Discussion Groups

FALL 2023 SCHEDULE

Discussion groups allow members to explore subjects in an atmosphere of intellectual stimulation, creative self-expression, and socializing, without the expectation of tests or grades. Depending on the nature of the course, there could be a modest amount of preparation or readings required, and you may be called upon for your insights—members should be ready to participate. OLLI membership is required to enroll in these courses.

Best of the Best North American Short Stories {New Course}

8 Tuesdays, September 26–November 14, 10am–12pm

Fifty North American short stories were selected from a survey of more than 500 English professors, short story writers, and novelists for The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction. In this course, we read and discuss about twenty of these remarkable stories—the best of the best, by authors including Jhumpa Lahiri, ZZ Packer, Alice Walker, and Amy Tan.

REG# 393515 | INSTRUCTOR: Maria Siciliano

BASIC MEMBER FEE: $80 | PLUS MEMBER FEE: $40

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

Turning Points in Food History {New Course}

8 Tuesdays, September 26–November 14, 1–3pm

In this course, we explore significant events which have contributed to the way humans have eaten. The adoption of vegetarianism in India's Jain religion as a major eating tradition was one such event. Another was Columbus's 1492 voyage, which brought a vast cornucopia of New World products—corn, potatoes, and tomatoes, to name a few, to the cuisines of the entire world. Other events include science-based inventions such as canning to preserve food, baking powder to make breads and cakes rise, and the invention of refrigeration to keep foods fresh. We also look at significant cookbooks and their authors, including Apicius’s On Things Culinary, the oldest collection of recipes to survive from antiquity; and On the Art of Cooking (1570), which made Renaissance-era chef Bartolomeo Scappi the first internationally renowned celebrity chef. This tradition has lived on more recently with Frenchmen Antonin Carême, who defined the very term haute cuisine, and Auguste Escoffier, whose Le Guide Culinaire (1903) revolutionized the order and design of the modern restaurant kitchen.

REG# 394589 | INSTRUCTOR: Carlo Coppola

BASIC MEMBER FEE: $80 | PLUS MEMBER FEE: $40

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