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Spring 2025 Sneak Peek

  • Course Registration will begin on Wednesday, March 12
  • Spring 2025 Course Catalog
  • Courses begin on Monday, March 31, and end on Wednesday, June 11
  • For information on How to Recruit New Members and Bring a Friend, click here
  • Click on the individual course links to view full course descriptions

Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison was a novelist who wrote powerfully about African-American life and culture in stories that provoke, shatter, and heal.

How sports and politics in the US intersect over race & integration, gender & sexuality, protest & resistance, nationalism & globalization, and antitrust & labor laws.

Opera San José presents the Northern California premiere of Héctor Armienta’s Zorro this spring.  He will share the musical influences that shaped Zorro.

Creative nonfiction uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives.  The balance of candor and imagination makes the genre uniquely meaningful, powerful, and lovable.

The gender similarities and differences in verbal communication (language choices), nonverbal communication (gestures, facial expressions, posture, etc.), family roles and dynamics, friendship styles, career expectations, and more.

Do you believe in magic? Discussing the mobilization for World War II and how it affected the economy.

In this second part, we consider how each nation formed certain distinct collective narratives of sacrifice, endurance, and quasi-religious meaning, which is important for understanding the embrace of varying models of totalitarian governments and societies.

Learn how and why our state supports such diverse life and habitats,  from coasts to mountaintops and everything in between!

We will read the Odyssey in Emily Wilson’s excellent translation to pay attention to the poem's strong feminine component.

The events of four incredible years, such as The Bear Flag Revolt, the Mexican War, the Gold Rush, and the rush to statehood,  transformed California.

Strategic, bold, creative, and determined: we will explore some of the most interesting movements led by women in the 19th and 20th centuries and marvel at their ingenuity and lasting impact.

Trace The Who’s artistic evolution from the dawn of their career in the mid-1960s, emphasizing their peak achievements in the 1960s & 1970s through audio & video recordings.

The development of the modern fashion industry in 19th-century Paris shaped concepts of art, gender, and modernity through their visual representations.

Where does religion intersect with American constitutional, statutory, and common law? We’ll explore questions ranging from the First Amendment’s understanding of “religion” to contemporary health care, prayer, and discrimination issues.

Shakespeare’s plays inspired many famous musicians to write songs and dances for staged productions or compose operas, ballets, and film music. Every play will bring us music.

Part I will move from the founding of Islam and its spread, state formations and establishments, European colonialism, and the roots of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

What was it like to be a woman in the performing arts through the centuries? An in-depth look at some female composers and performers who made waves in the genre of Opera.

Explore the power and beauty of choral music and how some of the greatest vocal compositions ever written bring melody and harmony alive with text. The course will examine pieces from multiple traditions and historical periods, exploring small-form intimate pieces and large-scale choral/orchestral spectacles.

Director JanLee Marshall will share the background and preparation of the production, introduce some of the students involved in various aspects of the production, and talk about this contemporary award-winning musical. This course comes with a ticket to see the show.

How to access the course recordings: the OLLI office will email the link to the recording 24-48 hours after the course session. The recording will be available for viewing for two weeks after it is published.