Letter from the Director Dear OLLI Members: Welcome to Winter 2023! We are very happy to have you back at OLLI. We have been working hard to bring you the best possible range of courses - classes that are interesting, fun and intellectually stimulating. We have a fantastic lineup of lecturers and courses, including several new faculty. All of this would not have been possible but for the considerable efforts and intelligence of one woman - our former Director, Dr Kathie Henderson, who sadly passed away in July. It was Kathie who built OLLI into the strong program it has become, hiring only the best faculty and insisting on the highest standards. We owe Kathie a huge debt of gratitude. She will not be forgotten. Sincerely, Calum MacKechnie, Interim Director Contact Us
Address: OLLI, Dominican University, 50 Acacia Ave, San Rafael, CA 94101
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Dominican University of California is an academic program founded in 2004 and supported by a generous endowment from the Bernard Osher Foundation, the resources of the University, and member donations and tuition. There are two categories of membership in OLLI: Basic Members who take between one and six courses spread throughout the year, and Premium Members who take UNLIMITED courses in the fall, winter, and spring sessions. Scholarships are available for members who qualify.
Phone: (415) 458-3763 Email: olli@dominican.edu Website: dominican.edu/olli
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute 50 Acacia Avenue San Rafael, CA 94901
WINTER 2023 OLLI Open House: Meet the Faculty Friday, November 18, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. via Zoom Please plan on joining OLLI via Zoom to meet the OLLI Dominican Faculty and Discussion Group leaders and learn about the exciting array of Winter courses. This is a great opportunity to learn about our Winter programming. We invite anyone to join the Open House, including non-members and guests. Zoom details will be posted to the OLLI website (www.dominican.edu/olli) in early November.
OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE
WINTER 2023 OLLI OPEN HOUSE November 18 10 a.m. via Zoom See dominican.edu/olli for Zoom link and to register online. Questions: (415) 458-3763
Course Recordings Available New Faculty New Members: First Course Discounts Steve Bryson is back!
OLLI Registration Information Course and Membership Costs: Premium Membership:
$550 (includes unlimited courses during Winter and Spring)
Basic Membership:
$25 (one time payment) valid for the Winter Session, plus per-course fees listed below
Course, Workshop and Discussion Group Fees*: 8 Week Course $150 6
(NEW TO OLLI $100)
Week Course $120 4
(NEW TO OLLI $80)
Week Course $90
(NEW TO OLLI $60)
8 Week Workshop $200
No discounts available
4 Week Workshop $100
No discounts available
Discussion Group $80
No discounts available
Registration for the Winter 2023 Session is available online at www.dominican.edu/olli. You may also register by sending a check along with the names of the courses you would like to the OLLI offi ce (see address on the back cover). If you require assistance, simply call our office at (415) 458-3763 or send an email to olli@dominican.edu. Registration opens November 18. *In order to receive the NEW TO OLLI discount, or any other discount, please call the OLLI offi ce at (415) 458-3763.
OLLI Winter Session | January 9 - March 17, 2023 Mondays How Does My Hair Look? The History of Portraiture: Charlie Goldberg January 9 - February 6 (No class January 16): Four meetings ($90) 10 - 11:40 a.m. We will look at why our brains respond to portraits and what draws our eyes to them. We will look at some of the earliest known portraits and what rules they followed. As we move forward in time, we'll see how those rules were broken. Self-portraits are often the most interesting and we'll examine what they say about our sense of identity. Francis Ford Coppola, Mainstream Maverick: Cary Pepper January 9 - February 27 (No class January 16, February 20): Six meetings ($120) 2 - 3:40 p.m. Francis Ford Coppola’s body of work ranges from stunning successes to colossal misfi res, straddling mainstream Hollywood and the fringes of American fi lmmaking. This class will examine that body of work and the person behind it. Films covered will include: The Godfather (1972); The Conversation (1974); Apocalypse Now (1979); The Outsiders (1983); Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988); and Tetro (2009).
Tuesdays America Looks in the Mirror: Reflectionson the Past, Present, and Future of the Country: Darren Zook January 10 - February 28: Eight meetings ($150) 10 - 11:40 a.m. Political turbulence, racial division, social acrimony, partisan bickering, mass shootings, all with a very persistent pandemic thrown in for good dystopian measure. Is there reason to think that the worst is behind us, or are we really heading, as some have opined, toward a second civil war? Four Artists in New York City: Sylvia Laudien-Meo January 10 - 31: Four meetings ($90) 2 - 3:40 p.m. Art historian Silvia Laudien-Meo will look at four artists and the work they produced during periods they spent in New York City: Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali, the Brazilian artis Maria Martins, and Yayoi Kusama, originally from Japan. These artists came to NYC for different reasons, and all of them absorbed the energy of NYC in different ways, as the course will explain. 20 Great Adventurers They Never Taught You About In School: John Geoghegan February 7 - 28: Four meetings ($90) 2 - 3:40 p.m. This course tells the true but little known story of 20 amazing men and women whose exploits once captured world headlines but have long since been forgotten. Everyone knows who Sir Ernest Shackleton is, but there are many adventurers whose accomplishments rival that of the most celebrated explorers yet many people have never heard of them: for example, Aloha Wanderwell, who was the first woman to drive around the world in a car in 1922.
COURSE LEGEND = In Person, Guzman Lecture Hall = ZOOM Application = Video recording provided = No recording available
The Economist Discussion Group: Lynn Sieben and Robert Garb
Greatest Military Blunders of the Third Reich: Jean Bowler
January 10 - February 28: Eight meetings ($80) 4 - 5:40 p.m.
February 15 - March 8: Four meetings ($90) 6:30 - 8:10 p.m.
The Economist magazine provides unbiased reporting and thought-provoking articles on global political and economic developments. Each week we will discuss 5 topics from the current week’s issue. Class participants are expected to volunteer to lead a discussion on at least one topic per semester. Participants must subscribe or have access to current editions of The Economist (online or paper copies, also available at most libraries) and be familiar with Zoom.
By 1940, the German armed forces were indisputably the largest and strongest in the world. Yet after the Wehrmacht invasion of France in the summer of 1940, a series of blunders began to unfold which led to Germany’s eventual defeat. From Dunkirk to the Battle of the Atlantic, Operation Barbarossa, the Second Battle of the Ardennes and more, Germany made a series of decisions which sealed its fate.
Wednesdays Those Noisy Birds: Vocal Behavior of Birds (Workshop): Jim Cunningham January 11 - February 1: Four meetings ($100) 10 - 11:40 a.m. This will be an in-person small group workshop. One of the reasons birds attract human attention is that, like humans, they produce and rely on sound for communication. In this course, we will examine the different ways birds produce sound. Students taking this course will learn to use the computer program “Raven” to analyze and visualize bird sounds. This course will be in person. The Age of Classic Jazz, 1900-1930: Dave Radlauer February 8 - March 1: Four meetings ($100) 10 - 11:40 a.m. The birth, growth and development of early Jazz reshaped musical and cultural worlds. Vibrant new forms of expression were introduced by colorful personalities: Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Bix Beiderbecke, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Paul Whiteman and Sidney Bechet. Each class presents more than a dozen audiovisual clips and dynamic interpretive media. For further exploration, curated links offer access to print, web and streaming resources. Dazzling Dames of Broadway: From the 1930’s to the 2020’s: Bonnie Weiss January 11 - February 15: Six meetings ($120) 2 - 3:40 p.m. This course covers not only the legends of yesteryear, such as Ethel Merman, Mary Martin, Julie Andrews and Carol Channing, but also more recent mega-stars like Bernadette Peters and Patti Lupone, Sutton Foster and Audra McDonald. Among the other featured Dames in this new series are Chita Rivera, Elaine Stritch and Angela Lansbury, plus there will be some surprise guest appearances. Global Issues Discussion Group: Michael Bremer January 11 - March 1: Eight meetings ($80) 4 - 5:40 p.m. A study group for people with an interest in interaction, strategies, and issues of countries around the world. We’ll create our own “think tank” and develop a deeper understanding of global problems and world issues. Participants will pick and lead discussions on topics of interest to the group. Classes will respectfully tolerate a wide range of opinions.
Notes: Recorded courses are available only to OLLI members enrolled in the specifi c course. Access to the recorded content will be available through the end of the Winter Session, March 31, 2023. Basic members also pay a membership fee of $25, which covers the winter session. All discussion groups and workshops are limited to a maximum of 20 participants.
Thursdays The Anti-War Movement in Modern America: Mick Chantler January 12 - February 16: Six meetings ($120) 10 - 11:40 a.m. Mick Chantler is back with a six-week course on the AntiWar Movement in the USA. In this course, Mick will be covering anti-war issues from the Anti-Imperialists of 1898, the women peacemakers of World War 1, Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, through to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, culminating in a review and discussion of “Whither the Peace Movement?” The Golden Age of Arab Islam: Douglas Kenning January 12 - March 2: Eight meetings ($150) 2 - 3:40 p.m. One of Civilization's most glorious periods was the fi rst half millennium of Arab Islam. We will follow its development from Muhammad's Mecca, through Umayyad Damascus, Abassid Baghdad, and Fatimid Cairo, interweaving history, faith, governance, science, art, and the lives of the people.
Fridays Writers on Writing (Workshop): Diane Frank January 13 - March 17 (No class February 17, March 10): Eight meetings ($200) 10 - 11:40 a.m. Writers on Writing is a literary salon, where published authors read from their books, talk about their creative process, and answer questions. A new author is featured each week. After the Q&A, authors offer a writing exercise based on their book, with time to share writing at the end of the session. If you've ever read a book and wanted to speak with the author, this class is for you. Psychological Perspectives on Aging: Dominican Dept of Psychology January 13 - February 17: Six meetings ($120) 10 - 11:40 a.m. How and why do we age? This course will overview various psychological approaches to the study of aging. Different faculty from the Psychology department will consider aging from their own areas of expertise. We will investigate questions such as why aging happens and the cognitive changes that are associated with aging. Neither Here Nor There: The Weirdness of Quantum Mechanics January 20 - March 17: Eight meetings ($150) 2 - 3:40 p.m. Quantum mechanics is one of the most successful theories ever, explaining everything from sunlight to chemistry to our smartphones. Quantum mechanics also says that reality is really weird: electrons, you, me, or the moon are not in any particular place or even separated from each other. Whether or not to believe this weirdness is still an open question, but the 2022 Nobel Prize in physics was awarded for experiments that say yes, reality really is weird, like quantum mechanics says it is. We will learn about the weirdness of quantum mechanics.