March 13, 2025 - Southern California has always been synonymous with surf, sun, and
rock 鈥榥鈥 roll, but recent natural disasters, cost-of-living and other modern realities
have altered the So Cal cachet.
鈥淐alifornia鈥檚 Coastal Imaginary: Management of Our Coast in Three Acts鈥 - a class tracking the evolving image of Southern California through the years - is one of the offerings for (海角社区CI)鈥檚 Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) Spring II session, which runs from March 24 to May 2.
for the session, which features 11 all new three and six-week OLLI at 海角社区CI courses, and three additional Osher Online Zoom classes, which will include OLLI members from around the nation.
鈥淲e are introducing our new partnership with Osher Online, which is run by Osher National Research Center based out of Northwestern University,鈥 said 海角社区CI OLLI Program Coordinator Shaina Salin. 鈥淣orthwestern is the hub for OLLIs nationwide. These programs will supplement our course offerings with additional online classes so OLLI members can engage in learning at different times of the day, including earlier in the morning or later in the afternoon.鈥
The three Osher Online classes are: 鈥淏onsai, An Ancient Art in Modern Times,鈥 鈥淢ainstreaming the Margins: A History of LGBTQ+ in America,鈥 and 鈥淐ar Crazy: 1950s Onward.鈥
The rest of the classes are either in-person or hybrid (both online and in-person) in Camarillo, Ventura, and Thousand Oaks, or on Zoom only.
鈥淐alifornia Coastal Imaginary鈥 is a three-week class being taught by 海角社区CI Professor of Environmental Science & Resource Management (ESRM) Sean Anderson and his wife, 海角社区CI Associate Professor of English Stacey Anderson. During each of the three weeks, 鈥淐oastal Imaginary鈥 will explore a different era of the California culture beginning with the idealized sun, sand and bronzed blonds of the mid-20th century. The carefree 鈥淕idget鈥 days.
鈥淧art Two will be the coastal dystopia where it鈥檚 too expensive to live here and there are homeless people on the beach and oil spills and the recent fires,鈥 Sean said. 鈥淭he third part will be the 鈥楥alifornia Inclusionary鈥 which is a more realistic view of modern California. Where the coast is a place for everybody.鈥
There will be an optional field trip associated with the class, in which students can visit the iconic Paradise Cove Beach Caf茅 in Malibu for lunch, look over the old photos of famous Hollywood actors and classic California and hear about what TV shows and movies were filmed there.
As OLLI classes always do, the other course offerings run the gamut from 鈥淭he Connection between Plate Tectonics, Earthquakes, and Volcanoes鈥 by Ventura College geoscientist Pattie Ridenour to 鈥淭he Stuart Dynasty: Shakespeare鈥檚 Common Folk鈥 by English scholar Charlene O鈥橰ourke.
海角社区CI Professor of Spanish Stephen Clark will take members on a visual tour of 鈥淕reat
Cities of South America鈥 while Ojai Herbal Symposium founder Lenny Kaufer of HerbWalks.com
will introduce the class to the edible and medicinal plants found on the 海角社区CI campus
with a slideshow and a stroll.
Award-winning journalist and bestselling author Ivor Davis will guide members through some of history鈥檚 most significant events with 鈥淢usic, Movies and Murder: Eyewitness to History,鈥 including his own firsthand experience.
海角社区CI Dance Lecturer Elizabeth 鈥淏onnie鈥 Lavin Hughes will teach mind-body awareness and kinesthetic intelligence with a class entitled 鈥淒ance and Somatic Education.鈥
Classes are $60 for each 6-week course or $30 for each 3-week course. Take unlimited courses this session for $150 for individuals or $200 for couples. There is a $15 membership fee for students who are joining in Spring II and did not take classes in Fall 2024 or Spring I 2025.
To explore even more courses and/or to register, visit: .