Starting just after his ascent of Mount Chimborazo, this course follows renowned naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt as he completes his American expedition, including his visit to the United States. Next, we’ll trace his return to Europe, where he transformed his discoveries into groundbreaking publications. We will also explore his expedition across Russia and the development of ideas that helped lay the foundations of modern ecology, biogeography, and environmental science. This course is a continuation of a previous course (available as a Best of OLLI course, Alexander von Humboldt’s Hero’s Journey to South America), but this course stands alone. 

Faculty Bio

Eric J. Simon, Ph.D. has been a professor of biology for over 25 years. He is also the author of a widely used series of college biology textbooks used by students in over 40 countries.

This is a Livestreamed + Recorded Course

• Classes will stream live on the scheduled day and time 
• Classes will also be video recorded
• You must be a current OLLI @Berkeley member to register. Learn about membership, including our fee assistance program.

Schedule Highlights

• Course starts on Tuesday, Sept. 15, and ends on Tuesday, Oct. 20
• Classes meet for 6 weeks, 2.5 hours per session (1:30–3 PM)
• All course materials will be available in Member Dashboards through Dec. 31

 Member Praise for Eric Simon

Extremely engaging instructor who clearly loved his topic and was very knowledgeable. His enthusiasm was contagious. Very receptive to questions — would start each class by answering questions he'd received and researched.

Thoroughly engaging presentations which were organized, lively and moved at a good pace. I appreciated Professor Simon's enthusiasm, clarity and sense of humor.

Faculty Q&A

• Read an interview with Eric Simon from our archive.