Oct 11, 2024 The war in Ukraine, living your best life and finding your story are among CSUCI's OLLI Fall II classes

Oct. 11, 2024 - Registration is open for CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI)'s 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.

"We're trying to see which program structure best serves our members and instructors," said OLLI Program Coordinator Shaina Salin. "We wanted to pilot three-week courses for students and instructors to see if people enjoy that added flexibility."

The majority of OLLI classes are in lecture form, but this semester, OLLI is offering a chance for more learner participation with "Finding & Writing Your Story: A Creative Workshop" 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.

"Some participants will gravitate toward pure memoir, but there are many ways to tell the story you want to tell," Weibezahl said. "One 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've harbored a grudge against someone for a long time. That can be perfect fodder for a diabolical or comic crime story."

As is the tradition with OLLI, there will be classes on politics, history and current events such as "The School of Paris and Art Between the Two World Wars," "Medieval Science: Exploring Insights and Discoveries," and "Six Famous Assassinations," including Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Indira Ghandi.

Russian/Soviet history expert and former CSUCI History Professor P. Scott Corbett will teach "The Bear and the Falcon: The Claw and Talon Fight between Russia and Ukraine," which is intended to provide historical context to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

"Russian 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," Corbett said. "He wants to recreate that, but the conflict between Russia and Ukraine goes much deeper than that."

Other explorations of culture, politics and human development will be covered in classes like "The Treatment of Native Americans in the US" and "Secrets to Longevity," in which a gerontologist will offer tips on helping to live your best, longest life.

The three three-week classes being offered are: "Jews and Movies in America - 100 Years of Achievement," "Cultural Patterns of Creativity," and "National Parks and Humanity's New Realities," about the future of America's national parks under the pressure of climate change and human use.

OLLI class locations are the Studio Channel Islands Art Center and CSUCI's 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: OLLI Fall II Session.

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