Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College
Spring 2024 Course Schedule
April 1 - May 13
No tests, no grades, just learning for the joy of learning!
Online registration is closed. Please call the office to register or add courses.
Click on the course names below for individual course descriptions and instructor bios. All times are Eastern.
Where are classes held?
- Our schedule includes courses online and in-person
- In-person classes this semester will be held in South, Central, and North Berkshire County. See individual class listings for locations.
Most courses held online are recorded so if you miss one, or your schedule doesn't work for a particular course, you can access the recordings and watch the class sessions on your own time. Note: in-person classes are not recorded.
Need help deciding what to sign up for?
- Many course description pages, linked below, include a video introduction from the instructor.
- All video introductions have been compiled into one video available on YouTube.
Two special course series available this Spring:
- Join OLLI instructors and members as we explore the rich history of the 1920s during the spring and summer semesters. Look for this symbol
to indicate classes in this series. See berkshireolli.org/1920sProject2024 for more information on this series. - Online courses through Osher Online. This program is offered through the Osher National Resource Center (NRC) at Northwestern University. These classes are delivered by the Osher NRC via Zoom, with participants from all over the country. Registration is separate from our spring courses.
We look forward to seeing you!
(Note: you need to be an OLLI at BCC member to register for courses. Membership information can be found here.)
Online registration is closed. Please call the office to register or add courses.2024 Spring Semester Course Schedule
-- Click on the course names below for full descriptions and instructor bios. --
MONDAYS
Instructor: Tom Hodgson | What can honest reflection on aging, dying, and death do to help us understand the human condition and to live more meaningful, memorable, even admirable lives? Through readings, guest speakers, and class discussions we will consider how different societies, cultures, religions and thinkers approach living longer and death and dying. Closed Limit Reached |
Instructor: Len Tabs | Today's Headlines is a moderated discussion course that provides an opportunity to voice your opinions on national and international issues. |
Odes to Joy: Poetry of Love and the Spirit |
Instructor: Adam Phillips | In these four classes, we will sample the wonders of both fleshly and mystical poetry, prayer and praise from various traditions, and seek to create similarly inspired expressions of our own. Cancelled |
Instructor: Stacy Wallach | This course will provide a general introduction to the so-called “Roaring Twenties”. We’ll look behind the popular myths and try to understand the essential economics, the politics, the rapidly changing culture. |
TUESDAYS |
Instructor: Kathleen Duguay
| The detective story has been one of the most popular forms of genre fiction in the world. We will read and discuss a number of representative novels and short stories from the 19th century to the present. Closed Limit Reached |
Instructor: Ann Berman
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Romeo and Juliet contains dramatic strategies and themes that Shakespeare used throughout his career, as well as gorgeous imagery.We’ll look closely at the text, review critical commentary, and discuss the choices that directors have made or might make when preparing a production.
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Instructor: Linda Neville |
We will visit the themes presented by writers of science fiction. What are they trying to tell us? How has science fiction changed over the years? Class discussions about time-travel, robotics, exploration of unknown worlds, and the consequences of going too far with an idea are a part of this course.
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Instructor: Jeannie and Dan Woods | An introduction to acting, offering practice in characterization and oral interpretation of the play script. Open to both new and experienced actors, students will rehearse scenes for a staged reading during the final class. Closed Limit Reached |
Instructor: Ken Stark | Join us as we delve into the lives and music of many piano virtuosos who are currently living, performing, and recording. Some of them may be familiar, and others may delight and surprise you. |
Instructor: Doug Robbins | This course will help participants better capture photographically what the mind sees. The course includes three classroom sessions and two field workshops. Closed Limit Reached |
Instructor: Gene H. Bell-Villada | Jorge Luis Borges is one of the foundational figures in late 20th century fiction. We will read and discuss selected stories from the Borges anthology Labyrinths, which participants are asked to bring to the first class. |
WEDNESDAYS |
Instructor: Deborah Reinisch
| In this course, we will look at the masterworks of a new generation of filmmakers who reinvented American cinema in the 1960s and 1970s while revitalizing a failing Hollywood. |
Instructor: Tom Gerety
|
Michel de Montaigne was the crotchety, elegant French nobleman who invented the modern 'essay'. His opinions can be madcap.We will take up a handful of Montaigne's best essays, and try a few of our own.
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Instructor: Don Barkin |
What makes a poem great? This spring we’ll read some of the most famous poems in English, and along the way try to figure out what “great” means.
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Instructor: Colta Ives |
A survey of sculptural representations of the human form dating from the 50th Century BCE through the 20th Century CE.
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Instructor: Carole Owens | Explore the Gilded Age during the exciting half-century (1840-1890) in the history of Berkshire County. |
THURSDAYS |
Crises in European Literature of the 1920s: Innovation and Rupture in Paris and Vienna |
Instructor: Michelle Slater
| Cancelled In this course we will study literature, poetry, and philosophy from Paris to Vienna in the 1920s that represents the fraught repercussions of World War I in European cultural and intellectual thought. |
Facilitator: Naomi Spatz | Critics and artistic directors from theatres in the Berkshires, and a bit beyond, present their coming seasons and discuss their hopes and expectations. |
Instructor: Elizabeth Dillman |
Every spring, our beautiful Berkshire trails come alive with colorful flowers, changing each week. We will hunt for and identify them at various properties in South and Central Berkshire County.
Closed Limit Reached |
Learning Observation Skills by Observing Art |
Instructor: Herbert Diamond | This course is designed to sharpen your observation skills and develop an enhanced eye for art through active observation. Cancelled |
Facilitator: Christopher Otis |
Hear from six experts on six different areas in the study and treatment of cancer.
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Instructor: Julie Cassiday |
This course will explore how Tolstoy invested his take on the nineteenth-century novel of adultery with his own answers to life’s accursed questions, as well as what the great Russian author believed our lives ultimately mean.
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Instructor: Chris Canning | As we age, we may want to rebrand ourselves, embracing the changes that come with new jobs, changed family structures, and retirement. By the end of the course, participants will have defined their rebranding goals and how to achieve them for the next stage of their lives. |
FRIDAYS |
Instructor: Hank Gold
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This course will review the United States’ manned effort to get to the moon and return to Earth safely.
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Instructor: Hank Gold | Join us to discuss science news appearing in the Tuesday “Science Times” section of The New York Times, plus magazines and journals. |
Instructor: Noel StaplesFreeman |
The course will provide a foundation for understanding and performing African rooted dance styles. It's an excellent way for participants to get acquainted with the basics.
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Instructor: Laycolaion Freeman | This course will teach active older adults of all abilities basic self-defense, situational awareness and personal safety tips in a safe and supportive environment. The techniques and exercises are adjusted accordingly to ensure safety and effectiveness. |
Instructor: David Langston | This course will examine the roots of Modernism in a cluster of works by philosophers, painters, architects, writers, and musicians who were its advocates and practitioners. In these works, we will see the basic principles and practices of Modernism spreading from one area of cultural production to another. Closed Limit Reached |
Instructor: Robin Fasano | What’s your story? And how do you tell it? Join us in this class as we develop and strengthen our unique voice and use creative writing techniques and prompts to find the core of our story. Open to all levels. Closed Limit Reached |
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Please note that you must be an OLLI at BCC member and have created a login account to register for classes online. How to create a login account. You can register by phone from 9:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. Eastern at 413.236.2190.
OLLI: the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College |
