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Fall 2025 Sneak Peek

  • Course Registration will begin on Wednesday, September 3
  • Fall 2025 Course Catalog - Coming Soon!
  • Courses begin on Monday, September 22, and end on Thursday, December 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

While the three Baltic countries—Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia—are often mentioned in the same breath, they are historically, culturally, religiously, ethnically, and linguistically very different from one another.  Their more recent history, however, has united them in the struggle against Soviet domination. Having been annexed by the USSR in 1940, they joined forces in fighting for independence. In the 30 years since the dissolution of the USSR, the Baltic countries have experienced economic growth and cultural revival.

A look at how the research universities and national labs in the San Francisco Bay Area, over the last few decades of the 20th century, directly and actively helped create the high-tech infrastructure now known as Silicon Valley, and how Congressional legislation enacted in the 1980s with the express intention of enabling universities and national labs to effectively conduct technology transfer to the private sector for beneficial commercial use and to enhance U.S. competitiveness.

In this special five-week course we celebrate the centenary of one of the great film factories—Colombia Pictures—by watching five masterpieces of American filmmaking: Frank Capra’s Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936); Charles Vidor’s Cover Girl (1944), Budd Boetticher’s Comanche Station (1960); Otto Preminger’s Bonjour Tristesse (1958); and Jerry Lewis’s Three on a Couch (1966). A spirited group discussion follows every film.

If you have ever seen a Shakespeare play, you know that different companies approach the production of his work in very different ways. We’ll take a look at a variety of these approaches, beginning with the staging conventions in Shakespeare’s day, including the way the physical theater affected the plays’ construction, as well as language, audience expectations, and funding issues, and then moving on to more recent productions and approaches: “Original Practice” theaters, “traditional” approaches, adaptations, “Shakespeare adjacent” scripts, and the wildly experimental.

Three of the greatest and most popular of the “conservative” German composers of the 19th century were also some of the greatest symphonists!  We’ll look at the lives and careers of Mendelssohn, Dvorak, and Brahms, and explore not only their symphonies but also piano and violin concertos, dances, overtures, serenades, symphonic poems, and more!

In the 1960s, folk and rock music merged to create folk-rock, taking popular music and culture to a new and more poetic, socially conscious place that neither folk nor rock could have reached on their own. Richie will detail the birth and flowering of this revolution, starting from its roots in the folk revival of the 1950s and early 1960s to innovators like Bob Dylan and the Byrds in the mid-1960s, and the pioneers who quickly followed, like Simon & Garfunkel, Donovan, and the Mamas & the Papas. In the winter term, Richie will cover what comes next in the folk-rock genre.

We return to the Middle East after WWII for an in-depth analysis of the modern Middle East’s history, politics, economy, religion, and culture. The Period through WWII was covered this past Spring.  This course begins with an overview of that history as it relates to the next period, and will then look at the Middle East from the perspective of modernization and a number of other views that have emerged in the field since WWII.

Raptors (birds of prey) have intrigued and captivated humans for thousands of years with their predatory nature, hunting capabilities, keen eyesight, sharp grasping talons, flight abilities, and long-distance migration. We will explore the global diversity of raptors and delve into the unique lives of these magnificent creatures, including migration patterns, breeding biology, foraging ecology, habitat usage, and conservation efforts locally and globally.

During this field trip, we will visit one of the best destinations for raptors in the Bay Area, Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve, located between San Jose and Morgan Hill. This field trip can be experienced on its own or taken in combination with the class entitled Masters of Flight: The World of Raptors. The field trip is limited to 20 participants, and priority is given to course registrants.

Are you curious about how musical instruments work? Course demonstrations will explore the physics underlying your questions about what is sound and what is a musical sound; the mechanics of brass instruments (where does sound come from and where does it go?), and how woodwinds make sound and why the sound of a string instrument doesn’t come from the string.

What are some scenarios in which artificial intelligence could lead to catastrophic outcomes? This session is not about science-fiction fear-mongering, but rather about plausible high-stakes scenarios that academic researchers are discussing. We will try to gain consensus on what citizens might do, in addition to becoming more aware, in terms of lobbying for policy or collective action.

We will follow the travels of Achilles, Helen, Odysseus, and Penelope from their first appearance in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey through the twenty-first century. We’ll see what happens to them in the hands of the Romans, the Medieval romance writers, Shakespeare, Tennyson, Margaret Atwood, and the Coen Brothers. The course will culminate in a look at the 2004 movie Troy (or as I like to call it, “Achilles and the Brad Pitt of Despair”), a film that makes Homer regret that he started the whole thing.

This course will review the criminal legal process from arrest through post-conviction, including the appellate and other post-conviction processes, a review of the structure of the state and federal criminal legal systems, the language and terms used, and the meaning of each of the steps. It will include a lecture and a presentation as well as a discussion and an interactive "game" to practice and review the concepts learned.

After the start of World War II, the U.S. government forcibly removed more than 126,000 persons of Japanese ancestry – two-thirds of whom were American citizens – from the Pacific Coast and imprisoned them for the duration of the war. We’ll examine the historical patterns of prejudice that set the stage for President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066; the question of loyalty and the paradox of allowing, and then requiring, young American-born Japanese men to leave their detention to serve in the US Army; the government lies and cover-ups to justify the incarceration; the relevance of the incarceration to contemporary issues; and the value of capturing personal and family histories.

Why is the gap between the rich and everyone else growing? Our exploration will cover the primary forces driving inequality, including rapid technological change, globalization, competition policy, unionization rates, and the pivotal role of government policies. Furthermore, we will discuss why high inequality is not desirable. It can slow down economic growth, limit educational opportunities for the less affluent, and deepen social divisions. Finally, we will explore potential policy solutions.

Nativism is the political policy of promoting or protecting the interests of native-born or long-established people of a country over others, which has been present in U.S. history from its earliest colonial days.  We'll look at its origins, historical contexts, and particular characteristics, and examine episodes of nativism for commonalities and differences to better understand nativism as reflected in our culture today.

Director Billingslea will share with us his concept of the play and how he views its impact and perceptions when the sex of the couple changes: there will be two versions of the play, one with a male couple and one with a female pair. Gain insights into the background and preparation of the production and meet some of those involved in the production.  A ticket to the play on Sunday, November 16th, is included.

Although the brain does not heal as readily as other parts of the body (like skin, bone, liver, and muscle), it is capable of some regeneration when injured or malfunctioning. We will review three areas where evidence is growing for neural repair: vision (macular degeneration), proteinopathies (Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s), and genetic and stem cell therapies.

What are the strategies, methods, and AI tools that companies use to market to you? Why are companies rushing to use AI? You’ll see how marketers use AI and customer data such as age, location, education, income, consumer motivations, media consumption, interests, banking details, health records, and hundreds of additional criteria to create rich, complex prompts that can be adjusted for style, voice, and tone.

As a bulwark against tyranny, the Framers of the U.S. Constitution chose to separate legislative, executive, and judicial powers across three branches of government. We will explore the history and evolution of the separation of powers in the U.S. national government, and that context will inform our consideration of contemporary dilemmas and the prospects of a return to the intended constitutional order for the American republic.

Marriage is a powerful and popular social construct, a sanctioned union between partners that is regulated by law, rules, customs, and beliefs. In many cultures, it’s a normative rite of passage for adults. Whether we view marriage as satisfying or stressful, lifelong or episodic, fueled by love or lust, entered into for security or opportunity, one thing we can agree on is that writers find in the institution of marriage rich subject matter for storytelling. We’ll look at some of these short stories and discuss their elements and impact. Stories will be provided in advance.

The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 was the single largest event that opened up the Western U.S. We will discuss the politics behind Lincoln's decision to sign the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862, the largest government fiscal scandal (Credit Mobilier) of the century, and the role of the Big Four (Stanford, Hopkins, Huntington and Crocker) as we look at this incredible engineering feat and its vital importance to the Golden State.

This year’s Holiday Concert will be an exciting look into lightness and darkness. It will include a variety of pieces from different cultures and traditions as well as traditional holiday favorites. Chorale director Hanna-Weir will provide insight into the concert and the choir’s overall season. A ticket for the concert is included in the registration.

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.



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