In-Person Courses   

This course is a review of the social history, legislature, and activism that transformed the lives of disabled Americans and their families through the 20th and 21st century. Participants will learn about “visible” and “invisible” disabilities and how causes, treatments, and individual access and experience have changed over time.

Perhaps the most popular and influential fiction writer of the first half of the 20th century also provides the material for a collection of notable films. From just a few years after his publishing career flourished, Ernest Hemingway's short stories and books were adapted into major motion pictures, some with Hemingway's input. They starred Bogart, Cooper, Tracy, Bacall, Bergman, Power, Lancaster, Gardner, and more. The plots did not always stay true to the details of his texts, but original spirit and themes can still be seen.

Cognition and culture will be explored in animals, using evolutionary theory as the framework for this course. Topics include animal learning, the accelerated process of domestication, and an examination into our companion animals' behavior. However, the majority of the course will be dedicated to the culture of wild animal populations and their cultural behavior that includes hunting, foraging, and thieving behavior—to name just a few. Short videos will be shown in class, and readings are available upon request.

This course builds on skills learned in Beginning Guitar, Part 1, although that course is not a prerequisite if members already have some basic guitar skills and knowledge. More advanced note-reading, single-note playing as well as scales, and additional chords will be covered. Students apply skills and knowledge to a handful of songs from the American tradition. 

Please Note: Members must bring their own guitars.

This course will explore the human side of money—how emotions, values, and experiences influence every financial decision. The course does not cover investment strategies. Instead, members will examine the qualitative aspects of money, focusing on the cognitive factors that shape how people view and manage our financial ecosystems. Guided conversations will broach common relationships with money, and members are encouraged to engage at their comfort level. Ultimately, the goal is to understand how feelings about money evolve through the lenses of behavioral finance and psychology.

From 1945 through 1991, almost every aspect of society was in some way impacted by the propaganda used by both the United States and the Soviet Union as they faced off in a conflict that came to be known as the Cold War. We will utliize the lyrics of a popular Billy Joel song to enhance a comprehensive examination of the most significant events of this conflict. The course will address the depth and impact of the Cold War on both the United States and Soviet Union by presenting the history of this conflict in chronological order.

Bruce Springsteen’s songs add to the soundtrack of the lives of his audience. From the celebrations of adolescence (Greetings from Asbury Park) through the turmoil of early adulthood (The River), and the social consciousness of middle adulthood (The Rising) to the acceptance of older adulthood (Western Stars), Springsteen wove a tapestry of the story of life in the America of his times. Through a lens of psychosocial development theory, we will explore how the artist’s sensitivity to the challenges of life tap into universal resonances for us as listeners, from our youth through middle age to older adulthood.

Caribbean women writers have reshaped contemporary literature with explorations of identity, history, migration, and belonging. This course introduces new and experienced readers to the literature in selected short works by writers Jamaica Kincaid, Rosa Guy, Claudia Rankine, Ramabai Espinet, and Merle Hodge. We will explore thematic themes of brief readings that will be provided. The emphasis will be on shared reflection and dialogue to discover how much we as a people have in common in our day-to-day lives, regardless of cultural upbringing.

From 19th-century feminists and abolitionists to the Steel Workers Organizing Committee and the Black Panthers in the 20th century, from Confederate secessionists to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Declaration of Independence has been invoked persistently. This wide range highlights the ways in which it retains its relevance by being repeatedly rewritten, as well as its deep roots in our political and intellectual culture. Focusing primarily on U.S. history, lectures examine the rhetoric of the Declaration, investigate its contexts and sources, and trace its sometimes surprising legacies.

This course will be held at the Allegheny Observatory in Riverview Park. Each class will include both a presentation and discussion about a person or a discovery at the observatory and a short tour of a portion of the building. At the end of the five classes, we will have explored the entire building and looked at how John and Phoebe Brashear, Samuel Langley, and James Keeler impacted both the field of astronomy and the city of Pittsburgh. We will use the 13" telescope to view sunspots and the moon (weather permitting).

Please Note: This course will be taught at the Allegheny Observatory, which is NOT on campus at the University of Pittsburgh. This historic building is only partially handicapped accessible. Some of the tours will require steps. Parking is free.

This intermediate level course builds on the foundations established in Introduction to Using Generative AI. Members will move from understanding what generative AI can do to developing fluency in how to use it strategically, critically, and creatively. Through hands-on projects, comparative analysis, and guided experimentation, students will deepen their prompt engineering skills, explore multi-modal workflows, and develop a personal AI toolkit tailored to their interests and goals.

Many White people fear there is a conspiracy by global elites to use Black and Hispanic immigration, policies on diversity, and demographic change to take White people’s jobs, culture, political power, and lives. Perceived threats to White people and other groups are being used around the world to tear down democracy and support authoritarianism. Ibram X. Kendi’s new book Chain of Ideas: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age documents the rise of great replacement theory and its central ideas. This course will help people understand the harm being done by this movement and how to counteract it.

Course Materials: Ibram X. Kendi, Chain of Ideas: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age, 2026 ISBN-13 978-0593978030

Humans have studied the heavens since ancient times for agriculture, navigation, religion, and science. Today, humans have a full time presence in space and have sent robotic observers to every planet. But, how did we get from there to here? This course will explore the people and events that helped drive key discoveries and developments in astronomy, rocketry, physics, math, robotics, communications, and more. This continuation course will examine the shuttle era, space stations, robotic probes, satellites, commercialization, and extraterrestrials.

Most rom-coms center on two people falling in love for the first time. Meet cute. Miscommunication. Happily ever after. But in Hollywood studio films of the 1940s, we also find another kind of romance, one critic Stanley Cavell called the "comedy of remarriage." These begin with a married couple who have begun to lose interest in each other, and center on strong women—played by the likes of Katherine Hepburn and Barbara Stanwyck—whose love needs to be re-earned by their husbands. We will watch and discuss several comedies of remarriage from the classic period, as well as recent attempts to update the genre.

Films we will view, in full or part, will include The Lady Eve, It Happened One Night, Bringing Up Baby,  HIs Girl Friday, Adam’s Rib, The Parent Trap, and The Jane Austen Book Club.

Is humor an intrinsic part of being human? What is funny to us? Why is it funny? What does offensive humor tell us about ourselves, our society? This course introduces members to the philosophy, history, culture, and psychology of humor and laughter. Our time will be spent reviewing pertinent literature, observing humorous archetypes, and actually creating our own examples. The objective is to enable members to achieve a little wisdom about mirth and self.

How can we enhance our enjoyment of documentary filmmaking while increasing our understanding of key developments across the planet? We will focus on five recent documentaries, all widely praised for using inventive forms of storytelling to illuminate globally important interactions in their chosen settings. They are Dawson City: Frozen Time (Canada), Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (Congo), Nostalgia for the Light (Chile), A Night of Knowing Nothing (India), and All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (US). We will watch each film on our own time, then meet in class to expand on what we have seen.

This course examines the history, technology, and politics of artificial intelligence, with a focus on preparing members to think critically about the current and future impacts of AI and associated technologies on society. This is not a course for learning how to use AI; instead we will consider deeper questions surrounding human-computer interaction, intelligence and consciousness, bias, and the nature of truth.

In a world filled with strife, violence, and division, these short stories transcend “national boundaries to comment on the most prevailing aspects of the human condition.” They attempt to redefine the borders of the world we live in by recognizing the conflicting issues of race, language, economy, gender, and ethnicity which separate and limit us. The stories reflect on these beautiful, but at times chaotic and tragic, renditions on the human experience.

Course Materials: One World:A Global Anthology of Short Stories. Edited for New Internationlist by Alan Hughes. ISBN: 978-1-906523-13-8

Life never came with a script. Through the fundamentals of improvisational comedy and the "yes, and" philosophy, members will learn new communication and social skills through theatre games and exercises in a fun and supportive environment.

Cultures shine through the cracks of experience: moments of transformation that illuminate times, places, and peoples. Moments like death. The Japanese tradition dignifies poems that respond with candor and clarity, not despair. These pieces prize brevity and restraint—verse as an ordered response to perfect stillness, long understood as a consummation, not an ending. Emphasizing craft rather than grief, we will see Buddhism, Shinto, ritual honor, and samurai ethics in Japanese culture, past and present, in poetry on the edge.

Course Materials: Japanese Death Poems, ed. Yoel Hoffmann. Approximately $11.00 on Amazon. ISBN13: 978-1462916498. Other materials will be available as PDFs.

Curious about learning Mandarin Chinese? Traveling to China? Or need a refresher course on tones and customs? Join us for a course on travel phrases commonly used if you are planning a trip or if you would like to learn the basics of a new language. This course is designed for learners with little to no experience to novice speakers.

Karl Marx is among the political thinkers that most powerfully contributed to shape the political and ideological dynamics of the past century. Among the most perplexing aspects of his influence is the diversity of political movements and ideological currents that labeled themselves "Marxist,” and the magnitude of the differences that frequently separated their respective versions of "Marxism." Marx, however, famously denied being a Marxist himself.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe descended into the Dark Ages; but how dark were they? While the Medieval period (roughly 450-1450) saw Europe ravaged by Saxons, Vikings, Normans, and Mongols, by schisms, wars and plagues, it also saw the creation of castles and cathedrals, monasteries and universities. This is the world of Chaucer and King Arthur and Beowulf. This is also the rise of Islam and the great clash of the Crusades. Meanwhile, in the Indian Ocean a great trading network grew up that connected ultimately China and Africa and all the empires in between.

This course will focus on the existing and emerging technologies and institutions that underpin modern economic markets, from central banks and global trade policies to AI, cryptocurrencies, and algorithmic trading. We will look at how markets and economies have changed over the centuries, and where they might be going from here as technology, politics, and the global order are now evolving faster than ever before. We will cover the big picture of history and global macroeconomics, while also drilling down to actionable lessons that can be applied to your own investing and portfolios.

What are the biggest infectious disease threats today, and how do we respond? This course will introduce students to basic concepts of infectious disease epidemiology with real life examples and interactive group activities. Students will learn about selected infectious diseases, work through an outbreak investigation, and see the potential for disease transmission in various settings. Each class will begin with a lecture to introduce terminology and concepts, followed by hands-on activities.

This course will explore Pittsburgh's environmental history from industrial devastation in the 19th century to economic decline and eventual renewal. Members will learn about the environmental dilemmas of air, water, and land pollution, and the impact of industry on the city's landscape.

Course Materials: Devastation and Renewal, by Joel Tarr.  ISBN: 978-0822941569 ($15.00 on Amazon. 

                             Beyond Steel, by Christopher Briem. ISBN: 1-60635-502-2 ($25 paperback).

Diligent savers enter the second half of retirement with little insight into the complex tax and distribution planning dangers that can wipe away the sacrifice made during their working years. This course is designed to educate participants about how to keep more of their retirement savings by effective use of planning opportunities available under current tax laws. This course is updated annually to reflect new legislative developments and tax planning opportunities.

This course explores the grit, heat, and heartbreak of the American steel industry through two seminal works of labor literature: Thomas Bell’s Out of This Furnace and William Attaway’s Blood on the Forge. We will examine how the mills acted as a crucible, melting down old identities, whether European immigrant or Southern sharecropper, and forging something new, though often at a devastating human cost.

Course Materials: Out of This Furnace, by Thomas Bell. ISBN: 978-0822952732.

                             Blood on the Forge, by William Attaway. ISBN: 978-1590171349.

Artificial super intelligence will be here soon and could threaten democracy. The technology could destabilize democracies by eliminating mass employment, particularly white-collar jobs. It could become autonomous and take over society. Totalitarian states could use it to dominate the world through biological, cyber, and military attacks, influence operations, and economic disruption. Authoritarian and democratically-elected officials could use it for domestic mass surveillance and propaganda. Tech companies could use it to control society and government. This course will describe artificial super intelligence and its rapid development and threats to democracy.

During its 2025-2026 term, the U.S. Supreme Court heard cases raising significant issues involving Presidential power, gerrymandering of Congressional districts, birthright citizenship, voting rights, gun rights, and transgender rights. In this class, we will analyze the Supreme Court's most important rulings of 2026.

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

This course offers an introduction to the rich and fascinating cultures of the Balkan peninsula. Through an interdisciplinary approach, members will explore the region’s complex history, varied geography, and vibrant cultural traditions. We will dive into the stories behind Yugoslavia’s rise and subsequent breakup, sample regional flavors, listen to iconic sounds from folk to pop, and unpack the roles of language, religion, and identity in everyday life. Emphasizing shared heritage and local distinctiveness, the course will deepen learners understanding of Southeast Europe through discussion, multimedia materials, and practical cultural insights.

As Brexit revealed, the European Union is only one of many ways to understand Europe. This course explores efforts to define Europe after World War II. Each week, members will analyze short primary texts offering distinct visions of Europe, its subregions, and its inhabitants, reading foundational texts of European integration in conversation with perspectives on belonging in Europe from the Balkans, Central Europe, and non-white communities. We will debate the strengths and limitations of each vision, working together to revise our own definition(s) of Europe. All texts provided as PDF (print copies upon advance request) and read aloud in class; no out-of-class preparation.

History generally remembers Henry Clay Frick as Andrew Carnegie's anti-union enforcer and as a prodigious art collector. The author of an upcoming biography of Frick, to be published by W.W. Norton, reveals a deeper, more layered, and previously undiscovered version of the man. He was far more influential in business and politics than generally acknowledged, and far more venal and corrupt than even his legion of detractors have claimed.

From the annual World Happiness Report to body odors and foods to dental health, this course offers a potpourri of wellness findings from research and experts that may surprise, affirm, and motivate members. Why has Finland ranked #1 in global happiness for eight consecutive years? What does garlic do to body sweat? Which sports have been linked to a longer lifespan? An array of ideas and studies from different areas of wellness—physical, social, intellectual, and spiritual wellness—will be offered.

Women’s literacy played an important part in the development of the United States, but access to education at all levels came with a great struggle. Both as students and teachers, women’s experience was quite different from that of their brothers. This course will trace the development of women’s education from the colonial period to the present, the rationales used to further it and restrict it, and the ways women responded. Topics will include the development of public and private schools, colleges, professional education, student life, the inequities of race, and the changing status of the profession of education.

Whether you are writing a memoir or fictional novel, experienced or a novice, there are certain elements that must be considered as necessary for an effective presentation of the written word. In this course, those elements of good writing will be revealed, and you will have an opportunity to purge your fear of the blank page and write. With exercises during each class that will inspire, you will have the opportunity to improve your writing as you learn to eliminate even the most subtle issues that writers face and will help you at every stage take your writing to a higher -- and more successful -- level.