Let's All Go to the Movies: Film Critique and Conversation *Two locations*

June 9, 16 & 23
6:30 p.m. - 8: 30 p.m. (lectures)
KU Edwards Campus, 12610 Quivira Road, Overland Park, Kansas
July 11: Noon - 3 p.m. (film screening)
KU Edwards Campus, 12610 Quivira Road, Overland Park, Kansas
Cost: $75

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Description
Learn how to watch a movie like a film critic with veteran film critic Abby Olcese and join other Osher students for a specially curated film screening and discussion. This is a three-part course explores the fundamentals of filmmaking and film criticism designed to help the everyday movie fan understand how critical thinking works when watching a movie - and how to apply those concepts to watching movies at home or with friends and expanding their cinematic horizons. To top it off, we'll meet on a Saturday to view a film curated by Abby. She'll lead a discussion following the screening. We'll bring the popcorn and candy! Abby Olcese is the film editor at The Pitch, a contributor to Sojourners, Rogerebert.com and Paste and the author of Films for all Seasons: Experiencing the Church Year at the Movies. She is an experienced film critic with a special interest in the connections between movies, social justice and Christian spirituality.

Includes three-session class, private film screening and refreshments.

US Presidents and Their First Ladies: Ulysses S Grant and Julia Grant

July 16 (choose one session)
10 AM 

2 PM
Brandon Woods at Alvamar, 1501 Inverness Court, Lawrence, KS
Cost: FREE

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Description
Osher members are invited to attend a special event at Brandon Woods about President Ulysses S Grant and First Lady Julia Grant. Presented by William and Sue Wills, this event is free to Osher members as a gift from our partner, Brandon Woods at Alvamar. Refreshments will be provided by Brandon Woods at Alvamar. Seating is limited. You can register for either the 10 AM or 2 PM event.

Cartoons: From Disney to Saturday Morning to Pixar & Beyond *Multiple locations*
Instructor: Karl Menninger

June 11, 18 & 25 
2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Beacon Mental Health (Clay County Senior Services), 3100 NE 83rd St., Second Floor, Kansas City, Missouri
 
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Description
We started watching cartoons as children, either at the movies or on television on Saturday mornings. Many of us continue to watch them, even without children or grandchildren. We'll look at the invention of the animated cartoon in the Silent Era, the creation of a certain Mouse by a guy from Kansas City and the entertainment empire that spawned, cartoons from other studios (Betty Boop, Popeye, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tom and Jerry, Mr. Magoo, Mighty Mouse), how cartoons went to war in the 1940s and how they migrated to television, both on Saturday mornings and on "kiddie" shows on weekday afternoons. We'll review the Disney renaissance in the 1990s, with "The Little Mermaid" and "The Lion King," long-running prime-time cartoons such as "The Simpsons," recent Disney competitors (Don Bluth, Ralph Bakshi, DreamWorks), and Pixar, who led the way in computer-generated animation with "Toy Story" and "Frozen". We'll also share where we watched cartoons: the movies, television, VHS/DVD/BluRay and now streaming services like Disney+.

Karl Menninger is a retired government lawyer who seems to have found an avocation teaching courses on disability law, citizenship, comedy and James Bond, among other topics. 

A History of Music in The White House from 1948 - 2016 *New class
Instructor: Jean Hein

June 9, 16 & 23
10 a.m. - noon
KU Osher Institute, 1515 St. Andrews Drive, Lawrence, Kansas
 
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Description
oin us for a survey history of music in the White House from the Truman administration through the Obama years. Fun facts: President Truman was an accomplished pianist who started piano lessons at age seven! Yo-Yo Ma was seven when he performed at the White House for Presidents Kennedy and Eisenhower. Paul McCartney was approaching age 70 when he rocked the building performing "Hey Jude" for President and Mrs. Obama and their guests. Want to learn more?

Jean Hein recently moved to Kansas from South Carolina, where she was director and recorder performer with Columbia Baroque as well as a clarinetist. She currently teaches online recorder classes for seniors. Hein has served on the board of Early Music America. She holds music degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and Northwestern University.

Broadway Musicals of the 1950s
Instructor: Paul Laird

June 24, July 1 and July 8
2 - 4 p.m.
KU Osher Institute, 1515 St. Andrews Drive, Lawrence, Kansas
 
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Description
The 1950s were a very special decade in the history of the musical with such figures as Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, Frank Loesser, Leonard Bernstein and Jule Styne writing such shows as The King and I, The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Guys and Dolls, West Side Story and Gypsy for the Broadway stage. This will be survey of the decade's most popular shows, the people who wrote them and the stars who played in them.

Paul Laird is a professor emeritus of musicology who taught at KU for 30 years. He has published widely on the American musical theater and taught dozens of Osher courses over the last three decades.

The Life and Music of George Gershwin
Instructor: Paul Laird

June 9, 23, 30 (Note: No class June 16)
1-3 p.m.
Brewster Place Events Center, 900-B SW 31st Street, Topeka, KS 66611
 
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Description
One of the leading musical figures in the history of the United States, George Gershwin (1898 - 1937) combined influences from Tin Pan Alley, classical music, jazz and blues into a distinctive musical style heard in his numerous Broadway musicals, songs for Hollywood films and concert works. This course explores his biography and each aspect of his musical output. Emphasis will be placed on two of his musicals ("Girl Crazy" and "Of Thee I Sing"); his opera "Porgy and Bess"; and the concert works "Rhapsody in Blue," "Piano Concerto in F" and the tone poem, "An American in Paris."

Paul Laird is a professor emeritus of musicology who taught at KU for 30 years. He has published widely on the American musical theater and taught dozens of Osher courses over the last three decades.

The U.S. Naturalization Process & The Path to Citizenship *New class
Instructor: Anita Tebbe

June 11, 18 & 25
2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
KU Edwards Campus, 12610 Quivira Road, Overland Park, Kansas, & Online

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Description
The U.S. naturalization process has changed significantly since it started in 1790. We'll delve into the history of the process as well as walk through the steps of eligibility, application and interview processes and culminating ceremony.

Anita Tebbe is a retired professor in the legal studies department at Johnson County Community College. She earned an undergraduate degree in history, a graduate degree in education and a law degree. Anita is a Kansas-licensed attorney and has more than 40 years of teaching experience at the high school and college levels.

Immortalized: Sports Museums and Halls of Fame *New class
Instructor: Andrew Stockmann

June 10, 17 & 24
2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
KU Osher Institute, 1515 St. Andrews Drive, Lawrence, Kansas

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Description
Why do sports mean so much to so many in our society? Sports museums and halls of fame help build these emotional connections by remembering, celebrating and commemorating iconic athletes, coaches and events. We'll learn about the field of sports heritage, discover the different types of sports museums and reflect on how legends are remembered.

Andrew Stockmann is curator of exhibitions at the Watkins Museum of History in Lawrence. He grew up visiting baseball stadiums and museums with his family, which sparked his love for history. Andrew is from Liberty, Missouri, and is a 2024 graduate of the museum studies master's program at the University of Kansas and holds a bachelor's degree in sport management from Wichita State University.

The History of John Brown *New class
Instructor: Aaron Margolis

June 8, 15 & 22
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
KU Edwards Campus, 12610 Quivira Road, Overland Park, Kansas, & Online

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Description
In life and death John Brown was called many things: hero, terrorist, martyr and criminal. This class puts his life and legacy in the context of the times, exploring Brown as an individual and a determined actor that could only have existed in the Antebellum United States. A life full of contradictions, a supporter of civil rights and freedom, yet able to justify murder, Brown's actions were part of a uniquely American life whose legacy still echoes to this day.

Aaron Margolis received his doctorate in history from the University of Texas at El Paso where he concentrated on Latin American and borderlands history. He is currently an associate professor of history at Kansas City Kansas Community College.

1865: The Union Restored *New class
Instructor: Ethan Rafuse

June 10, 17 & 24
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
KU Edwards Campus, 12610 Quivira Road, Overland Park, Kansas, & Online

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Description
It's 1865, and the American Civil War has raged for four long years. We'll continue examining the military history of the war, including how the North and South each approached what would culminate in the war's end. We'll look at the evaluation of the ends, ways and means of both sides' strategy in 1865, and the course, conduct and outcomes of major operations. We'll also address strategic and political contexts that shaped military operations in Virginia, Tennessee and elsewhere, as well as the leaders, such as Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Joseph Johnston, Robert E. Lee, William T. Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant, whose decision and leadership influenced their handling of the war and its end results. * Please note: this class will be offered as a hybrid class but will not be recorded, at the request of the instructor. *

Ethan S. Rafuse received his doctorate at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and is professor of military history at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. His publications include "Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy 1863 - 1865," essays in "The Chattanooga Campaign" and "The Chickamauga Campaign," and "U.S. Presidents During Wartime."

The Life & Wars of Robert E. Lee
Instructor: Ethan Rafuse

July 13, 20 & 27
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
KU Edwards Campus, 12610 Quivira Road, Overland Park, Kansas, & Online

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Description
Robert E. Lee was the son of fabled Revolutionary War general "Light Horse" Harry Lee. In this course, we'll examine how this general's son became one of the most respected officers in the U.S. Army, only to forge a record in the Confederacy that made him one of the most respected commanders in history. We'll look at the great maneuvers that carried him to triumph at Chancellorsville in 1863, and then to complete defeat in 1865. We will consider the factors that shaped Lee's generalship both in victory and defeat, then look at how Lee dealt with the aftermath of defeat in his postwar endeavors.  * Please note that this class will be presented in hybrid format but will not be recorded, at the request of the instructor. *

Ethan S. Rafuse received his doctorate at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and is professor of military history at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. His publications include "Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy 1863 - 1865," essays in "The Chattanooga Campaign" and "The Chickamauga Campaign," and "U.S. Presidents During Wartime."