Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College
Winter 2025 Course Schedule
Some classes have limited registration and may fill quickly. Please register as soon as possible.
Need help deciding what to sign up for?
- Many course description pages, linked through the course schedules below, include a video introduction from the instructor. Click on the course names below for full descriptions and instructor bios.
- See a brief introductory video for the full winter session from Katherine Kidd, our curriculum council chair.
- If a course is full, you can join the waiting list by calling 413-236-2190.
Where are classes held?
- Our schedule includes courses held online and in-person. See listings below for locations.
- All indoor spaces are ADA accessible.
Course cost:
- $50 for one class
- $95 for 2-3 classes
- $125 for 4 or more classes
Most courses held online are recorded so if you miss one, or your schedule doesn't work for a particular course, you can access the recordings and watch the class sessions on your own time. Note: in-person classes are not recorded.
(Note: you need to be an OLLI at BCC member to register for courses. Membership information can be found here.)
Also available this winter:
Online courses through Osher Online. This program is offered through the Osher National Resource Center (NRC) at Northwestern University. These classes are delivered by the Osher NRC via Zoom, with participants from all over the country. Registration is separate from our winter courses.
2025 Winter Semester Course Schedule
-- Click on the course names below for full descriptions and instructor bios. --
See a printable .pdf of the Winter 2025 course schedule.
Monday
Instructor: John Dickson | Explore five in-depth topics in international relations. Topics include: the Future of NATO, AI and American Security, US Leadership in a Changing World, After Gaza, and India Between China and the U.S. Closed - at capacity |
Instructors: Brian Hailes | This course will examine the roots and evolution of the music in the immediate aftermath of World War II, the emergence of “rock & roll” in the 1950s, and its development into many different styles and forms. We will make extensive use of musical examples, interviews, and commentary from the era, as well as sharing our personal experiences. |
Instructor: Phil Brown | Today's Headlines is a moderated discussion course that provides an opportunity to voice your opinions on national and international issues. Serving as a guide and provocateur, the moderator will introduce selected topics drawn from a variety of newspapers and the internet. Lively discussion is the centerpiece of this course. |
Instructors: Ann Berman & Richard Eason | Was he the real-life model for James Bond? Did he walk from Holland to Istanbul as a teenager in the 1930’s? Did he capture a German general during World War II? Did he swim the Hellespont at age 69? Probably, yes, yes and yes! Join us as we look at the life and work of Patrick Leigh Fermor, presented against the backdrop of a continent navigating two world wars and significant political and social realignments. And we’ll see just how much like James Bond Patrick Leigh Fermor might have been. |
Tuesday |
Instructor: Katherine Kidd |
In
this course, we will study some of the many important changes that have
occurred over the last 100 years for Native Americans, including education,
cultural practices, environmental movements, and tribal recognition and
membership.
|
Facilitator: Geoffrey Woglom |
This course will address a set of prominent policy
issues where economics is at their core. We will explore these issues in
detail, including their origins as policy matters, the underlying data and
evidence, and what policy levers are available to deal with them. After an
initial lecture on the US economy, subsequent lectures will be taught by a
subject matter expert in potentially including: climate change economics, healthcare
economics, economic inequality, and autonomous vehicles.
|
Instructor: Nancy Walters | Hailed as one of the greatest collections of short stories ever written, Dubliners challenged the literary, cultural, and legal establishments in both Ireland abroad. This class will focus on Joyce’s experiments with language and how he creates the historical political, religious, and sexual context of his characters’ lives. Closed - at capacity |
Instructor: Jim McKairnes | In a television career that spanned 70 years, producer Norman Lear shaped and then re-shaped the American prime-time landscape, first with the sitcom All in the Family in 1971 and then with a string of era-defining hit series that followed. In this course, we explore how it all happened, dating back to the start of TV itself. |
Instructors: John and Katherine Kidd | Winter hiking offers special moments and challenges. Explore new trails in central and south county and enjoy wide views and the special feel of the woods in winter. Important information about conditions and requirements can be found on the course webpage. Closed - at capacity |
Instructor: Jo Ann Levitt |
Explore
many aspects of the aging process, re-imagining what spiritual growth and
transformation might look like in your later years.
|
Instructor: Linda Steinmann | This interactive, discussion-based course will attempt to look beyond the modern political picture of Iran to explore its rich historical, cultural, and artistic traditions. |
Wednesday |
Instructor: Tom Hodgson | Explore the possibility that a basic knowledge of applied logic can help us come closer to a shared understanding of what is real and what is important, in science and technology, in politics, in creative endeavors, and in our everyday lives. |
Instructor: Thad Kubis | This four-session workshop will allow you to be fully prepared to observe, compose, create and share professional level photographs of your travels. |
Instructor: Richard Eason | This course will look at the contributions made to the development of painting by late 15th and early 16th century artists based largely in the Low Countries. We will tie those masters to the glories of the Dutch Golden Age two centuries later where we will focus on Rembrandt and Vermeer. We will compare the achievements of the Northern Renaissance with those of the Italian Renaissance. |
Instructor: Don Barkin | What makes a poem great? This winter we’ll read some of the world’s most famous poems, and along the way try to figure out what “great” means. OLLI members who took the previous course, “Poems that Might be Great,” may take this course, as the reading list will be different. Closed - at capacity |
Instructor: Jamie Keller | We will translate selections of Ovid’s Amores and one love story from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Our cares left behind, we will cherish the witty, beautiful and universal love poetry of Ovid. You will be carefully guided through the beauty of Ovid’s poetry with the goal of enjoyment and appreciation. |
Instructor: R. Howard Jaffe | Explore the context of the Hebrew Prophets in which they took the stage, and of course, the messages that they delivered, as well as the language and imagery they employed, all with an eye towards understanding the incalculable impact they had and continue to have thousands of years later. |
Instructor: Lou-Ellen Barkan | What are writers’ groups? How you find one? How you start one? How are they organized? We will create a model writers' group to answer these questions. Participants should expect to read weekly and to critique each other's work. By the end of the term, participants may want to continue to work together or to initiate a group of their own. Closed - at capacity |
Thursday |
Instructor: Amy Whitworth | Studying various arguments in Western Medieval Philosophy, this course will allow us to do close and careful readings of the text, consider how the relationship of faith and reason framed and grounded the philosophical approach and how its evolution during this period impacted the development of knowledge, and reflect on the nature of the human intellect and its operations. Closed - at capacity |
Instructor: Kathleen Duguay 1/23, 1/30, 2/6, 2/13, 2/20, 2/27 Location: Zoom | Dante’s Divine Comedy is one of the most celebrated works of world literature. In this 6-week session participants will read and discuss the first half of Inferno which deals with the beginning of Dante’s journey toward redemption. Part Two will be in the spring. Closed - at capacity |
Instructor: Noel Staples-Freeman | Explore dance styles from around the world, celebrating the diversity of rhythm and movement. Each session will highlight cultural context, rhythm patterns, and expressive movements, encouraging participants to connect with the music and find joy in shared cultural expressions. Closed - at capacity |
Instructor: Richard Matturro |
Over
his lifetime D. W. Griffith made 520 films, and almost single handedly created
the basic screen grammar of storytelling. But he is also credited with
directing the most controversial film ever made in America, The Birth of a
Nation. In segments over this six-week course, we will view in their entirety
D.W. Griffith’s two most important films, The Birth of a Nation and
Intolerance. Before and after each week’s screening, we will discuss Griffith’s
life and career.
|
Instructor: Alice Roth |
Instructor: Laycolaion Freeman |
This
course will teach active older adults of all abilities basic self-defense,
situational awareness, and personal safety tips in a safe and supportive
environment. The techniques and exercises are adjusted to ensure safety and
effectiveness.
|
Friday |
Instructor: Michael Forbes Wilcox |
This
seminar-style course will discuss the advantage of thinking about many issues
as residing on a continuum. We will search for ways to describe human belief
systems that more accurately describe human complexity than the traditional
binary labels, such as liberal/conservative, pro/con, Black/White, left/right.
|
Instructors: Peter Bluhm and Hank Gold | Join us to discuss science news appearing in the Tuesday “Science Times” section of The New York Times, plus magazines and journals. |
Facilitator: Mary Jane Incorvia Mattina | Join six medical professionals exploring advances in medicine with topics including: arthritis, radiology, psychiatry, aging and AI, and urology. |
|
Please note that you must be an OLLI at BCC member and have created a login account to register for classes online. How to create a login account. You can register by phone from 9:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. Eastern at 413.236.2190.
OLLI: the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College |
