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When the Black Death hit Florence in 1348 it wiped out more than half of the population. However, like a burnt field yielding to new growth, Florence became fertile grounds for the rebirth of the “Humanism” of Greek and Roman Times. In two parts we will explore, first, the end of the Dark Ages in the “Early Renaissance of Rome, Venice, and Florence.” Then we will examine the “High Renaissance of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.” We will end with Savonarola’s attempt to eradicate sin in Florence’s “Bonfire of the Vanities.” This anti-renaissance conflagration destroyed many works of art including books like Boccaccio’s “Decameron”. Although it is said that Sandro Botticelli threw several of his paintings on the fire, he didn’t toss “The Birth of Venus.”

From the comfort of your own home, join in meditation, breath-work, balance, and mindful movements to reconnect your mind, body, and spirit. Class is for all levels, but poses will include a variety of positions requiring students to get on/off the floor. Instructor will provide modifications as needed. No homework, but you will learn some yoga tidbits to use in your future practice both on and off your mat. No equipment needed, but a yoga mat is encouraged. Consult with your physician prior to participating.

We will discuss major foreign policy issues facing the United States. The Foreign Policy Association (FPA) has selected eight topics and we will cover four in Term 3. The course will continue in Term 4 to cover the remaining topics. Each topic will be covered through FPA’s 25-minute “Master Class” lecture as well as written articles. You are expected to read the articles prior to watching the video on the day of the class. Topics to be discussed in Term 3 are: 1) Energy Geopolitics, 2) War Crimes, 3) China and the U.S., and 4) Economic Warfare. Class members may purchase the “Great Decisions Briefing Book” on-line at www.fpa.org.

Nebraska’s native wildflowers and grasses have a rich history here on the Great Plains. These plants were not only beautiful but were also useful to the Native Americans and prairie pioneers. Most every plant had a purpose, whether it was used for ceremony, food, medicine, shelter or for play. Learn about our native wild fruits, nuts, seeds, and other edible plants which grow wild in our region or in your own yard.

The Constitutional right to abortion was eliminated last year by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health case. The basis of that right was found in a Nebraska case, Meyer v. The State of Nebraska, decided 100 years ago. At least one Supreme Court justice has written that Meyer, like Roe, was wrongly decided. We will discuss Meyer and the loss of personal liberties should it fall.

Before she passed away in 1974, Felicia Bornstein Lubliner wrote about her internment in Polish ghettos and two Nazi concentration camps, Auschwitz and Gross-Rosen. Her powerful stories have recently been published by her son, Irv Lubliner, an emeritus Southern Oregon University professor and OLLI instructor. He will share excerpts from “Only Hope: A Survivor’s Stories of the Holocaust,” shedding light on his mother’s experiences and indomitable spirit, as well as his experience as a child of Holocaust survivors and his process in bringing the book to fruition.

The modern media environment is a continuously evolving landscape that challenges traditional views of truth. In this environment facts, data, opinions, disinformation, misinformation and marketing are muddled together. This creates a challenging circumstance for media consumers to separate the sound from the noise. A 2017 study by the Pew Research Center found only 17 percent of Americans are considered skilled and able enough to actively participate in and navigate the modern digital media environment. We will discuss the need for media literacy and the challenges we face in our current environment and offer steps for practicing digital literacy.

We will learn about the changing history of slavery and freedom from the Revolution to the Civil War. For over seventy years and five generations, enslaved families in the U.S. filed hundreds of lawsuits for their freedom against slaveholders, often taking their cause all the way to the Supreme Court. Between 1787 and 1861, these lawsuits challenged the legitimacy of slavery in American law and put slavery on trial in the nation’s capital. Hear the intricate and intensely human story of the enslaved families (the Butlers, Queens, Mahoneys and others), their lawyers (among them a young Francis Scott Key), and the slaveholders who fought to defend slavery, beginning with the Jesuit priests who held some of the largest plantations in the nation and founded a college at Georgetown. Consider the moral problem of slavery and its legacies in the present day. We will also use the instructor’s recent award- winning documentary films "Anna" (2018) and "The Bell Affair" (2022) to discuss this important topic.

Creating a play based on history can be a creative challenge, particularly when staging plays about recent history and living people. Join the creative artists in Angels Theatre Company’s production of “Predictor” for a fascinating behind-the-curtain look at creating and staging a new play. “Predictor” is the real-life story of Margaret Crane who, in 1967, defied all odds and expectations to become the inventor of the first home pregnancy test. Registrants are encouraged to attend the production of “Predictor” at the Johnny Carson Theatre in the Lied Center for Performing Arts. Performances run February 10-19. Please check the Lied Center website at liedcenter. org/events-page for showtimes and availability. OLLI members receive a discounted ticket rate of $23.80 per ticket. The cost of tickets to attend the performance is not included in the cost of the course.

Are you curious about how stress can be managed in your body? Learn about basic stress signaling concepts, the latest biochemistry techniques, and how to measure stress levels in the cell. Gain an understanding of the stress adaptation process at the microscopic level. The type of stress your body can get and how tissue damage can occur will be discussed, along with autophagy as a stress adaptation process and how cells recover to alleviate stress. Learn more about how your body reacts to stress and increase your ability to cope with stress in the future.

Many are familiar with the famous air war known as the “Battle of Britain” that pitted German air forces against British defenders over British skies in 1940. Winston Churchill acknowledged the brave British pilots by his words “never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”. But the story behind how the aircraft, radar systems, and communications network performed so perfectly at the right moment is even more fascinating. Dan Heath’s 2020 book “Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen” drives home the point to not only focus on solving current problems but to also address potential problems. We will focus on how over a decade, key elements came together under great technical uncertainty and opposition just in time to defeat the German Air Force.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls 75 years ago was a paradigm changing event in biblical studies. The biblical scrolls from the Judean Desert caves revealed all sorts of information about the text of the Hebrew Bible and the history of its development in the Second Temple period. The instructor is one of the editors for the biblical Dead Sea Scrolls and has spent her career working with this material. She will discuss the new insights we have learned about the Hebrew from the scrolls.

Crops irrigated by water from the High Plains/ Ogallala Aquifer comprise a significant portion of the world’s food supply. This water is Nebraska’s most important natural resource. Learn how raging rivers, flowing off the Rocky Mountains starting about 18 million years ago, formed this feature that is of such importance to us today.

From the 1880’s to the 1950’s, Fred Harvey dining rooms along the Santa Fe Railroad line went through eight western states and offered weary travelers gourmet food, served in 30 minutes and provided with high standards of service in 65 different towns. The “Harvey Girls” were courageous young women who wanted to be independent and self-sufficient. “Young women 18 to 30 years of age, single, of good character and intelligent” served as waitresses. They received wages and tips, free room and board, clean uniforms and a train pass. More than 100,000 young women left their homes for a job, an adventure, and a new life out West. Harvey expanded to build 15 destination hotels, notably El Tovar at the Grand Canyon and La Fonda in Santa Fe, which is still operating today. Harvey hired Mary Colter as the architect, and she created the “Santa Fe style” incorporating native American art and culture.

We will learn about numerous topics related to our personal power choices and how we can save money through efficiency and renewable energy generation. What are the upcoming power generating technologies and choices? How is LES preparing to meet the challenges of storms and potential power outages? We will also learn what it means to “work the grid” in power transmission throughout a portion of the United States.

Severe weather comes to us through our senses, whether it’s the sound of thunder, the feel of high winds and driving rain, the view of storm clouds or the soreness in your joints when bad weather is predicted. Learn the details behind severe weather statistics, safety and terminology. Stories of historic storms and tornadoes will be shared, enhanced by many pictures and videos.

On the eve of Women’s History Month, reflect upon the work of Nebraska women in time past. Through photographs from the collections of History Nebraska, view women at work in a wide variety of settings: home, field, shop, office, restaurant, factory, and others. Consider the contributions of this work— paid and unpaid—to the nation’s economy.

We will learn about the background and research conducted by the author which led to the writing of “The Bones of Paradise,” the 2022 selection for “One Book One Nebraska” sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Humanities Nebraska and the Nebraska Library Commission. The story explores the aftermath of the Massacre at Wounded Knee on both a Lakota family and a Sandhills family, as they struggle to survive in the Nebraska Sandhills.

Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of identifying a real-life problemor issue; locating the true facts relevant to the problem or issue; listening actively; researching in a schooled manner; and carefully applying logic, reason and experience to reach a conclusion regarding that problem or issue. This process requires that we identify how humans think; be mindful of our cognitive and emotional biases; keep an open mind; and apply statistics when available and appropriate. This class could help us find truer facts and make better decisions. For fun, we will look at WYSIATI, IYI, prospect theory, black swans, blinking outliers, and other concepts.

When Alexander Hamilton was asked about the United States’ new form of government, he responded, “Here, sir, the people govern.” Do we know as much as we think we know about how we rule ourselves? Could you explain more than the broad outline and generalities? This will not be your typical American government course. We will use real life events to help explain how all of the moving parts mesh together to get us to where we are today. Are you ready for a lively conversation where we can share our own experiences? Are we much different from our cousins living in 1787?

Learn the basic skills necessary to function and flourish in an increasingly digital and online world. We will discuss tools to effectively address the most popular phone and computer- based scams including identity theft, the nation’s number one consumer complaint. We will provide a practicum on safe browsing, secure banking, online shopping and payment systems, monitoring and protecting your credit, and cybersecurity. Created for everyone from the technophobic novice to the enthusiastic early adopter, the course focuses on the utility and benefit derived from using technology as a tool to stay connected, make life easier, and increase the quality of our lives.

Dance Fitness is perfect for older adults who want to add some movement to their lives but would like to adapt the easy-to-follow choreography to their own fitness levels. You will be encouraged to do what works for you and will be shown options for raising and lowering the intensity. In the process, you’ll move to great show tunes, standards and world music while improving your balance, brain function and cardiovascular endurance. If you wear comfy clothing and come prepared to move, then you’re ready for Dance Fitness. And yes, you can dance in a chair.

Is freedom of speech in Nebraska at risk, or are people just exercising it now more than ever? Join four experts as we delve into some of today’s hottest topics. We will learn about the basic concepts related to the First Amendment, as well as how banning books has impacted Nebraska learners and families. We will also learn about the dissolution of the journalism program in Grand Island Northwest High School and critical race theory and freedom of speech in the classroom.

Join us for Italiamo! Part 2 to learn basic Italian from the instructor—Italian is her native language—explore even more Italian culture, art, literature, history, and music. After the first class fully dedicated to language basics, we will concentrate on language-learning by mimicking real-life communicative situations related to the topic of the day, for example, vocabulary about food will be offered when learning about Italian cuisine. The instructor will then lecture and take questions and comments from participants, while practicing specific vocabulary learned in the first part of class. Occasionally, guests and experts will join us for this interactive course. As a bonus, you will receive tips about travel and cultural customs. Completion of Part 1 is not required.

Professor Mark Stoler of the University of Vermont has created 24, half-hour lectures via Great Courses DVD. Half of these DVD lectures will be presented in Term 3; the second half will be saved for Term 4. Stoler focuses on those elements of American history that are misunderstood or where myths abound. We will learn about the true origins of religious tolerance; a balanced perspective on causes of the Revolutionary war, and the vital role of foreign assistance; an assessment of George Washington as a general and a statesman; the extent of democracy the framers of the constitution really intended and much more. Discussion will follow each lecture led by the OLLI facilitator.

Have you heard about Nebraska’s best kept secret? Nebraska Extension has been engaging with people in all 93 counties for more than a century as a trusted educational resource; inspiring fulfilled, prosperous, and healthful lives. Discover how Extension engages with Nebraskans wherever they are, connecting them with the resources, research, and innovation of the University of Nebraska. Part I of this series focuses on an overview of the Nebraska Extension system followed by focused sessions on Water and Cropping Systems, Agricultural Profitability, Early Childhood, and Urban Extension. By living and working in communities, Extension educators rely on local relationships to respond to local needs, build trust, and engage effectively. Discover how you too can learn, engage, collaborate, and volunteer with Extension in your community. Nobody connects with the people of Nebraska like Extension!

Twenty years after the “war to end all wars” concluded, another more cruel, more hideous, more destructive war started in Europe, and two years earlier, a similarly barbaric war erupted in Asia. Starting on opposite sides of the Earth, these wars merged into one conflagration: the Second World War. While as many as 100 million soldiers and sailors fought, twice as many civilians died than combatants because humans had now crafted death into a most savage art. The war's growing depravity demanded previously unimaginable sacrifices and weapons, and the war’s outcome was not guaranteed. Truly, the Second World War was a life-and-death struggle in which the imperfect Good defeated the near-perfect Evil. Thankfully, countless examples of compassion helped save humanity from its worst self. Yet, nearly eighty years later, some people deny the Holocaust and openly admire its perpetrators. The war's battle between Good and Evil must continue.