What does Chicago's World Columbian Exposition of 1893, the famous 'White City,' have to do with the story of one of America's first serial killers? Mr. Dincher will use Erik Larson's, The Devil in the White City to make some provocative links. In the process he will explore the enormous gap between rich and poor in Gilded Age Chicago, chart the drive for social reform then brewing, describe the possible psychological world of that earlier-day killer, and show how Frederick Law Olmstead's ideas about landscape architecture became a force for social engineering. Join us for an exciting plunge into the Windy City's colorful past.

What makes a poem appealing? Our immediate 'Wow, Ugh, or Ho-Hum' reaction to a poem should not be dismissed, but neither should it be the final judgment. Can we learn to balance between those first impressions and a more reflective assessment of a poem's merits? Join us as we try to articulate the qualities that do or do not appeal to us. Using the 'touchstone' method of comparison between poems on similar subjects, Dr. Markos will provide background on changing literary tastes, theories, and evaluative criticism from different periods. A special bonus from the effort: we will become closer readers of poetry!

Famous and ageless prompts used as guides can help us to discover ourselves and to write in our own voices. Explore quotes from Mary Oliver, Li Young Lee, as well as echoes from the Bible, as we continue our journey to develop and express our ideas in a welcoming, supportive setting. We will probe the deeper meanings the quotes have for us and then move on to writing and discussing our own works. No pre-knowledge or writing experience is required.

From its construction in 1942 as an Army Air Force base until today, Buchanan Field Airport has been a colorful and vibrant part of Contra Costa County history. Join us to learn more about this vital facility and to participate in a lecture and tour beginning at the airport's terminal building. You will be treated to a behind-the-scenes look at how Buchanan operates to serve local, state, and federal transportation needs

Join us to meet and hear local poets, prose-poem writers, and authors who cast short fiction in free verse. They all demonstrate that poetry need not be difficult or arcane. Their backgrounds vary: retired Forest Service civil engineer to a grandmother doing Chinese Studies. All will share their work and some thoughts about what inspired them to "take up the pen." As mentor, Ms. Starkman will introduce us to the authors of "Morning Star" and "Ancient Wisdom," poems with roots in our own neighborhoods and experiences. Don't miss this rich sample of local creativity.

Ms. DeLalla will lead us on a hike to Green Ranch, now a part of Mt. Diablo State Park. Blue-gray gnatcatchers will serenade us. Majestic live oaks will give shade. Ithuriel's Spear, Mariposa Lily, and Mt. Diablo Fairy Lantern should be visible along with a diversity of other wildflowers after our wet winter. Explore and appreciate the open space that graces the East Bay - to the benefit of our health and property values! Bring binoculars, hand lens, sunscreen, water, and a picnic lunch. Excellent photo opportunities. Parking fee. Water, restrooms, and tables at trailhead.

Explore the historical contexts, rich legacies, and complex similarities among myths and religious notions about the afterlife. What ideas did ancient religions hold about this timeless subject, and to what degree do modern, western societies share in these beliefs? Ms. Price will explore the wisdom of the famous Tibetan and Egyptian "books of the dead" and compare aspects of Greco-Roman thought about the afterlife to those present in Native American cultures. She will also examine visions of the afterlife suggested in Biblical traditions. It's a daunting subject, not to be missed.

Join Dr. Tallarico to view excerpts from world-class performances of great operas and for discussions of how composers went about creating these masterpieces. You will see and hear parts of La Traviata, Aida, Cavaleria Rusticana, Carmen, La Boheme, and the thoroughly modern Porgy and Bess, with each session devoted to two operas. Discover the brilliant blending of music and message the operas offer and enjoy transporting performances from Domingo, Milo, Sills, Barbieri, and many others. Bring your opera glasses!

Must poetry be difficult or arcane? Not at all. Join Ms. Starkman as she uses contemporary poets, prose-poem writers, and authors who cast short fiction in free verse to make the point. Whatever else it is, poetry is music in words, and that's what these varied forms prove. Under Ms. Starkman's direction, you will also seek your own poetic voice, writing both prose and poetry, in class and out. No pre-knowledge or writing experience is required. Learn to develop and express your own ideas in the welcoming setting this course provides.

Albert Einstein and Neils Bohr made fundamental contributions to the early development of quantum physics and then fell into sharp disagreement about proper interpretation of what they had done so much to create. Professor McKinnon will explore this historic debate and the consequences of it for physicists, philosophers, and-not least-ourselves. Don't miss this guided tour of one of modern science's greatest controversies and a chance to catch up on where physics stands today in trying to reconcile relativity and quantum mechanics. It's an opportunity to think about our deepest insights, so far, into the nature of time, space, and physical reality.

During the last millennium, the Dutch have battled flooding with their world-famous wind mills and state-of-the-art engineering works. Now global warming and rising sea levels threaten, and a majority of Dutch citizens still live in areas below sea level. Join Ms. Mertens as she describes the innovative Dutch water management policies that a new era of climate change and rising sea levels demand. Can they prevent future "Katrina"-like disasters? Can other nations learn from the Dutch? Whatever your views on climate change, these are questions worth pondering.

Join Judge and Mrs. Brott in tracing the ancient roots of Bulgaria's Jewish population from the time of the Roman and Ottoman Empires to the controversial story of how fifty thousand of them escaped the web of Nazi anti-Semitism and the Holocaust during World War II. Despite harsh lives under Bulgaria's fascist, pro-Hitler government and the bitter hardships, confiscations, and deportations of the war years, the fate of Bulgaria's 50,000 Jews stands in stark contrast to that of so many millions of others. What made their salvation possible? The answer is a complex, cautionary tale worth hearing.

Ben Franklin was guided by 'public religion' - belief in a God who invests human beings with inalienable rights and a nation that protects religion from government interference. Did the other Founding Fathers agree? What were their religious values, and why should we ask? Using John Meacham's American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation, Mr. Dincher will explore the ideals that separated our revolutionary generation from the Old World. And, he will tackle a question still open today: Would these ideals create virtuous citizens ready to cherish and defend not only faith but reason and freedom as well?

Ship out with OLLI friends and colleagues on Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Floating White House," the U.S.S. Potomac. Discover the role this vessel played in American history and how it became a National Historic Landmark. This historical adventure will begin with a physical and video orientation to the ship followed by a two-hour, docent-narrated cruise on San Francisco Bay. Our narrator will, among other things, remind us of the impact of Roosevelt's New Deal on the Bay and on many surrounding landmarks. Don't miss this dramatic and informative journey into the past! (*space strictly limited)

Ironies abound in our relations with Afghanistan. We now fight there in a conflict set off when terrorists attacked the United States. But we often forget our support for the anti-Soviet revolution in Afghanistan that produced Osama bin Laden and his al-Queda network, the agents behind the terrorist attack. Join Dr. Younos as he explores this irony and untangles the complex relationship between the United States and Afghanistan in recent decades. Context matters in understanding this relationship and in making sense of our problems in the region. Dr. Younos will provide it.

William Tillman, a free African-American, is virtually unknown to Civil War specialists and buffs alike, yet he was a genuine Union hero. This illiterate ship's cook and steward, acting almost alone, recaptured a Union vessel from Confederate privateers in 1861 and sailed it safely into New York City's harbor. Join Professor Henig for an account of Tillman's deed and an analysis of how Northerners, Southern rebels, and observers across the Atlantic reacted to it. Discover, also, how Tillman's story managed to disappear from the historical radar screen until Professor Henig recaptured it.