This spring a baker’s dozen of Dot residents will volunteer as “course facilitators” at the UMass Boston’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI).
Part of a national network of 118 similar organizations, the UMB OLLI program enriches the intellectual, social, and cultural lives of those 50 or older without the pressures of the typical university environment. No academic or other credentials are required. There are no tests, no papers, and no degrees. Daytime classes meet once a week and terms last anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks.
Of the four university-affiliated OLLI programs in Massachusetts, the one in Dorchester has the largest enrollment with more than 1,100 members. With 106 members, the Dorchester neighborhood ranks second only to the city of Quincy in terms of most OLLI members.
The 69 Spring 2016 offerings range from entry-level like “Family Caregiving 101” to more esoteric like “Antebellum Manliness and Sexuality: Lincoln and Douglas as Case Studies.”
Among those Dot residents facilitating classes, a husband and wife team will be teaching two very different courses during the same time slot (Tuesdays from 1:15-2:45). Walt Hagenbuch’s “Physics Makes the Call” takes five session to explore the physics of making and receiving a cell phone call while his spouse, Sandra Kohler, in her “Do-overs: Three Great Twentieth Century Novels,” pairs up a 20th century classic like Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway” with a 21st century re-visioning of the work, in this case, Michael Cunningham’s “The Hours.”
In other classes, Dot’s Helena Zubrin continues her Monday morning “Working with Watercolor” sessions, Judy Planchon’s “Intermediate French Conversation through Cinema” series is still going strong, and cable TV host and theatre columnist John Joseph Fahey is keeping up his literary surveys with “Selected Classics in 20th Century Literature from Both a Literary and Political Perspective,” and Cedar Grove’s Robert P. Dunford, a 38-year veteran of the Boston Police force, will be teaching a Friday series on “Community Policing: Myth and Realities.”
And Dot foodies, take note! Professional chef Genevieve Forde is teaching a Monday morning series on “The Food of North America” and a Wednesday morning series, “The World of Whole Grain.”
In addition to the above-named senior citizens teaching fellow seniors, young UMass graduate students, known as OLLI Scholars, offer senior-friendly courses. The three courses taught by OLLI Scholars who live in Dorchester include Psychology PhD candidate Doris Chow’s “Understanding How Your Senses Work”; PhD Candidate in Global Governance and Human Security Timothy Adivilah’s “Introduction to Politics and Governance in Africa”; and Dr. Aurobinda Mahapatra, who is in pursuit of his second PhD in Global Governance and Human Security, is offering “Introduction to Conflicts in South Asia.”
Finally, this reporter will present two Wednesday afternoon videoconferences that may be accessed in Hingham, Plymouth, and Nantucket: “Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” and “Ida Lupino and the Femmes Fatales of Films Noirs.”
In addition, during each semester there are about 40 one-shot lunchtime lectures known as Brown Bags. Among the upcoming Dot-led Brown Bags is “Eat Smart Nutrition” led by Elizabeth Aurand, the SNAP Nutrition Educator to the Fields Corner Kit Clark Senior Services.
OLLI also sponsors theater outings to productions by Broadway in Boston and Speakeasy Stage, excursions to Tanglewood and New York opera houses, and day trips to New England museums.
Among the early 2016 overseas adventures are “Portugal: Porto, Lisbon, and the Algrave,” a central European river cruise, and the perennially popular “Discover Thailand” led by Dr. Wichian Rojanawon, founder and Director of the UMB OLLI program
To enroll in courses, which will start late this month or early next month, visit OLLI.umb.edu, or call 617-287-7312 to request a catalog. Full or partial scholarships may be available on request.
