OLLI@DU / 2023 FALL / COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Shakespeare in a Divided America HSEC 1010

Wednesday

Dates: 9/20 to 11/8 (8 weeks)

Time: 1–3 PM

Facilitator: David Lippman, Master Facilitator

Location: Online

Class Limit: 45 participants

Sponsoring Site: Central

In the course of US history, political differences have taken many forms. Some of these disagreements have revolved around Shakespeare’s plays or their performances. This course will look at eight historical moments when Shakespeare stood at the center of an American political division. For example:

–The 1849 incident when more than 10,000 rioters stormed an opera house in New York City, ostensibly to protest the effeminate portrayal of Macbeth by a British actor. About 30 rioters were killed and more than a hundred injured when police and militia opened fire on the crowd.

–The dedicated abolitionist and former president, John Quincy Adams, wrote about Desdemona: “When Othello smothers her in bed, the terror and the pity subside immediately into the sentiment that she has her deserts.”

–Lincoln’s assassin, the Shakespearean actor John Wilkes Booth, complained in his diary: “With every man’s hand against me, I am here in despair. And why? For doing what Brutus was honored for.”

–And in 2017, when a Shakespeare in the Park performance of Julius Caesar featured a Trump lookalike as Caesar, some cheered and others were repelled at Caesar’s death.

The course will feature James Shapiro’s book, Shakespeare in a Divided America, which was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist and one of The New York Times’s top ten books of 2020. Our primary focus will be on the history surrounding the eight events, but, of course, it will also touch on Shakespeare’s plays.

Somethings Happening Here: How the 60s Shaped American Culture Into This 21st Century

Hsec 1015

Thursday

Dates: 9/21 to 10/26 (6 weeks)

Time: 9:30–11:30 AM

Facilitator: James Walsh

Location: Online

Class Limit: Unlimited

Sponsoring Site: On Campus

This course will explore several social movements from the 1960s, including the Civil Rights movement, Chicano and American Indian Movements, feminist movement, Gay Liberation, Anti-War, and Economic Justice. For each of these movements, we will examine the history behind the movement, and relate it to current events and social change in the 21st century. Students are encouraged to share their own experiences and memories of this era and to use this course to reflect deeply on the questions that define us today.

Ten Voyages of Discovery and Survival

HSEC 1001

Tuesday

Dates: 9/19 to 10/17 (5 weeks)

Time: 1–3 PM

Facilitator: Peter VanArsdale

Location: 1st Universalist

Class Limit: 20 participants

Sponsoring Site: Central

What drove some of the world’s most famous explorers? How were they able to persevere? What resources did they use? How did they survive in desolate, unforgiving circumstances? When teammates died, how did the others react? And of course, what routes did they take? What did they discover?

This five-week course will take a deep dive — in some cases literally — into 10 voyages of discovery and survival. In each case, first-hand narratives — as well as numerous photographs and maps — will be included.

The voyages to be covered: Cabeza de Vaca (1527–1536, North America); DeSoto (1539–1543, North America); Coronado (1540–1542, North America); Cook (1776–1780, Pacific Ocean); Bligh (1789, Pacific Ocean); Lewis and Clark (1803–1806, North America); Franklin (1845–1846, Arctic); Scott (1910–1913, Antarctic); Shackleton (1914–1916, Antarctic); Van Arsdale (1974, New Guinea).

Venice: The City of Dreams

HSEC 1008

Wednesday

Dates: 9/20 to 10/11 (4 weeks)

Time: 9:30–11:30 AM

Facilitator: Diana Williams

Location: Online

Class Limit: 30 participants

Sponsoring Site: Central

Come with me to the City of Dreams, the most beautiful city in all the world - Venice. We will weave through her canals as we explore her history and her art. This is not a travel course, but we will also look at some of that. Venice has a fascinating history that spans over a thousand years. To walk her streets and travel her canals is to fall in love with her. She offers a bridge between east and west; between the past and the present; and between reality and fond illusion.

War on the Eastern Front (In Person)

HSEC 1005.1

Tuesday

Dates: 9/19 to 11/7 (8 weeks)

Time: 1–3 PM

Facilitator: Mac McHugh, Platinum Facilitator

Location: Ruffatto Hall

Class Limit: 25 participants

Sponsoring Site: On Campus Hybrid Class

It was called The Great Patriotic War, The Eastern Front, and The Russian Front. By which ever name it was called, it was the bloodiest, hardest fought front in the Second World War. Why did Hitler want to attack Russia? He had a non-aggression pact that protected his rear as he fought France, England, and the Low Countries. World War I showed that Germany couldn’t fight the war on two fronts. Just the size of Russia left Germany challenged. What did Hitler think the Russians were going to do? Did Hitler think that the Allies would come to the aid of the Russians? We will explore some of the most famous battles of the war. Names like ‘The 900 Days of Leningrad’, ‘Stalingrad’, and ‘Moscow’ where the government stayed during the battle. We will delve into the largest tank battle in history at Kursk. We have the great Russian military leaders: Stalin, Zhukov, Yeremenko, Timoshenko, Vasilevsky, and others. Germany pitted its best Generals against the Russians and they came up short. What happened? Join us as we look at the leaders, the strategy and tactics used by both sides.

War on the Eastern Front (Online)

HSEC 1005.2

Tuesday

Dates: 9/19 to 11/7 (8 weeks)

Time: 1–3 PM

Facilitator: Mac McHugh, Platinum Facilitator

Location: Online

Class Limit: Unlimited

Sponsoring Site: On Campus

Hybrid Class

It was called The Great Patriotic War, The Eastern Front, and The Russian Front. By which ever name it was called, it was the bloodiest, hardest fought front in the Second World War. Why did Hitler want to attack Russia? He had a non-aggression pact that protected his rear as he fought France, England, and the Low Countries. World War I showed that Germany couldn’t fight the war on two fronts. Just the size of Russia left Germany challenged. What did Hitler think the Russians were going to do? Did Hitler think that the Allies would come to the aid of the Russians? We will explore some of the most famous battles of the war. Names like ‘The 900 Days of Leningrad’, ‘Stalingrad’, and ‘Moscow’ where the government stayed during the battle. We will delve into the largest tank battle in history at Kursk. We have the great Russian military leaders: Stalin, Zhukov, Yeremenko, Timoshenko, Vasilevsky, and others. Germany pitted its best Generals against the Russians and they came up short. What happened? Join us as we look at the leaders, the strategy and tactics used by both sides.