OLLI-UO in Portland

Find a group that fits your interests.
The following study and discussion groups meet regularly throughout the year. All members are welcome to attend these sessions. Past participation is not required. For questions, study materials or more information on these groups, please call the OLLI-UO in Portland office at 503-412-3653.

Tuesdays

Monarchy: The Complete Series
10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., weekly

“Over more than a millennium, the British monarchy has survived brutality, betrayal, and bloodshed to emerge as the oldest functioning political institution in Europe. Join eminent historian David Starkey as he probes the personalities of the men and women who wore the crown. Meet the Anglo- Saxon king Offa, who ruled more like a mafioso than a monarch; Henry VIII, who cultivated celebrity like a modern rock star; and Victoria, who remade the monarchy into the model of middle-class morality. Through it all, visit the very sites where history happened: Hastings, Bosworth Field, the Tower of London, and more.

“Starkey advances a unifying narrative—the dynamic tension between authoritarian order and rule by consent of the governed—that makes Britain unique among the world’s nations” (http://amzn.to/yXLQuz).

Facilitator: George Davidson

Wednesdays

Great American Music: Broadway Musicals
10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., weekly

“Give my regards to Broadway…Is it possible to read those lyrics, let alone hear them, without mentally filling in: Remember me to Herald Square? Have you begun to hum or sing it to yourself, with the words and notes carrying you back in time to the Broadway of George M. Cohan and the heyday of Tin Pan Alley?

“[This course is] far more than just an immersion in musical nostalgia. Professor Messenger ranges across the entire culture of which music is a part, teaching you some of the intricacies of musical composition and song construction—and how they were used to create specific effects—as well as the social and historical backdrop against which musical theater needs to be considered.” (bit.ly/brdwy).

Facilitator: Joanna Rood

Thursdays

Extra Innings
10:30 a.m.–noon, weekly

As “third agers,” we are experiencing, for the first time in human history, thirty additional years of healthy life. This experimental discussion course will utilize emerging findings from the science of gerontology as well as gerogogy, defined as self-directed learning using life experience as a platform. This discussion course is not a life-review course. Class discussion will not only allow participants to look back on past experiences, but will encourage participants to look ahead as they travel through their third age.

Facilitator: TBD

Please note: Extra Innings will not meet on Thursday, March 29, due to the scheduled docent-guided field trip at the Portland Art Museum.

Literati
March 8, 15, and 22 (see below for times)

• March 8, noon–2:30 p.m. Literati will watch the documentary Medici: Godfathers of the Renaisssance 
• March 15, 1:00–2:30 p.m. Literati will meet to discuss the book Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie.
• March 22, noon–2:30 p.m. Literati will meet to watch the film Catherine the Great.

“Born into a minor noble family, Catherine transformed herself into Empress of Russia by sheer determination. Possessing a brilliant mind and an insatiable curiosity as a young woman, she devoured the works of Enlightenment philosophers and, when she reached the throne, attempted to use their principles to guide her rule of the vast and backward Russian empire.

“Reaching the throne fired by Enlightenment philosophy and determined to become the embodiment of the “benevolent despot” idealized by Montesquieu, she found herself always contending with the deeply ingrained realities of Russian life, including serfdom. She persevered, and for thirty-four years the government, foreign policy, cultural development, and welfare of the Russian people were in her hands” (http://amzn.to/tUZNEd).

Facilitator: George Davidson

Leaving a Trace: Writing About Your Life
March 8 and 22, 2:30–4:30 p.m.

This group provides a friendly, supportive, and intimate setting to explore and share memories and experiences.

In this course, we will explore moving from journal writing to finding the ‘line of thought.’ We will write, share, engage in writing exercises, and have a couple of guests who have moved from journal, to memoir, to a published book.

Through this experience, I hope to share with you how to leave a lasting piece of work about your lives. We will identify ten key patterns hidden in all journals and find the story underneath the surface of recorded fact. We will learn how to play detective to your days, find the ‘thought line’ or the arc of life’s meaning in your life, and frame these stories for journal, family chronicle or memoir.

Past questions the writing group has considered are:

• What is something that got left behind?
• What is something you cannot deny?
• What is something you wrote or did that you no longer understand?

Members may join this group at anytime.

Instructor: Judi McGavin

Brown Bag Luncheons
March 6, 14, 20, 27 and 28, 12:30–1:30 p.m.

Get to know your fellow OLLI-UO members at these weekly brown bag luncheons. Bring a lunch from home or order takeout from one of Old Town’s many restaurants. Lunch will be held in the OLLI-UO office, suite 148C or in room 149.  Lunches are always preceded and followed by an OLLI-UO course, lecture or discussion group.  We hope to see you there!