Osher Online Spring 2025
Registration opens February 19.
For questions pertaining to Osher Online classes, please email osheronline@northwestern.edu.
Women: The Forgotten "Men" in History (Online)
Diana Carlin
Mondays, March 31 – May 5, 12:00 – 1:30 pm
Online (ZOOM)
Many individuals contribute to history but never get their due. Women and other marginalized groups traditionally received less ink in history books than the "great men" of history who were mainly white males. This course looks at nine women--three each session--whose achievements are not commonly known. Among the nine women are a scientist, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, a pioneering pilot, a suffragist, a candidate for the US presidency, an activist for women's and African American rights, a British anthropologist, and a pioneering politician from the Western US.
The Soundtrack of Rock and Pop in the 50s and 60s (Online)
Michael Agron
Tuesdays, April 1 – May 6, 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Online (ZOOM)
The adventure begins in New York City, where the echoes of Tin Pan Alley's Great American Songbook still resound. We witness a new generation of talented songwriters, singers, and groups, who filled the airwaves and shaped the soundtrack of our lives. This course is a journey into the melodies, stories, and vibrant personalities behind the Brill Building era of the late 1950s and 1960s. We will discuss the music of legendary songwriters such as Carole King & Gerry Goffin, Neil Sedaka & Howard Greenfield, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, Phil Spector, Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, Ellie Greenwich & Jeff Barry, Burt Bacharach & Hal David, Neil Diamond, and others. Together we will rediscover the tunes from Elvis Presley, the Coasters, Dion and the Belmonts, the Drifters, Dionne Warwick, the Ronettes, the Shirelles, the Animals, the Monkees, Manfred Mann, Andy Williams, the unforgettable Righteous Brothers, and many others.
Crossword Puzzle Creation (Online)
Steve Weyer
Wednesdays, April 2 – May 7, 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Online (ZOOM)
Have you wondered how crossword puzzles are created? This course will appeal to those who want to construct their own crosswords, those who are simply curious about the process, and those who want to be better solvers. We will explore all steps of the crossword puzzle creation process including tools, formats, themes, grid block arrangement, challenging clues, and more. We will even discuss how to submit a puzzle for publication. After a brief intro to freeform style puzzles, we will focus on US newspaper-style, symmetric, themed 15 x 15 puzzles like the NYT crossword, and an OLLI-themed puzzle. Throughout the course, we will construct several crossword puzzles together.
Bella Napoli: Italy's (Other) "Eternal City"(Online)
Multiple Lecturers
Fridays, April 11 – May 16, 10:00 – 11:30 am
Online (ZOOM)
The Southern Italian port city of Naples is home to a rich and complex history stretching back to its foundation by Greek colonists in the 8th century B.C.E. Across the centuries, Naples evolved into a vibrant cultural, political and economic center of the Mediterranean world, first as a part of Magna Gracia, and later, under successive periods of Roman, Byzantine, Norman, Angevin, and Spanish rule, on route to becoming the capital of the independent Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816. In 1861, Naples’s incorporation into the newly unified Italian nation-state as a part of the Risorgimento initiated an era of modernization and adaptation that persists to the present day. In this six-week class, we will examine la storia e tradizioni of bella Napoli—a city famously pieno di contradizione (“full of contradictions”). Aimed at students and travelers alike, the course offers a virtual “grand tour” of Naples through a close examination of a dozen Neapolitan monuments/historic sites reflective of milestones in the city’s historical development from its origins through today, including: Castel dell’ Ovo, Spaccanapoli, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II , Castel Nuovo, the Duomo, Santa Chiara, i musei Capodimonte e Archeologico Nazionale, Palazzo Reale, Teatro San Carlo, and the Galleria Umberto I among others (including “side visits” to the city’s best pizzerias, food stalls, pastry shops and cafes!)