Breadcrumb
Osher Online - Fall 2026
Stay curious from just about anywhere. Explore Osher Online, which offers world-class courses and curriculum, led by engaging instructors known for deep expertise in their field. You’ll learn alongside other curious Osher members across the country, all in a virtual, lively and conversation-centered weekly session.
An Osher Online Member Orientation will be provided on Wednesday, September 30 at 11 a.m. for those registered. Enroll in the Osher Online course(s) of your choice with OLLI at Pacific.
PLEASE NOTE: THESE CLASSES ARE NOT RECORDED
$70 Per Course (6 Sessions Each)
Art Detectives: Forgery, Provenance, and the Science of Authentication
Date: Mondays, September 28, October 5, 12, 19, 26 & November 2
Time: 10 a.m. (90 minutes)
Fee: $70
Instructor: Christine Maasdam
The public often sees the art world as the domain of wealth, trendsetters, and high rollers, yet deception lurks behind the facade. After weapons and drugs, art is the third most lucrative illicit trade, with reports suggesting that more than half of artworks are fake or misattributed. In this course, we will ask: When is a copy simply a copy, and when is it a forgery? What techniques do master forgers use? Does a collector hold true title, and how important is provenance? What can science tell us about art authenticity? We will uncover riveting stories of criminal art activity, gallery closings and master forgeries.
The British Family in Film: Heavy Is the Head That Wears the Crown
Date: Mondays, September 28, October 5, 12, 19, 26 & November 2
Time: 10 a.m. (90 minutes)
Fee: $70
Instructor: Butch Epps
This course examines royal succession through acclaimed British films that explore power not as a ceremony, as a moral and political crisis. We will trace the monarchy’s evolution from personal rule to institutional authority, beginning with the Plantagenet struggles in Becket (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968). We will then examine the moral costs of kingship and performance of national leadership through two Shakespeare adaptations: Chimes at Midnight (1965) and Henry V (1989). This course will conclude with the Tudor rupture: A Man for All Seasons (1966); and the consolidation of legitimacy in Elizabeth (1998).
Mexico City: Empires, Revolutions, and Everyday Life
Date: Tuesdays, September 29 & October 6, 13, 20, 27 & November 3
Time: 10 a.m. (90 Minutes)
Fee: $70
Instructor: William Beezley, PhD
Mexicans celebrates a remarkable diversity of peoples, music, food, festivals, and historical traditions, expressed through fiestas that bring communities together across the calendar year. In this course, we will explore Mexico City as a cultural and historical crossroads shaped by centuries of continuity and change. We will trace the legacies of Indigenous civilizations, the transformations of Spanish colonial rule, the struggles of independence and revolution, and the emergence of modern democratic politics, culminating in the 2024 election of Mexico’s first woman president. We will see how culture, power, and celebration remain deeply intertwined in the life this extraordinary city.
A Cosmic Grand Tour: The Realms of the Universe
Date: Tuesdays, September 29, October 6, 13, 20, 27, & November 3
Time: 2 p.m. (90 minutes)
Fee: $70
Instructor: Andrew Fraknoi
In this course, we will explore the three fascinating realms of the cosmos: nearby planets and moons; the stars; and the galaxies (the great island of stars that turn out to be building blocks of the universe.) Our discussion will be in everyday language, without any math, and will be accompanied by remarkable color images from the latest space probes and the world’s largest telescopes including the latest breathtaking images from the James Webb Space Telescope.
Apple at 50: How It Revolutionized Computing and Transformed Daily Life
Date: Tuesdays, September 29, October 6, 13, 20, 27, & November 3
Time: 4 p.m. (90 minutes)
Fee: $70
Instructor: Leander Kahney
This course traces Apple’s fifty-year history and its massive impact on personal computing, design, product culture, platforms and ecosystems, and daily life. Each session focuses on a different decade in Apple’s history, from the birth of the PC in the late 1970s to the latest Apple silicon, VR headsets, and future iPhones. We will learn how Apple reshaped not just technology, but how people live, work, and communicate.
The Birth of the Beat Generation
Date: Tuesdays, September 29, October 6, 13, 20, 27 & November 3
Time: 6 p.m. (90 Minutes)
Fee: $70
Instructor: Kurt Hemmer
In this course, we will examine the dramatic circumstances that gave rise to the Beat Generation in the 1940s. Together, we will examine three famous Beat works: Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg, On the Road by Jack Kerouac, Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs. We will focus on historical events involving Beat writers, important passages of Beat literature, and the literary movement that spawned the 1960s counterculture.
The Magic Behind Film Scores: The Role of Music in Great Movies–Part II
Date: Wednesdays, September 30 & October 7, 14, 21 & November 4, 11 (No Class Oct. 28)
Time: 2 p.m. (90 minutes)
Fee: $70
Instructor: Mike Agron
Born in Los Angeles’s entertainment scene, Mike Agron is a former high-tech executive and entrepreneur who now creates and delivers dynamic, story-driven seminars on music and entertainment. With a storyteller’s eye and a DJ’s ear, he has led 15 acclaimed seminar series, each spotlighting a different facet of music and entertainment.
Tracing Our Roots: DNA, Family History and the Politics of Identity
Date: Wednesdays, September 30, October 7, 14, 21, 28 & November 4
Time: 4 p.m. (90 minutes)
Fee: $70
Instructor: Angel Cervantes
How does DNA reshape our understanding of ancestry, colonial society, and identity in the Americas? In this course, we will explore the science and methodology of genetic genealogy through the lens of first contact between European and Indigenous peoples. Using the New Mexico DNA Project as a central case study, we will examine how Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA can confirm, complicate, and challenge traditional research. Topics include Y-DNA Adam, Indigenous maternal haplogroups, the Spanish castas system and colonial identity. We will consider the ethical and political implications of DNA testing and the limits of what genetic evidence can, and cannot, reveal about race and belonging.
Biology & Society
Date: Thursdays, October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 & November 5
Time: 8 a.m. (90 minutes)
Fee: $70
Instructor: Eric Simon
This course introduces the scientific study of life, with an emphasis on real-world applications and the societal, social, ethical, and legal consequences of biological advances. We will place key biological principles within the context of issues that affect individuals and society, highlighting the connection between biology and everyday life. Designed for non-scientists with little or no recent college-level science experience, the course encourages discussion and reflection. Many topics are at the lending edge of scientific discovery, and we will examine the ongoing ethical and legal debates surrounding how and whether these advances should be applied.
“Studies Show . . .” (Or Do They?): Under the Hood of a Scientific Study
Date: Thursdays, October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 & November 5
Time: 12 p.m. (90 minutes)
Fee: $70
Instructor: John Hendrickson, PhD
What really changes when we read beyond the abstract? In this interactive course, we will open real research papers (many in health and nutrition) and explore what scientists actually look for. We will explore how small design choices can dramatically shape a study’s meaning, and why headlines rarely tell the full story. No technical background is required - just curiosity. By the end of the course, we will never ready “studies show...” the same way again.
Sacred Mountains of the World
Date: Mondays, October 5, 12, 19, 26 & November 2, 9
Time: 12 p.m. (90 minutes)
Fee: $70
Instructor: Jonathan Duncan
People throughout time and across cultures have looked to the mountains as powerful symbols. The Buddhists of the Himalayas, the Inca of the Andes, the Inuit of the far north, and the Romantics of Europe all created unique stories of what mountains mean and how they are to be approached. This course will provide an interdisciplinary exploration of the beliefs, traditions, and mythologies that have inspired by the world’s mountains. Through richly illustrated lectures, short readings, and the open discussion, this course will open a window into the world’s sacred mountains and encourage exploration of our relationship with the Earth’s high and wild places.
The History and Experience of Route 66
Date: Mondays, October 5, 12, 19, 26 & November 2, 9
Time: 4 p.m. (90 minutes)
Fee: $70
Instructor: Peter B. Dedek, PhD
Route 66 is as much an idea as it a place. Since its creation in 1926, America’s most famous highway has evolved from a 2,400-mile transportation corridor into a powerful symbol of nostalgia, travel, and the American road. Today, it functions as a kind of pilgrimage route, marked by neon signs, roadside attractions, and preserved motels, cafés, and gas stations. In this course, we will explore the history, cultural meaning, and enduring appeal of Route 66. Together, we will examine its origins, rise and decline, late 20th century revival, the role of nostalgia and car culture, preservation efforts, and the possible futures of this iconic highway.
Cults and New Religious Movements in America
Date: Tuesdays, October 6, 13, 20, 27 & November 3, 10
Time: 12 p.m. (90 minutes)
Fee: $70
Instructor: Kathryn (Kate) Davis, PhD
America has provided fertile ground for new and alternative religions to sprout and grow. Some prosper and eventually become accepted as part of the normal religious landscape, some wither away and are forgotten, and some detonate, creating public scandal and in the worst cases, national tragedy. This course will examine New Religious Movements, popularly known as “cults” within the US contest. We will examine these religious movements both from insider perspectives and outsider perceptions. We will analyze the history, practices, and beliefs of these organizations to better understand them and deconstruct misconceptions. This course covers the 18th and 19th centuries.
August Wilson and His American Cycle: The First Five: 1904–1957
Date: Wednesdays, October 7, 14, 21, 28 & November 4, 11
Time: 2 p.m. (90 minutes)
Fee: $70
Instructor: Ladrica Menson-Furr, PhD
August Wilson was the first African American playwright to have a Broadway theater bear his name, a fitting tribute to a dramatist who brought African American culture and lived experience to the stage. In this course, we will read, watch, and examine plays from Wilson’s American Cycle, a ten-play series representing each decade of African American culture’s 20th century. We will explore Wilson’s life and influence behind his work while focusing on Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Ma Rainey’s, Black Bottom, and Seven Guitars, tracing his powerful interpretation, celebration, and preservation of African American culture.
The 60s Through the Great Speeches
Date: Fridays, October 9, 16, 23 & November 6, 13
Time: 8 a.m. (90 minutes)
Fee: $70
Instructor: Arthur Benedict
The 1960s is a decade wrapped in myth and misunderstanding. In this course, we will cut through the haze by turning to something powerful and concrete: the speeches of the era. The times and the conditions demanded these significant speeches. Together, we will listen to the voices that moved a nation and shaped history. With recordings preserved through television, video, and YouTube, we will discover what these speeches still have to teach us today.
Living Off the Laughter: History of Comedy in America
Date: Wednesdays, October 14, 21, 28 & November 4, 11, 18
Time: 12 a.m. (90 minutes)
Fee: $70
Instructor: Eddy Friedfeld
This course is a history class with a laugh track. We will analyze the significant periods and players of the 20th and 21st Centuries against their historic context and legacy, using humor as the platform. We will discuss how comedy was shaped by and responsive to American society, and how comedians influenced and shaped American life. We will cover Silent Films, Vaudeville, Radio, Screwball and Romantic Comedies, Comedy Teams, and the Golden Age of Television. We will study how America laughed in each generation, and how the change in American character and persona shaped how they laughed and what (and whom) they laughed at.
