In-Person   

America has been defined by maps, investing knowledge with meaning by translating information into visual forms. Maps capture what people know, what they thought they knew, what they hoped for, and what they feared. Maps offer unrivaled windows into five centuries of our past. We will have lectures, discussion, and three trips to the Osher Map Library to see original maps illustrated in the course text book by Susan Schulten, A History of America in 100 Maps (2018).

New in-person course. Format includes lecture and discussion.

REQUIRED BOOK: A History of America in 100 Maps, Susan Schulten, ISBN 9780226458618

Like good art, good science can cast light on what is too often in shadow. For this class, I will highlight a few aspects of your experience that have the potential to reveal for you some of nature’s hidden beauty. From these offerings, you and your classmates will choose your focus of study. Then we will start small, as befitting a scientific experiment, to boldly observe our object of interest
and analyze our findings. Discussions and reflections will disclose deeper truths and attune you to the world’s beauty. New in-person course.

Format includes discussion and hands-on learning.

In 1900, many well informed people — Indian as well as settler — expected that distinctive Indian cultures were on the verge of disappearance, never to return. Given what was then known and knowable, a sensible expectation. The subsequent century and a quarter, however, has decisively falsified this expectation. Our course treats this falsification. Of what, now, do distinctive Indian identities consist? How, historically, have they emerged? How do they cohabit with settler culture? Regarding these Indian identities, what might the future hold?

New in-person course. Format includes lecture and discussion.

SUGGESTED BOOKS: Brothers on Three: A True Story of Family, Resistance, and Hope on a Reservation in Montana, Abe Streep, ISBN 9781250210678)

Learn basic tap steps and a simple set of routines to old time music.

New in-person course. Format includes movement.

When we think of the High Renaissance, we think of words like “genius, enlightened, and magnificent.” In this class we will look beyond the bright sheen of exceptionalism to consider the reality of life in Florence, including conflicts between the Medici and other powerful factions, the friction between humanism and conservative Christianity, the struggle of artists and architects to find commissions and establish reputations, and the contrast between male and female patrons. We will discuss Lorenzo the Magnificent and his family, the rival Pazzi Family, Savonarola, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Machiavelli, and various other artists, writers, and popes. This course is a follow up to “The Stormy Start of the Italian Renaissance,” but that course is not a prerequisite to this class.

New course offering an in-person section on Wednesdays and a remote section on Thursdays. Format includes lecture and discussion.

Many of Shakespeare’s sonnets revolve around the destructive power of time, a fear of mortality, and the joys, yearnings, and agonies of procreation, love, and sexual desire. The universality of these themes coupled with Shakespeare’s remarkable insight and depth of feeling makes the sonnets readily accessible to 21st-century readers. We examine the sonnet, consider Shakespeare’s underlying musical score, and look at ways to decipher the rhythm and image codes in the verse. Participants will read aloud and present a sonnet of their choosing.

Repeat in-person course. Format includes discussion.

REQUIRED BOOK: Shakespeare’s Sonnets, Stephen Booth,
ISBN 300024959

In his book The Analyst published in 1734, Bishop George Berkeley savaged Newton‘s calculus as nothing more than “ghosts of departed quantities.” But Newton’s work was arguably the crown jewel of the scientific enlightenment. Join us as we examine calculus from multiple viewpoints: historical, geometrical, arithmetical, scientific, and philosophical. This course is intended for curious adults, no matter their mathematical background. Students with only a dim memory of high school mathematics will still gain insights. Those with stronger backgrounds — even those who took a calculus course — will extend their knowledge and see calculus in a new light. If ever you wanted to know what calculus is about, this is your chance.

New in-person course. Format includes lecture and discussion.

This course examines the issues confronting participatory democracy. How have the problems developed and what can be done to save our democracy. Repeat in-person course with new content.  Format includes lecture and discussion

This course explores the significance of “deep conversation” for democratic forms of governance. It is fundamental that difficult conversations involving disagreement and misunderstanding are worth having and, with the right approach, can be insightful, creative, and even fun. The course draws on the backgrounds of the instructors in cybernetics, appreciative inquiry, and constitutional democracy and is itself conversational. It does not require any particular background of the participants.

New in-person course. Format includes lecture and discussion.

SUGGESTED BOOK: Conversations Worth Having, Jackie Stavros & Cheri Torres, ISBN 978 1523094011

This eight-week course considers two blockbusters, one a Dickens classic and the other, a recent spinoff by Barbara Kingsolver, inspired by the Dickens story. Both speak to the ongoing perils of child poverty and the transformative power of resilience and determination. This course is not for languid or timid readers. You should have swallowed a third of David Copperfield by the time the class starts in September, and weekly readings from that point on may (depending on format) be 150 pages.

New in-person course. Format includes lecture and discussion.

Applying the Life/Art Process of field pioneers Anna and Daria Halprin, we will journey to understanding and befriending our bodies, discovering unique perspectives, and building new neural pathways along the way. This will help you to improve balance, mobility, pain management, and emotional well-being; learn to navigate self and environment with greater ease and awareness; and develop individualized resources for living an embodied life though innate creativity. Classes include somatic awareness (bodymind) training, anatomy, physiology, history, writing, drawing, and movement exploration. Intent of creative work is personal growth over exhibition. Suited for all bodies and abilities.

New in-person course. Format includes movement.

SUGGESTED MATERIALS: Visit katharinedoughty.com/somatics-and-expresive-arts.html

Explore the history and culture of Maine. Several non-political topics will be examined in a fashion that emphasizes hands-on experiences and off-campus activities. At least one class session will be devoted to exploring several fascinating online databases pertaining to Maine history. Several classes will feature guest experts and/or artists. Several classes will be scheduled for local museums and historical societies. Students will independently explore a topic of their choice and report to the class. Format includes lecture, discussion, and hands-on.

What makes us human? What enables/motivates our relatedness to the rest of creation? We’ll consider these questions in a broad context, from cloned humans to A.I. Sometimes conscious or unconscious desire to dominate others is cultivated by one’s historical time-period or community. From desire to control motivated by obsessional jealousy to the interface between slaveholder/enslaved, numerous relationships will be examined, with an eye to how significant life-meaning is found even within oppressive circumstances. Why is the humanity of another often disregarded or exploited? Can this hierarchical tendency ever change? Can we ever evolve to a more spiritual outlook that honors the divinity of others? Films like Never Let Me Go, Get Out, Jefferson in Paris, Leave Her to Heaven, The Shape of Water, Silence, and Artificial Intelligence showcase strength/resilience despite challenging dehumanization, and resistance to control/enslavement.

New in-person course. Format includes discussion and film.

In 1899 the City of Deering became part of Portland. Originally a suburb of Portland, it was created as a town in 1871 from what was originally a part of Westbrook. It contained several prominent villages including Woodford’s Corner, Morrill’s Corner, and Stroudwater. In this series of six walking tours off the Portland peninsula we will explore the history of a few of these Deering neighborhoods and learn about some of their interesting residents.

New in-person course. Format includes lecture and movement.

This course provides an overview of Sigmund Freud’s most important concepts and writing. We update Freud’s assertions with the newest information across diverse fields, including psychology, anthropology, neural biology, and evolutionary science. Freud’s Id remains one of the earliest attempts to reconcile Darwin’s new thinking with emerging psychoanalytic theory. This course concentrates on his Id theory and early childhood development. Many of Freud’s intricate details did not merge into accepted neurobiological science. With corrections, however, his upper-level theories conform with newer research, and he introduced a spectrum of ideas that stand up admirably over a century of scientific advancement.

New in-person course. Format includes lecture, discussion, and film.

This class will take a topical approach, exploring the many facets of the people of Maine. Topics will include population, migration, folk and popular culture, language and ethnicity, agriculture and industry, resources, and economics. As in his other classes, David will utilize his background in geography and history using charts, statistics, maps, articles, videos, and voluntary student input for a lively and entertaining analysis of the many unique aspects of the people of the State of Maine.

Repeat in-person course. Format includes lecture, discussion, and film.

Were you among the thousands of Americans who watched the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964? This was a milestone for many young Americans, with a resulting spark of curiosity about British popular culture and music. This workshop will explore songs from the early Kinks to contemporary lyrics from PJ Harvey, which inspire nostalgia for places in England you may or may not yet have visited. From SohHo down to Brighton, we’ll talk about them all. Or at least many of them! We’ll listen, look, and share thoughts about songwriters who celebrate their English homes through music.

New in-person workshop. Format includes lecture, discussion, and visuals.

This is an invitation to everyone who’s played a few improv games (at OLLI or elsewhere) and wants to play more. I call improv “play for intelligent adults.” And play deserves a lot of respect! Humans (and loads of other critters) are biologically wired to play. And like all other universally held biological characteristics, the urge to play exists to increase our chances of survival. Having said all that, the objective of this class will not be to discuss fun, but to make it. Please join us if this sounds like your cup of tea!
Repeat in-person course. Format includes lecture, discussion, film, hands-on, movement.

This is a gentle vinyasa flow yoga class with emphasis on alignment and safety. I strive to make my classes educational, inspirational, and fun. Pranayama (breath work) and meditation are woven into a 75-minute class.

New in-person course. Format includes movement.

REQUIRED MATERIALS: Yoga mat, blanket or towel, strap or belt, optional yoga blocks.

Aging creates gradual physical and mental challenges. We all make both informed and uninformed choices daily that can have a significant impact on our future health. If you are willing to change old habits, accept new challenges, and travel outside your comfort zone, this course is for you. Join me in exploring scientifically backed principles of movement, nutrition and habits that can directly impact the effect on many diseases. Learn and sample movement and nutritional “hacks” you can use daily to improve your ability to move, increase energy levels, decrease pain, and create better mental health. If you are up for the challenge, you can optimize your health and thrive!

New in-person course. Format includes lecture, hand on learning, and movement.

MATERIALS: Dress comfortably in exercise clothes. Material charge of $5.00 per person paid directly to instructor.

Parasites come in all shapes and sizes and unless one lives in a hermetically sealed environment, an encounter with parasites is inevitable. Their involvement in our lives occurs via the food we eat, water we drink or swim in, soil we trod on, or through a variety of invertebrate hosts that transmit the little beasties to us. We will explore what it means to be a parasite; the remarkable history of discovery regarding the various stages of their life cycles; how parasites are transmitted and knowing that — how best to avoid them, common diseases they cause, their effect on host behavior, impact on history, and the possible origins of some dietary taboos. New in-person course. Format includes lecture, discussion, and hands-on.

Homer and the ancient Greeks knew a good plot when they saw one: the curse on the house of Atreus, theepic Trojan War, the tragic story of Jason and Medea.Twenty-plus centuries later, film directors Michael Cacoyannis, Jules Dassin, and others also recognized these archetypical stories and turned them into great films. We’ll discuss and watch at least seven. Classes run long to allow for discussion.

Repeat in-person course. Format includes discussion and film.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS: Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, Edith Hamilton, ISBN 9780446574754; The Greek Myths, Robert Graves, ISBN 9780241952740; The Odyssey, Homer, ISBN 9780140268867

Fun, creative, and lively, this evidence-based movement class helps participants build stamina, strength, and confidence, all while moving to music in a joyful and non-judgmental atmosphere. No prior dance experience is necessary, and attendees are invited to take the class at their own pace and slow down or rest at any time.

Repeat in-person workshop. Format includes movement.

Note: this class will meet in Gorham, room location TBA.

This workshop is an introduction to noticing and exploring how you think and feel, and is one method used in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

New in-person workshop. Format includes discussion.

Continuation of a conversation class conducted entirely in French. This course is intended for those who have a good command of the French language and will continue to emphasize increasing vocabulary and learning principles of grammar. Some reading of literary passages and writing will also be incorporated. Format includes discussion.

“The best camera is the one that’s with you.”— Chase Jarvis. For many of us, that camera is the iPhone we carry in our pocket every day. This course will cover setting up your iPhone for shooting better photos, focusing and composition techniques, editing on your iPhone (or iPad if you have fat fingers like me), and how to find your way to shooting in black & white on the streets of Maine. Join the international iPhone photography community. Repeat workshop. Format includes lecture, discussion, and hands-on.

REQUIRED MATERIALS: You will need a relatively up-to-date iPhone and the Snapseed app (free in the app store).

“The best camera is the one that’s with you.”— Chase Jarvis. For many of us, that camera is the iPhone we carry in our pocket every day. This course will cover setting up your iPhone for shooting better photos, focusing and composition techniques, editing on your iPhone (or iPad if you have fat fingers like me), and how to find your way to shooting in black & white on the streets of Maine. Join the international iPhone photography community. Repeat workshop. Format includes lecture, discussion, and hands-on.

REQUIRED MATERIALS: You will need a relatively up-to-date iPhone and the Snapseed app (free in the app store).

This is an introductory course on Japan in which we explore a global perspective of how Japanese people interact and see the world through knowledge of their own language and culture. By exploring cultural patterns of Japanese society, we examine various social, economic, political, and gender relations in modern Japan. New in-person course. Format includes lecture and discussion.

And Ireland, long a province, be A Nation Once Again — Thomas Davis, Young Irelander

In this lecture series, we’ll follow the path of Irish Nationalism from land agitation, through the quest for Home Rule, the 1916 Rising, and to the creation of the Irish Free State. Embedded within the process, we’ll touch on how support from the new National Theatre of Ireland and a host of literary women and men helped to generate public support for independence. Ballads from the period will be included. And perhaps a bit of humor. At Joyce’s funeral, Lord Derwent, British Minister to Bern, said, in part, that “Ireland would continue to enjoy the lasting revenge on England by producing literary masterpieces.”

New in-person workshop. Format includes lecture, discussion, and film.

Read and discuss the Cosmicomics stories of Italo Calvino, and then get a better grasp of the scientific roots of his fanciful, funny stories. Learn about the Big Bang, gravity, spacetime, light, magnetism, molecules, genetics, evolution, plate tectonics — you name it — and enjoy seeing how an imaginative author plays with scientific ideas. If you ran screaming from your first exposure to algebra or chemistry, here’s your chance to reopen some of the doors you closed way back then. If you love science already, here’s your chance to explore fields that are new to you.

New in-person course. Format includes lecture, discussion, and film.
FMI: Please visit scienceofcosmicomics.blogspot.com/2021/03/learning-about-science-from-cosmicomics.html

Line dancing keeps us moving and is loads of fun. You don’t need to know how to do it already! Join returning and new enthusiasts to learn several dances in various modes and kinds of music (rock, cha cha, samba, country, easy listening, etc). You need to be steady on your feet, know your body and whether you need a rest, and be able to move for two hours (with plenty of water breaks). If you can walk a mile or two comfortably, this class will likely work for you.

Repeat in-person course. Format includes movement.

Would you like to know more about where your food comes from? Are you aware of the opportunities and challenges faced by Maine’s farmers over the years? Agriculture has always played an integral role in Maine life. This class will explore why some agricultural enterprises have failed, while others have prospered. There will be a lot of focus on history of Maine agriculture and lessons learned that may impact our food system in the future. Also, we will discuss many of the new emerging agricultural initiatives, and challenges confronting today’s farms, and their impact.

Repeat in-person course. Format includes lecture, discussion, and film.

What if we could look back at our younger selves with fondness, curiosity, and even a little laughter? In this reflective course, we’ll revisit the moments, moods, and turning points that shaped who we are today through journaling, storytelling, music, and images. We’ll explore the thread of continuity in our lives without needing to hide or rewrite the past. No prior experience is needed— just a dash of humility, a little honesty, and a sense of humor about that haircut.

New in-person course. Format includes lecture, discussion, and hands on learning.

This course will examine how we know the facts of the universe, from the unimaginably distant and old to the incredibly small and strange. No math unless requested! No books required. New in-person course. Format includes lecture and discussion.

This course explores the evolution of film noir into its modern counterpart — neo-noir — through seven essential films. From the sun-drenched fatalism of Body Heat to the dystopian haze of Blade Runner, the occult horror-noir fusion of Angel Heart, and the teenage hardboiled detective world of Brick, to the self-aware wit of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, students will examine how neo-noir reinterprets classic themes of moral ambiguity, identity, and corruption for contemporary audiences. Discussions will delve into race, technology, paranoia, and genre-bending storytelling, tracing the genre’s cinematic and cultural legacy. Ideal for film lovers who crave style, mystery, atmosphere, and existential tension.

New in-person course. Format includes lecture, discussion, and film.

CONTENT ADVISORY: Some films include scenes of violence, sexuality, strong language, and mature themes. These elements are part of the genre’s exploration of darker human experiences. Viewer discretion is advised, and thoughtful discussion will be encouraged.

Let’s build community by working together to prep, cook, and eat great food and enjoy conversation with one another. Featured chefs will guide us through the creation of cuisines from around the world introducing us to tastes and histories of food cultures and their impact on strengthening communities. For the first class each participant will bring and share a dish meaningful to their culture or life and learn how a potato salad contest brought people from feuding to harmony. There will be an additional cost to cover the food costs paid directly to the instructors — this may vary from class to class.

Repeat in-person course. Format includes discussion and hands-on learning.

The course will consist of a narrated PowerPoint presentation with class discussion. Explore Earth history and
the evolution of life over 3 ½ billion years prior to the emergence of humanity. Learn about mass extinctions and their causes through geologic time. Survey via contemporary science journalism the many ways that human activity, past and present, has impacted planet Earth, its land, air, seas, and ecosystems. Topics will include threats to biodiversity, human population growth, development of agriculture and civilization, global land use, resource depletion, endangered fisheries, industrial and agricultural pollution, deforestation, global warming and climate change, ocean acidification and widespread extinctions.

Repeat in-person course. Format includes lecture and discussion.

This workshop will examine how individuals and couples can plan for a sustainable income in retirement. We will examine how households can coordinate income from different sources, including pensions, Social Security, and retirement savings to develop a plan for navigating retirement. We’ll look at academic concepts in a practical manner and work through a case study that ties it all together. Repeat remote workshop. Format includes lecture.

This course is for everyone who wants to read, discuss, and write poetry, whether you’ve written before, or not. Each class will be divided among workshopping participant poems, discussing the topic of the week from The Poetry Home Repair Manual, and examples of poetry. Writing prompts will be offered for in-class writing and optional sharing. We believe that writers learn best with both praise and friendly honesty in a nurturing setting of fellow learners. Requirements: An open mind, a sense of fun and discovery, and a readiness to read and write during and in-between the classes.  Format includes discussion and hands-on.
REQUIRED BOOK: The Art of Voice, Tony Hoagland, ISBN 9781324002680

You probably have a favorite poem or two or twelve that have stayed with you like a loyal friend over the years. Would you like to share these with like-minded classmates? Read them out loud? Discuss what they meant and still mean to you? Hear what others have for favorite poems and what they mean to them? We will loosely divide our favorites into subgroups such as: poems that entrance, poems that teach, poems that protest, poems that intoxicate, poems that soothe broken hearts, and poems that delight. No one’s a poetry expert! We’re just sharing what we love.

New in-person course. Format includes discussion.

This workshop will cover key considerations for how to get the most from your Social Security benefit. We will cover topics such as the long-term health of the Social Security program, how to figure out how much you can expect to receive in retirement, when you should apply for Social Security benefits, how to coordinate claiming strategies with a spouse, ways to minimize taxes on Social Security benefits, and other important considerations for maximizing your Social Security benefit.

Repeat remote workshop. Format includes lecture.

This walking tour will explore the history of three churches on State Street: the former St. Dominic’s (now the Maine Irish Heritage Center), the State Street Church, and the Cathedral Church of St. Luke’s. Located within a few blocks of each other, their congregations — Catholic, Congregationalist, and Protestant — were representative of the different ethnic and socio-economic groups of Portland. We’ll also divert off State Street to the second oldest house of worship on the peninsula. Built in 1828 as the Second Methodist Church it became Unitarian, then Presbyterian, and now the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. New in-person workshop. Format includes lecture and movement.

Do artists see the world differently than the average viewer? In what ways do artists see, interpret, and translate visual information into artwork? This course gives a unique view into the difference between an artist’s “aesthetic” vision and an ordinary person’s “customary” way of seeing the world. The course will use a new book written after years of teaching called Studio Seeing: A Practical Guide to Drawing, Painting, and Perception. The course will not only change your perception of “seeing” but will also take you on a fascinating journey through centuries of art demonstrating key concepts. The first part of the course will be grounded in the book/classroom and there will also be a few sessions where we will visit the Portland Museum of Art, Cove Street Arts, and Greenhut Galleries, among others — perhaps even the instructor’s studio. New in-person course. Format includes lecture and discussion.
REQUIRED BOOK: Studio Seeing: A Practical Guide to Drawing, Painting, and Perception, Michael Torlen, ISBN 9781789387896

This course will examine the profound effects of the Supreme Court of the United States on the lives of all people. It will examine the workings of the court by examining representative cases. We will discuss efforts to reform the court and the chances for improvement. Repeat in-person course with new content. Format includes lecture and discussion.

This workshop will cover key considerations for planning for taxes in retirement. We will cover topics such as how various types of income are taxed in retirement, how to avoid Social Security and Medicare tax traps, how to take distributions from retirement accounts in a tax-efficient manner, and charitable giving in retirement. We will consider tax planning strategies from the perspectives of both those who are already in retirement and those who are still working toward retirement. Repeat remote workshop. Format includes lecture.

Among ways to pray in world religions is the universal practice of “being with God” in the common ground of silence, stillness, and simplicity of meditation. This was practiced by the Christian Desert Fathers and Mothers in the early centuries after Christ. After being relegated to monasteries then mostly neglected since the Reformation, Christian meditation was revitalized in mid 20th century and is now practiced globally by Christians of all backgrounds and denominations. Experience and learn about this vision of meditation though classroom practice and topic discussions. We will be using Word Into Silence by John Main as the course text. New in-person course.

Format includes lecture, discussion, and hands on learning.

REQUIRED BOOK: Word into Silence, John Main, ISBN 9781853117541

This repeat course traces the history of “blues” through female singers who started in the 1920s taking some of the blues tradition away from men. You will meet “Ma” Rainey, Alberta Hunter, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Shirley Horn, Janis Joplin, plus E.G. Kight, Courtney Fortune, and other current singers. “Torch singers” will include Lena Horne, Julie London, and Sarah Vaughn. You will also meet obscure singers who time has mostly forgotten. Each session will feature lecture, discussion, videos, CDs, and live piano music.

Repeat in-person course. Format includes lecture, discussion, and film.

SUGGESTED BOOK: Black Pearls, Blues Queens of the 1920s, Daphne Duval Harrison, ISBN 9780813512808

Independence from Great Britain may have first been proclaimed in Philadelphia in 1776, but it was not won there! “Glorious Cause,” part two of our course on the American Revolution, explores what happens next through the unique lens of a novel — The Glorious Cause by bestselling author Jeff Shaara. It’s a saga of how thirteen colonies became a nation — a conflict that ranged from the British Parliament to the Palace of Versailles to the colonial battlefields of North America. The outcome was never obvious; the colonists were outmanned and outfought by the British army yet managed to triumph in the end.

Repeat in-person course. Format includes lecture and discussion.

REQUIRED BOOK: The Glorious Cause: A Novel of the American Revolution, Jeff Schaara, ISBN 9780345427588

This is a survey course for music lovers, blues fans, and those who want to learn more about the blues. We’ll start with the great women blues singers of the 1920s and end around 1970 with the Chicago blues and the great white blues players, like Eric Clapton and Michael Bloomfield. In between we’ll cover rural blues, folk blues, barrelhouse and boogie woogie piano, rhythm and blues, and lots more. Bring your opinions. Everyone has favorites. We’ll also play a game where I play an original blues and a modern cover and we’ll vote which we like best. Hint: There are no wrong answers.

New in-person course. Format includes lecture, discussion, and film.

Science and technology change our lives. Ideas associated with science affect how we view, and interact with,
each other and our world. It might seem that changes in science advance linearly, each dependent only upon those of the recent past. But science — and our lives— remain influenced by ideas from decades, centuries, and yes, millennia before. Some have a chequered past, with cycles of acceptance, rejection, re-acceptance. Others become dogmatic: hidden, unquestioned truths — unless or until they no longer fit with undeniable information. We will explore the stories of some science-relevant ideas: how they were initiated, changed, often rejected and rediscovered.

New in-person course. Format includes lecture and discussion.

This workshop will discuss the history of the Second Amendment. In addition, we will discuss recent Supreme Court interpretations of the Second Amendment and the ongoing litigation to apply these interpretations to modern day gun regulations. The ability/inability of states to address gun violence based on recent judicial rulings will be a part of the workshop discussion.  Formats include lecture.

Continuing our survey of the thrillers coming from Universal Studios as they add to their successes by exploring new elements to established lines and creating new horrors. Embark on a journey as we explore eight more films during this period that gave us the conventions and atmospheres that were used in many thrillers for decades to come. Discussion will include the history, production values, performers, directors, and impact that these films had on what followed. New in-person course. Format includes film.

Imagine yourself at your own funeral. You can hear what people are saying about you. What are they saying about what you accomplished, how you touched their lives, how you made a difference to them, and the world? By looking at your personal brand, you will better understand how others perceive and relate to you. Is there something you want to tweak in your persona?

New in-person workshop. Format includes lecture, discussion, and hands on learning.

This course will explore the achievements of women artists throughout history following Linda Nochlin’s Feminist essay, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” Based on The Metropolitan Museum’s curated tour format, this course encourages classroom dialogue by posing questions and answers. Each session will replicate a gallery exhibition of 10–30 works showing themes by historically prominent women artists. This seminar course is a “shared inquiry” dialogue where knowledge of art history is not required.

New in-person course. Format includes lecture and discussion.

This in-person monthly workshop is a supportive group of 12 writers focusing on the elements of fiction writing. Members’ projects range from short stories and vignettes to segments of full-length novels. Pieces to be critiqued are shared via email prior to the meeting. During the meeting, the author reads a short excerpt of the work, and members give constructive feedback, during the discussion and in written comments. With our wide range of styles and experience, we learn from each other!  Format includes discussion and hands-on.

At least three times a day we get hungry. But what’s it like when our spirit gets hungry? Perhaps we feel that something’s missing from our daily diet even though our plate is full, or we’re curious to try a new spiritual practice but the menu looks daunting. Is this you? Is your spirit hungry? “Writing to Feed Your Hungry Spirit” is a six-week banquet of writing techniques designed to explore your spiritual story, listen for inner wisdom, write for healing and inspiration, and more.  Format includes presentation, discussion, and writing exercises. (Sharing is always optional.)

In this very playful gathering, we will have fun with easy light-hearted theater games. You’ll practice the games with your group and then find yourself naturally applying the skills in all arenas of your life. From the shy to the bold, this is a safe place to try something different, connect with others in a deeper way, gain new perspectives, give your self-expression and creativity an outlet, and feel refreshed and rejuvenated. The final class is an informal, interactive performance party. No experience necessary! New in-person course. Format includes discussion, hands on learning, and movement.