2022 - 7/27/2022     Days: W     Times: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM     Sessions: 5

• This course will be held over Zoom

• This course will be held on June 29th; July 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th.

Members: To view ADD TO CART below a course, Registration must be open. You must be signed in to your account. Your membership must be active and paid up -OR- you have added a membership to your cart. If you are new to OLLI: you must create an account and be signed into it - AND- have a membership in your shopping cart in order to view "ADD TO CART" buttons below courses. How do you know if you are signed in? You will see "Welcome, YourFirstName" in the upper left side of the page, under the OLLI at Pitt logo.