Historical Celebration: 250 Years Since the American Revolution
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Berkshire Community College (BCC) is planning an 18-month project on the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution (April 2025 - December 2026.) We will offer courses, workshops, lectures, OLLI Players performances, and special events with a focus on events that took place in the Berkshires and neighboring counties in New York, Vermont and Connecticut.
While this anniversary is a time to celebrate the achievements of the founding generation, it is also a time to lift up the part of lesser-known participants in the founding of the Republic. The contested values, policies, and institutions of the present, have their roots in the early years of the Revolution. By critically reexamining the history of the American Revolution, we can learn about how divisions of the past were or were not resolved and how the compromises of the past continue to influence the choices of the present.
OLLI at BCC Spring 2026 Courses:
Events are added to calendar as they are confirmed:
Past OLLI at BCC events include: Stacy Wallach, a longtime and popular OLLI instructor, kicked off the courses in the spring of 2025 with a course focused on events in the Berkshires beginning in 1774. On April 8, 2025, Sarah Vowell, a historian, author, and NPR contributor spoke on Lafayette, the 19-year-old Frenchman who helped bring France into the American Revolutionary War as a critical ally. OLLI partnered with Berkshire County Historical Society to celebrate the 1824-25 return of Lafayette to the United States including a stop in Pittsfield which were commemorated with multiple activities the week of June 9, 2025.
OLLI at BCC Winter 2026 Courses:
OLLI at BCC Fall 2025 Courses:
OLLI at BCC Summer 2025 Courses:
- American Painting in the Revolutionary War Period
- Thomas Paine's Unique Life, Times and Writing
- The Legacy of Lafayette
- The American Revolution in the South: Where the War Was Won
- The Pursuit of Happiness: Where Are We Now?
If you would like to teach, lecture, or lead a workshop related to Rev250, please contact the OLLI office at OLLI@berkshirecc.edu or call 413-236-2190.
See a full list of programs in addition to what OLLI will be sponsoring at berkshires.org.
Questions? olli@berkshirecc.edu or call 413-236-2190
These programs are designed and supported by many local organizations including but not limited to:
OLLI: the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College OLLI at BCC Sponsors include: Berkshire Health Systems
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