This Week at OLLI – Sept.5, 2023

CLOSED CLASSES: Click to view the list of closed classes. Please add your name to the Wait List for any classes you are interested in. There are always cancellations before the start of classes, and if that happens, we will call and register you over the phone.

NEW CLASS SESSIONS ADDED: We had so many people on our wait lists that we added new sessions of the following classes! Log on to register today

DIY Holiday Watercolor Notecards -1 Session on Wednesday, November 8, from 1:00PM-2:30PM with Kara Marziali. ‘Tis the season for making and sending out holiday greetings cards. Even if you’ve never thought of yourself as an artist or painter, Kara Marziali will help you create six note cards for the upcoming holidays. Participants will paint three different designs on blank cards so a personal holiday message can be written inside. Your friends and family will love the handmade touch and the cards (suitable for framing) will look gorgeous on their mantles!

Tuition: $15 plus MATERIALS FEE: $10 (cash or check) to be paid to the instructor the day of class. All materials will be supplied, and students will receive a “kit” designed especially for this class.

Ireland- A Brief History– 4 Sessions on Thursdays with Steve Berardo starting November 9., 10:00AM-11:30AM  We will examine one part of Ireland’s long and complicated history, focusing on the period between 1916 and the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. During these seven decades, Ireland suffered a civil war, achieved independence from England, experienced one of the longest and bloodiest uprisings in the 20th Century, joined the European Union, fundamentally changed the balance of power with the Catholic church, and became one of the strongest economies in Western Europe. At the same time, Ireland produced some of the greatest artists of modern times including James Joyce, W. B. Yeats, Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde, Sean O’Casey, Seamus Heaney, Edna O’Brien, and, of course, the band U2, some of whose works we will discuss. Tuition: $45

Suggested Reading:

  • Jill and Leon Uris, Ireland; A Terrible Beauty (Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1978).

  • Fintan O’Toole, We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland (Liveright, 2022).

  • W. B. Yeats, poem“Easter, 1916” Click to read.

  • The movie Belfast, written and directed by Kenneth Branagh, 2021.

Assignment for 1st class session: Look at the photos in Ireland: A Terrible Beauty and read the poem “Easter 1916.” (click link above).

Beneath the Breakers- Thursday, October 5, 10:00-11:00AM

You’ll see and learn about the new domestic technology that transformed daily life, including:

  • The development of electricity and how it changed the Gilded Age.

  • The emergence of the modern elevator.

  • The revolutionary infrastructure that heated and cooled the great house.

  • The modern plumbing and laundry facilities that affected attitudes about hygiene and cleanliness.

And you’ll hear about the house engineer whose detailed daily journals have helped us understand how it all worked. Based on research by Preservation Society staff and period documents, this tour shares with visitors how the house changed with the times as domestic technology evolved through the Gilded Age and into the 20th century.

MORE NEW FALL CLASSES COMING SOON:  We have 8 to 10 additional classes for fall that we will be introducing in the next few weeks. Keep an eye on your email and look for flyers in the classroom once our semester starts on September 11. 

CLASS SPOTLIGHT: Classes in danger of cancellation all beginning our first week of classes. Log on to register or call the office at 401-874-4197.

Malaga Island and This Other Eden: A Tragedy of Racism and Eugenics

Instructor: Gale Eaton

3 Sessions on Wednesdays, starting 9/13, 10:00AM-11:30AM $40

Fruit Tree Growing Simplified Click for Preview Video

Instructor: John Campanini

3 Sessions on Thursdays, starting 9/14, 1:00PM-2:30PM $40

Recognizing and Responding to an Opioid Overdose- Click for Preview Video

Instructor: Anita Jacobson

1 Session on Thursday, 9/14, 3:00PM-4:30PM  $15

Discrimination in Science Fiction Films

Instructor: Linda Morse

6 Sessions on Fridays, starting 9/15, 1:00PM-2:30PM  $55

THIS WEEK AT OLLI

Monday

  • Office Closed- Labor Day

Tuesday

  • 9:30AM Golf

Wednesday

  • 12:30PM Bowling Group
  • 1:00PM Walking Group

Thursday

  • 1:00PM Mah Jonng

Friday

  • 10:00AM Photo Friday (Zoom)
  • 1:00PM Writers Group (Zoom)

URI HONORS COLLOQUIUM: Not Business as Usual: Business for the Common Good. Tuesday evenings at 7pm, September to December 2023, Edwards Hall and online. Click for all of the information.

THE URI THEATRE DEPARTMENT PRESENTS MARIE ANTOINETTE. October 12-14, October 19-21 at 7:30pm; October 15 and 22 at 2:00pm. Set in Louis XVI’s France of decadence and excess, the story is presented as an American tale criticizing celebrity culture and irresponsible spending. Click here for ticket information.

RHODY OUTPOST– URI students will be back on campus in the next few weeks. Donations can be dropped off in the OLLI office. They accept donations of gift cards, food, personal items, and household supplies. They ask that you only donate items that are on this list to minimize waste. Please note that they do not accept expired goods or any food item that is not in its original packaging. 

URI CREW WORK-A-THON URI Crew Club Rowers are available for hire to do almost any odd job including but not limited to:

  • Yardwork (raking, clearing land, etc.)
  • Cleaning
  • Painting
  • Digging
  • Moving Furniture

When: Starting September 16, through the Fall season anywhere within a reasonable distance of southern Rhode Island. Email us at rhodyworkathon@gmail.com and include the following information:

  • Describe the job
  • Estimate the number of rowers needed and how long it will take
  • Give your name, address, and best way to contact you

COST: $20/hr per rower

All proceeds go towards our team and will help keep us racing for years to come. Any additional donation is kindly appreciated! Thank you for supporting our team!

**Not available for Work-A-Thons on October 14, 28, and 29, as well as a couple other dates with limited availability.