Tuesday Session 2

Spring Term 2023 course registration is open.

Each course is marked, in the description, if it is an in-person, face-to-face course or if it is an online Zoom course.

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IN-PERSON COURSE TIMES AND ROOM ASSIGNMENTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. PLEASE CHECK BACK HERE FOR UPDATES

Better Balance! Steady and Strong
Are you looking for an exercise program designed to improve your everyday life? This course, led by a physical therapist, will focus on balance and core strengthening exercises. Come join the fun and learn a program designed to improve your posture and daily function, while also decreasing your risk of falls and injury.

No special equipment is needed, and most of the exercises are completed standing. No part of the program involves getting up and down from the floor. This program is suitable for beginners yet appropriate for those with more exercise experience as it can be adapted to fit individual needs.

Show Description
Instructor: Diane Markovitz Fee: $0.00
Dates: 3/14/2023 - 4/11/2023 Days: Tu Times: 9:00 AM - 9:55 AM Sessions: 5
This class will be held over Zoom
This class will meet on March 14, 21, 28; Apr 4 and 11.

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.

Edgar Allan Poe: Neurotic Genius
Poe is the greatest innovator in world literature. He was the father of the horror tale, the detective novel, science fiction and symbolist poetry. Through the influence of Baudelaire and Verlaine, he ushered the new American republic onto the world stage. "The Poetic Principle" is the best short manifesto of Romanticism, and "The Man of the Crowd" anticipates Kafka. "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym" inspired Jorge Luis Borges. Tracing Poe's troubled life can help us understand how neurosis and addiction can lead to great art. We will begin our readings with his incantatory poetry before proceeding to a selection of the short fiction and some of his philosophical musings.

Show Description
Instructor: Cliff Johnson Fee: $0.00
Dates: 3/14/2023 - 4/11/2023 Days: Tu Times: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM Sessions: 5
This class will be held over Zoom
This class will meet on March 14, 21, 28; Apr 4 and 11.

Family Values: Biblical Womanhood
This is the second part of a two-course cycle (the first part was Biblical Manhood). Contemporary society has come to the realization that ideas of what defines gender are culturally conditioned by their time and place. In addition, when one is categorized within a certain gender, there are duties, obligations and assumptions that follow from that. The Bible is one place where this constellation of ideas about gender and family relationships can be drawn. How does the Bible present the women within or constrained by gender roles? This course seeks to provide an overview of what it means to be a biblical mother, sister, wife, and daughter. Through this lens we will seek to identify how the Bible characterizes these roles and what, if any, conclusions regarding family dynamics that we might draw.

Show Description
Instructor: Sandra Collins Fee: $0.00
Dates: 3/14/2023 - 4/11/2023 Days: Tu Times: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM Sessions: 5
This class will be held over Zoom
This class will meet on March 14, 21, 28; Apr 4 and 11.

Middle Eastern Arabic Music Traditions
In this course, you will enjoy beautiful melodies and danceable rhythms and explore ancient instruments still in use today. Arabic music comes in wide varieties: folk and classical traditions, the music of Arabic cinema, wedding music, and recent developments. We will cover important developments in the history of this music and listen to classical recordings of the past hundred years. We will explore the traditional instrumental music ensemble as well as vocal traditions from a variety of countries. We will learn about the emotional effect of musical expression in Arabic cultures. This course will provide insights into the creative imagination of composers and performers who transformed traditional Arabic musical genres. No prior experience with the topic is necessary.

Show Description
Instructor: Akram Haddad Fee: $0.00
Dates: 3/14/2023 - 4/11/2023 Days: Tu Times: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM Sessions: 5
This class will be held over Zoom
This class will meet on March 14, 21, 28; Apr 4 and 11.

Zentangle Inspirations
Artists are often asked, "Where do you get your ideas?" This course will playfully examine inspiration through Zentangle® drawing. Zentangle® is a process of drawing small abstract works of art, using easy steps and simple tools. No previous experience is necessary. Sources of our inspiration will include nature, ancient peoples, architecture, well-known artists and fantasy worlds.

Show Description
Instructor: Sue Schneider Fee: $0.00
Dates: 3/14/2023 - 4/11/2023 Days: Tu Times: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM Sessions: 5
This class will be held over Zoom
This class will meet on March 14, 21, 28; Apr 4 and 11.

Paul and the First Christians
What did it mean to be a "follower of the Christ" in the Roman Empire in the first century? This course undertakes a close reading of the letters of Paul the Apostle (as our primary evidence), drawing upon critical methods of analysis in modern New Testament and historical interpretation. Paul is often described as the true "founder" of the religion of Christianity, and we will explore the way in which his writings came to influence the later Church. We also survey the cultural context of his communities and the ways in which this culture may have contributed to Paul's thinking, specifically in relation to "salvation," women, and the role of the early Christians as citizens of the Empire.

Show Description
Instructor: Rebecca Denova Fee: $0.00
Dates: 3/14/2023 - 4/11/2023 Days: Tu Times: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Sessions: 5
This class will be held In-Person
This class will meet on March 14, 21, 28; Apr 4 and 11.

Impact of Epidemics on Civilization: From Black Death to COVID
This course covers the major epidemics that have ravaged humanity and attempts to explain how those diseases have shaped who we are as a society. We will discuss the worst of the epidemic diseases as causative agents of change in history, religious traditions, social interactions and technology. The course will include a component that "looks forward” to the technologies that can help us, the interconnectedness that makes us more vulnerable and the politics of dealing with epidemics. We will also discuss bioterrorism threats.

Show Description
Instructor: Christine Milcarek Fee: $0.00
Dates: 3/14/2023 - 4/11/2023 Days: Tu Times: 10:00 AM - 11:50 AM Sessions: 5
This class will be held In-Person
This class will meet on March 14, 21, 28; Apr 4 and 11.

Getting the Most from your iPad
If you have been “playing around” with your iPad but have always wondered how to harness its full power, this course is for you. You will learn how to make the most of the iPad’s many features and understand exactly what makes this an incredibly useful piece of technology. This course will focus on all the various tips and tricks, and you will get smart in your use of the iPad--from arranging apps to diving into the control center, to helping the battery stay powered, to splitting the screen! You will learn about widgets, managing storage, navigating between app features and so much more. For this course, you will need an iPad running the current version of iPad OS 16.

Show Description
Instructor: Richard Fitzgibbon Fee: $0.00
Dates: 3/14/2023 - 4/11/2023 Days: Tu Times: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Sessions: 5
This class will be held over Zoom
This class will meet on March 14, 21, 28; Apr 4 and 11.

Introduction to Cervantes' Don Quixote
The purpose of this course is to provide members with a more in-depth understanding of Cervantes' prose through an examination of its historical context as well as a discussion of its central literary elements. Since the novel “Don Quixote” covers a wide range of subjects, it needs to be understood with the help of certain guides and references. As you travel through Cervantes' engaging prose, it will allow you to become immersed in the passionate world of his work in an enjoyable manner, enabling you to gain a deeper understanding of it. Members do not need to have previously read the book. The course will serve as a starting point for a more detailed reading of the text.

Show Description
Instructor: Alvaro Bernal Fee: $0.00
Dates: 3/14/2023 - 4/11/2023 Days: Tu Times: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Sessions: 5
This class will be held over Zoom
This class will meet on March 14, 21, 28; Apr 4 and 11.

American Art Museums and Collectors
The United States is home to some of the best art collections—and some of the most interesting and eclectic art collectors in the world. This course crosses the country looking for the foundation of some of America's more notable art museums and how they came to be. We will begin with the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, founded in 1805, as the first and oldest art museum and school in the country. We will then visit other notable museums such as the Frick Collection, the Barnes Collection, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. We will explore the colorful personalities responsible for the collections, the architecture of the museums, the art held within and favored by each collector, and the issues surrounding collecting and display from each period covered.

Show Description
Instructor: Katherine Zoraster Fee: $0.00
Dates: 3/14/2023 - 4/11/2023 Days: Tu Times: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Sessions: 5
This class will be held over Zoom
This class will meet on March 14, 21, 28; Apr 4 and 11.

Best American Short Stories 2022
This annual Osher class returns with a new instructor and, as always, a new assortment of short stories from our text, “Best American Short Stories 2022.” In each installment of the series, a different writer selects the short stories. Part of our assessment of the stories will be how they reflect editorial judgment and patterns of selection. The most important part of the course, however, will be our own responses to the stories, how they touch us emotionally and collectively, and what this year’s selection of the best short fiction reveals, if anything at all, about our current lives and society.

Show Description
Instructor: David Walton Fee: $0.00
Dates: 3/14/2023 - 4/11/2023 Days: Tu Times: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Sessions: 5
This class will be held over Zoom
This class will meet on March 14, 21, 28; Apr 4 and 11.

Ahab Beckons! “Moby-Dick, or The Whale”
Coded into a seafaring tale of an insane, revenge-fixated captain and his mixed-race crew, “Moby-Dick” presents America at her worst -- heedless, hell-bent on the mindless destruction of the natural world, plunging mercilessly into imperialism and barbarism, careening headlong into the bloodiest war in American history – and at her best – true brotherhood and miraculous survival. As irresistible as it is overwhelming, with unmistakable and frightening parallels to today, the novel is a riveting meditation on leadership, duty, race, the physical world, and a nation so at war with itself that, like the brutalized Native Americans for whom the ship the Pequod is named, it nearly self-destructs. We will be using Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick” as our textbook, and it can be found online for free.

Show Description
Instructor: Abby Mendelson Fee: $0.00
Dates: 3/14/2023 - 4/11/2023 Days: Tu Times: 1:15 AM - 2:50 AM Sessions: 5
This class will be held In-Person
This class will meet on March 14, 21, 28; Apr 4 and 11.

Music in the Classic Hollywood Western: Listening to Max Steiner
Often referred to as the “Father of Film Music,” Max Steiner (1888-1971) composed musical accompaniments for hundreds of feature films, 27 of which were westerns. As the most popular and lucrative film genre during much of Hollywood's history, the western offered Steiner the opportunity to compose music for diverse narratives and a variety of starring actors, representing important developments in its style. This course will focus on Steiner's music for several westerns, examining how Steiner adapted his Viennese musical background, grounded in an operatic style, to fit the frontier musical aesthetic. Lectures will include extensive film clips, but participants may want to watch complete films outside of class. In addition to a suggested biography of Steiner, there will be short weekly readings.

Show Description
Instructor: Mariana Whitmer Fee: $0.00
Dates: 3/14/2023 - 4/11/2023 Days: Tu Times: 1:00 PM - 2:50 PM Sessions: 5
This class will be held In-Person
This class will meet on March 14, 21, 28; Apr 4 and 11.

Singers/Songwriters of Rock, Part III
This course is a continuation of the exploration of the singer/songwriter’s movement from the early 1970s in rock and roll. As folk music was slowly declining in popularity, rock fans were drawn to artists who wrote and performed their own material. This course will delve into the careers of the singer/songwriter movement that dominated the radio and record charts, with some of the most memorable songs in the last century. The careers, music and extraordinary talents of these singers/songwriters will be presented (Harry Chapin, Jim Croce, Carly Simon, Neil Diamond, Laura Nyro, and Gordon Lightfoot).

Show Description
Instructor: Robert Joyce Fee: $0.00
Dates: 3/14/2023 - 4/11/2023 Days: Tu Times: 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Sessions: 5
This class will be held over Zoom
This class will meet on March 14, 21, 28; Apr 4 and 11.

Rocks and Minerals
What are minerals and how are they formed? What are the physical and chemical properties that are used to identify the various minerals found on the Earth? How do minerals combine to create the enormous variety of rocks that make up the Earth? This course will examine the properties of minerals and mineral identification, and it will examine how minerals make up the three types of rocks found within the Earth’s crust: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.

Show Description
Instructor: Stephen Lindberg Fee: $0.00
Dates: 3/14/2023 - 4/11/2023 Days: Tu Times: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM Sessions: 5
This class will be held over Zoom
This class will meet on March 14, 21, 28; Apr 4 and 11.

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