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Terms like complexes, the shadow, introvert, extravert, archetypes, and the collective unconscious have seeped into common usage. While some may be aware that they originally emerged from the work of the Swiss psychiatrist C.G. Jung (1875-1961), many people do not understand fully the ways in which these concepts were developed within the comprehensive psychological theory that Jung constructed and which continues to have resonance today.

In this course, we will explore core Jungian ideas and their utility in our individual lives and our contemporary world.

We will also delve into dreams and their meaning from a Jungian perspective and explore how one can work with them, whether they are nightmares, or outlandish, or profound or silly. There are no required readings and no required preparation. During the course, the instructor will suggest further resources for those who are interested. We will have fun.

This is Part Three of a four-course ensemble extending over four academic periods starting Fall 2024 and concluding Winter 2026 focusing on issues of inequality and their relationship to capitalism. The primary text, Thomas Piketty's Capital and Ideology, is divided into four parts of roughly 200-250 pages each. The course will generally follow the chapter structure with additional readings to augment and critique Piketty's arguments.

The Fall 2025 course will focus on the transition from the 19th Century “Ownership Society” to 21st Century “Hyper-Capitalism with particular focus on the changing narratives of inequality and equality (chapters ten through thirteen). The text anchors the intellectual and economic history while providing the context for our examination of the underlying philosophical premises and arguments of the period. In particular, we will assess Piketty’s ongoing critique of capitalism, liberalism and illiberalism and the policies and institutional arrangements that might flow from these critiques.

If you've ever said, “Why doesn’t my photo look like that?”—this course is for you. Composition and the Art of Chasing Light is a hands-on, six-week workshop for smartphone shooters and digital camera fans alike. Each week, we’ll spend an hour in the classroom learning the visual tricks of the trade—like symmetry, perspective, and framing—then head outside, after the first in-class hour, to the beautiful DU campus to put it all into practice. The last two weeks of the workshop will shift focus to mastering natural light: golden glow, moody shadows, and how to chase the sun. You’ll leave with sharper eyes, better shots, and a new appreciation for how light and structure shape your photos. Warning: You may never see a sidewalk crack or late afternoon sunbeam the same way again. Oh, and you'll finally understand why photographers are always squinting into the sun!

This course will address contemporary political, economic, social and cultural issues that are topical at the time the course is offered. It is anticipated that international, national and local issues will be discussed. Generally, each class will address two of these issues per week, with the class participants being heavily involved in the selection of issues. Participants should expect @ 20-25 minutes of reading(s) prior to each class on the topics for that week. Likely subjects are: K-12 education, college education, Colorado’s state budget, local and state elections, global warming, trade and tariffs, artificial intelligence, housing policy, technology, healthcare, US Supreme Court decisions, and others.

For nearly three hundred years, audiences have gathered all around the world to hear Handel’s brilliant oratorio, Messiah. In this class you will discover how Handel brought his masterpiece to life, and you’ll learn much about the composer himself along the way. We’ll take a close look at the musical devices and tricks that Handel and his soloists used to make this such a fascinating and brilliant work. We’ll examine some myths, misunderstandings, at least one scandal, and even some recent controversy raised about this much-loved piece. And finally, we will follow the journey that Messiah has taken for nearly three hundred years since that first performance in Dublin, the many versions, reworkings, and traditions that the work has engendered. What would Handel think of “Too Hot to Handel,” the "stompin' clappin'" jazz-gospel version of Messiah that Marin Alsop brought to the world in 1993? It's all here!

The new book When We Walk By written by the facilitator, Don Burnes PhD, will be the center of this course. Each of the eight classes will discuss one or two of the chapters. We will explore in depth the ways we dehumanize those experiencing homelessness, the ways in which each of the relevant systems fail to meet the needs of the unhoused and the potential solutions that address our forgotten humanity and the broken systems.

Have you ever wondered what “Fracking” is, and why it is controversial? How is a horizontal well drilled with a rig that only moves pipe vertically? How does a directional driller control and measure the placement of the wellbore? Who are the team members involved in planning and executing an oil well, and how long does it take? What are the economics of drilling and producing oil, and why is gasoline so expensive? We will cover these questions and more, with examples of what can go wrong. The BP Deepwater Horizon Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico in 2011 and other incidents will be used to illustrate the drilling process, loss of well control, and intercept and plugging of oil and gas wells.

Whether you are discovering OLLI at DU for the first time, or have taken several OLLI classes, if you’ve ever wondered, “Would I or could I ever facilitate an OLLI class?”, this course is for you! During our time together you will have an opportunity to: explore possible topics you might want to teach, investigate developmental characteristics of life-long learners, consider how to facilitate classes for life-long learners, develop skills in managing productive, inclusive classroom participation, discover current, research-based resources to enhance your topic, and build your understanding of the course proposal process. Also, classroom experiences with seasoned facilitators, peer critique of proposals, and optional class presentations will provide you with the confidence and expertise to begin your journey to a rewarding and renewing facilitation experience.

This course is offered free of charge.

This class seeks to answer the question of role reversal:

In the Old Europe, Mesopotamia, and Canaan areas during Neolithic (10,000 - 3500 BCE) times, women were of greater value and respected as creators of life. The people’s worship reflected this with the Goddess who was creator of all life and the cosmos. By 1000 BCE the tables had turned, and men were of greater value. The male God became creator of all life and the cosmos.

We will explore both worlds to discover how and why this reversal of roles happened. We will look at how women became subordinate as the new God became fixed and more powerful and how this continued through the centuries and what it meant to a woman’s conscious development as a person.

 

Mrs. Dalloway (1925), recounts one June day in the life of a wealthy London woman. As she makes preparations for her party, Clarissa’s memories and reflections intersect with her actions and with the plight of a WWI soldier. Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), an innovative novelist, used “stream of consciousness” as a way to access the inner life of her characters and to consider the social changes of the 1920s.

Woolf and her sister, Vanessa Bell, an artist, gathered around them a group of friends in the north London neighborhood of Bloomsbury. This group included some of the great intellectuals of the early 20th century, including John Maynard Keynes, Duncan Grant, T.S. Eliot, Leonard Woolf, E.M. Forster, and Lytton Strachey. Their philosophy valued knowledge, freedom, progress, and beauty, as they broke from the values and restrictions of their Victorian childhoods.

Join us as we read Mrs. Dalloway and explore Bloomsbury!

Required text: Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf, Penguin Classics, ISBN 978-0-241-37194-7, or equivalent.

 

Wine 101 – Swirl, sniff, sip, and spit. What does all that mean to you? What is the difference between a sommelier and a master sommelier? What wine goes with what food? Why does soil matter? Does location mean a lot in wine? Some countries name wine after the grape, some after the region, and some are proprietary names. How do you differentiate, and is this information on the label? These are all questions you have probably asked yourself or others. Wine can be magical and mysterious. Each week, we will explore wines from around the world. They might be one country or one grape. It could be one region or one vineyard.

This class is scheduled to start at 1:30pm and conclude at 3:30pm to allow participants to have lunch before arriving for the class. Small snacks will be available during each session.

Join us for the fun! A $100 fee will be added for wine samples when registering for the course.

“The War to End All Wars” promised the world leaders. What really happened? How could an assassination in a third world country propel all the world powers into a global conflict? How did imperial leadership give rise to the escalation? The war brought the end to four great royal houses and the rise of communism and fascism that led to another world war in just 20 years. Join us as we look at what was supposed to be a small punitive action that went wrong. What part did mutual support agreements play into conflict getting out of control? In this course we will cover the first three years of the war. We have great battles that have faded into the past such as Gallipoli, Verdun, the Somme, and others. We will end the class with the little discussed Mutiny in the French Army. Part 2 follows in the Winter Quarter.