Monday Courses   

The art world may appear glamorous, but deception often lies beneath the surface. 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? What can science tell us about art authenticity? We will uncover riveting stories of criminal art activity and master forgeries.

This Osher Online course, offered through the Osher National Resource Center, lets you learn with fellow lifelong learners nationwide, guided by a world-class expert. OSHER ONLINE COURSES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE.

This course explores a series of imagined future societies and what they can teach us about the world we live in today. Through structured discussions, participants will examine several thought-provoking models, including Rationalia (inspired by Neil deGrasse Tyson), Symphonia (a society based on cooperation rather than competition), Aethel (a world without money), Equinox (a world without politics), Aura (a world without either politics or money), and Autonomized State (a society without formal social systems).

The discussions are organized around historian Yuval Noah Harari's idea that human societies are built on three shared systems: belief systems, political systems, and economic systems. Together, we will consider how changing these foundations might reshape human life.

This course will cover the great Austro-Bohemian composer-conductor Gustav Mahler's childhood, when his musical gifts emerged, and will end with his appointment as Music Director of the Vienna Opera.

We will:

Learn how his narcissism, grandiosity, authoritarian tendencies, compulsive perfectionism, and musical genius allowed him to persevere and succeed, despite facing many obstacles, personal losses, and tragic love affairs.

Cover his time at the Vienna Conservatory, his truancy, the effect of his traits upon friendships, and the major influence of Richard Wagner upon him, as well as his rise from modest positions to prominent ones following graduation at nineteen.

Learn the details of his radically innovative conducting techniques and how they were both applauded and reviled by musicians subjected to his maniacal rehearsals.

Learn how his doomed romantic entanglements stimulated his composing.

Throughout the course, we will listen to musical excerpts illustrating how thoroughly autobiographical his music was.

Reading materials will be sent to participants.

Blake Edwards — the name brings up memories of famous comedies, but he is also known for Academy Award–nominated dramas. We start with his only pairing with Cary Grant in a WWII comedy. We move on to a crime drama and then two Hollywood greats: Breakfast at Tiffany's and Days of Wine and Roses. We then have Edwards's breakout movie, The Pink Panther, followed by other great Edwards comedies about an around-the-world car race, a composer obsessed with a beautiful woman, and finally a musical comedy about a female impersonator (or is she?). Again, we will have a short discussion before and after each movie to discuss the stars, the plot, and why the movie was successful. Due to the length of the movies, the class will start at 12:30 p.m. except week 6, which will start at 12:20 p.m.

Classical music goes back several centuries. During the modern era, however, there was a dichotomy in which many classical composers launched into contemporary styles — also known as abstract or atonal music — while others developed skills in writing movie scores. Many European classical composers, such as Max Steiner, Maurice Jarre, Miklós Rózsa, and Franz Waxman, made the move to California and created what is now recognized as the traditional film score. Filmmakers immediately saw the value of having these scores accompany the action and dialogue. The focus here is on dramatic film music and the various terms and styles that have developed. You will learn about many famous composers and the film scores they are known for. Please note that this does not include scores created for Hollywood musicals, which I have covered in several previous courses.

Across cultures and throughout history, mountains have held powerful symbolic meaning. In this course, we will explore how the Buddhists of the Himalayas, the Inca of the Andes, the Inuit of the far north, and European Romantics understood and approached these landscapes. Through an interdisciplinary lens, we will examine the beliefs, traditions, and mythologies inspired by the world’s mountains, using illustrated lectures, short readings, and discussion to deepen our connection to these high and wild places.

This Osher Online course, offered through the Osher National Resource Center, lets you learn with fellow lifelong learners nationwide, guided by a world-class expert. OSHER ONLINE COURSES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE.

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.

This Osher Online course, offered through the Osher National Resource Center, lets you learn with fellow lifelong learners nationwide, guided by a world-class expert. OSHER ONLINE COURSES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE.

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 Osher Online course, offered through the Osher National Resource Center, lets you learn with fellow lifelong learners nationwide, guided by a world-class expert. OSHER ONLINE COURSES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE.