Walt Disney’s “American Century” and the California Dream
In this course, we discuss what publisher Henry Luce called “The American Century,” focusing on the ways “Disney” (the person, the company, the art, the movies, the theme parks) influenced American culture, ideals, urban design, and national consciousness. We will pay particular attention to the relationship of the Disney phenomenon to the myth of the California Dream.
Faculty Bio
Kathleen Moran is a founder and faculty member of UC Berkeley's American Studies Program and has taught courses in History, English, Film, Geography, Architecture and Art History. She is a recipient of Berkeley's Distinguished Teaching Award.
This is an In-Person Course
- Classes meet in person at the Golden Bear Center, Suite 365 (3rd floor), at 1995 University Ave., Berkeley
- Limited to 40 members
- You must be a current OLLI @Berkeley member to register. Learn about membership, including our fee assistance program.
Schedule Highlights
- Course starts on Thursday, Sept. 17, and ends on Thursday, Oct. 22
- Classes meet for 6 weeks, 2 hours per session (1–3 p.m.)
- All course materials will be available in Member Dashboards through Dec. 31
Member Praise for Kathleen Moran
An extremely knowledgeable instructor and one of the finest lecturers I’ve encountered ever.
Everything about this course was wonderful. Kathleen was not just knowledgable, but also animated. Her knowledge of the topic was excellent. I'd love to take another class with her.
Great course! Kathleen is terrific at providing a deep and nuanced lecture on film, novels and California history as well as the interrelationship among them. I got so much out of the class. I hope she teaches at OLLI again.