|
- Osher Online - A Beautiful Brain
-
Fee: $75.00
Item Number: SP26COU125801
Dates: 4/9/2026 - 5/14/2026
Times: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Days: Th
Sessions: 6
Building: Remote
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Scott Fulton
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
Most conversations about aging focus on lifespan, but brainspan (how long our mind stays sharp) matters more. In this course, we will explore how the brain ages and what science reveals about protecting memory, balance, and clarity. Topics include normal changes versus early dementia, neuroplasticity, nutrition, sleep, stress, social ties, and purpose. Each session blends accessible science with self-tests and take-home practices. We will also build a personalized Cognitive Health Scorecard to track habits and strengthen resilience.
|
|
|
|
- Osher Online - A History of Street Art
-
Fee: $75.00
Item Number: SP26COU125901
Dates: 4/1/2026 - 5/6/2026
Times: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Days: W
Sessions: 6
Building: Remote
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Heather Shirey
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
Art in the streets (including graffiti, murals, stickers, and paste-ups) gives voice to marginalized communities, shapes urban environments, and challenges institutional norms. This course explores graffiti and street art in the U.S. and around the world, examining their histories, motivations, and social impact. Participants will consider the rise of global mural movements, efforts to preserve and present street art, and its evolving role in activism, community identity, and social change.
|
|
|
|
- Osher Online - AI for Regular People
-
Fee: $75.00
Item Number: SP26COU126001
Dates: 4/2/2026 - 5/7/2026
Times: 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Days: Th
Sessions: 6
Building: Remote
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Hod Lipson, Melba Kurman
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
Back by popular demand, this updated course offers a clear, engaging introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it’s rapidly transforming our world. From self-driving cars to chatbots and precision medicine, we will explore how AI works, where it’s headed, and what it means for society. No tech experience needed—just curiosity! With fresh examples and timely updates, participants will gain a solid understanding of the opportunities and challenges AI presents today.
|
|
|
|
- Osher Online - California Uncovered: A Journey Through Time, Place, and Identity
-
Fee: $75.00
Item Number: SP26COU126101
Dates: 4/10/2026 - 5/15/2026
Times: 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Days: F
Sessions: 6
Building: Remote
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Anthony Antonucci
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
California is more than a state—it is an idea, a dream, and a contradiction. In this course, we will journey from its earliest Indigenous cultures through Spanish, Mexican, and American rule, exploring missions, the Gold Rush, the railroad, Hollywood, and Silicon Valley. We will challenge myths, highlight overlooked voices, and examine how migration, innovation, and cultural change shaped the Golden State. We will discover what it has meant, and still means, to be Californian.
|
|
|
|
- Osher Online - Comic Book Literature
-
Fee: $75.00
Item Number: SP26COU126201
Dates: 3/31/2026 - 5/5/2026
Times: 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Days: Tu
Sessions: 6
Building: Remote
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Arnold Blumberg
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
Comics (blending words and pictures to tell stories) stretch from cave paintings and the Bayeux Tapestry to today’s Batman and Spider-Man. Far more than superhero tales, comics are a versatile literary artform, capturing intimate and epic stories, social issues, and cultural moments through panels and word balloons. In this course, we will trace their history, explore their power, and read and discuss works including Understanding Comics, Watchmen, Maus, Fun Home, and Persepolis.
|
|
|
|
- Osher Online - Frank Lloyd Wright and Modern Architecture
-
Fee: $75.00
Item Number: SP26COU126301
Dates: 4/21/2026 - 5/26/2026
Times: 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Days: Tu
Sessions: 6
Building: Remote
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Jennifer Gray
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
Frank Lloyd Wright designed nearly 1,000 buildings and helped define modern architecture. This course explores highlights of his practice, from Prairie houses to Fallingwater and the Guggenheim Museum, alongside lesser-known projects like affordable housing and city planning. We’ll examine how Wright’s work reflected cultural shifts in technology, science, and politics, offering a deeper understanding of his lasting influence on architecture and modern design.
|
|
|
|
- Osher Online - From Leo XIII to Leo XIV: History of 20th and 21st Century Popes
-
Fee: $75.00
Item Number: SP26COU126401
Dates: 4/7/2026 - 5/12/2026
Times: 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Days: Tu
Sessions: 6
Building: Remote
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Olivia Espín
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
The death of Pope Francis and the election of the first US born Pope have been in the news repeatedly in the last few months, capturing the imagination of many people, including non-Catholics. Who are these men? What are their life stories? How were they similar to and different from each other? In this course, we will discuss the lives and dominant perspectives of the last ten Popes, exploring their most significant positions and their influence on world affairs.
|
|
|
|
- Osher Online - Ghosts in the White House: The People Behind Presidential Speeches
-
Fee: $75.00
Item Number: SP26COU126501
Dates: 3/30/2026 - 5/4/2026
Times: 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Days: M
Sessions: 6
Building: Remote
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Diana Carlin
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
Have you ever wondered who writes presidential speeches? This course traces the evolution of speechwriting from George Washington’s administration to today. Yes, Hamilton helped draft Washington’s Farewell Address, but no, Lincoln did not scribble the Gettysburg Address on an envelope. We will study the writing process presidents used and examine drafts from FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Carter, and George H.W. Bush. We will view clips from speeches and from former White House speechwriters describing the process.
|
|
|
|
- Osher Online - Great Science Stories
-
Fee: $75.00
Item Number: SP26COU126601
Dates: 4/9/2026 - 5/14/2026
Times: 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Days: Th
Sessions: 6
Building: Remote
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Johnnie Hendrickson
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
Science is full of surprises. Dyes, accidentally discovered, launched the modern pharmaceutical industry. A failed experiment opened the door to new physics. Discoveries are never just facts. They are moments of creativity, struggle, and chance with farreaching consequences. In this course, we will explore the human side of science, tracing breakthroughs in biology, chemistry, physics, and more. We will ask not only what was found, but how and why it matters.
|
|
|
|
- Osher Online - Music: Controversies and Curiosities
-
Fee: $75.00
Item Number: SP26COU126701
Dates: 4/15/2026 - 5/20/2026
Times: 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Days: W
Sessions: 6
Building: Remote
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Emanuel Abramovits
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
Music has long provoked debate, from Beethoven and Stravinsky’s bold innovations to Broadway works like Annie Get Your Gun and South Pacific, now revisited through modern concerns about race, consent, and gender. Is political correctness enriching art or erasing cultural heritage? We will also examine plagiarism and borrowing in pop and film music, with cases involving The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Peter Frampton. This course blends audiovisuals, anecdotes, and humor to explore music’s most controversial moments.
|
|
|
|
- Osher Online - Place, Memory, and Environmental Psychology
-
Fee: $75.00
Item Number: SP26COU126801
Dates: 4/7/2026 - 5/12/2026
Times: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Days: Tu
Sessions: 6
Building: Remote
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Fernanda Blanco Vidal
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
How much of who we are is shaped by the places we live and experience? This course invites reflection on the psychological and emotional relationships between people and their environments. Drawing on psychology, geography, architecture, and design, we will explore environmental psychology and how physical environments shape behavior, cognition, identity, and memory. Using place-based methods, we will discuss concepts such as place attachment, identity, and cognitive maps. We will reflect on memory, home, trauma, displacement, and nature’s role in well-being.
|
|
|
|
- Osher Online - Siberia: Russia’s Frozen Wasteland or Economic Heartland?
-
Fee: $75.00
Item Number: SP26COU126901
Dates: 4/1/2026 - 5/6/2026
Times: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Days: W
Sessions: 6
Building: Remote
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Asya Pereltsvaig
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
Siberia covers three quarters of Russia’s territory but is home to only a quarter of its population. Yet its role in shaping Russia as a vast and wealthy empire is profound. In this course, we will explore Siberia’s economic significance, indigenous cultures, and history as a penal colony, along with its importance for climate change, environmental issues, and Russian-Chinese relations. We will also consider Siberia’s role in both the rise and possible fragmentation of Russia.
|
|
|
|
- Osher Online - The Lost Generation
-
Fee: $75.00
Item Number: SP26COU127001
Dates: 4/15/2026 - 5/20/2026
Times: 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Days: W
Sessions: 6
Building: Remote
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Ferdâ Asya
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
This course will examine the cultural transformations in thinking and living that reshaped America and Western Europe between World War I and the Great Depression. Known as the Roaring Twenties, the Jazz Age, and the Lost Generation, this period redefined values and norms. We will explore the vibrant world of 1920s Paris through F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Babylon Revisited and Bernice Bobs Her Hair, Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, and Gertrude Stein’s The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, considering the lasting legacy of the era.
|
|
|
|
- Osher Online - The Scopes Monkey Trial: Then and Now
-
Fee: $75.00
Item Number: SP26COU127101
Dates: 3/31/2026 - 5/5/2026
Times: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Days: Tu
Sessions: 6
Building: Remote
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Douglas Mishkin
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
In July 1925, Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, and others converged on Dayton, Tennessee, for the Scopes Monkey Trial—an eight-day clash over religion, science, public education, free speech, and textbooks broadcast nationwide. One hundred years later, these debates continue. This course explores why the trial happened in Dayton, how Bryan and Darrow became involved, what occurred in the courtroom, whether Inherit the Wind reflects reality, who won and lost, and why it still matters today.
|
|
|
|
- Osher Online - Violinists: Performers and Composers
-
Fee: $75.00
Item Number: SP26COU127201
Dates: 4/6/2026 - 5/11/2026
Times: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Days: M
Sessions: 6
Building: Remote
Room: Zoom
Instructor: Ilana Zaks
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
Why do so many great violinists also become composers? This course will explore the fascinating legacy of violinist-composers, including Baroque virtuosos like Heinrich Biber, Romantic legends like Niccolò Paganini, and 20th century innovators like George Enescu and Grazyna Bacewicz. Through listening and discussing, we will examine how these artists wrote music tailored to their instruments and themselves. Taught by a professional violinist, this course offers a behind-the-strings look at how performance and composition intertwine.
|
|
|
|
