OLLI Course Registration 2025 - 2026

You must be an OLLI member in good standing to take an OLLI course.

Current paid members should have been emailed the Access Code.

Select Courses you wish to take. Each course requires a $25 donation.

2601 Pictures at a Revolution: Films from and about the Sixties
  • When: Mondays, 10:30-12, Sept 8,15,22,29; Oct 6, 13
  • Where: Zoom
  • Instructor: Art Eckstein, Professor of History and Distinguished University Professor, Emeritus, University of Maryland
Hollywood played a very significant role in popularizing images and ideas belonging to the cultural revolution of the late 1960s. We’ll view and discuss famous films that did this - and still do: “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964: the vigorous arrival of the Baby Boom generation); “Monterey Pop” (1968: the flowering of the counterculture); “Easy Rider” (1969: the fate of part of that counterculture). In the second half of the course, we’ll look at how the Sixties came to be viewed in film once they were the past: “Berkeley in the Sixties” (1990: looking back at resistance in the streets); “Coming Home” (1978: the trauma of the Vietnam War); “A Complete Unknown” (2024: Bob Dylan from protest folk singer to rock’n roll idol between 1961 and 1965). What does it say that this film should be a major cultural event 60 years later? My emphasis in the course is on film as shared fantasy—film as shared social mythology. We will be seeing and discussing movies that overtly articulate ideas that communities sometimes only felt - films that emanated from, and returned to shape, the nation’s dream life. All films are easily available online. Folks should see the film before each session. I will lecture for about 50 minutes; we will have a break; and then discussion.

2602 The Genetic Code and the Lives of the Discoverers
  • When: Tuesdays, 10:30-12, Sept 23, 30; Oct. 7, 14.
  • Where: London Nelson CC (+ Zoom)
  • Instructor: Barry Bowman, Professor Emeritus of Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, UCSC
I will present the biographies of four scientists who played central roles in the discovery of the genetic material that directs heredity. The monk, Gregor Mendel, was the first to show that traits are inherited as particles of information. These particles were later shown to be DNA. Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, and Francis Crick discovered the structure of DNA, which led to our understanding of how a molecule contains hereditary information. The course will focus on information in the books listed below. Participants are not expected to read all these books, but if you want to read just one, I suggest "The DoubleHelix," James Watson's famous, but controversial, memoir. BOOKS
  • The Monk in the Garden, by Robin Marantz Henig
  • Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA, by Brenda Maddox
  • Francis Crick: Discoverer of the Genetic Code, by Matt Ridley
  • The Double Helix, by James Watson

2604 Russia and Ukraine
  • When:   Thursdays, 10:30-12, Oct 9, 16, 23
  • Where:  London Nelson CC
  • Instructor: Peter Kenez, Professor Emeritus, History,
In the course of three meetings, we will discuss Russian history after the collapse of the Soviet Union. We will pay particular attention to the Putin regime’s attitude to Ukraine.

2605 The Supreme Court and American Life
  • When: Tuesdays, 10:30-12:30; Oct 21, 28, Nov 4, 18
  • Where: London Nelson CC
  • Instructor: Arthur Rolston, Attorney and History Professor,
The 2024-2025 term of the Supreme Court was notable for the decisions on its Emergency Docket (aka its “Shadow Docket”) that mostly supported President Trump’s agenda. The class will examine this and other current issues to place them in legal and historical perspective.
  • Oct. 21: The “Shadow Docket’ – what is and how it works; and Separation of Powers between the three branches of the federal government.
  • Oct. 28: Trump v. Casa – National injunctions, and citizenship before and after the 14th Amendment. 
  • Nov. 4: Originalism as a doctrine of interpretation – why it was embraced, what it entails, and the arguments for and against its use. 
  • Nov.18: Climate change and the EPA and related environmental legislation – history, some details, and how it has fared in the federal courts.
Dr. Rolston has a JD from Berkeley Law (1967), a Ph.D. in history from UCLA (2006), and taught various classes as an adjunct lecturer at UCLA from 2007-2016 focused on 19th century America and U.S. Constitutional History. This will be the 6th class he has taught for our members.

2606 Journey to the Center of the Eye Revisited
  • When: Wednesday, November 19 and Friday, November 21, 1:30-3:00 pm.
  • Where: London Nelson CC (+ Zoom)
  • Instructor: J. Michael Lahey, MD, Vitreoretinal specialist
This course introduces basic ocular function and covers retinal diseases and their possible treatments with medications or ocular surgery.

Dr. Lahey is a semi-retired retinal surgeon who graduated from University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and trained in ophthalmology at UCSF followed by a UCLA fellowship in vitreoretinal surgery. Thereafter he was one of the busiest retinal surgeons in the bay area at Hayward Kaiser Permanente. Currently he works with veterans at the VA Hospital in Livermore.

2607 The Art of Photography
  • When: Mondays 10:30-12: Nov 17, 24; Dec 1, 8.
  • Where: London Nelson CC
  • Instructor: Barry Bowman, Professor Emeritus, Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, UCSC
This course will be presented by eight excellent photographers from the Santa Cruz area. There are four sessions, each with two photographers. The aim of this course is to appreciate how different photographers chose their subjects and to hear about their techniques. The emphasis will be more on art appreciation than on learning photographic methods. You do not have to be an avid photographer to benefit. Names of presenters will be provided in the next OLLI newsletter.  Contact Barry Bowman for further information at bbowman@ucsc.edu

2611 Inside the Cold War: From Anxiety to Protest.   Six American Films, 1950-1964
  • When: Mondays, Jan 5, 12, 19, 26, Feb. 2, 19 ; 10:30-12:00.
  • Where: ZOOM ONLY
  • Instructor: Arthur Eckstein
This course is about Hollywood films of the early Cold War, the long struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union for international power and influence after World War II. 

Art Eckstein is Professor of History and Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland.

2613 Black Holes
  • When: Tuesdays, Feb. 3, 10, 17, 24, Mar. 3; 10:30-12:00.
  • Where: London Nelson Center, 301 Center St., and ZOOM
  • Instructor: Roger Knacke
Black Holes are the extremes of matter and of gravity.   Long thought to be a theoretical speculation, evidence for the existence of black holes began to emerge in the 1960’s. Today we observe them as remnants of exploded stars, and as monstrously large objects in the centers of galaxies.  The James Webb Space Telescope is finding astonishing evidence for black holes in the earliest epochs of the Universe
Lectures:
  • Gravity - Newton and Einstein
  • Schwarzschild’s Amazing Prediction, Stellar Black Holes
  • Monster Black Holes
  • Gravitational Waves, Black Hole Collisions
  • Black Holes and Galaxies, Future Telescopes and Science
Roger Knacke is Emeritus Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Penn State Erie, where he retired as Director of the School of Science. His research focused on interstellar matter and planetary atmospheres. Roger has taught twelve OLLI courses.

2614 When Newspapers Mattered
  • When: Mondays, March 2, 9, 16, 23 ; 10:30-12:00.
  • Where: London Nelson Center, 301 Center St., and ZOOM
  • Instructor: Tom Honig, Louise Yarnall
  • Local Journalism - what it used to mean to the community, why, and when things began to change BEFORE Internet technology. 
  • Local Journalism - what happened to it AFTER Internet technology and how those changes accelerated shifts in civic and community engagement. 
  • Civic engagement using multiple media sources. Louise Yarnall will engage learners in sharing their collected stories and reflecting on how such stories develop civic interest and engagement.
Tom Honig is former editor of the Santa Cruz Sentinel.  Louise Yarnall is a former journalist and learning scientist.

2615 Shakespeare
  • When: Saturdays, March 7, 14, 21, 28, 10:30 -12:00.
  • Where: London Nelson Center, 301 Center St., and ZOOM
  • Instructor: Abigail Heald, Sean Keilen
This course of four lectures will be an introduction to Much Ado about Nothing and Macbeth, which will be performed by Santa Cruz Shakespeare in summer 2026.  Topics will include the ways Shakespeare developed comedy and tragedy against the background of his period's assumptions about drama; the sources he drew upon for these plays; his conception of the social function of the commercial theater; his analysis of relations between men and women, specifically in the context of courtship and marriage; and his interest in the complex humanity of the monarchs he puts on the stage.

Abigail Heald is Lecturier of Literature, Stevenson College, UCSC. Sean Klein is Professor of Literature at UCSC and Head of Dramaturgy, Santa Cruz Shakespeare.

2616 The Einsteinian Revolution
  • When: Fridays, Mar 19, 27, Apr. 3, 10   10:30-12:00.
  • Where: London Nelson Center, 301 Center St., and ZOOM
  • Instructor: Jeff Fraser
These lectures are intended to elucidate the revolutionary implications of the four papers Einstein published in 1905, his annus mirabilis (miracle year). We will focus on the brilliant and original insights that led Einstein to formulate his Special Theory of Relativity, including the famous thought experiment that led him to conclude that the speed of light is the same in all reference frames

Dr Fraser received his MD from UCLA and his neurology residency at UCSF. He was Department Chair of Neurology at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, a teaching hospital for Stanford.

2617: Modern Molecular Biology
  • When: Saturdays, April 11, 18, 25, May 2; 10:30-12:00.
  • Where: Room 240, Physical Sciences Building, UCSC, and ZOOM
  • Instructor: Barry Bowman
The last 50 years have seen tremendous progress in our understanding of the genes, proteins and other molecules that combine to form living organisms. In this course four UCSC Professors will talk about recent discoveries in molecular biology. Professor Barry Bowman, the course coordinator, will begin with a basic review of genes and proteins. Details about the other lectures will be available in March.   These talks are intended for a general audience. A scientific background or knowledge of biology is not expected. Free parking is available near the classroom.

Barry Bowman is Professor Emeritus, Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, UCSC.

2618 The World of Michael Connelly
  • When: Tuesdays, Apr. 7, 14, 21, 28; 10:00-12:00.
  • Where: London Nelson Center, 301 Center St., and ZOOM
  • Instructor: Bill Park
Michael Connelly’s novels belong to the genre of the hard-boiled detective created by Hammett and Chandler.  Although each case begins with a murder, it opens into the discovery of even greater social evil that pervades Los Angeles - which becomes a symbol of modern civilization. Connelly has created several detective heroes, including Mickey Haller. But the course will concentrate on the novels about Harry Bosch, Haller’s half-brother. Unique among detective series, these extraordinarily well-written novels become a biography through four decades of service in the Los Angeles Police Department. To me, Connelly has surpassed Hammett and Chandler.

Bill Park is Emeritus Professor of Literature at Sarah Lawrence College; He received his PhD in Eighteenth Century English Literature from Columbia University. He has written extensively about literature and film. Members who have attended his classes are impressed by his encyclopedic knowledge and his enjoyment of teaching.

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