Sunday, Feb. 02, 2025
For those of us OLLI students interested in cultural subjects, we should feel privileged to have as an OLLI faculty member this spring one of the most knowledgeable opera instructors anywhere: Kip Cranna, the Dramaturg Emeritus of the San Francisco Opera.
Friday, Jan. 31, 2025
Spring registration opens Monday, Feb. 10, at 9 AM (one week earlier than originally announced. Yes, we're excited to dive in and so are our members!) Spring courses will appear here by 5 PM on Friday, Feb. 7 — ready to peruse as you decide what to take.
Friday, Jan. 24, 2025
Back in the days of the old National Library (Bibliothèque Nationale) in Paris, prior to the opening of the present incarnation in 1996, I was doing research for what eventually became a book on tourism in relation to Second World War France. The usual procedure in the library was to be assigned a numbered seat in the reading room, then order the books you wanted, which would then be brought to you.
Friday, Jan. 17, 2025
Each of us has a unique set of challenges brought on by aging, which may entice us to stay home more and avoid excessive exercise and activity. However, I humbly suggest that the opposite is a healthier option. It has been for me.
Wednesday, Jan. 08, 2025
Hilary Roberts is a writer and editor who has taught at UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, and Contra Costa College. She holds an M.A. from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley. She is teaching “Great Literature in Miniature” with us this winter.
Tuesday, Jan. 07, 2025
It isn’t often that one gets to touch history, so when it happens, especially to a historian, it is noteworthy. I recently came across some old notes about the Hungarian General Béla Király, who died in 2009 at the age of 97. He had been active in saving Jews during World War II and had spent several years in prison in the early 1950s, awaiting execution in Hungary, under the country’s then Stalinist government.
Monday, Jan. 06, 2025
Within the past few days, Jean-Marie Le Pen, former leader of the Front National, now the Rassemblement National, in France, died at age 96. Le Pen was leader of the Front National beginning in 1972, when he helped create it, together with François Brigneau, a wartime collaborator with Nazi Germany. Le Pen led his political party until he retired in 2011.
Wednesday, Jan. 01, 2025
In my mind, this mantra reflects the most critical aspect of getting old, which is one’s attitude about getting old. Finding that happy middle ground between accepting the reality of physical and maybe even intellectual diminution on the one hand and retaining and enhancing one’s youthful attitude and curiosity on the other is central to enjoying these latter years of our lives. It is important to live in the present and to resist dwelling too much on the future. I, for one, am determined to be in the here and now.
Thursday, Dec. 05, 2024
It should come as a surprise to precisely no one that OLLI members love to read (and read and read and read.) Here are just some of the books they couldn't put down in 2024. Enjoy!
Wednesday, Dec. 04, 2024
Pete Elman is a musician, an author, a journalist, a historian — and a star educator. He has performed, recorded and produced popular music since 1962, authored four books, been a sportswriter, taught K-12, and, since 2015, has wowed OLLI members with more than a dozen courses on American music. He’s teaching “Turn, Turn, Turn: A Rock ’n’ Roll Road Trip” with us this winter.
Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024
Here's an election result we're thrilled to share ...
OLLI @Berkeley has just been voted "Best Continuing Education Option in Oakland and the East Bay in 2024" by readers of Oakland Magazine!
Monday, Nov. 25, 2024
Recently OLLI members visited the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historic Park in Richmond, CA. The park offers one of the most beautiful vistas of the San Francisco Bay. Joggers, bikers, and parents with babies in strollers following the Bay Trail passed by as we listened to OLLI member and Rosie docent Simone Adair provide us with an overview of the history of women and the bay.