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Duke Osher Courses Dive Into Submarines, Science and Sex

A spring preview of what’s ahead for community of learners

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Former AP reporter Walter Mears teaches a class on election campaigns.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Duke will offer 99 courses during the spring semester beginning on April 18, including a class linked to 2016 presidential politics and the popular Scientific Excursions and Diversions Symposia featuring Duke faculty speakers. Registration opens on April 5.

OLLI at Duke's other spring offerings range from “Latin American Cinema,“ “How Nutrients Changed Civilization” and “Computer Security & Privacy 101.” For the full list of April-May courses, click here.

The Duke program is part of a national network of more than 119 campus-based Osher Lifelong Learning chapters. Volunteer instructors share their expertise and passions in courses in 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. 

Jim Kinney, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a retired captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve with 23 years’ service, will lead an examination of the current capabilities of the 40 nations that currently employ submarines as part of their national security forces. “The History of Submarines: From Item of Curiosity to Strategic Weapon” will tap the insights of guest speakers and news updates for a picture of the daily life of a submariner. Kinney served on two nuclear submarines and remains active in the submarine community.

Veteran national journalist Walter Mears will review the presidential election in his course, “Campaign 2016: A Reporter’s Perspective.” The Pulitzer Prize-winning former Associated Press political reporter will focus on the jockeying ahead of the July party conventions. Mears also offered the class during the winter term and talked to Duke Today about the re-emergence of some old political patterns.

Dr. Kenneth R. Haslam, a retired anesthesiologist turned senior sex educator, says the only prerequisites for his course, “Why Don’t We Talk About Sex,” are a curiosity about sex and a sense of humor. “Aging sexuality is not an oxymoron,” Haslam says in the course listing. “Sexuality persists throughout the lifespan, but seniors are commonly thought to be asexual.” He has posted suggested readings on the class website: http://ollisexualdiversity.weebly.com/.

Dr. Lois Oliver’s spring class, “Building Duke Chapel,” is perfectly timed so the last of six sessions will meet in the reopened chapel itself, “all restored and beautiful.” A retired pediatrician and former associate dean at Duke Medical School, Oliver is head docent at Duke Chapel and has given tours there for 15 years. She plans to emphasize the people who built the chapel and their artistry and skills.

“The Serious Business of Jewish Humor” is subtitled “It’s Not Just About Entertainment -- It’s About Four Thousand Years of Survival.” Jacqueline Marx, ordained by Hebrew Union College’s Jewish Institute of Religion, says she is teaching the course because music, Judaism and humor drive her spirit forward and because humor informs every aspect of what keeps us going in tough times.

This session’s Symposia includes programs on declining bee colonies, essential fitness, the eastern coyote’s fast adaption to urban environments, Duke mechanical engineering professor Adrian Bejan’s creation of the Constructal Law, and the behind-the-scenes demands of running Duke Regional Hospital with President Katie Galbraith.

The popular science discovery series wraps up on May 31 with Duke Medical Center physical therapy clinician and educator Katherine Shipp answering questions about good and bad posture. The long-running series is arranged and hosted at Croasdaile Village by OLLI members Harriet Sander and Anthony Waraksa. 

In “Tree Camp,” naturalist and herbalist Riverdave Owen will take Osher learners outdoors to study the nearly 100 species of native trees and shrubs found in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. During each two-hour class in the five-week session, students will walk one and a half miles through plant-rich parts of Duke Forest and New Hope Creek. 

Beth Hall, the plant collections manager at Duke Gardens, shares her fascination with the diverse plant world during her one-afternoon class, “Planting a Terrarium: Putting Green in Your Life,” offered on April 20. Participants will leave with a beautiful open glass terrarium.

Students with an interest in technology and education will be introduced to Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and other models of online learning in a new six-session class taught by Rochelle Newton, senior information technology manager at Duke University School of Law. Newton, who has more than 30 years of IT experience, says technology is becoming an integral part of education at every level. 

In addition to the classes, OLLI sponsors social events, guest speakers, short trips and a host of special interest groups, ranging from two book clubs and a photography group to the New Horizons Band and Chorus. OLLI at Duke serves more than 1,950 members in the Triangle.

For more information about OLLI at Duke course offerings, go to http://www.learnmore.duke.edu/olli/.