Using Western Movies: John Wayne & Other Stars, members of the Academy for Lifelong Learning of Cape Cod, Inc. studied the development of fight scenes and explored the development of color techniques. They also examined the development of the western theme and two questions were asked abut the movies they viewed – What is the theme of the movie and what impact did that theme have on the audience?

Members of the Baylor ILR in Texas recently took another look at World War I Background, Events and Consequences. The course delved into the reasons behind the war, the major events that took place and how the war itself shaped the modern world.

The Berkshire Institute for Lifetime Learning in Western Massachusetts offered members a chance to study the novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” this spring. In a close analysis of this classic novel, participants will examine the use of magic, issues of social conflict, American imperialism humor and family life.

The Community Academy for Lifelong Learning (CALL) in State College, PA is offering its members a chance to study A Medieval and a Modern “Witty Couple.” The course will focus on style and vision in early and mature Shakespearean comedies.

This past winter, the Chemeketa Center for Learning in Retirement in Oregon offered its members a change to try their hand at Journaling. Over six weeks participants took a new look at this form of writing.

Members of the Drury Institute for Mature Learners studied Venezuela this past winter. A faculty member from the University spoke about her research in that country which deals with Venezuelan literature and how women writers in Venezuela use literature to enter into political and social dialogue.

Members of the ILR at Bergen Community College in New Jersey can’t get enough of The Short Stories of deMaupassant. Part III of this very popular course is being given this spring.

The ILR at Bluffton University in Ohio offered members a class this winter entitled Mister (and Now Madam) Speaker. Members looked at the duties of the Speaker of the House, why he/she is so powerful and then took a look at some of the more famous of past speakers.

Members of the Institute for Retirees in Pursuit of Education (IRPE) at Brooklyn College in New York will be studying American Constitutional History this spring. This course traces the development of the Constitution from 1787 to the present. Emphasis will be placed on the interpretations of the charter by the Supreme Court with special attention to John Marshall, Earl Warren and the changes of the Burger, Rehnquist and Roberts courts.

Traveler’s Tales is a series for four programs for members of the Learning in Retirement program at Quinebaug Valley Community College in Connecticut. They took a nostalgic journey through Old England, went around the world in 80 slides, and covered Australia and New Zealand.

Members of the Lifelong Learning program at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina enjoyed a lecture by Walter Edgar, George Washington Distinguished Professor of History at the University of South Carolina. He gave a talk titled “South Carolina and the Global Economy: A Long and Rich History” This event was free. Edgar is the author of “South Carolina: A History,” “Partisans and Redcoats,” “South Carolina in the Modern Age” and editor of the new “South Carolina Encyclopedia.” In addition to his scholarship and teaching, Edgar serves as the director of the Institute for Southern Studies. He was founder and first director of USC’s acclaimed public history program.

The Lifelong Learning Institute, Inc. at Edison College in Punta Gorda, Florida offered their members a chance to study Cuba After Castro. The class examined the cultural values, critical events and significant personalities who have influenced the present-day Cuban consciousness and looked ahead to a Cuba after Castro.

Members of the Lifelong Learning program on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina were treated to an unusual course this past winter. Turning Harley-Davidson Around, a case study in four sessions, used the Harley-Davidson turnaround to illustrate how radical concepts of factory management, communications and worker participation were able to save an American icon from bankruptcy. The course was presented by an organizational psychologist who served as a Harley-Davidson advisor, coach and external resource for 15 years, along with the retired CEO of Harley-Davidson.

Members of the Lifetime Learning Institute at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale recently took a course entitled History in Your Hand: Collecting, Buying, Caring for and Disposing of Autographed Letters, Photographs, Documents, Books, Etc. This course was designed for persons who have an interest in collecting historic autographed documents, etc. or for those interested in disposing of them.

Members of the L.I.F.E. Program at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, New York will be viewing Trail of Tears: Cherokee Legacy this spring. They will view and discuss this video, produced in partnership with the Cherokee Nation and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina. It chronicles events leading up to the forced removal of the Cherokee people in 1838 from their southeast homelands to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. It is presented in the Cherokee language with English subtitles by Cherokee actor Wes Studi, known for his lead role in the film “Geronimo,” as well as roles in “Last of the Mohicans” and “Dances With Wolves.” The narrator is actor James Earl Jones.

Members of the Learning in Retirement program at Sacred Heart University in Stamford, CT studied A Dozen Most Significant Jews of Poland. The leader had a list of over 200 biographies on prominent Jews who once lived in Poland. He selected 12 to discuss, based on the importance of their contributions and the diversity of their fields, including Ba’at Shem Tov, who created the Hasidic Movement, Julian Tuwin, a poet and writer, Arthur Szyck, renowned painter and founder of a political movement and Roman Polanski, the filmmaker.

Members of the McGill Institute for Learning in Retirement in Montreal will be studying Civilization: Is There a Problem? Civilization is widely perceived as humanity’s highest accomplishment. Yet there are voices who say that by its very nature, it profits a few but brings misery to many, and that, ultimately, it will destroy its creators, together with many other lives. Participants will discuss these issues, with guidance from writers like Sigmund Freud, Daniel Quinn, Lewis Mumford, James Burke and Robert Ornstein.

The Middlesex Institute for Lifelong Education in Connecticut offered members the opportunity to learn about Birding Babylon and a Soldier’s Experience of Nature in Iraq. This program was based on the presenter’s observations made while on duty in Iraq during 2004-2005. The lecture included various ecological zones, the importance of the Mesopotamian Marshes to migratory birds and the emerging Iraqi environmental movement.

Members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks will be studying Film: Great Directors Series this spring. Session I will look at the films of John Ford, while Session II will review the films of Robert Altman.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston is offering members a course this spring entitled The Indigenous People of Australia: The History, Culture and Social Issues of the Real People. Participants will discover The Real People of Australia (the indigenous term for themselves.) During this six-week program they will come to see the Real People as they are. They will learn through film music, art, history and their spirituality. Active participation will b fostered through open discussion, reading and questioning, as well as written creative exercises such as responding to the Indigenous voices and their poetry with their own voices and poetry.

OLLI members at the University of Alabama Huntsville took an Industrial Tour recently. They toured the Huntsville Waste Energy Facility, one of the newest state-of-the-arts plants in the country. They were able to see garbage being turned into steam and the steam used for heating and cooling buildings.

Members of the OLLI program at the University of Pittsburgh recently studied Authors of the Reformed Faith: Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and Knox. They looked at the lives, thinking and mutual interaction of these four men, noting how their ideas impact our lives four and a half centuries later.

Members of QUEST: A Community for Lifelong Learning in New York City will be studying the Development of Scientific Thought this spring. This course will emphasize the history and philosophy of science, including all fields of the subject and all time periods. It will present the people behind key advances in each field, how their ideas evolved, the major controversies, and the impact of scientific advances on general thought.