-Session A Courses   

100 D-Days is the bookend to the course War in the Skies: Europe 1939-1945. It covers WWII in the Asia/Pacific theater with special emphasis the air war, both land and carrier based. The course runs from Japan’s emergence as a major world power to its ultimate immolation under US firebombing and—ultimately—two atomic bombs.

If you recently took Yes, You Can Learn to Draw (OLLI Fall 2021) and want to learn more, this course will provide time for practice and feedback. We will explore the geometry and patterns of the world around us, including nature, man, and the things we love. Plan to bring something you have drawn to the first class.

Recommended reading: The Drawing Book by John Deacon, How to Draw What You See by Rudy De Reyna, Drawing for the Absolute Beginner by Claire Watson Garicia, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards

 

ESSENTIAL - Bring a ""can-do"" attitude, the willingness to practice, and an eagerness to do something you didn't think you could do! These are the things to bring.

Paper: Look for paper that is 60-90 lb. and smooth to the touch. Sketchbooks with this weight of paper are found in the art section of department and craft stores.

Pencils: Bring any that you like to make marks with or even a fine-tip pen. Pencils come in many options, from very light to very dark. You can achieve a variety of effects depending on how hard you press on the pencil. There is no need to buy a set of pencils, unless you just want to.

Erasers: Try to find a "kneaded" eraser, great for erasing mistakes. They are grey, wrapped in plastic, less than 2" square, and can be held in your hand to warm them up and become malleable for a spot you might want to erase. These erasers don't damage the surface of the paper as much as other kinds.

We’ll examine the life and times of three individuals that raised public awareness of significant problems.Their calls for reform faced enormous resistance, but over the course of history the value of their struggles became evident. Lucretia Mott was prominent in the anti slavery movement. She was an abolitionist. Men were appalled that she and other women participated in public events. That opposition awakened Mott’s interest in women’s rights and equality. Rachel Carson, a biologist, writer, and conservationist, published a book that accelerated the environmental movement. Al Gore called attention to climate change long before that issue excited public interest.

Provide your brain what it craves most: learning something new while doing something aerobic. You can get both in a new class designed to help you live younger, healthier, and longer while biking across America on a stationary bike. Our virtual trip will stop along the way for lectures and discussions as to how and why we age and what can be done to slow the process. Longevity is less about which genes you inherited and more about which ones you turn on, how often, and for how long. This course is about orchestrating your life to change the way you age. You will travel from the comfort of your classroom chair while pedaling at your own pace and pausing as desired. Our five day biking trip across America takes us from Mexico to Canada, Grand Teton National Park, Grand Canyon, Lake Michigan, and Erie Canal-with a possible detour across Mars.

General Robert E. Lee and his senior subordinate generals, four of which were Virginians, Lt. Gen. James Longsteet, Lt. Gen. Stonewall Jackson, Lt. Gen. Jeb Stuart and Lt. Gen. Richard Ewell, and Lt. Gen. Jubal Early were instrumental serving in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia combatting Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant , Maj. Gen. George B. McLellan and Lt. Gen. Philip Sheridan and the Union Army of the Potomac. Donahue will present 6 lectures along with DVD’s of Prof. Gary Gallagher and Ken Burns’s American Civil War.

*Pre-requisite: Guided Autobiography Part 1

GAB 1 curriculum that was taught in Session A of Fall semester at OLLI. GAB 2 continues on with additional themes and literary device discussion in order to assist participants in their continued drafting of autobiographical stories. With the shared experiences the group already has, these themes become increasingly in depth and sensitive in nature.

Have you always wondered how our immune system ACTUALLY works to defend us against the myriad of microorganisms present in our everyday world? And how it provides surveillance against cancer and destroys tumor cells? This 6-week course covers the nuts and bolts of how our immune system operates, how it sometimes goes awry, and how it can be modulated for therapeutic benefit. Presentations and post-class resources liberally use diagrams and videos geared to a lay audience - no scientific background or training is required. Just bring your curiosity about this extraordinary part of our biology!

The purpose of this course is to engage participants with issues of diversity, equity, and privilege within the context of a safe, supportive environment. We will examine personal, social, and institutional biases and how they play out in our daily lives. The class connects participant’s personal experiences with Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity to facilitate positive interactions when interacting with different groups. The course structure is an interactive format, including activities and facilitated discussion. We will end looking at our personal responsibility related to each level of discrimination and concrete things you can do.

Topics include: building community, awareness of stereotypes, classism, racism, and how ethnicity impacts identity.

This course is designed to empower participants with skills to bring back America's political center.  We will examine the causes, effects, and consequences of the lack of civil discourse in our political and social lives and brainstorm strategies to bridge the divide between left and right. 

This course will examine a group of liberal thinkers—Adam Smith, Jose Ortega y Gasset, Karl Popper, Raymond Aron and Isaiah Berlin—who have much to say about freedom of expression, rule of law and individual rights as crucial to the defence of democracy. The inspiration behind this topic derives from a book written by the famous Peruvian novelist, Mario Vargas Llosa, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010. In his book, The Call of the Tribe, Vargas Llosa charts his journey from the Marxism of his youth to the liberal defence of democracy through his close reading of the thinkers who showed him a different school of thought. Suggested Reading: Mario Vargas Llosa, The Call of the Tribe, 2022.

You know the movie. You LOVE the movie. BUT that’s only a veneer. William Goldman’s novel is a complex story, not a fairy tale but a story that examines our reality. By weaving his story through framing devices, metafiction, layering of irony and allusions, and the ultimate revelation of historical allegory, Goldman delivers a humorous examination of the best and worst of our human foibles. Through lecture and discussion, we will explore Goldman’s methods and themes. By examining a few key passages through the strategies of new critical/formalist criticism, we will expose the depths of this wonderful piece of literature.

We've all got stories! Wouldn't it be great if we wrote them down - for ourselves and our families and friends? This informal class will get you on the road to writing about your life, from the mundane to the marvelous. You don't have to be a "writer" to take this class, and the priority will not be a critique of your writing style or grammar. Each week there will be a writing assignment, with topics chosen by the group. Take a chance on finding out that you've lived a pretty interesting life after all!