Morning   

This engaging class will explore the origins and significance of Haitian art, examining its strong presence in New England. This course will also draw from Haiti’s rich cultural history, unique techniques, and current environment to explain what triggers local artists’ inspiration and shapes their work. By exploring its historical context,  contemporary issues, and reference materials, and interacting with some artists remotely, students will gain valuable insights into how art reflects identity, resilience, and national pride. This class is beneficial for those interested in Haitian history and culture to interact with local Haitian communities. 

Ever wanted to learn more about the Bible, but don’t know how to begin? Whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or otherwise, the Bible is still a relevant text to the 21st century global citizen due to its history and influence. Even after teaching its contents to high school students for 40 years, Sharon Bilodeau still thinks so! Join this class to dive into the Books of Joshua, Judges and Ruth. These are the books that continue the biblical story of the liberation from slavery in Egypt and the wilderness years, into "the promised land." We will get to know the stories in all their unapologetic, ancient detail. We will also apply literary, historical critical and varied theological perspectives to glean an appreciation of the meaning, purpose and craft of the texts. It is not necessary to have attended the Fall (2025) session of this course. 

This poetry writing workshop will examine resistance poems written during significant periods of history from the American Revolution to the present day. Workshop participants will use published resistance poems as models and inspiration to write their own resistance poems, which can then be shared, discussed, and revised during the workshop. Among the poets we will read are Phillis Wheatley, John Greenleaf Whittier, James Weldon Johnson, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Allen Ginsberg, and Amanda Gorman. The workshop time will be devoted to discussion of published poems and participants’ poems.  The writing of poems, as Mary Oliver tells us, will need to be done at the solitude of the writer’s desk.  

Robert Redford was so taken by Maclean’s novella; he made an extraordinary film. Norman Maclean wrote this story in his early 70s. Based on his experiences as a young man growing up in Montana, it is a tale of love- for a place, for people, for the art of fly fishing. It is a vivid story filled with poetry. From The University of Chicago Press: “From its first magnificent sentence, “In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing”, to the last, “I am haunted by waters”, A River Runs Through It is an American classic.” We will read and discuss a portion of the story each week. You can find the book at the library or bookstore. Please do not read ahead! 

Adaptability, a natural, lifelong process, is life’s master skill — from the way a tree bends in the wind to the way humans reinvent themselves through change. In this course we explore how all living things adapt, how adaptability evolves across the lifespan, how creativity and resilience fuel adaptability and how we can consciously cultivate it as an art form for lifelong wellbeing physically, mentally and emotionally. We will learn from nature, psychology, and one another, examine our ability to adjust to change, recover from challenges, and, through classroom lectures, discussions, and interactive exercises, find innovative ways forward while practicing resilience and creativity. 

Through discussion, some lecturing and recommended readings we will try to refine our complex and often inconsistent relationships with animals. Why do we love some, hate some and eat others? We will explore evolutionary psychology, speciesism, the influence of our cultural heritage and increasing knowledge of animal capabilities to help us clarify our personal attitudes towards the animals with which we share our planet. 

Ever wanted to learn Arabic? This beginner-friendly multi-week course introduces the basics of the Arabic language through greetings, everyday expressions, and simple conversations. Participants will also explore cultural traditions, food, and customs from Arabic-speaking countries. Designed for absolute beginners, the course emphasizes interactive learning in a fun, relaxed environment. Each session combines language practice with cultural insights to build confidence and spark curiosity. By the end of the course, participants will be able to use simple Arabic expressions and gain a deeper appreciation of the culture that shapes the language. 

Booked for Life invites lifelong learners to explore the enduring power of literature and memory. We will examine how books shape identity across time, revisit historic and contemporary works, and engage in thoughtful discussion on themes of resilience, legacy, and imagination. In addition to reading, participants will practice writing short reflections and personal narratives as a way of preserving memory and passing on stories across generations. The course concludes with a visit to the RISE Selfie Museum, a unique storytelling space that highlights women’s history and invites participants to consider their own voices within a larger cultural narrative. 

Our weekly virtual classes for older adults employ adaptive ballet/modern techniques. They are specially designed to promote social/emotional/physical fitness and artistic expression while catering to older adults' interests and needs. These classes provide a welcoming and supportive environment where older adults can explore the joy of dance, regardless of previous experience. These classes can be taken standing or seated. Class Highlights include: 1. Adaptive techniques: We adapt ballet and modern and yoga dance principles to accommodate various mobility levels, making it accessible to everyone. 2. Gentle warm-up to prepare the body for movement. 3. Technique and Creative Expression 4. Balance and Strength exercises 5. Community and fun! 

Course Note: Since this course seeks to accommodate all participants, it is essential that students make it possible for the instructor to provide feedback. It is useful for participants to leave their Zoom camera on so the instructor can most effectively guide and encourage participants. 

 

If you can tell a story, write a letter, or send an email, you’re already an accomplished writer. This course is about developing your imagination, and creating characters and story lines. No problem with spelling and grammar; I’m your editor. You can write in any style: poetry, short story, personal memoir…just write every day! The most important part of this course is writing your autograph. You’ll need it at your first book signing! 

This class will provide information on different basic crochet techniques and go on to learn Amigurumi the Japanese technique to create different stuffed animals or objects. 

“Know your nature. Know your strength. Know who you are — and be that.” - Prem Rawat 

The Peace Education Program (PEP) supports this discovery, of gaining access to one’s own inner strengths and resources, so this knowledge of self may be recognized. This 6-week course, featuring a media-based peace education program created by The Prem Rawat Foundation, allows you to discover your inner resources such as peace, appreciation, inner strength, self-awareness, choice, hope, and contentment, among others. Using provided digital workbooks, the facilitators involve participants with insightful talks, activities, and meaningful interactions that explore the theme of personal peace through a process of self-discovery. 

“I cannot change the wind of the natural aging process, but I can adjust the sails of my lifestyle and rhythm of living” 

In this 10th series of the Exploring Longevity course, we will examine the outlook of longevity in light of emerging technologies such as quantum computing, which holds the potential to vastly increase computational capacity and accelerate research into issues such as dysfunctional mitochondria and cellular senescence. While the ‘fountain of youth’ remains a metaphor, new insights into extending healthspan are steadily on the horizon. This course has been enriched by the shared wisdom and insights from our participants’ lived experiences. 

“I cannot change the wind of the natural aging process, but I can adjust the sails of my lifestyle and rhythm of living.” 

In this 10th series of the Exploring Longevity course, we will examine the outlook of longevity in light of emerging technologies such as quantum computing, which holds the potential to vastly increase computational capacity and accelerate research into issues such as dysfunctional mitochondria and cellular senescence. While the ‘fountain of youth’ remains a metaphor, new insights into extending healthspan are steadily on the horizon. This course has been enriched by the shared wisdom and insights from our participants’ lived experiences. 

 

What is liberation theology? Why is it controversial? This course explores this combination of spirituality and social activism, which is centered on the belief that one cannot separate religious faith from the struggle for a just society. We will examine the history of this belief system, a case study showing its impact on social movements in Brazil, and debates about it. The last include the question of whether it is dying or is still relevant and whether it is more Marxist than religious. Except for some informational presentations, the course will be interactive. 

This five-week course explores Islam both as a faith tradition and as a political-civilizational order. It seeks to bridge understanding between cultural perceptions and theological realities. The course examines Islam’s spiritual foundations, moral vision, and institutional expressions in governance—from the early Caliphate to contemporary Muslim societies. It also addresses how Islamic ideas have interacted with colonialism, modernity, secularism, and democracy. Students will critically engage primary sources, scholarly interpretations, and contemporary debates about Islam’s role in the modern world. 

What does it mean to do the right thing? How do we weigh individual freedom against the common good? And why do moral questions—about fairness, equality, and responsibility—stir such passionate disagreement? In this lively 5-week interactive discussion course, inspired by Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel’s acclaimed Justice series, participants will explore some of the most important moral and political questions of our time. Each session features a video lecture from Sandel along with guided questions and reflections. No prior philosophy experience needed—just curiosity, an open mind, and a willingness to wrestle with the hard questions of moral choice. 

The course will look at the past, present, and future of unions and the world of work. In the late 19th century, unions established a presence in our political and economic life, facing constant violence and opposition. Workers organized on an unprecedented scale in the 1930s, leading to a long period of prosperity and labor peace in the post WWII era. Millions of Americans entered the middle class and established organized labor as a vehicle for social mobility. In the late 1970s and 1980s the business community, supported by an emerging right-wing political opposition, launched an assault on union influence and drove an agenda that diminished the percentage of American workers in unions from 35% to 10%. Globalization and the fissuring of the economy contributed to labor's decline as well. There are signs of creative forms of organizing in the changing workforce – among low- waged workers, women and workers of color, and workers in the new "innovation economy.” The last two sessions will focus on the increasingly precarious conditions at work, the gig economy, some of the new forms of organizing, and whether organized labor can challenge fundamental issues of income inequality and global corporate power. This course was previously offered in Fall 2025. 

Whether we spend hours online or rarely touch social media, we all live in a world shaped by it. News, friendships, politics, even our ideas of truth and beauty are influenced by digital platforms and artificial intelligence. This course explores how technology is changing the way we think, trust, connect, and disconnect. Through stories, reflection, and open discussion, we’ll consider what it means to live meaningfully in a time when so much of life is filtered through screens and algorithms. 

This course offers a comparative exploration of mayoral elections in three distinct urban and political contexts: Boston, New York City, and Hyderabad. By examining how campaigns are crafted, how candidates position themselves, and which strategies lead to electoral success, the course highlights both the similarities and the unique political cultures shaping each city. The course pays particular attention to how minority communities—across race, caste, religion, class, gender, and migration histories—experience electoral politics differently. OLLI students will learn how political messaging is tailored to specific identities and how these identities shape political belonging and exclusion. Participants will critically reflect on how urban democracy operates in practice, how representation is negotiated, and how questions of power and access unfold in everyday governance. The course ultimately encourages learners to engage in broader debates on citizenship, political participation, and the prospects for inclusive democratic futures across global cities. 

Let’s travel to real and fictional places to learn how the combination of discernment, metacognition, imagination, along with a touch of wit and/or sarcasm result in correctly identifying the culprit. Father Brown, Jessica, Columbo, and others will take us under the wing to reveal their thought processes and commitment to fair and just outcomes. No investigator license or alibi required to participate!  

For oil colored pencil drawings, we will use Vaseline petroleum jelly to blend with the pigment of the colored pencils, which creates the oil colored pencil. Drawing subjects may include both human and animal portraits.  

The contemporary world has seen renewed and sharpened contests between competing (although sometimes overlapping) political worldviews; authoritarianism, democracy, liberalism, conservatism, social democracy, communism, fascism, and nationalism. This course will try to better understand the underlying philosophical ideas of these ideologies by considering the thought of such figures as Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Burke, Mill, Marx, Bernstein, Lenin, Schmitt and Arendt. The lectures and class discussions will assume no outside class reading, but relevant readings will be suggested. The goal of the course is not to persuade anyone to endorse or reject any view, but rather to explore what can be said for or against it in order to deepen our understanding of the position. 

Literature is a conversation across time. A single poem is powerful, but what’s remarkable is how poems speak to one another—answering, challenging, and transforming ideas. Allen Ginsberg’s Howl would not exist without Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself, and B.H. Fairchild’s Brazil emerges from Ginsberg’s shadow. In this course, we explore these dialogues: how poets respond across decades or centuries, creating new meaning through intertextual exchange. Students will learn to trace influence, analyze creative responses, and understand how poetic conversations shape literary history—revealing that every poem is part of a larger, ongoing story. 

Are you going to France or to a French-speaking country? If so, you need to be able to communicate at least at a minimum to show that you are making an effort toward the culture of the host country. The people there will greatly appreciate (even if they answer in English) and may even be friendlier. In this class you will learn French basic vocabulary and phrases in a conversational setting. The course will integrate the Mango Languages computer program to practice and reinforce your new skills at home. 

This course aims to unveil the dark, draconic dealings of the early Cold War with a particular focus on the role of the Central Intelligence Agency in shaping American interventionist policies worldwide. The topics covered will range from: U.S assistance of former Nazi personnel for their own gain, regime changes in countries such as The Philippines, Guatemala, & Iran, the earliest US involvement in Southeast Asia, obsession with Cuban regime change, and the domestic sociopolitical dynamics that made such foreign policy possible. Fundamentally the goal is to uncover and come to terms with the dark origins of American hegemony. 

Everyone has stories worth telling—but many of us don’t know where to begin. In this four-week interactive workshop, participants will use story-sparking techniques to uncover vivid memories and meaningful moments from their lives. Each session centers on a life theme—Turning Points, Family, and Aspirations—and includes guided prompts, brief writing, and supportive sharing. Adapted for OLLI from the Guided Autobiography (GAB) method developed by Dr. James Birren, this course emphasizes in-class reflection, engagement, and community. With a small group of up to eight participants, everyone will have time to write, read aloud, and receive affirmative feedback. 

Join the ultimate dance-fitness class that beats a boring exercise workout any day! Zumba® Gold is part of the Zumba® dance-based fitness program, which is specifically designed for active older adults. We dance to the same wide-variety of Latin and Other International rhythms as well as pop, disco, and '50s/'60s songs. It's not a dance class, though, so just let the music move you however you feel it! Stand up or sit down - you're at home, so do what works for you! Dress to move and keep that water bottle handy! 

A legacy letter (also called an “ethical will”) is a written document that allows you to share your life lessons, express your values and transmit your blessings to future generations. A legacy letter is shorter than a memoir, typically just a few pages. Writing one is a rewarding experience that creates an enduring gift for family and friends. This four-session online course includes discussion and brief writing exercises to help you examine your life history, explore your values and capture important insights. It offers advice, encouragement and a model structure to help you draft and complete your own legacy letter. 

Recognize the address? Mary Poppins came to visit 17 Cherry Tree Lane and transformed its inhabitants, the Banks family. We will explore imaginative and unusual ways to approach creative writing with the same whimsy and determination as Mary Poppins. Give yourself the gift of time to notice the magic of words and nearly ‘fly’ into writing your own stories or poems. Through writing prompts and writing sessions, your imagination will be invited to the page. Participants will be encouraged to share their work and offer positive comments to others. Prior creative writing experience is not necessary. Please come ready to write, please keep camera on during sharing and prompts to encourage our special community.