Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI)

Membership has its privileges! Learn more about the free OLLI member courses and activities planned for Summer 2023. When registering for OLLI, you’ll be able to RSVP to the members-only courses and events that you are interested in attending.  

SIGS
Leads: Len & Vic
Please check back soon for updates.
No fee to participate
Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are a group of OLLI members who have a hobby or interest in a particular topic and want to share the experience with others. All are welcomed!

I, the Artist 
Instructor: Jaan Troltenier
Wednesday | May 17
12pm | Immaculata 
$0
Learn about history from someone who was there by looking through the window of art. Each class will feature a different artist or artist contemporary who will showcase the historical and social context of Renaissance Germany, Golden Age Spain, Edo-period Japan, early 20th century Paris and mid 20th century Mexico. Your virtual time travel will be reinforced by the instructor’s period-appropriate costumes and accents. Each class features a different artist or artist contemporary, and so is independent of the others. No background in history or art history necessary.
(Previously taught at OLLI as Art in the First Person.)

Lenape Birds
Instructor: Rob Fergus
Wednesday | May 17
1:30pm | Immaculata
$0
Before this was Delaware County, it was part of Lenapehoking, the traditional homeland of the Unami Lenape people and their feathered bird neighbors. This presentation will explore Unami names for the birds, their stories about birds, how they interacted with them, and how birds fit into their world view.

History of Chester County: 1800 - 1900
Instructor: William Schultz
Wednesday | May 24
12pm | Immaculata
$0
We will discuss in each of the four scheduled sessions a 25-year segment in the development & growth of exciting Chester County.  By using the development of postal systems we will clearly gain a fuller appreciation of the County’s fascinating changes over the century.

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
Instructor: Jerry McNeff
Wednesday | May 31
12pm | Immaculata
$0
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire was a tragic event that happened in New York City in 1911.  It resulted in the deaths of 146 people.  Most of the dead were young women who had just arrived in America.  Some of them died by leaping from the top floors of the building.  This lecture will examine what the conditions were like for these young women, how the fire started and spread so quickly, and the social changes made as a result of the fire.

The American Vice Presidency
Instructor: David Hudiak
Wednesday | June 7 
12pm | Immaculata
$0
This seminar will cover the misunderstood, overlooked but potentially significant office of the American Vice President.  Specifically, it will cover the Constitutional powers possessed by the Vice President, the evolution of the Vice Presidency during our nation's history, the "greats" and "not so greats" who have occupied the office, and "fun facts" about Vice Presidents.
 

Short Stories of Robert Olen Butler
Instructor: Angela Brant
Monday | May 15, 22, June 5
11:30am – 12:30pm | Exton
$21
Robert Olen Butler's collection of short stories," A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain" won the Pulitzer prize in 1993.It is a collection of lyrical and powerful stories. Butler gives voice to the Vietnamese refugees to America who have settled in Southern Louisiana. These stories explore the contrasts between the immigrants, their culture and the culture they are adopting in America. All of the stories except one is narrated in the first person by a different Vietnamese immigrant.
Students will need a copy of the book. Before the first class, they should read the following stories: Open Arms, Mr. Green, The Trip Back, and Fairy Tale. We will discuss the stories in class.

Travel Off the Beaten Path
Instructor: Robert Cockfield
Monday | May 15, 22, June 5
1pm – 2pm | Exton
$21 
This course will describe travel to some exotic destinations, some places you may not have previously considered as destinations for your vacation.  The four destinations chosen for this course will include Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), Irkutsk (Siberia), Tari (Papua New Guinea), and Bunlap (Vanuatu)

Theater
Instructor: Anne Hearn
Monday | May 15, 22, June 5
1pm – 2pm | Exton
$21 
Often would be theater aficionados are unaware that the suburbs provide theater "gems".  The 
western suburbs of Philadelphia are no exception!  Finding your way to the various performances
can be a rewarding adventure. Each week a different theater will be highlighted.

This course will open with a presentation on Peoples Light, a stalwart repertory theatre now celebrating its 50th anniversary.  Peoples Light has provided outstanding performances, offered education 
to many school settings and developed learning experiences in local prisons.

The Uptown Knauer Performing Arts Center in West Chester offers a variety of performances in a
central location (West Chester).

The final class will showcase the SteelRiver Playhouse in downtown Pottstown.  All the challenges
of a start-up theater will be explored and OLLI members can get a glimpse "behind the curtain"
of the challenges of developing a theater's role in the community.
 

Presidential Elections
Instructor: David Hudiak
Monday | May 15, 22, June 5
10am – 11pm | Exton
$21
This course will cover the fascinating and colorful history of American Presidential Elections, as well as some of the fascinating and colorful individuals who have run for the Presidency. Students will examine our current system for electing a President, the way that this system has changed over the years, the development of political parties and the nomination process, and landmark elections that have shaped American history.

Three Biographies: Legend, Myth, and Truth
Instructor: John Meicht
Monday | May 15, 22, June 5
11:30am – 12:30pm | Exton
$21
Come share in the discussion about three totally unrelated individuals who, in their own way, left a lasting impression on history. We will try to separate the myth from the reality as we delve into their lives. the personalities are: Christopher Columbus, Buffalo Bill and Miles Davis.

1861--The Civil War Begins
Instructor: David Hudiak
Wednesday | May 17, 24, 31
11:30am – 12:45pm |Widener
$28
This course will continue a study of the Civil War in chronological order from beginning to end. Battles, leaders and events of the war's first year will be studied, with special attention given to the lives of the individuals who figured prominently in that year. While this course builds on the "Prelude to the Civil War" course previously offered, students do not need to have taken that course in order to take this new offering.

History of Chester, Pa
Instructor: Dr. Dexter Davis
Wednesday | May 17, 24, 31, June 7
10am – 11am | Widener
$28
This course will provide students with an in depth understanding of the History of Chester, PA. Chester is the oldest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The course will focus on the past and present.

Black Colonial Life
Instructor: Noah Lewis
Thursday | May 18, 25, June 8 
1pm – 2:15pm | Roosevelt Community Center
$28
Lives of Black People during the colonial period.

REVOLUTIONS IN RUSSIAN MUSIC
Instructor: Lee Bettenhausen 
Thursday | May 18, 25, June 8 
10am – 11:15am | Roosevelt Community Center
$28
Composers from Mikhael Glinka to Dimitri Shostakovich have led revolutions in Russian music. This course examines changes by the mighty five - BALYKIREV, BORODIN, RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, CUI, MUSORGSKI, AND OTHERS.  MANY MUSICAL EXAMPLES WILL BE USED RO ILLUSTRATE THESE CHANGES.
 

Silver Age Yoga
Instructor: Roberta Matz
Monday | May 15, 22, June 5
10am – 11am | Exton
$21
Yoga is a healthy discipline perfect for improving flexibility, balance and posture. This class will use seated chair and chair supported postures to improve your mental and physical well-being.  Men and women can benefit from improving their mind-body connection through this exercise form.