OLLI at DU On Campus   

“Churchill” the name sparks multiple images: Boer War correspondent, prisoner of war, Gallipoli, Minister of Parliament, The 1930s Wilderness Years, First Lord of the Admiralty, and Wartime Prime Minister. We will cover his World War II leadership from the dark days of The Gathering Storm, Dunkirk, Their Finest Hour, the Grand Alliance, Hinge of Fate, Alone No More, Closing the Ring, Turning the Tide, D-Day, to Triumph and Tragedy. Churchill was a controversial figure. We will discuss his political and military decisions and their ramifications. Our source material is the ABC Emmy Award-winning 1961 TV series “The Valiant Years,” the accompanying book “Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years,” Churchill’s sixth volume “The Second World War”, plus other books. Join us as we listen to Richard Burton speaking Churchill’s own words, Gary Merrill narrating, and war-time leaders providing their experiences.

Did you know that Frankenstein (1818), Mary Shelley’s iconic monster story:

• was written by a teenager who eloped with the already-married poet Percy Shelley and had recently borne him a child who had died,
• begins with the letters of an obsessed polar explorer,
• was created because of a ghost-story challenge among literary friends, who were discussing galvanism and the origins of life, during a rainy summer spent in Switzerland,
• the author gives the name Frankenstein not to the monster, but rather to the young scientist who creates him.

Join us as we read the novel, view film clips, and discuss the famous writers in Shelley’s circle, as well as the ethical limits of experimentation, Enlightenment attitudes toward science, the implications of bad parenting, and the psychological, political, and gendered readings of the book. We will work together to unpack the unending fascination of this modern myth – just in time for Halloween.

Although we often think of movies as merely escapist entertainment, many filmmakers have sought to spotlight injustice and social problems. This course will study fiction films–chosen from the 1940s to today, Hollywood, independent, or foreign offerings–that seek to shape attitudes. Students will watch the film beforehand on their own; class time will be spent looking at clips and particularly studying a) how movies try to make their messages entertaining, b) how much they digress from history, and c) how they stir audience emotions.

Primary movies: The Grapes of Wrath, The Bicycle Thieves, In the Heat of the Night, Z, El Norte, North Country, Spotlight

This course provides learners with an introduction to the history and wise teachings of the sacred folksongs called spirituals, created and first sung by African peoples enslaved in in America. Following the outline of the 2023 revised edition of Wade in the Water: The Wisdom of the Spirituals, the course highlights some of the principal functions and teachings of the spirituals, which were created in a specific time and place (chattel slavery in America, 18th and 19th centuries), but yet have transcended the circumstances of their origins to speak to universal issues of human dignity, freedom and justice. Teaching in the course employs lecture, discussion, recorded song samples, and communal singing (no worries, there is no musical talent required!). An optional field trip (attendance at a concert of The University of Denver Spirituals Project Choir) is highly recommended. Information about concert dates will be shared during the course.

Required Text: Arthur C. Jones, Wade in the Water: The Wisdom of the Spirituals (Revised Edition). Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2023

This course focuses on water as a major natural resource. It includes the study of the hydrologic cycle, and related weather concepts, competing water uses, current and future water issues, and approaches to water management both internationally and in the state of Colorado.

The relationship of water to human use is examined in terms of history, policy, infrastructure, and technology. Topics introduced in this class include hydrology, hydrogeology, basic meteorology, water quality, water/wastewater treatment, wastewater, and water resources management. Additional topics discussed will be the Denver Metro Area water resources, water law, ethics of water use and management, and the “wicked” issues that we face presently and in the future.