The OLLI @Berkeley Blog showcases the voices and perspectives of our community (members, faculty and staff) as well as news from and about OLLI. It's a place to share and reflect, contribute and engage. We welcome submissions from current members, new and returning faculty, and staff. Personal observations of life in this moment, of growing older, of self-discoveries large and small are just a handful of possible areas to explore. Please send your questions or article (ideally 800 words or less) to berkeley_olli@berkeley.edu and we'll get back to you. You must log into your OLLI account to comment on a post.
Thich Nhat Hanh. Photo by Dana Gluckstein.It was a mere five years ago that words like Covid and Paxlovid weren't part of our lexicon. Nor were phrases like “atmospheric river,” "polar vortex" or "bomb cyclone." Five years ago, we couldn't have anticipated war in Ukraine, whose major city...
By Hugh Winig, M.D.Dr. Winig is a retired psychiatrist and a longtime OLLI @Berkeley member and volunteerWhen I moved to the Bay Area in 1975, I felt frustrated that the New York Times, my favorite source of news when I lived back East before the digital world arose, was not available at newsstands...
From top right: Harlow in front of the Kremlin (2017), with friend in Moscow (1978), and on TransSiberian railroad (1972).Harlow Robinson is an author, lecturer, and the Matthews Distinguished University Professor (emeritus) of History at Northeastern University. The author of Russians in Hollywood...
By Linda Wing, PhDDr. Wing spent more than 45 years working to transform public schools in order to enable students in the nation’s cities to learn and achieve at high levels. She is an OLLI @Berkeley member and volunteer.Grammie was a storyteller. Born in Mississippi, she found herself parentless...
Courses about History have been perennial favorites at OLLI @Berkeley, and our member surveys tell us to keep offering them. Whether it’s local or national, just-past or the sweep of world events, our members appreciate the variety and depth of our offerings.That said, we want to appreciate the...
Bill Smoot received his PhD in philosophy from Northwestern University, specializing in existentialism and ethics. A lifelong teacher, for the past decade he has taught at Mount Tamalpais College (formerly Prison University Project), the college program at San Quentin State Prison in California. He...
By Louise NayerNayer is the author of six books, including Narrow Escapes: A Memoir, out in March. She is teaching a memoir writing course with us this spring.The Genesis of a MemoirVisions of camels trekking across the beach I camped at when I was 20 years old and the Sirocco wind that almost...
By Linda Wing, PhDDr. Wing spent more than 45 years working to transform public schools in order to enable students in the nation’s cities to learn and achieve at high levels. She is an active OLLI @Berkeley member and volunteer.Recently a friend of mine observed that I always seem to be reading...
Karina Palau (pictured here with her daughter) is a lecturer in and coordinator of reading and composition for UC Berkeley’s Department of Comparative Literature. She is teaching "Boroughs...
By Hugh Winig, M.D.Dr. Winig is a retired psychiatrist and a longtime OLLI @Berkeley member and volunteerWriting a review of In Defense of a Liberal Education by Fareed Zakaria for my OLLI @Berkeley fellow students is a bit like “preaching to the choir.” Most of us are already complementing our...
Pages
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UC Berkeley
berkeley_olli@berkeley.edu
Accessibility | Nondiscrimination | Privacy
Copyright ©2023 UC Regents