Oct. 11, 2024 - is open for CSU Channel Islands (华体会)鈥檚 Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI)
Fall II session, which includes a memoir writing workshop, the tangled roots of the
Russia-Ukraine war, secrets to longevity, six famous assassinations, and much more.
OLLI is offering 10 six-week classes, just as it does each semester, but the Fall II session features three additional three-week courses.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to see which program structure best serves our members and instructors,鈥 said OLLI Program Coordinator Shaina Salin. 鈥淲e wanted to pilot three-week courses for students and instructors to see if people enjoy that added flexibility.鈥
The majority of OLLI classes are in lecture form, but this semester, OLLI is offering a chance for more learner participation with 鈥淔inding & Writing Your Story: A Creative Workshop鈥 by author/playwright Robert Weibezahl.
The workshop will enable participants to unearth and give voice to the personal story they want to tell in the form of memoir, drama or even fiction.
鈥淪ome participants will gravitate toward pure memoir, but there are many ways to tell the story you want to tell,鈥 Weibezahl said. 鈥淥ne writer I know explored the anxiety of returning to dating later in life with a story involving a poignant and funny dreamlike encounter with younger versions of herself. Maybe you鈥檝e harbored a grudge against someone for a long time. That can be perfect fodder for a diabolical or comic crime story.鈥
As is the tradition with OLLI, there will be classes on politics, history and current events such as 鈥淭he School of Paris and Art Between the Two World Wars,鈥 鈥淢edieval Science: Exploring Insights and Discoveries,鈥 and 鈥淪ix Famous Assassinations,鈥 including Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Indira Ghandi.
Russian/Soviet history expert and former 华体会 History Professor P. Scott Corbett will teach 鈥淭he Bear and the Falcon: The Claw and Talon Fight between Russia and Ukraine,鈥 which is intended to provide historical context to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
鈥淩ussian President Vladimir Putin was a true believer in the greatness of the Soviet Union and the greatest crime in history, to him, was its dismemberment,鈥 Corbett said. 鈥淗e wants to recreate that, but the conflict between Russia and Ukraine goes much deeper than that.鈥
Other explorations of culture, politics and human development will be covered in classes like 鈥淭he Treatment of Native Americans in the US鈥 and 鈥淪ecrets to Longevity,鈥 in which a gerontologist will offer tips on helping to live your best, longest life.
The three three-week classes being offered are: 鈥淛ews and Movies in America - 100 Years of Achievement,鈥 鈥淐ultural Patterns of Creativity,鈥 and 鈥淣ational Parks and Humanity鈥檚 New Realities,鈥 about the future of America鈥檚 national parks under the pressure of climate change and human use.
OLLI class locations are the Studio Channel Islands Art Center and 华体会鈥檚 John Spoor Broome Library in Camarillo, the College of Law in Ventura, and the newest location, the Goebel Adult Community Center in Thousand Oaks.
Classes are $30 for each three-week class and $60 for each six-week class. Unlimited Fall II courses are available for $150 per individual or $200 per couple. Classes begin October 21.
To look at the catalog or enroll, visit: .