Courses, Clubs and Workshops

Mondays | Jan. 13 - Mar. 1 | 10 – 11:40 a.m. | Zoom, Recorded*

The French Revolution, a period of radical social and political upheaval in France from 1789 to 1799, profoundly impacted Europe’s cultural and political landscape. Composer Ludwig van Beethoven was born in the Holy Roman Empire, but his early years coincided with the Age of Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and the rise of Napoleon. Trained by his father and composer Christian Gottlieb Neefe, he admired the initial principles of the Revolution, which promised an end to feudal oppression and the dawn of a new era of freedom and equality. Hector Berlioz built on Beethoven’s successes and innovations, developing huge patriotic and historical tableaux during the France’s Second Republic and its revolutions of 1830 and 1848. Join SF Opera & Boston Baroque specialist Laura Stanfield Prichard to explore their dramatic, intense, and emotional music. This music often carried the themes of heroism and struggle, reflecting the revolutionary spirit and painting musical portraits of their contemporaries.

Laura Stanfield Prichard has studied at Yale, Emory, and the University of Illinois; she holds master’s and doctoral degrees in choral conducting, library science, musicology, and education. She lectures regularly for the San Francisco and Chicago Symphonies and opera companies in Boston and San Francisco (since 1995). The Boston Musical Intelligencer sent her to Cuba in 2015 as a foreign correspondent, and she has reviewed concerts for them since 2010. She was the President of the Pacific Chapter of the College Music Society (1996-98) and Assistant Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus under Vance George (1995-2003). Laura’s 25 continuous years of college teaching have focused on interdisciplinary cultural analysis of music, dance, and art history. She was a finalist for the 2015 Pauline Alderman Award for outstanding writing on women and music and the 2019 Kurt Weill Award for writing on contemporary musical theater.

Mondays | Jan. 13 - Mar. 1 | 2 – 3:40 p.m. | Hybrid, Recorded*

In October of 1962, the Soviet Union, America, and Cuba played a high-stakes game of “Chicken,” with the survival of civilization resting on the outcome. When Russian premier Nikita Khrushchev introduced offensive nuclear weapons into the newly established socialist “island of freedom,” U.S. President John F. Kennedy felt he had no choice but to “take them out.” (Whatever that meant!) Khrushchev and Fidel Castro were equally adamant that the weapons were necessary to ensure both Russian and Cuban security against the “imperialist regime” in Washington. The stage was set for the ultimate showdown. In this class we will examine the background events leading up to the crisis of nuclear brinksmanship, the hair-raising thirteen days of the standoff, and the final resolution of the madness.

Mick Chantler has been a student and instructor of early American studies for over forty years. He currently teaches at several Bay Area Lifelong Learning Programs, including Sonoma State University, Dominican University, U.C. Berkeley and U.C. Davis. Additionally, Mick teaches in the Road Scholars Program, and at many Senior Citizen Centers throughout the North Bay. Mick’s primary interests include the Revolutionary and Civil War eras, but he also has lectured on Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. He is a member of several scholarly organizations and has lived in Sonoma California for over fifty years.

Tuesdays | Jan. 14 - Feb. 25 | 10 – 11:40 a.m. | Zoom, Recorded*

Artificial Intelligence (AI) seems to be everywhere these days, presented to us with a sort of giddy excitement that presages “the future is already here.” But is the future really already here, and if it is, is this really the future we want? This course will offer a complete guided tour of the tech behind AI (no tech background necessary), as well as of the larger political, ethical, and social questions that accompany the sudden arrival and rapid expansion of AI. Among other things, we will seek to answer the question of whether AI is the next way forward for humanity, or the beginning of our end. 

Darren Zook has taught for many years at UC Berkeley and has been recognized numerous times for his contributions to education on campus. He teaches courses on comparative politics, security studies, human rights, and conflict resolution, and has extensive field experience in nearly every part of the world, including two trips to North Korea. In 2012 he was a Fulbright Research Scholar based in Singapore, conducting research on cybersecurity threats in the Asia-Pacific region. His previous courses at OLLI Dominican have received extraordinarily glowing evaluations and we are sure that this course will be as dynamic as his others.

Tuesdays | Jan. 14 - Feb. 18 | 2 – 3:40 p.m. | Zoom, Not Recorded

Towards the end of the 19th Century, as artists are veering away from the art academies, their search for new styles, topics and mediums is closely related to dance. Their interest in various cultures and folk-art inspired a closer look at folk dances, including colorful costumes and expressive movements. The growing metropolis like Paris, Berlin and New York brought young, often impoverished girls onto the stage, whether as ballet dancers, in cabarets, circuses, or even shadier places. Women were at the forefront of creating new dances and changing social mores. Some artists were highly inspired by the new directions in modern dance, while others pursued new expressions of more universal dances, in search of an underlying connection between all cultures. Throughout the decades, ‘dance’ develops from being a theme in painting and sculpture to an integral element of stage sets, kinetic art, performance.

Sylvia Laudien-Meo was born and raised in Germany and came to the US as a graduate student on a scholarship for Columbia University. After working and raising her family in NYC, she just recently relocated to St Petersburg, Florida. Sylvia is an art historian who has been working as an art professional in various capacities for the past three decades, teaching at NYC art museums (MoMA, Guggenheim and the Jewish Museum), guiding art and architecture tours for the Municipal Art Society, UFT and Brandeis as well as private clients, teaching at Fairleigh Dickinson University and now mostly offering virtual tours and lectures.

Wednesdays | Jan. 15 - Mar. 19 | 10 – 11:40 a.m. | Zoom, Recorded*

To most people, Jimmy Stewart’s onscreen persona is that of an American everyman who triumphs over extraordinary circumstances. But there was a darker side to his later characters: the haunted man of the West, out for justice or seeking redemption for a violent past. In this class we’ll discuss Stewart’s life and career, with an in-depth look at six of his classics (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; The Shop Around the Corner; It’s A Wonderful Life; Rope; Rear Window; Anatomy of a Murder) and two lesser-known titles (Winchester ’73; Bend of the River).

Cary Pepper is a playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. He’s also published dozens of articles on topics that include film, filmmaking, and filmmakers, and he’s taught courses on Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Elia Kazan, film noir, Casablanca, and Double Indemnity.

Wednesdays | Jan. 15 - Mar. 5 | 2 – 3:40 p.m. | Hybrid, Recorded*

American Opera? Some might be surprised to learn there is such a thing. Others are already big fans. American opera composers followed European models at first, but by the early 20th Century they began striking out in many new directions, giving home-grown opera a distinctly new character. Their deliberate tunefulness and dramatic directness earned the loyal appreciation of devoted audiences unphased by the scorn of academia or the snobbery of critics.

Using video illustrations, with subtitles, San Francisco Opera’s Dramaturg Emeritus Kip Cranna will take us on a journey through the multifarious world of American opera (sung in English!) masterworks, from the early 20th century through our own time, from John Philip Sousa and Scott Joplin to Philip Glass and beyond!  

Kip Cranna was on staff as Dramaturg Emeritus of San Francisco Opera for 40 years. He earned his Ph.D. in Musicology at Stanford University. He writes and lectures frequently on opera and is a regular speaker for San Francisco Opera’s online “Aficionado” programs. For many years he was Program Editor and Lecturer for the Carmel Bach Festival. In 2008 he was awarded the San Francisco Opera Medal, the company’s highest honor.  He teaches at the Fromm Institute and for the OLLI programs at UC Berkeley and SF State as well as Dominican.

Thursdays | Jan. 16 - Feb. 20 | 10 – 11:40 a.m. | Hybrid, Recorded*

A fascinating course for anyone curious about human minds and extra meaningful if you have grandchildren! This class traces the highlights of how children’s thinking and learning evolves over the first 24 years of life into mature forms of adult understanding and reasoning.  It begins with a whole session on neonates (the first 6 weeks of life) and the incredible skills and knowledge that are genetically endowed at birth. You’ll be surprised by how much newborns know, and by what they don’t know! Each of the next 5 sessions then delves into how children think and behave during key stages of human development, as well as the brain changes that occur: infancy (6 weeks – 24 months), early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, and emerging adulthood (18 - 24 years). We’ll discuss activities children especially enjoy during each stage including the kinds of toys and games they like and why, how technology influences development and much more. 

In a first for OLLI, Anne will also offer a purely optional drop-in office hour each week on Zoom so that interested participants can ask questions or discuss their experiences with the various self-help intervention techniques. The time will be announced on the first day of class.

Anne Dunlea has been captivated by the cognitive and developmental sciences for more than four decades and branched into positive psychology in the early 2000s. She holds an MA in Psychology (University of London) and a Ph.D. in Linguistics (USC). For 20 years she was on the faculty at USC with a triple appointment in Linguistics, Psychology and Occupational (Health) Sciences. She was a research scientist at the Max-Plank-Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen Holland and a visiting scholar at the Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig Germany. She taught in the Department of Psychology at U C Davis for 8 years while also working as a private consultant and is a visiting professor at the University of the Pacific. She has practiced and taught meditation for many years and is a wellbeing consultant working personally with individual clients and small groups.

Thursdays | Feb. 27 - Mar. 20 | 10 – 11:40 a.m. | Zoom, Recorded*

In this four-week course, recently retired astronomer Linda Shore will discuss the history of the telescope, exploring why we need telescopes in space before going on to examine the design of the James Webb telescope and ending with what she calls “a kaleidoscope of discoveries”, including some of the most breathtaking and detailed images of the universe ever collected.

Linda Shore's 40-year career has focused on improving public understanding of astronomy. Shore taught undergraduate physics and astronomy courses and supported science education initiatives at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Boston University, the University of San Francisco, and San Francisco State University. Recently, she retired after completing a successful tenure as CEO of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP). At the ASP she spearheaded numerous nationally recognized astronomy education programs, including initiatives to improve how scientists communicate with the public. Shore also served as a Senior Scientist and Director of Teacher Institute at the Exploratorium – a position she held for over 20 years. Dr Shore recently received the 2023 Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society – an award that was first given to Carl Sagan for his contributions to the public understanding of astronomy. 

Thursdays | Feb. 27 - Mar. 20 | 2 – 3:40 p.m. | Zoom, Recorded*

In this six-week course, Rear Admiral Michael Baker will describe what he thinks made this country strong. Then he will take you on a journey to assess the events which he feels have corrupted our political process and judicial system and endangered our democracy.

Rear Admiral Michael Baker is a retired medical doctor who spent many years in the US Navy, and we are deeply grateful for his service. In the past few years, Michael has taught a number of courses for OLLI, with a focus on current affairs and military issues. Most recently, Michael has done several tours of duty inside Ukraine, where he has been training Ukrainian physicians in advanced life-saving techniques. His OLLI courses have been very well received and we are delighted to have him back with us this Winter.

Thursdays | Jan. 16 - Mar. 6 | 4 – 5:30 p.m. | Zoom, Not Recorded

This is a weekly Discussion Group - on Zoom - limited to 20 participants. Every week we will discuss a selection of articles from the most recent edition of The Atlantic magazine. On a rotating basis, participants will choose an article of interest and lead the discussion of that article. Although there will always be differences of opinion, everyone in the group will be expected to respect a wide range of opinions. NOTE: Group participants will be required to subscribe to The Atlantic or at least to be able to access it weekly online or via the library.

Dan Cooper is an OLLI member who had a long career in the music industry. He is a keen aficionado of The Atlantic. 

Fridays | Jan. 17 - Feb. 14 | 10 – 11:40 a.m. | Hybrid, Recorded*

The undergraduate Psychology faculty at Dominican University will present a 5-week session addressing various topics surrounding the end of life. From the political, to the physiological, the development, the philosophical and the psychological, we will explore numerous issues related to the process of dying.

• Afshin Gharib, PhD - The Dying Brain
• Sophie Wehnacht, PsyD - Suicide: Clinical, Ethical, and Philosophical Issues
• Rosalie Chen, PhD - Death Anxiety and Political Ideology
• Ben Rosenberg, PhD - Psychological Issues in Advancing and Terminal Illness
• LeeAnn Bartolini, PhD - Preparing for Death and Dying 

Fridays | Jan. 17 - Mar. 7 | 10 – 11:40 a.m. | Zoom, Not Recorded

This workshop offers the opportunity to tell your stories, share your memories, and explore the wisdom you have gained through the years. Each session includes an inspiring writing exercise, followed by the Writer's Toolbox, where you will receive a generous sharing of the techniques that make writing powerful and expressive. You’ll find the workshop generous with praise and gentle with suggestions. All writers are welcome, regardless of experience. Diane Frank's teaching style is joyful, loving and intuitive. She works closely with each writer to help you break through to greater ease, joy and power in your writing.  

Diane Frank is author of eight books of poems, three novels, and a photo memoir of her 400 mile trek in the Nepal Himalayas. She is also Chief Editor of Blue Light Press. While Listening to the Enigma Variations: New and Selected Poems won the 2022 Next Generation Indie Book Award for Poetry. She teaches poetry, flash fiction and memoir workshops at Dominican University. She also plays cello with the College of Marin Symphony Orchestra. Her first novel, Blackberries in the Dream House, won the Chelson Award for Fiction and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Her website: http://www.dianefrank.net

Fridays | Jan. 17 - Feb. 21 | 2 – 3:40 p.m. | Zoom, Recorded*

How do you slay a many-headed monster? How do you destroy an entrenched special interest that profits from treating people like property? In the decades between 1619, when the first enslaved Africans arrived, and 1787, when delegates in Philadelphia drafted the new Constitution, men and women committed to opposing the spread of slavery in North America grappled with these questions. This six-week course offers you the opportunity to meet a large and often unfamiliar cast of characters—both black and white, enslaved and free—who developed a range of tools and tactics, means and methods to escape slavery or try to resist it.

Richard Bell, a Professor of History at the University of Maryland, is the author of the recent book Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and their Astonishing Odyssey Home. The book was a finalist for the 2020 George Washington Prize and the 2020 Harriet Tubman Prize. Rick has held major research fellowships at Yale, Cambridge, and the Library of Congress and is the recipient of the National Endowment of the Humanities Public Scholar award and the Andrew Carnegie Fellowship. Rick also serves as a Trustee of the Maryland Center for History and Culture and as a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Osher Online is a set of online-only (on Zoom, not recorded) courses provided by the Osher National Recourse Center at Northwestern University. Dominican OLLI members may select any number of these for a fee of $120 per course. Premium and Session members pay half price.

To participate:

1. Become a Dominican OLLI member.
2. Review the course/seminar listing below.  
3. Login to the Member Website to register.

Questions? Contact us at olli@dominican.edu or call at (415) 458-3763.

Course Listing

Huck Finn’s America

Mondays | Jan. 27 to Mar. 3 | 12 p.m. | Jeff Walker, PhD 

Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is often misunderstood as a boy's adventure book or merely a dialogue on race. Instead, this classic novel addresses youth violence and bad boys, schools and parents, and civil rights and minstrel shows. The novel, banned in New England, needs to be read and discussed anew for a better understanding of America, then and now. Join this course for a new and fresh analysis of this highly criticized and misunderstood novel.

Immigrants in America: Stories of Jazz, Blues, Rock and Popular Culture

Mondays | Jan. 27 to Mar. 3 | 2 - 3:30 p.m. | Emanuel Abramovitz, MBA

In this course, we will document the fertile interaction between minorities that transformed not only 20th century music but the entire entertainment industry. We will examine how minorities significantly impacted American popular culture and explore their contributions to various musical genres, record labels, booking agencies, venues, innovations, and production. With strong support from audiovisuals, anecdotes, and the instructor's decades of experience as a concert promoter working with some of the biggest names in the industry, we will learn about Irving Berlin, George Gershwin,Benny Goodman, Stan Getz, Norman Granz, Bob Dylan, Milt Gabler, Leonard Cohen, Lou Reed, Al Kooper, Adam Sandler, Avishai Cohen, Kiss, and many more.

Color and Symbolism in Art History

Mondays | Jan. 27 to Mar. 3 | 4 - 5:30 p.m. | Eleanor Schrader

Artists use color to create an array of symbolism, emotions, and sociopolitical meanings within the context of the time period in which they created their works of art. Additionally, within these works, artists utilized their knowledge of color to portray mood, light, depth, and point of view. Progressing through the colors of the rainbow each week, we will discuss a variety of paintings throughout art history to understand the artists’ intention and the stories behind the paintings within their respective color spheres. We will also discuss the histories of color, their meanings in various societies and cultural contexts, and the materials and processes used to make colors.

Modern War: What is it Good For?

Tuesdays | Jan. 28 to Mar. 4 | 8 - 9:30 a.m. | Jeff Rice, PhD 

Vietnam, viewed by many as a turning point between old and new approaches to war, raised many questions about the role of superpowers, asymmetrical resources, and counterinsurgencies on the world stage. In this course, we will look at the wars in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Gaza. All of these wars are asymmetrical, but what else do they have in common, and how are they informed by Vietnam? We will discuss how superpowers are central players in these conflicts by way of their supplies and support. In this course, we will examine human ways of evaluating the politics and strategies, particularly what happens when three vectors cannot agree: the public, politicians, and the military.

Buddhist Philosophy, Meditation and Ritual in India and Beyond

Tuesdays | Jan. 21 to Feb. 15 | Noon - 1:30 p.m. | Eileen Goddard

This course introduces the key philosophical concepts (meditation practices, and rituals) that have defined Buddhist traditions  in India and beyond. We will analyze central Buddhist teachings and their relationship to these three important domains, which interweave theory and practice. First, we will explore the historical figure of the Buddha. We will then examine the three phases of Indian Buddhist traditions: (1) Theravāda, which emphasizes ascetic ideals and monasticism; (2) Mahāyāna, which prioritizes compassion, wisdom, and the ideal of the bodhisattva; and (3) Vajrayāna, the tantric tradition that claims the human body as central to enlightenment and explores the relationship between each living being and the cosmos. We will explore the contrasts among the meditative and ritual practices across these three traditions and analyze how these practices reflect varying philosophies. We will discuss Buddhist iconography, ritual objects, and art.

A Tourist's Tour of the Wider Universe

Tuesdays | Jan. 28 to Mar. 4 | 2 - 3:30 p.m. | Andrew Fraknoi, MS 

For more than two years, the James Webb Space Telescope, orbiting a million miles from Earth in the deep freeze of space, has sent back remarkable information and dramatic images of the faint heat rays that come from objects in the universe.The Hubble Telescope continues to observe some of the same stars and galaxies with visible light. Never before have we had images of the cosmos so rich in color and detail. In this profusely illustrated course, we will be taken on a guided tour of the wider universe as astronomers understand it today. Fraknoi will cover this information in everyday language and without any math. We will look at star birth and star death, the organization and structure of the Milky Way, cosmic mergers and collisions, and the great web of galaxies that gives us clues about the beginning and development of our cosmos.

The Secret Lives of Familiar Birds

Wednesdays | Jan. 29 to Mar. 5 | 8 - 9:30 a.m. | Elizabeth Burnette, MS 

We share the earth with birds who live among us, yet they remain mysterious. In this course, we will examine the fascinating characteristics, habits, and lives of North American birds including how they keep warm; how they fly; when, why, and how they sing; and more.Our classes will be broken down into these categories: bird ancestry and anatomy; diet and nesting; flight and migration; threats; behavior and songs. We will cover birds of prey, songbirds, waterfowl, and the common loon. Join this interesting exploration of how birds live, move, breathe, and think.

Reclaiming Native Ground: Native Americans Since 1900

Wednesdays | Jan. 22 to Feb. 26 | 2 - 3:30 p.m. | Matt Jennings, PhD 

This course will explore Native American history in the late 19th and 20th centuries, a time punctuated by the violence of American expansion and consolidation, the boarding school systems that sought to erase Native cultures, and the effects of imperialism, which conspired to keep Native people in a subordinate status compared to their white neighbors. Yet, at this time, Native Nations began to rebuild and reclaim the United States as Native ground, drawing on ancient traditions to revitalize communities and fight for their rights in the American court system, the political system, and the court of public opinion. Together, we will explore how, in this history, Native peoples have proven themselves to be resilient and powerful.

The World of Musical Satire

Wednesdays | Jan. 29 to Mar. 5 | 4 - 5:30 p.m. | David Misch

Satire is one of the oldest forms of humor. Adding music seems to make it even more powerful. In early Germanic and Celtic societies, people who were mocked in songs would break out in boils and even commit suicide. In this course, we will explore the art of musical satire in a variety of genres, cultures, and eras, especially America since 1950. This multimedia course covers Yankee Doodle, Gilbert and Sullivan, the Gershwins, the Marx Brothers, Monty Python, Saturday Night Live, South Park, and Key and Peele. We will also cover a bountiful bevy of B’s: Leonard Bernstein, the Beatles, Bo Burnham, and Bugs Bunny. Because satire is often dependent on social and historical events, this course is as much cultural history as music appreciation. And while words are preeminent in musical satire, we will also discuss the music and its interactions with lyrics. But please—no students who are prone to boils.

Science Everyone Needs to Know

Thursdays | Jan. 30 to Mar. 5 | Noon - 1:30 p.m. | Kjir Hendrickson, PhD  

Evolution. Vaccines. Global Warming. Regardless of one’s choice of news media, it is nearly impossible to navigate today’s information-heavy world without coming across stories on evolution, vaccines, and global warming. Each of these topics is the subject of various conspiracy theories and misinformation campaigns. How do we make sense of what we hear on the news when so much information comes from unvetted and non-neutral sources, such as the Internet and the media? This course is a non-technical introduction to these three critical matters in modern science. We will examine what scientists know, how they know what they know, how certain they are, and why there is such a disconnect between scientific understanding and the public’s perception of the science.

The Next Generation’s Legacy of the Holocaust

Thursdays | Jan. 23 to Feb. 27 | 2 - 3:30 p.m. | Ruth Wade, Joy Wolfe Ensor, PhD,  Rita Benn, PhD

How does one honor the legacy of parents who survived the Holocaust while at the same time recognizing the ripples of the inherited trauma they experienced? Growing up in the shadow of the Holocaust, the adult children of survivors are striving to find ways to keep their parents’ stories alive. Using their unique intergenerational lens, authors of the recent award-winning anthology, The Ones Who Remember: Second Generation Voices of the Holocaust, will reveal the variety of ways in which their parents' history of survival seeped into their souls and affected their lives as children and adults. The goal of this course is to explore the challenges that resulted from this trauma and the gifts that came forth – gifts of resilience, tolerance, fortitude, and compassion. Each week our instructors will explore and share reflections around themes of their lived experience. 

Innovations in Health and Wellness: From the Osher Collaborative for Integrative Health Experts

Fridays | Jan. 31 to Mar. 7 | Noon - 1:30 p.m. | Osher Collaborative Practitioners, Researchers and Educators

This course provides a unique opportunity to learn from the experts in the Osher Collaborative for Integrative Health,an international group of eleven academic health centers funded by The Bernard Osher Foundation to study, teach, and practice integrative healthcare. The eleven Osher Centers are located at highly respected medical schools and medical centers and emphasize integrative healthcare approaches to promote health and well-being. Each Osher Center focuses on whole-person health and wellness using healing strategies such as acupuncture and East Asian Medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, yoga, massage, meditation, physical activity, and nutrition. In this course, Osher Collaborative practitioners, researchers, and educators will discuss the science behind integrative healthcare remedies and explain its impact.