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Explore Piedmont Trees and Digital Photography in OLLI's Spring Courses

It's sign-up season for a community of learners

One OLLI course will send students across campus to learn more about Piedmont trees. Photo by Duke University Photography
One OLLI course will send students across campus to learn more about Piedmont trees. Photo by Duke University Photography

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Duke will offer more than 80 six-session courses during the spring semester beginning on April 15 at locations across Durham. Registration begins March 29.

For a $35 membership fee, adults can join campus life, registering for courses that touch on the decorative arts, digital photography or Durham history.

OLLI at Duke's spring offerings range from "American Dance Festival: Home of an Art Form" to "The Progressive Movement." For the full list of April-May courses, click here.

OLLI at Duke is part of a national network of more than 115 campus-based lifetime learning chapters. Volunteer instructors share their expertise and passions in courses spanning topics such as art, finance, film, health, politics, music, dance, history, technology, writing and more. There are no tests, papers or grades. The classroom environment is casual and relaxed.

Joanne Napoli, a volunteer group leader at Duke's International House for more than 10 years, leads a number of the university's international professionals for a new "Meet the World" -- weekly offerings focused on one country’s history, culture and contemporary issues, as seen from the point of view of a native-born representative. World cultures as varied as China, South Korea, Brazil, Italy and France will be represented. Napoli says she hopes the course will spark an appreciation for what unites humans as citizens of the world.

John Sehon, an amateur photographer for more than 50 years, will teach "Digital Camera Refresher," which will take participants to the spring-blooming Duke Gardens for inspiration and practice. This class will also include an overview of basic photo-editing software and ways to organize your photos.

Several presenters, from the Leland Little Auctions and Estate Gallery in Hillsborough, will bring the flavor of "Market Warriors" and "American Pickers" to a course about objects..

"A Cultural and Historical Perspective of Antiques & Decorative Arts as Viewed Through an Auction Gallery" will feature a series of lectures on mid-century and Southern furniture, evolution and design, artists and silver through the ages. The speakers are specialists in their fields.

Kathy Davis, a lifelong collector and the founder of Good Riddance, a business that helps clients organize and downsize, will serve as guide for "Selling and Buying Treasures on the Internet." She will tailor the course to participants' needs, while exploring how to get results with eBay, Craigslist, Etsy, Oodle and other venues.

"Geocaching 101" will introduce participants to a high-tech treasure hunting game that is played by more than 1.5 million people using Global Positioning System Receivers (GPSr). Bob Chernow, a retired techie from IBM, will cover the basics in initial classes and take students outside to experience this popular sport.

Billy Yeargin, president of Oak Ridge Military Academy and a 17-year veteran OLLI instructor, will explore the legacy of Washington Duke and his sons in "The Dukes of Durham" short course.

Durham naturalist and herbalist River Dave Owens returns with "Trees of the Duke Campus." Owens will take students through four wooded sections of the Duke campus not covered in the Spring 2012 course. Students will familiarize themselves with several dozen native Piedmont trees.

In addition to the classes, OLLI sponsors social events, guest speakers, short trips and a host of interest groups, ranging from two book clubs and a photography group to the New Horizons Band and Chorus.

For more information about OLLI course offerings, click here.