Valentine Greatrakes was a renowned healer in 17th century Ireland. Many of the most prominent figures of the day, including scientist Robert Boyle and poet Andrew Marvell, vouched for his ability. Join us for a presentation by Leonard Pitt, who traveled to Ireland every year for eight years to track down this elusive figure — a journey of discovery that led him to dive deep into the world of healing, from ancient times to the present day. As he says, “You won’t believe a word I say, but every word I say is true.”
[online • free & open to all • learn more and RSVP]
Christina Maslach, a psychology professor emerita at UC Berkeley, has pioneered a body of research that has influenced how we think about workplace trauma and burnout. At our May Vital Aging Forum Maslach will discuss what happens and what to do when you give it your all — "it" being work, relationships, caregiving, life — and there's nothing left to give.
[online • learn more and RSVP]
If you've ever poured something down a drain or flushed a toilet this is the outing for you! Join OLLI's Member Services Committee for a free, 90-minute, behind-the-scenes guided tour of the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) Waste Treatment Plant in Oakland on Friday, May 3, at 1 PM. Registration closes Tues., Apr. 30.
[in person • for members only • learn more and RSVP]
John Muir is rightly lauded as the nature mystic who added wilderness to America’s vision of itself. That vision came at a cost, however: the dispossession of the tribal peoples whose homelands the national parks once were.
[open to members & non-members • learn more and register]
Throughout her career, Beyoncé has celebrated the women who have shaped her growth, thus engaging in the Black feminist tradition of citation. We will explore this practice in three of her masterworks, pondering how might we think about her shout outs as an act of resistance that highlights the unrecognized work of Black women artists.
[open to members & non-members • learn more and register]
This Summer Short explores the phenomenon known as Conspiracy Theory in culture and history. Here, we’re not concerned with particular conspiracy theories; we’re looking at Conspiracy Theory as an archetypal structure around which particular stories form.
[open to members & non-members • learn more and register]
Delivered from Jordan, this Summer Short offers a take on current realities in the Middle East as experienced both in daily life and in news media representations. What does the view from Jordan look like, and how does it differ from the view Americans are receiving?
[open to members & non-members • learn more and register]