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Our knowledge of the universe relies almost entirely on the light from distant stars and galaxies that is collected by telescopes. Learn the basic physics of light and the information that it carries, and review the functions and capabilities of current and upcoming telescopes, both on Earth and in space.

A central figure in French Impressionism, Berthe Morisot had already achieved renown by exhibiting at the Paris Salon in the 1860s. Her contemporaries admired her color harmony and the confidence of her touch. One critic described her paintings as the result of “scattering flower petals.” As an upper-class woman, her subjects were restricted to the domestic sphere, which included her husband Eugène Manet and their daughter Julia, often in garden settings. Her modernity and lack of sentimentality resulted in works of authentic intimacy such as The Cradle and Woman at Her Toilette.

This course is offered in partnership with the Penn State Emeritus Academy as part of Explorations: The Penn State Emeritus Academy Lecture Series.

Wodehouse is generally considered the greatest humorist in the English language of the twentieth century. Over a 70-year writing career, he created more than 4,000 characters, including Bertie Wooster and his man Jeeves. He wrote novels, short stories, plays, libretti, and lyrics for musical comedies in collaboration with some of the greats, including the Gershwins, Jerome Kern, and Cole Porter. He was also painfully shy. Liberace, of course, was a great popular pianist and entertainer, known as “Mr. Showmanship.” He was anything but shy. It appears that these two geniuses never met or communicated in any way. Yet there was indeed a connection between the two that Rains unearthed a couple of years ago. It involved World War II, Nazi Germany, internment, defamation, and litigation. Also, humor of course.

This is an exercise course using tai chi martial arts skills for health and wellness. Emphasis will be on balance, flexibility and relaxation skills. The course will include stretching and balancing skills. Participants should be able to stand and walk but will never need to get down on the floor. Participants will learn tai chi moves that exercise both the body and mind.

Special notes: Please wear comfortable clothes and sneakers.

Whether you are new to mindfulness or returning after a break, this 3-week course offers a brief introduction to both the theory and practice of mindfulness. Held weekly, the course explores three key themes, each aimed at supporting you in everyday life:

• Training your attention and understanding how this can deeply influence your experiences.
• Discovering new ways of being and how they can help you navigate the present moment.
• Understanding the difference between reacting and responding, and how this awareness can enhance your quality of life.

Each 1-hour group session blends guided learning, practical mindfulness exercises, real-life application, and group discussions. This is a structured curriculum, with each session building on the insights and experiences of the previous week. You will also be invited and encouraged to continue exploring each theme through guided home practice.

The instructor was trained through Oxford University’s Oxford Mindfulness Foundation to teach this evidence-based course. 

From its emergence amid rapid cultural change in the early 20th century, country music has resonated with people who feel left behind by a shifting world. A key genre of American roots music, it captures hardships of modern life while intentionally evoking emotional response. Whether facing troubled relationships, unemployment, homelessness, loneliness, or spiritual bereft, there is a country song for you. This course traces the history of country and American roots music through the stories and artistic developments of influential performers. Each session highlights key figures including the Carter Family, Bill Monroe, Hank Williams, and Dolly Parton.

The public often sees the art world as the domain of wealth, trendsetters, and high rollers, yet deception lurks behind the façade. After weapons and drugs, art is the third most lucrative illicit trade, with reports suggesting that more than half of artworks are fake or misattributed. In this course, we will ask: When is a copy simply a copy, and when is it a forgery? What techniques do master forgers use? Does a collector hold true title, and how important is provenance? What can science tell us about art authenticity? We will uncover riveting stories of criminal art activity, gallery closings, and master forgeries.

This course examines royal succession through acclaimed British films that explore power not as ceremony, but as moral and political crisis. We will trace the monarchy’s evolution from personal rule to institutional authority, beginning with the Plantagenet struggles in Becket (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968). We will then examine the moral costs of kingship and the performance of national leadership through two Shakespeare adaptations: Chimes at Midnight (1965) and Henry V (1989). The course will conclude with the Tudor rupture in A Man for All Seasons (1966) and the consolidation of legitimacy in Elizabeth (1998).

Harry S. Truman once described the presidency as “the most peculiar office in the world.” In this course, we will explore how the Founding Fathers left the office for future presidents to define, creating conditions for a dramatic expansion of executive power. We will examine how the presidency has come to dominate the three co-equal branches, with Congress and the Supreme Court at times ceding authority. We will consider how and why this shift occurred, how this peculiar office is won or lost, how they have exercised power, and how the rise of the administrative state has reshaped the balance envisioned by the framers.

Mexicans celebrate a remarkable diversity of peoples, music, food, festivals, and historical traditions, expressed through fiestas that bring communities together across the calendar year. In this course, we will explore Mexico City as a cultural and historical crossroads shaped by centuries of continuity and change. We will trace the legacies of Indigenous civilizations, the transformations of Spanish colonial rule, the struggles for independence and revolution, and the emergence of modern democratic politics, culminating in the 2024 election of Mexico’s first woman president. We will see how culture, power, and celebration remain deeply intertwined in the life of this extraordinary city.

A rare bird captures our imaginations. When is a bird considered rare, and why do some birders go out of their way to see them? Explore this question with Sue Braun, member of Juniata Valley Audubon Society and State College Bird Club, as she shares her passion for birds and the many places she has traveled in the United States to find them.

In this course, we will explore the three fascinating realms of the cosmos: nearby planets and moons; the stars; and the galaxies (the great island of stars that turn out to be the building blocks of the universe). Our discussion will be in everyday language, without any math, and will be accompanied by remarkable color images from the latest space probes and the world's largest telescopes, including the latest breathtaking images from the James Webb Space Telescope.

Note: The original instructor is not able to teach this course. D. Griffin Jones will now be teaching the course. 

This course traces Apple’s fifty-year history and its massive impact on personal computing, design, product culture, platforms and ecosystems, and daily life. Each session focuses on a different decade in Apple’s history, from the birth of the PC in the late 1970s to the latest Apple silicon, VR headsets, and future iPhones. We will learn how Apple reshaped not just technology, but how people live, work, and communicate.

In this course, we will examine the dramatic circumstances that gave rise to the Beat Generation in the 1940s. Together, we will examine three famous Beat works: Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg, On the Road by Jack Kerouac, and Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs. We will focus on historical events involving Beat writers, important passages of Beat literature, and the literary movement that spawned the 1960s counterculture.

This course will discuss the United States Navy's Admiral Nimitz' island-hopping campaign across the Pacific in World War II, from the Doolittle Raid to Okinawa. Discussion will include campaigns in the Solomons, Gilberts, Carolines, Marianas, and finally Okinawa.

In this course, we will step inside the fascinating world of kit homes and explore their history and cultural impact across North America, especially during their peak from 1905 to 1945. We will learn how to identify these mail-order houses and understand their cultural impact. We will dig into the industry’s rise and decline, industrial developments of kit homes, and their connections to race and gender in the early 20th century. By examining both the kit home industry and the people who lived in them, we will uncover why they remain an important part of the architectural and cultural landscape.

Our brains are made up mostly of water, and just like a river, that water is always moving. This gentle flow helps clear away waste—waste that, if it builds up, can lead to problems like dementia and other neurological diseases. In this course, Dr. Patrick Drew will share how his research uses powerful microscopes to look inside the brain and show how two simple things—sleep and exercise—help this "rinse cycle" work better, keeping our minds sharp and healthy as we age.

This course continues our journey into how music becomes the emotional engine of film. This is not film school—it is a celebration for film lovers who want to experience how music shapes story, character, and unforgettable moments. We will explore how instrumental scores and songs with lyrics work together to drive narrative, define identity, and capture cultural shifts. We will focus on films where songs take center stage, from iconic franchise themes to pop- and rock-driven storytelling. Spanning genres and eras, we will see how composers, songwriters, and performers expanded the language of film music.

How does DNA reshape our understanding of ancestry, colonial society, and identity in the Americas? In this course, we will explore the science and methodology of genetic genealogy through the lens of first contact between European and Indigenous peoples. Using the New Mexico DNA Project as a central case study, we will examine how Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA can confirm, complicate, and challenge traditional research. Topics include Y-DNA Adam, Indigenous maternal haplogroups, the Spanish casta system, and colonial identity. We will consider the ethical and political implications of DNA testing and the limits of what genetic evidence can, and cannot, reveal about race and belonging.

This course introduces the scientific study of life, with an emphasis on real-world applications and the societal, social, ethical, and legal consequences of biological advances. We will place key biological principles within the context of issues that affect individuals and society, highlighting the connection between biology and everyday life. Designed for non-scientists with little or no recent college-level science experience, the course encourages discussion and reflection. Many topics are at the leading edge of scientific discovery, and we will examine the ongoing ethical and legal debates surrounding how and whether these advances should be applied.

Loneliness is a universal human experience—but what does it really mean, and why has it become such a critical topic in recent years? This course explores what loneliness is (and what it isn’t), how it affects our daily emotions and relationships, and what decades of research reveal about its long-term effects on health, well-being, and even cognitive aging. Drawing from current psychological and health science research, we will discuss the hidden costs of chronic loneliness, why it’s not simply “a problem of old age,” and practical steps we can take as individuals and communities to foster connection.

This course will explore the history, architecture, and art of Rockefeller Center (1928–40) in New York City. This unique urban ensemble of Art Deco skyscrapers in midtown Manhattan was a lone optimistic voice of capitalism built during the depths of the Great Depression. Topics include Raymond Hood and Associated Architects, the Rockefeller family, RCA Building, NBC Studios, Rainbow Room, Observation Deck, Diego Rivera’s ill-fated mural, roof gardens, ice skating rink, the Christmas tree, Radio City Music Hall, the Radio City Rockettes, Roxy Suite, and ladies’ powder rooms and men’s smoking lounges.

What really changes when we read beyond the abstract? In this interactive course, we will open real research papers (many in health and nutrition) and explore what scientists actually look for. We will explore how small design choices can dramatically shape a study’s meaning, and why headlines rarely tell the full story. No technical background is required—just curiosity. By the end of the course, we will never read “studies show . . ." the same way again.

Sandy Rubright, instructor and facilitator, will engage each individual with the basic elements of proper singing through fun songs, games, and teamwork.

In Glenn's upbringing, the world was changing and art was changing with it. Glenn will dissect some of the musicals of the '60s and '70s that took major leaps from classic musical theatre into tougher subject matter. Participants will learn that when the normative barriers of Broadway were broken, we were given some of the best show-stopping numbers of our time.

Glenn Rosenblum is a busy celebrity talent broker, lecturer, vocalist, actor, and musical mensch. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in theatre from the School of Theatre, Film, and Television at UCLA and has attended the School of Dramatic Arts at USC and the New College at Hofstra University. BroadwayWorld.com called him the “New Prince of Los Angeles Cabaret” in his new one-man cabaret show, The Musical Man. He has been seen regionally on stage in musicals including Cabaret (Emcee), Guys and Dolls (Nathan Detroit), Man of La Mancha (Barber), and Little Shop of Horrors (Seymour). He also played himself in Annabelle Gurwitch’s hit comedy Fired!, recorded for National Public Radio at Los Angeles Theatre Works. His off-Broadway credits include Lucky Lucy and the Fortune Man starring Blythe Danner, Little Mighty with Sam Harris, and Rise of David Levinksy featuring Larry Kert. Glenn’s television work includes an Old Navy commercial with Kristin Chenoweth, as well as episodic turns on the series Bones and Miami Vice. His passion for and obsession with Broadway’s musical theatre has led him globe-trotting with Crystal Cruises as a guest lecturer. 

People throughout time and across cultures have looked to the mountains as powerful symbols. The Buddhists of the Himalayas, the Inca of the Andes, the Inuit of the far north, and the Romantics of Europe all created unique stories of what mountains mean and how they are to be approached. This course will provide an interdisciplinary exploration of the beliefs, traditions, and mythologies that have been inspired by the world’s mountains. Through richly illustrated lectures, short readings, and open discussion, this course will open a window into the world’s sacred mountains and encourage exploration of our relationship with the Earth’s high and wild places.

Route 66 is as much an idea as it is a place. Since 1926, it has evolved from a busy highway into a symbol of nostalgia, travel, and the American road. Today, it serves as a kind of pilgrimage route, marked by neon signs and preserved roadside landmarks. In this course, we will explore its history, cultural meaning, rise and decline, revival, and preservation, while considering the future of this iconic American highway.

Note: The original instructor is not able to teach this course. Kathryn Phillips will now be teaching the course. 

America has provided fertile ground for new and alternative religions to sprout and grow. Some prosper and eventually become accepted as part of the normal religious landscape, some wither away and are forgotten, and some detonate, creating public scandal and, in the worst cases, national tragedy. This course will examine New Religious Movements, popularly known as "cults," within the US context. We will examine these religious movements both from insider perspectives and outsider perceptions. We will analyze the history, practices, and beliefs of these organizations to better understand them and deconstruct misconceptions. This course covers the 18th and 19th centuries.

This course is hosted by OLLI at Colorado State University (CSU). Participants will be "in course" via Zoom with members of OLLI at CSU.

On November 3, all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 35 in the Senate will be up for reelection. Hundreds of local and state offices and issues will also be decided. Turnout in presidential elections is around 60%; in midterms, it is barely 40%. This midterm may be more consequential than any recent election. In this course, participants will examine national issues and consider how they rank by party affiliation, generation, and region. The class will review some of the more reliable forecasts and conduct its own online, in-class polling of issues and outcomes. Participants will also forecast House and Senate results by party.

From sleek new industrial materials to innovations in housing, mid-20th-century designers faced the challenge of shaping an aesthetic that reflected the ideals of post-World War II America. In this course, we will explore the optimism that defined the relationship between design and lifestyle during this period, particularly through the emergence of open living spaces in architecture. We will examine the influence of the Case Study Program and the work of leading designers, including Charles and Ray Eames, John Lautner, Eero Saarinen, E. Fay Jones, and Donald Wexler, while considering these developments within the broader context of rapid social and cultural change.

August Wilson was the first African American playwright to have a Broadway theater bear his name, a fitting tribute to a dramatist who brought African American culture and lived experience to the stage. In this course, we will read, watch, and examine the first five plays in Wilson’s American Cycle, a ten-play series representing each decade of the African American culture’s 20th century. We will explore Wilson’s life and the influences behind his work while focusing on Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and Seven Guitars, tracing his powerful interpretation, celebration, and perseveration of African American culture.

The lay of the land and its geological and soil resources have affected the course of human events in Pennsylvania from prehistoric to colonial and modern times. For example, prehistoric Aboriginal people sought logical residence near water resources and sought bedrock geology that was composed of jasper to make rock tools and weapons for hunting, protection, or war. Later, during colonial and modern times, transportation of goods, including coal, was hampered by the steep escarpment of the Allegheny Mountains’ eastern front. The landscapes of the commonwealth are the result of underlying bedrock, surficial geology, and soils. The geological history of Pennsylvania goes back about 1 billion years, the age of the oldest bedrock. Since then, the land has been changing because of the processes of plate tectonics, continental glaciation, and constant mechanical and chemical weathering and erosion. The state geological map portrays 217 different bedrock formations from about a billion years ago to recent times. Bob will describe the landscapes and geology of the commonwealth, discuss how the two interrelate, and correlate how landscapes and geology influenced the people that lived and settled in Pennsylvania and those that live here today.

Journey into the vibrant world of early 20th century art and witness the birth of abstraction. This transformative period reshaped the cultural landscape, from the bold colors of Fauvism, the fractured forms of Cubism, to the dreamlike realms of Surrealism. Each session focuses on the movements’ leading artists including Matisse, Kandinsky, Picasso, Mondrian, Duchamp, and Dali. We will explore their aesthetic goals and the social and cultural currents that influenced them.

The 1960s are wrapped in myth and misunderstanding. In this course, we will cut through that haze by turning to something powerful and concrete: the speeches of the era. The times and the conditions demanded these significant speeches. Together, we will listen to the voices that moved a nation and shaped history. With recordings preserved through television, video, and YouTube, we will discover what these speeches still have to teach us today.

Since the 1890s, when Americans were beginning to develop their own traditions in classical music, composers have recognized the dilemma of creating the American sound. We will explore how classical musicians, and Broadway and Hollywood composers, most of them Jewish, followed parallel paths in creating sounds that have been defined as evocative of this land and its people. Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, William Grant Still, Florence Price, Alex North, Elmer Bernstein and others will be the protagonists of this course, supported with audiovisuals and anecdotes.

This course will follow Steve's "flight plan" and trace his path from small-town dreamer to the high-technology world of the United States Navy, aviation, and experimental flight testing.

Penn State boasts a proud (some say #Unrivaled) tradition of success in college football, and this course covers it all. Participants will become familiar with the full Penn State football chronology from its inception to the present, learning about key moments, figures, and games that shaped its unique character while also understanding its place in the broader history of the sport. Enhance your enjoyment of every game and season by deepening your appreciation of the program’s ongoing story.

Montparnasse attracted international artists at the beginning of the 20th century, and by the 1920s, it was the center of cultural life in Paris. Romanian sculptor Brâncuși met Italian painter Modigliani there in 1909; they became close friends and central figures in the pre-war avant-garde. Brâncuși mentored Modigliani as a sculptor, with the abstraction and primitivism of the former’s work finding its way into the latter’s. The life and careers of both will be discussed as will Brâncuși's masterworks, The Kiss and Bird in Space, and Modigliani’s sculpted heads and painted portraits.

This course is a history class with a laugh track. We will analyze the significant periods and players of the 20th and 21st centuries against their historic context and legacy, using humor as the platform. We will discuss how comedy was shaped by and responsive to American society, and how comedians influenced and shaped American life. We will cover silent films, vaudeville, radio, screwball and romantic comedies, comedy teams, and the Golden Age of Television. We will study how America laughed in each generation, and how the change in American character and persona shaped how they laughed and what (and whom) they laughed at.

NOTE: The course date is rescheduled to October 15, 10:00 - 11:30 am.

What is mindfulness, and what does it have to do with democracy? How can practicing mindful democracy help us to build connection and beloved community, even when we disagree? What is the difference between deliberation and debate, and why does this difference matter? What are some practical steps that each of us can take to build a more caring, compassionate world? Building from Jeremy's recently published book On Mindful Democracy, these are the questions we will take up in our time together.

The American Experiment began with the Declaration of Independence and led to the creation of the federal judiciary, one of the country’s greatest experiments. In this course, we will trace the evolution of the courts from their English roots to their formal establishment in the Constitution. We will explore how the Supreme Court, lacking the power of the purse or military, derives its authority from its ability to connect with the people of the US and protect democracy. We will examine creation of the federal judiciary and the power of the Marshall Court, the Court’s evolution through the New Deal, the Vinson Court, the Warren Court’s “Rights Revolution,” and the role of today’s US Supreme Court.

This course will examine the original ancient Greek Hippocratic Oath along with subsequent oaths taken by medical practitioners, including The Oath of Maimonides and the 1948 and 2017 Declarations of Geneva. Through interactive discussion, we'll examine the historical circumstances and ethical perspectives that shaped each oath, along with the rationale behind the updates made from one oath to the next. Participants will compare these various oaths with each other while also considering additional updates or changes that should be made to current medical oaths and ethics.

In October of 1755, a group of Lenape warriors murdered and kidnapped members of several families in Central Pennsylvania. This event and General Braddock's defeat were two of the opening salvos in the Seven Years' War. The tale of how three young women survived their ordeal became buried under three centuries of stories promoting political, religious, racial, and misogynistic prejudice.

We often only notice the global supply chain when it breaks. Yet, for millennia, the movement of goods has been the silent engine of civilization. In this course, we will track the evolution of trade from an executive’s perspective. From the sunken treasures of Bronze Age merchant ships to the high-tech intermodal systems of today, we will explore the vessels that carried the world’s wealth and the complex networks that keep our modern shelves stocked.

This two-session course covers the early history of Vietnam (and Ho Chi Minh) and its colonial period under France. We will then examine Viet Minh involvement in World War II, the French Indochina War leading to the defeat of the French forces, the division of Vietnam into North-South, South Vietnamese politics, the Gulf of Tonkin situation, and US involvement leading up to United States Marines landing in 1965. We will conclude with an extensive discussion of the Vietnam War, including strategy by US, South Vietnamese, Viet Cong, and North Vietnamese forces leading to the eventual collapse of South Vietnam in 1975. There will also be a discussion of anti-war protests in the US and American POWs. This will be an interactive course soliciting questions and comments.

This course is offered in partnership with the Penn State Emeritus Academy as part of Explorations: The Penn State Emeritus Academy Lecture Series.

Fruit flies (Drosophila) are not just an annoying problem in your kitchen but have served as a model system for the study of biological systems for more than 100 years, leading to 10 Nobel Prize winners in genetics, development, immunity, and circadian rhythm. This lecture will examine how fruit flies have contributed to our understanding of how chromosomes evolve through genome biology. The lecture will segue into a discussion of how direct-to-consumer DNA tests can help us understand our personal genealogical history.

The most important organism in human history is brewer's yeast, and the bountiful harvest we enjoy from this one species of fungi includes bread, beer, wine, and so much more. In this course we'll discuss the sugar-eating fungus (yeast) and why it produces the most controversial metabolite in history, alcohol. We'll discuss the history between humans and alcohol, from pre-historic times to that glass of rosé you enjoyed with dinner last evening, pausing to explain the techniques and how other plants/fungi are used to create your favorite libation. Here's to the rise of yeast, cheers!

This course will take a look at Philadelphia's special place in the history of music, starting with some unexpected examples like the Philadelphia Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie, and John Coltrane and including more familiar examples like Hall & Oates, Jim Croce, and the golden age of Philly pop with The O'Jays, The Delfonics, and The Intruders. Special attention will be paid to the music made at 212 N. 12th Street—Sigma Sound.

In observance of the United States' 250th birthday, this course will discuss the 13 colonies' seven-year struggle for independence from Great Britain.

This course is a lecture and discussion about the Jewish garrison on the island of Elephantine in Egypt during the 6th–4th centuries BCE. We will survey and discuss both the archaeology and texts of this community, whose members built a temple to Yaho (the local form of the biblical name) but also worshiped other deities. No prior knowledge is necessary.

Learn about America's Native heritage. The current states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah were home to advanced cultures that thrived in challenging landscapes long before Europeans arrived. The remains of extensive building projects, roads, and artwork allow us insights into their complex civilizations. We'll explore the rich history of the Southwest inhabited by the Ancestral Puebloan peoples whose descendants still live in the region. Through lots of photos and maps we will travel virtually to protected sites and possibly inspire you to make a physical journey someday.

Once allies, the United States and Iran have experienced a series of escalating tensions. This lecture-based course aims to clarify key aspects of the changing relations between the two countries from 1833 to the present. We will explore the role of early American missionaries in Iran and examine Iran’s political and cultural relations during the Qajar dynasty.

Other topics include US-Iran relations during the Pahlavi dynasty, covering World War I, Reza Shah, World War II, Mohammad Reza Shah, the 1953 coup, post-coup cooperation, the Cold War, and US military assistance to Iran.

Participants will also have the opportunity to discuss the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the establishment of the Islamic Republic, the Iran hostage crisis, the Iran-Iraq war, the Iran-Contra affair, Iran’s nuclear program, US-EU negotiations over Iran’s nuclear deal and its termination, the 2026 US and Israel war, as well as current geopolitical issues.

Human survival depends on our stress response, but big increases in blood pressure and cortisol are risky for long-term health. Why is too much stress bad for us and how can our behaviors protect us? Discussion will range from the emotional and physiological impacts of stress to the impact of small dietary changes on chronic disease risk. Through lecture and discussion, explore how scientific knowledge of this system can enhance survival and resilience. Sheila agrees with the famous stress physiologist Hans Selye, who said about his book, The Stress of Life, “This book is dedicated to those who are not afraid to enjoy the stress of a full life, nor too naïve to think that they can do so without intellectual effort.”

This course will explore the architecture, interior design, and social history of Gilded Age mansions in the United States, from the extravagant eclecticism of the Victorian era to the Beaux-Arts excesses of Vanderbilt summer “cottages” at Newport, Rhode Island. The course will conclude with three of the most extraordinary and lavish houses ever built in America: R. M. Hunt’s Biltmore (1888–95) in Asheville, North Carolina; Julia Morgan’s Hearst Castle (begun 1919) in California; and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Susan Lawrence Dana House (1902–04) in Springfield, Illinois.

In this course, Larry will focus on how to prepare for the big “what if” and prepare your records for your death. Larry will review wills, power of attorney, health proxy, titling beneficiaries, IRAs, annuities, etc. He’ll provide the mechanics for avoiding probate and explain how to develop instructions for heirs.

Women have played a significant and often groundbreaking role in the growth and development of Penn State. Take a historic look at the earliest women faculty, staff, and students at Penn State, their contributions, their achievements, and their influence on the nature and structure of the University.

Croatia, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic, has been overlooked as a travel destination. Its beautiful, rugged coastline is dotted with old cities and quaint villages, some dating back 3,000 years. Croatia has been governed over the years by many cultures, giving it a very diverse history. The coastline has more than 1,200 islands, clear blue waters, dramatic limestone cliffs, and pebbly beaches. The cuisine on the coast is like that of northern Italy. Inland, the influences are from Hungary, Austria, and Turkey. Photos and commentary will give you a sense of this interesting area.

This course is offered in partnership with the Penn State Emeritus Academy as part of Explorations: The Penn State Emeritus Academy Lecture Series.

Luis Alberto Sánchez, Peruvian author, lawyer, politician, and professor, carried on a voluminous correspondence with fellow Peruvian diplomat, lawyer, and journalist Manuel Seoane Corrales through nearly forty years of political and personal endeavors. The letters stand as a testament to the growth and development of these important political activists and to the temporal, cultural, and spatial milieu in which they are written. They present a multilayered portrait of aprismo that is not available in conventional histories of the party. This course will review selected letters and highlight themes that surfaced as the volatile political situation swirled around and between them.

Georgia O’Keeffe was already an established artist in New York City when she visited New Mexico in 1929. There she found “a place apart” that nourished both her love of nature and abstraction. The colors and forms of the landscape provided O’Keeffe with equivalents for her emotions, and she developed close affinities with places such as Plaza Blanca, the Bisti Badlands, and Pedernal. This course will focus on her southwestern landscapes, which she sometimes combined with flowers or bones.

We're constantly bombarded with unsolicited and dangerous messages in various forms on our devices. Scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and cunning, making older adults their most vulnerable targets. Learn how to identify these invasive text messages, emails, and calls, and discover the right actions to take (and to avoid) in response. David will present real-life (and unsettling) examples and provide updates on the ongoing battle against these unscrupulous individuals. Whether you use an iPhone or Android device, a PC or Mac, join us for this engaging, fun, and informative session.

Despite treason charges filed against thirty-some Confederates in high places, including Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis, as well as thousands of indictments at the state level, no one in the Civil War hanged for waging war against the United States. The reason why involves a strange, twisting story that begins with the fears that secession would be proven constitutional and that ends in a fresh appreciation for how the framers crafted the Fourteenth Amendment to punish the Rebels.

This course shares the dramatic and emotional stories of a dozen of the most cherished sacred places in America. These iconic places of worship represent different faiths, different histories, and a range of architectural splendor. Sites include: Old Ship Meeting House in Massachusetts, San Xavier del Bac (“The White Dove of the Desert”) in Tucson, Trinity Church in New York, Beth Sholom Synagogue in Pennsylvania, New Horizon Sanctuary in Atlanta, the Mormon Temple in Utah, the First Baptist Church in Providence, the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, the Cadet Chapel at West Point, and others. Some structures were designed by well-known architects H.H. Richardson, Richard Upton, and Frank Lloyd Wright and feature stained glass windows by masters such as John LaFarge. Video clips from the PBS documentary America’s Houses of Worship will be used to show the history and grandeur of each sacred site.

This course is hosted by OLLI at Colorado State University (CSU). Participants will be "in course" via Zoom with members of OLLI at CSU.

Most people grew up trusting photographs and video as reliable evidence—if you saw it, it happened. Advances in artificial intelligence have changed that expectation, and platforms designed for rapid sharing make manipulated media difficult to contain once it spreads. This course explores how digital platforms accelerate the spread of synthetic media, how deepfakes and other AI-generated images and videos are created, and the visual and contextual clues that can help identify them. By the end of the session, participants will be able to use reverse image search tools, trace images and videos to their original sources, recognize common signs of AI-generated media, and apply a consistent set of questions before trusting visual information encountered online. No technical background is required.

The Marshall Plan, named after Secretary of State and former Army Chief of Staff George Marshall, was largely responsible for rebuilding war-ravaged Europe after World War II. This course will discuss the details of the plan and its impact on Europe as the world edged into the Cold War.

John Brown’s ill-fated 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry sent a handful of surviving raiders escaping northward along Underground Railroad pathways long traveled by Black freedom-seekers. This illustrated course follows Brown’s son Owen and his companions as they elude capture by scrambling “like hunted beasts” through the wilds of south-central Pennsylvania into Juniata, Huntingdon, and Centre Counties, hoping to reach Bellefonte and find refuge there among “our friends [the] Quakers, being great antislavery people.” Built around Owen Brown’s vivid reminiscences—including his accounts of stealthy visits to Quaker farms in the Kishacoquillas and Halfmoon Valleys—the course draws on historic maps, photographs, illustrations, and other firsthand testimony to recreate the turbulent cultural and geographic landscape of central Pennsylvania and particularly Centre County in the build-up to the Civil War.

This course will explore the reasons and science behind gluten-free diets and address common internet myths and misconceptions surrounding gluten and gluten-free eating.

This course is offered in partnership with the Penn State Emeritus Academy as part of Explorations: The Penn State Emeritus Academy Lecture Series.

Architects are tasked with designing spaces to accommodate people and the things they do within buildings. There are, however, buildings that benefit from containing spaces no one ever occupies. The Recreation Building, “Rec Hall,” on the University Park campus is such a building, and this helps to explain why it is so popular as a place to watch Penn State’s athletes compete.

The European hunger for spices coupled with the closure of land routes in the 15th century drove countries to dangerous oceanic voyages. This course tells the story of the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailing for the Spanish Crown on the incredible first circumnavigation of the globe.

Nearly 200 years after they were written, the works of Charles Dickens continue to attract the interest of movie makers, authors, political pundits, cartoonists, and artists, particularly around Christmas time. To discover why Dickens still speaks to us, participants will read and discuss A Christmas Carol and explore its continued relevance in US popular culture. Participants may purchase or borrow any version of the book in whatever format best suits them. No other book is required, but the instructor recommends The Man Who Invented Christmas to those who want to learn more.