Taste of Osher

No membership required. These 2-hour seminars offer a "taste" of the programming we offer throughout the year. Taste of Osher courses are open to non-members and members alike, and are just $15 each, unless otherwise noted. OLLI Plus members can enroll at no cost. No refunds allowed.

Jazz: America’s Music

Saturday, April 15, 10am–12pm

Jazz is a musical conversation with most of it never said the same way twice. This introductory session ambitiously encompasses the first 100 years of jazz, bringing an appreciation of the music to everyone from novices to deep aficionados. From Louis Armstrong to Wynton Marsalis, we listen to music by time and location, and experience the expansion of America's true original art forms. Listen, learn and listen some more.

REG# 390776 | INSTRUCTOR: Pat Collins

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

IN-PERSON: UCLA Extension Lindbrook Center 10920 Lindbrook Dr., Room 201.

The Personal is Political: The Evolution of Spain and its Citizens from Dictatorship to Democracy {New

Course}

Saturday, April 22, 10am–12pm

When a country is sick, the population shows the symptoms. In this presentation, Isidra Mencos examines the intersection between politics and private lives at a pivotal time in the history of Spain. Mencos grew up under the Franco dictatorship. She was 17 when Franco died in 1975. The transition to democracy took some years, but the cultural and sexual revolution happened fast. It was a time of hope, but also of political and social conflict. With democracy under threat around the world, Mencos reflects on the impact that authoritarianism has in every aspect of a person’s life, and the decades-long shadow it casts.

REG# 392161 | INSTRUCTOR: Isidra Mencos

IN-PERSON: UCLA Extension Lindbrook Center, 10920 Lindbrook Dr., Room 202.

The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England {New Course}

Thursday, April 27, 10am–12pm

This course is based on the recent exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and explores the art of the Tudor Dynasty in England. According to the New York Times, the exhibition relied on more than 100 objects to argue that the Tudors made themselves relevant and powerful with paintings, tapestries, and even clothes. Covering their century-plus reign—118 years, from the ascent of Henry VII in 1485 to the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, the exhibition drew on works from museums across Europe and in the United States, along with the Met’s own holdings. This course will be recorded. Enrolled students will have access to the video for 30 days.

REG# 391080 | INSTRUCTOR: Katherine Zoroaster

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

Conversations about Language: Questioning Everyday Beliefs {New Course}

Saturday, April 29, 10am–12pm

People often think of themselves as fairly knowledgeable about language, but we might ask if common views and everyday ideas about language correspond to established linguistic research. In this course, we compare a number of widely held beliefs about language with what linguistics teaches us about these topics. For example, many think that children need explicit instruction while learning their first language. Some people believe that certain types of English are appropriately designated as “bad” English. Women are assumed to talk more than men. Others think that language change is a problem for the future of English. Examining these sorts of assumptions about language provides participants the opportunity to reflect on their own opinions and discover what linguistics contributes to the discussion.

REG# 390967 | INSTRUCTOR: Alice Freed

IN-PERSON: UCLA Extension Lindbrook Center, 10920 Lindbrook Dr., Room 204 CD.

Artists of the Harlem Renaissance {New Course}

Monday, May 1, 1–3pm

The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual, social, and artistic explosion centered in Harlem, New York City, that spanned the 1920s and ushered in an unprecedented phase of African-American literary and artistic development. In this course, we explore the contributions of writers such as Dr. Alain Locke and Langston Hughes, and study the works of artists including Archibald Motley, Loïs Mailou Jones, Palmer Hayden, Aaron Douglas, and Laura Wheeler Waring—who celebrated their culture to bring ethnic consciousness and a new identity into their artistic endeavors.

This course will be recorded. Students will have access to the video for 30 days.

REG# 390772 | INSTRUCTOR: Eleanor Schrader

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

Japanese American Internment: Memories of Heart Mountain

Saturday, May 6, 10am–12pm

Sam Mihara is a second-generation Japanese American (Nisei) born and raised in San Francisco. When World War II broke out, the United States government used armed military guards to force nine-year-old Sam and his family to move to the Heart Mountain, Wyoming prison camp. It was one of 10 such camps in the country that together housed more than 120,000 west coast residents of Japanese ancestry, most of them U.S.-born American citizens. Sam and his family lived in one room, 20 by 20 square feet in a barrack for three years. In this course, Sam describes the events leading to internment and life for Japanese-American citizens imprisoned at Heart Mountain, Wyoming during World War II. He has also studied the current detention of immigrant families across the country and shares his findings.

This course will be recorded. Students will have access to videos for the duration of the course. This is a hybrid course. In-person instruction from the classroom will be broadcast live over Zoom.

REG# 391168 | INSTRUCTOR: Sam Mihara

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

IN-PERSON: UCLA Extension Lindbrook Center, 10920 Lindbrook Dr., Room 204 ABCD

The Mexican Muralists {New Course}

Monday, May 8, 1–3pm

The Mexican Muralist tradition was born from the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, after which the new government commissioned works of public art that addressed the political and social transformation of the modern age. Large scale murals—executed in techniques including fresco, encaustic, mosaic, and relief—supported the values of the revolution and the Mexican identity, which included a broader knowledge of revolutionary history and the Mexican people’s pre-Columbian past. In this course, we explore how the Mexican Muralists often used large-scale murals in order to convey their messages, as public murals could be viewed by the general public, regardless of social class. Additionally, we study the contributions of Frida Kahlo. Although not a member of the Mexican Muralists per se, her works are part of the larger context of this group of revolutionary artists. This course will be recorded. Students will have access to the video for 30 days.

REG# 390773 | INSTRUCTOR: Eleanor Schrader

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

Chocolate Road: From Farm to Wrapper {New Course}

Monday, May 15, 10am–12pm

In this course, we screen the internationally acclaimed film Chocolate Road (2021), a documentary that follows three renowned chocolatiers—Maribel Lieberman, Susumu Koyama and world champion chocolate-maker Mikkel Friis-Holm—through their process of craft chocolate-making from the tree to the final chocolate piece. On their journey, each of them finds how important it is to know the roots of their primer material—the cacao bean, and how they can highly impact the lives of the people involved in the chocolate production chain. Filming took place over two years in Peru, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Trinidad, France, Denmark, and Japan. Dr. Lee Theisen was the co-writer and the historical consultant for this documentary. After the screening, he will interview chocolate makers and provide a chocolate tasting.

REG# 390900 | INSTRUCTOR: Lee Theisen

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

California Gold Country: An Armchair Historic Tour {New Course}

Thursday, May 18, 10am–12pm

Sharon Boorstin recently traveled to California Gold Country to research an article for the Los Angeles Times. She discovered more fascinating stories than could fit into 1500 words. Join Sharon for a virtual tour of California Highway 49, in the rolling Sierra Nevada foothills east of Sacramento. Stops include Sutter’s Fort, where gold was first discovered in 1848; and a dozen historic Gold Rush towns including Columbia, Angel’s Camp, Grass Valley, and Nevada City. See where prospectors partied when they struck it rich, and drowned their sorrows when they didn’t — and what visitors can enjoy there today. This course will be recorded. Enrolled students will have access to the video for 30 days.

REG# 391106 | INSTRUCTOR: Sharon Boorstin

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

African American Portraiture: The Poetics of History, Memory and Revolutionary Love {New Course}

Monday, May 22, 1–3pm

The art of portraiture is a genre that recognizes the importance of the person depicted: their status, wealth, and place in their community. The right to be pictured, or to picture oneself, is a declaration of worth and citizenship. In this course, we explore innovative, photographic self-portraiture by African Americans during and immediately following the Civil War. We also focus on contemporary African American portraiture created in diverse media—from photography to textiles—that redresses social injustice with beauty, power, and grace.

REG# 391185 | INSTRUCTOR: Andrea Liss

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

Revolutionary Lives: Tom Paine and Benedict Arnold {New Course}

Monday, June 5, 1–4pm

In this course, we tackle the lives of two lesser-known figures of the American Revolution: Tom Paine, the author of Common Sense; and Benedict Arnold, the most famous turncoat in American history. In the first half, we look at Paine’s meteoric rise to celebrity status during the American Revolution and his equally dramatic fall from grace in the decades afterwards. Once lionized as our most relatable and revolutionary founding father, Tom Paine died a pariah, too radical and uncompromising for the cautious new country he had called into being. In the second half, we reconstruct the life and times of Benedict Arnold, who as a skilled officer in George Washington’s Continental Army, began secretly communicating with British intelligence agents, giving them insider information and dramatically defecting to their side in return for a mountain of cash. We examine the reasons for this treason, and the larger problems of betrayal and desertion that dogged the Continental Army throughout the war. .

This course will be recorded. Students will have access to the video for 30 days.

REG# 391058 | INSTRUCTOR: Richard Bell

FEE: Free for all

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

Peace Corps Service Later in Life

Thursday, June 8, 10am–12pm

Come learn more about being a Peace Corps volunteer. UCLA Peace Corps Campus Recruiter Jeffrey Janis speaks specifically on service later in life. He served in Ukraine when he was in his mid-forties and will be joined by someone who served when they were sixty+. (The oldest volunteer who ever served was 86.) He gives an overview of the Peace Corps mission and requirements for service, explains what volunteers do and where they serve, helps with browsing volunteer opportunities, and assists in finding the right program.

REG# 391479 | INSTRUCTOR: Jeffrey Janis

FEE: Free for all

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

Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? {New Course}

Saturday, June 10, 10am–12pm

Wolves have a long history of association with humans, having been despised and hunted in most pastoral communities because of its attacks on livestock. In this course, we explore the effects of their eradication and reintroduction on the environment, in particular Yellowstone National Park. Wolf pack migration into Oregon and California and the delisting of wolves and importance of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 are reviewed in detail, and its implications for the environment and global warming are analyzed as well. We also explore the ancestry of wolves and dogs, their evolution and the basis of the companionship of dogs. Other topics include wolf biology and biochemistry, trophic cascade, chaos theory, wolf pack behavior, wolf-human interactions, and wolf mythology.

REG# 372987 | INSTRUCTOR: Keith L Klein

FEE: Free for all

IN-PERSON: UCLA Extension Lindbrook Center 10920 Lindbrook Dr., Room 209.

Sharon’s Salon: Diana Friedberg and her documentary film, Max Steiner: Maestro of Movie Music {New Course}

Friday, June 16, 10am–12pm

Diana Friedberg is a multiple award-winning editor and producer. In this interview with Sharon, Diana screens parts of her new award-winning documentary film, Max Steiner: Maestro of Movie Music, and shares what she discovered about Steiner in the process of making it. After a short stint on Broadway, Steiner headed west and introduced a new art form to Hollywood—the musical underscore. He worked on over 300 films, including timeless classics such as Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, and Treasure of the Sierra Madre. The film is the story of the man who created a vital new art form and changed Hollywood for all time. His legacy lives on today through the many composers who followed in his footsteps.

This course will be recorded. Students will have access to the video for 30 days.

REG# 3391189 | INSTRUCTOR: Sharon Boorstin

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