Jefferson Unitarian Church, Golden   

Russia has thrust itself into the international limelight by its war against Ukraine. Russian motives for this war and much of the predictable future arose in Russia's past. Vladimir Putin in many ways is a traditional Russian leader although his political environment is different from the Tsars and the Soviets. But his management and government style have roots in the past. This course seeks to look in a very brief manner at the roots of the forces that drive Russian international policy. In addition, it will seek to clarify both Russian mythology about the past as well as to clarify Putin's effort to reestablish the empire. The class will undertake an eight-week survey of the general outlines of Russian history that have led us to the current situation and try to look forward to future Russian behavior.

This course leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to explore America's most contentious issues with balance and nuance. Participants will learn how to use AI as an effective "fact averager" that can reveal underlying truths behind persistent social conflicts and identify biases in our opinions.

We’ll cover getting started with a large language model, so that class members can employ it at home to prepare weekly analyses of controversial topics. Each week we’ll share findings and seek common understanding. AI-generated summaries often reveal surprising areas of potential agreement between seemingly irreconcilable viewpoints.

As an experiment in machine-assisted conflict resolution, this course welcomes participants who have strong opinions. All we need are people who are curious, willing to do a little homework, and who are happy to consider topics from diverse viewpoints.

As we will discuss during Session 1, participants will benefit most by subscribing by Session 2 to the AI services Perplexity Pro and Claude Pro, each $20/month.  Free versions of these and other AI services are available for those who need to economize.

Join former professional dancers Joy and Jeffrey Engel for a captivating journey through the history of ballet. Drawing from their wealth of experience, the Engels will guide participants through an engaging exploration of ballet's evolution, enriched by captivating videos and dynamic discussions.

We will start in the 15th century, examining ballet's origins in the royal courts of Italy and France. Our journey will then take us to the early 19th century, a transformative period known as the Romantic era, featuring iconic productions like *Giselle* and *La Sylphide*.

As we progress, we’ll delve into the hallmark ballets of the classical era, including beloved masterpieces such as *The Nutcracker*, *Swan Lake*, and *Sleeping Beauty*. In later classes, we will analyze the evolution of ballet styles, tracing the shift from Romantic and classical forms to the neoclassical influences and the contemporary dance styles that shape the art today. Join us to deepen your understanding and appreciation of this timeless dance form!

New and engaging topics are continually emerging as our world is constantly in flux; economics, politics, environment, gender, and racial divides, wars and aggressions, health care issues, etc.

The class time is divided into two sections each week.

During the first section, we will discuss current events suggested by class members. In addition, participants will receive two or three emailed articles per week in advance of class, drawing from sources like the New York Times, Washington Post, The Economist, National Public Radio, Wall Street Journal, etc. We will discuss one or more of these articles in the second section of the class.

The objective of the course is an informative, engaging sharing of ideas, life experiences, and viewpoints in a civil and safe dialogue. Please bring an open mind, tolerance of differences, your best manners of discourse, and a sense of humor.

In the vibrant tapestry of Colorado's history, few threads are as significant as the early railroads that forged connections and propelled the region's transformation from a mere territory into a thriving state. In the 1860s, it was said that “Colorado without railroads is comparatively worthless.” Railroads would play a pivotal role in shaping Colorado's economy, culture, and communities. During this course, we will learn about the visionary efforts of individuals, technology, and politics that made railroads in Colorado a reality.

Much of the popular art of our day is rooted in the fundamental innovations of five turn of the 19th century artists - Monet, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Picasso & Matisse. In this course, we'll dive in and take a look at some of the unique techniques they employed in color and composition. Using basic materials, such as crayons, colored pencils and a beginner's watercolor set, we'll experience a bit of the magic these five greats sensed, saw and articulated. Class time will be a combination of lecture, dialogue and hands on play.

Supply List will be emailed to those who register

At first blush Shakespeare’s famous line, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers” seemed to disparage lawyers. But, in the context of the Henry VI play, it was a satirical remark uttered as a testament to lawyers to underscore their importance in upholding the rule of law and maintaining societal order.

Now, more than 425 years later, the Oval Office is determined to kill all the lawyers who aim to preserve justice and thwart the current tsunami of chaos and office holder’s quest for anointment. Scores of dedicated and honorable judges are an integral part of this mission.

This course will address the numerous actions the Oval Office (47) has taken to arguably throw America’s social order into disarray. There is little resistance from Congress to this movement.

However, opponents from various segments of society view the actions as antithetical to guarantees in the US Constitution, Congressional law and society’s mores. In support of this quest for societal order, dedicated lawyers and judges have fought for the adherence to justice, the rule of law and protections in our Constitution.

This course is designed to address the competing interests between the oval office and his opponents through the below-classes with the caveat that modifications of any one or more of them could be dictated by current events:

The first thing high school kids want to know when they’re taking a foreign language is: What are the dirty words? “Language evolves with time, and so does what we consider profane or unspeakable,” says the author of our text. We will be looking at perhaps the nine most offensive words in the English language; the evolution of obscenities, curses, cussing, slurs, why we use them and how they become blasphemous. We will be examining the historical, sociological, political, religious and linguistic effects that create changes in the meaning of these words. Note: If you feel like you will be uncomfortable saying these words aloud in class, this is probably not the course for you.

Required: Nine Nasty Words by John McWhorter, Avery - an imprint of Penguin Random House, New York 2021 Random

Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's influential and best-selling book "Abundance offers a provocative vision of "supply-side progressivism," focusing on how the progressive agenda created a government that has forgotten how to build solutions rather than merely redistribute money. We'll explore how these authors challenge fellow liberals by arguing that scarcity in housing, energy, and infrastructure results from political choices, not inevitabilities. We’ll consider the proposals offered by the bipartisan "Abundance Caucus" in Congress, which the book inspired, and debate America's priorities.

In the spirit of doing things in a new way, this discussion seminar will encourage participants to use AI to research background material and vet their opinions. We will include a brief introduction to chatbots that can search the Web for references. We’ll use these tools to critically examine whether streamlining government processes alone can achieve true abundance while also exploring the tension between the authors’ vision and concerns over environmental sustainability, economic inequality, and power concentration.

This course invites you to engage with one of today's most discussed political frameworks, using civilization’s latest knowledge tools, to develop your own perspective on how society might best create "enough of what we need."

 Participants will benefit most by purchasing a Kindle version of the book, so they can process it with AI, and  subscribing by Session 2 to the AI services Perplexity Pro and Claude Pro, each $20/month.  (Free versions of these and other AI services are available for those who need to economize.)  

Seven Colorado Authors League writers will be sharing their unique paths to becoming published in this fascinating speakers series. Learn about their books, their techniques, their successes and their failures. Genres include science fiction, historic fiction, historic non-fiction, poetry, memoir and mystery. There will be ample time for Q&A and an optional writing exercise. See Author information in Jack's bio.

This course will explore the musical genre that became known as The Blues, including the musical, historical, sociological, and economic factors that contributed to its origins and evolution. Some of these factors and events include the advent of slavery, Jim Crow laws and practices, the development of recordings and the record industry, the emergence of radio, television and, later, the internet. The course will introduce many of the progenitors of The Blues, as well as the musicians and others who influenced its growth. The class will provide the opportunity to hear and view a significant amount of music, in both audio and video formats. Over two semesters, the class will meet and listen to a wide range of performers, all of whom played or sang The Blues, or whose music was influenced by it. As the course progresses, we will focus on the evolution of The Blues itself and its transformation into the musical genres that became "branches" of The Blues, i.e. jazz, country music, rock 'n' roll, American folk music, rhythm and blues and "popular music."

This class will shine the spotlight on the wind instruments in the context of classical music – the flute, clarinet, oboe, English horn, bassoon and French horn. Highly accomplished musicians will visit with their instruments, talk about their musical journeys and play for us. Along the way, we will explore the history of these instruments, the composers they inspired, and the ways our musical world combines them to delight audiences. We will learn a bit about how they are built, how they work, and why they have become such mainstays in the world of concerts. The musicians plan to perform a wind quintet for us during the final session.

Water availability and climate-change issues continue to confront stakeholders and decision makers both in the U.S. and globally. This course is divided into two separate (4-week) segments, each giving selected examples that address these topics: (1) the continuing drought in the southwestern U.S.; and (2) global water and climate-change frameworks and regulatory policies. In the first four sessions, pending and recent OLLI presentations will be updated and enhanced to examine the impacts of water and climate change on major water-resource components, including rivers, aquifers, and lakes. In the final four sessions, regional and global perspectives encompassing these issues will be presented for general discussion, including updates on the EU’s water framework directive and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

What is the ionosphere? Will solar flares hit us? What are CMEs? What does an X flare mean? How will it affect us? Why do we have auroras? What is a geomagnetic storm? Will an asteroid hit us? Will the magnetic field change poles? What is a light year? What is gravitational lensing?

These are some of the questions we all have, and they will be answered in this class. We’ll explore the building of the ISS (International Space Station), and what it’s like to live in space. How many satellites do we have, and what are they doing? What will the Artemis program accomplish? And should we go to Mars? We’ll also delve into what is beyond our solar system, and discuss SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence).