This Week at OLLI

July 19, 2022

::This Week at OLLI

Monday

  • 10:00AM In This Moment: Mindfulness Meditation
  • 11:30AM Life in Germany (Zoom)
  • 3:00PM Purpose Driven Retirement
  • 5:00PM Contemporary Econ Policies (Zoom)

Tuesday

  • 10:00AM Free Will – Is It an Illusion?
  • 1:15PM Golf
  • 2:00PM Early Rhode Island History- Meets at Smiths Castle
  • 3:30PM  Vietnam War/Short Stories (Zoom) You can still register for this class! Call the office at 401-874-4197.

Wednesday

  • 9:30AM Introductory Oceanography, Continued (Zoom)
  • 10:00AM Let’s Explore the Google Suite 
  • 9:30AM Events Committee Mtg
  • 12:30PM Bowling
  • 1:00PM Walking Group
  • 1:30PM Aging Gracefully- Let’s Do It Together
  • 2:30PM Finance Com Mtg
  • 3:30PM A Time to Close

Thursday

  • 9:00AM Tech Comm Mtg
  • 10:00AM The Sitcom
  • 1:00PM Curriculum Com Mtg
  • 1:00PM Mah Jonng
  • 4:30PM The Folk Singers, the Bureau, & the Second Red Scare (Zoom)

CLASS SPOTLIGHTS….check them out!

Creativity, Play and Innovation– 5 Sessions with Sandra Enos starting Tuesday, July 26, 10AM-11:30AM

We often focus our attention on creativity as if it were solely an individual trait, a flash of brilliance. In this interactive course, we will examine the social contexts of creativity and innovation. Why are some historical periods more innovative than others? Why are some communities more likely to foster creativity than others? Do creativity and innovation peak in the early years and decline as we age? Why do men outnumber women as artists and creators? What are the social and cultural factors that allow some of us to be creative and others that ignore creative talent? Why do some organizations squander good ideas? We will explore these questions and do some exercises each week to play with these ideas and others. We will also apply our creative talents to a community service project. 

C.S. Lewis: The Four Loves– 1 Session on Zoom with Teresa Testa on Monday, August 22, 1:00-3:00PM

In this one-session class, prepare to celebrate the meaningful experience at the heart of our human relations with family, friends, partners, and the Divine, that is, to love and to be loved. Students will be introduced to an original teaching and interpretation of twentieth-century author Clive Staples Lewis’ The Four Loves while being guided to delve more deeply into the inspiration for the work which originates from classical and spiritual origin. To understand each love–familial or storge, friendship or philia, romantic or eros, and spiritual or agape–is to grasp the foundational aspects of what it means to live with humility and dignity in existence with something greater than oneself. The class objective will become both an intellectual pursuit as well as a personal promise to explore the nature of love in one’s own lived experience. To love!

History of Russia– 2 Sessions with Jim Buxton on August 4 & 11, 3:00PM-5:00PM

Why does the largest country on Earth feel compelled to invade another country? Putin, it is said, wants to be a Tsar. Why? How has the Tsarist period influenced modern day Russia? Why are there so many Russians in Ukraine? in Latvia? in Kazakhstan? and the rest of the former Soviet Union? What is the long-lasting impact of Lenin and Stalin? of the Cold War? of Mikhail Gorbachev, and the break-up of the USSR? In order to understand the current conflict, one needs to be aware of Russian and Eastern European history, so we will review Russian history chronologically, and we will constantly assess Russia’s effect on Ukraine. We will leave time at the end of both sessions to assess U.S.–NATO policy toward Ukraine and Russia.

Note:  Not recommended for those who have already taken the earlier Russia–Ukraine course, as there is overlap.

Women’s Body Image Workshop with Kara Marziali- 1 session on Wednesday, July 27, 10AM-12PM.

Body image is not what you look like; it has to do with your personal relationship with your body. How can you create a healthy vision of yourself? Kara Marziali will share her experiences, conclusions, and hopeful resolutions. Participants will explore how they feel about themselves, reshape their concept of body image, engage in a meditation exercise, and take part in a creative activity. There will be time for discussion and/or Q&A at the end of the workshop. While body image is not merely a female issue, this particular workshop will be geared specifically for women. 

URI MAGAZINE is experiencing a disruption to its print schedule due to paper shortages. But you can check out this month’s URI Magazine online.

COFFEE DONATIONS– We would love to continue to offer coffee in the lobby. Donations of coffee, sugar or sweetener packets, cups or cash donations are all welcome and appreciated! 

OLLI August Book Club– The book selection for our August meeting is The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett. Join us on Friday, August 19, at 1:00pm for the book discussion.

LOOKING FOR A GOOD SUMMER READ? Check out some of these books from URI alumni authors. https://www.uri.edu/magazine/bookshelf/