Lecture Courses

SUMMER 2023 SCHEDULE

Lecture courses are taught by the high-caliber instructors and guest speakers for which UCLA is world-renowned. OLLI membership is required to enroll in these courses.

Coming to Terms with the Holocaust, Part II: The Holocaust Begins {New Course}

6 Mondays, June 26–July 31; 10am–12pm

As the most extensively documented genocide in history—and the most intensively investigated, interrogated, and debated—the Holocaust in Europe (1933–1945) has much to teach us about hatred, demagoguery, impersonal violence, state-sponsored murder on an industrial scale, and ourselves. In this course, we complete our broad overview of the Holocaust. We trace the tangled path that led from exclusionary Nazi anti-Semitism to Einsatzgruppen murder squads and, inevitably, gas chambers. We investigate the ghettoization of the Jews of Eastern Europe, the radical and far-reaching decisions at the Wannsee Conference, and the establishment of the five concentration camps. We also study the creation and operation of Auschwitz and conclude with an interrogation of the Nuremberg trials.

This course will be recorded. Students will have access to videos for the duration of the course.

REG# 392091 | INSTRUCTOR: Steve Sohmer

BASIC MEMBER FEE: $115 | PLUS MEMBER FEE: $34

REMOTE: Zoom information is emailed to students two days before the course begins.

Mysticism: East and West

8 Wednesdays, June 28–August 16; 10am–12pm

A major and recurrent feature in world religions is the ecstatic or mystical experience of the individual or groups and the effects of such experience on the religious tradition. The course is concerned with the mystical as it appears in archaic, Eastern, and Western traditions, as well as with the mystics themselves. We begin with perhaps the earliest of religions, the shamans, and continue with the ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mystical practices as described in the secret texts. Hinduism, Buddhism, and Daoism present instructions and evidence of intense mystical experiences. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all have significant and powerful mystical knowledge that is explored. The course ends with a survey of modern ecstatic experience induced by drugs, as well as the psychological and bodily practices of the 21st century.

REG# 392378 | INSTRUCTOR: Phyllis Herman

BASIC MEMBER FEE: $135 | PLUS MEMBER FEE: $40

IN-PERSON: UCLA Extension Gayley Center, 1145 Gayley Ave., Room 114.

The Art of Silence: Visual Storytelling and the Lesson of Silent Cinema {New Course}

6 Wednesdays, June 28–August 2; 1–3:30pm

Today's understanding of silent movies rarely stems from a first-hand viewing experience. Instead, it relies on an idea shaped by our collective imagination, in which silent cinema is identified as a crude and primitive type of soundless narrative; conveyed by blurry, jittery, and colorless images. In actuality, nothing could be further from the truth, since silent movies were shot in 35mm, mostly screened in color, and accompanied by music—sometimes in the form of a symphonic score, performed by a live orchestra. Silent filmmakers quickly developed and standardized shooting techniques and rules of continuity editing which are still in place today. By the mid-1920s, silent cinema was using a sophisticated type of visual storytelling that was universally understood by audiences all over the world. In this course, we focus on the unique narrative style of the late silent period, as exemplified by movies such as Ernst Lubitsch's Lady Windermere's Fan, Buster Keaton's The General, and F. W. Murnau's Sunrise. The goal is to show how the narrative lesson provided by these films was later used by classic, modern, and even contemporary filmmakers in their sound films—e.g., Jacques Tati's Mon Oncle, Nicolas Roeg's Walkabout, and Andrew Stanton's Wall-E (Pixar).

REG# 392410 | INSTRUCTOR : Alex Pirolini

BASIC MEMBER FEE: $130 | PLUS MEMBER FEE: $39

IN-PERSON: UCLA Extension Gayley Center, 1145 Gayley Ave., Room 114.

Cosmology, Astronomy, and Space Exploration in the News

8 Wednesdays, June 28–August 16; 6:30–8:30pm

Due to advances in technology, what we thought we knew about the fundamentals of cosmology, astronomy, and space exploration is evolving almost daily. In this course, we explore the latest concepts, news, and discoveries regarding multiverses, gravitational waves, black holes, neutron stars, exoplanets, and the beginning of our universe. We also follow the progress of NASA's and ESA's missions to the moon, Mars, and Europa—Jupiter's ice covered moon—and much more.

REG# 392092 | INSTRUCTOR: Shelley Bonus

BASIC MEMBER FEE: $135 | PLUS MEMBER FEE: $40

REMOTE: Zoom information is emailed to students two days before the course begins.

Words in English: History, Semantics, Translation {New Course}

8 Thursdays, June 29–August 17, 10am–12pm

English is a melting pot of linguistic ingredients that has been simmering for centuries. Even the original Anglo-Saxon was already a blend of the dialects of west Germanic tribes living along the North Sea coast. While a majority of English word roots come from Latin and Greek, it has also borrowed words from as many as 350 other languages. In this course, we explore the structural elements of English words, particularly words of Latin and Greek origin, to see how they combine to become the vocabulary of English. We also discuss the historical development of English vocabulary, the distinction between native and borrowed words, sources of new words, changes in word meanings and pronunciation, and the place of English among other languages.

REG# 393086 | INSTRUCTOR: Natalie Operstein

BASIC MEMBER FEE: $135 | PLUS MEMBER FEE: $40

IN-PERSON: UCLA Extension Gayley Center, 1145 Gayley Ave., Room 119.

The Second American Revolution: Madison, Monroe, and the War of 1812 {New Course}

4 Thursdays, June 29–July 20; 1–3pm

In this course, we examine one of America’s least remembered but still most pivotal struggles. Woefully unprepared, the new United States took on one of Europe’s military titans, Great Britain, in a three-year conflict that saw some of the best and worst moments of America’s military and political leadership. Our journey culminates in the burning of Washington DC, the heroic defense of Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor; and includes the vexing challenges to the key figures of the day, such as James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Jackson.

This course will be recorded. Students will have access to videos for the duration of the course.

REG# 392170 | INSTRUCTOR: Jared Day

BASIC MEMBER FEE: $100 | PLUS MEMBER FEE: $30

REMOTE: Zoom information is emailed to students two days before the course begins.

Birds in Classical Music Pieces {New Course}

6 Thursdays, June 29–August 3, 1–3pm

Birds have inspired compositions from the very start of the western musical tradition. Many are, after all, natural singers—one could argue musicians in their own right. The subset of repertoire in classical music, which they inspired, is rich. References to birds in music take on many forms. In some compositions, birds signify allegorical meanings. In others, they inspire close imitation of birdsongs in the texture of the musical content. In this course, we explore musical pieces that are based on birds, such as the nightingale, the swan, the cuckoo, and the lark. From the medieval era till present days and from all corners of Western European musical traditions, we discuss works by anonymous and renowned composers, including Archadelt, Vivaldi, Handel, Respighi, Saint-Saens, Sibelius, Stravinsky, and more.

This course will be recorded. Students will have access to videos for the duration of the course.

REG# 392411 | INSTRUCTOR: Anahit Rostomyan

BASIC MEMBER FEE: $115 | PLUS MEMBER FEE : $34

REMOTE: Zoom information is emailed to students two days before the course begins.