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The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Santa Clara University is excited to announce an online partnership with the Osher National Resource Center (NRC) at Northwestern University. The Osher NRC created Osher Online to expand member access, institute collaboration, share resources, and ensure the legacy of the Osher Institutes. The NRC delivers these classes, and its staff will provide moderator and technical assistance.

These courses:

  • Give you access to highly qualified instructors from all over the country
  • They are six weeks long (90 minutes each) and focus on diverse topics
  • They are offered entirely online through Zoom
  • They are comparable in price to our regular courses
  • They are only available to OLLI members
  • These courses will be listed in a separate section of our quarterly catalogs and may have a separate registration schedule. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Fall 2026 Osher Online Courses

Monday, September 28, October 5, 12, 19, 26, and November 2
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Online | via Osher Online Portal
$135

This course examines royal succession through acclaimed British films that explore power not as a ceremony but 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 the performance of national leadership through Shakespeare's adaptation of Falstaff and Prince Hal. Chimes at Midnight (1965). The course will consider the Tudor rupture: A Man for All Seasons (1966) and the consolidation of legitimacy: Elizabeth (1998), before concluding with the question of what happens when a monarch's personal crisis threatens the stability of the realm in The Madness of King George (1994). 

Video introduction: https://vimeo.com/1172991130?fl=ml&fe=ec

Bernard (Butch) Epps earned his undergraduate degree from Loyola Marymount University, graduating cum laude as an award-winning film production major. He received his M.F.A. from the UCLA School of Film and Television's graduate Producers Program, where he specialized in story development and working with screenwriters. At UCLA, he served as academic liaison to the M.F.A. Producers Program faculty, including studio heads, development executives, and industry professionals. Epps has taught film appreciation courses with a strong emphasis on story analysis.

Tuesday, March 31, April 7, 14, 21, 28, and May 5
8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Online | via Osher Online Portal
$135

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 the 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. 

Video introduction: https://vimeo.com/1173012052?fl=ml&fe=ec

Andrew Fraknoi, retired chair of the astronomy department at Foothill College, continues to teach noncredit astronomy courses at San Francisco State University and the University of San Francisco. He is the lead author of OpenStax Astronomy, the most frequently used introductory astronomy textbook in North America. He appears regularly on radio, explaining astronomical developments in everyday language, and was named California Professor of the Year. He writes science fiction, has published eight stories, and has an asteroid named in his honor in recognition of his contributions to the public understanding of science.

Wednesday, September 30, October 7, 14, 21, 28, and November 4
4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Online | via Osher Online Portal
$135

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. 

Video introduction: https://vimeo.com/1183453408?fl=ml&fe=ec

Angelo Cervantes is an anthropological genetic genealogist and history researcher who has conducted archival work in Mexico and Spain. Cervantes teaches at the University of New Mexico and founded the Iberian Peninsula DNA Institute, offering DNA consulting and courses in anthropological genetics. He pioneered anthropological genetic genealogy through the creation of the New Mexico DNA Project, now a major Hispanic DNA database. He has appeared on PBS and frequently lectures on genetic genealogy in the US and Mexico.

Thursday, October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, and November 5
8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Online | via Osher Online Portal
$135

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 in the context of issues affecting 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 leading edge of scientific discovery, and we will examine the ongoing ethical and legal debates surrounding how and whether these advances should be applied. 

Video introduction: https://vimeo.com/1182003911?fl=ml&fe=ec

Eric Simon is a professor of biology at New England College and holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Harvard University. An avid traveler and award-winning nature photographer, he leads educational trips to destinations such as Belize, the Galapagos, Tanzania, Cuba, the Amazon River, and Patagonia. Simon is also the author of a best-selling series of college biology textbooks—used in over 40 countries—with more than 2 million copies in print.

Thursday, October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, and November 5
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Online | via Osher Online Portal
$135

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 read “studies show…” the same way again.

Video introduction: https://vimeo.com/1168881206?fl=ml&fe=ec

Johnnie Hendrickson is a teaching professor in the School of Molecular Sciences at Arizona State University. He holds a Ph.D. in chemistry and is the author of the textbook Chemistry in the World. His academic work centers on science communication and the reciprocal relationship between science and society.

Monday, October 5, 12, 19, 26, November 2, and 9
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Online | via Osher Online Portal
$135

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 about what mountains mean and how they should be approached. This course will provide an interdisciplinary exploration of the beliefs, traditions, and mythologies inspired by the world's mountains. Through richly illustrated lectures, short readings, and 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.

Video introduction: https://vimeo.com/1180495821?fl=ml&fe=ec

Jonathan Duncan is a photojournalist, writer, teacher, and public speaker with more than 25 years of experience. His work has been published in National Geographic, The Himalayan Journal, Sailing, Rock and Ice, and by the University of Utah Press. He has taught at the Art Institute of Portland, Western Washington University, and Westminster University. His work explores humanity's complex relationship with the natural world, often in remote landscapes and cultures.

Wednesday, October 7, 14, 21, 28, November 4, and 11
2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Online | via Osher Online Portal
$135

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 the first five plays in Wilson's American Cycle, a ten-play series representing each decade of African American culture in the 20th century. We will explore Wilson's life and the influences 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. 

Video introduction: https://vimeo.com/1172984135?fl=ml&fe=ec

Ladrica Menson-Furr, Ph.D., is assistant dean of undergraduate programs and associate professor of African American literature. Menson-Furr is the author of August Wilson's Fences and August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone, and has published on Zora Neale Hurston and Pearl Cleage. She has led academic programs in African American studies and served as a Provost's Fellow and a Tennessee Board of Regents' Maxine Smith Fellow.

Wednesday, October 14, 21, 28, November 4, 11, and 18
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Online | via Osher Online Portal
$135

This 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. 

Video introduction: https://vimeo.com/1171114023?fl=ml&fe=ec

Eddy Friedfeld is a film and entertainment journalist and historian. Friedfeld co-authored Caesar's Hours with Sid Caesar, Directed by James Burrows with James Burrows, and worked with Mel Brooks on All About Me. He was senior consultant for the Emmy-nominated Make' Em Laugh and a consulting producer on Funny You Never Knew. He has produced tributes to major entertainers, including George Carlin, Paul Newman, and Dick Van Dyke. He teaches at Yale, NYU, and the Tisch School of the Arts.

Thursday, October 15, 22, 29, November 5, 12, and 19
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Online | via Osher Online Portal
$135

The American Experiment began with the Declaration of Independence and led to the creation of the federal judiciary, one of the country's greatest experiments. In this course, we will trace the evolution of the courts from their English roots to their formal establishment in the Constitution. We will explore how the Supreme Court, lacking the power of the purse or military, derives its authority from its ability to connect with the people of the US and protect democracy. We will examine the creation of the federal judiciary and the power of the Marshall Court, the Court's evolution through the New Deal, the Vinson Court, the Warren Court's "Rights Revolution," and the role of today's US Supreme Court.

Video introduction: https://vimeo.com/1174028391?fl=ml&fe=ec

Lauren Andersen is the director of the Utah Judicial Institute. Andersen practiced appellate law in California and argued cases before the California Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. During this time, Andersen closely studied the Roberts Court. She has lectured about the Supreme Court and the death penalty. Her opinions were quoted by The New York Times and the ABA Journal. She previously served as director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Utah.

Monday, October 19, 26, November 2, 9, 16, and 23
8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Online | via Osher Online Portal
$135

We often only notice the global supply chain when it breaks. Yet, for millennia, the movement of goods has been the silent engine of civilization. In this course, we will track the evolution of trade from an executive's perspective. From the sunken treasures of Bronze Age merchant ships to the high-tech intermodal systems of today, we will explore the vessels that carried the world's wealth and the complex networks that keep our modern shelves stocked. 

Video introduction: https://vimeo.com/1156924615?fl=ml&fe=ec

Scott Jones brings a unique perspective to his lectures, drawing on 30 years of naval command, diplomatic service, and executive leadership in the defense and maritime industries. Jones is a docent at the J. Paul Getty Museum, leading architecture and gallery tours. A retired Navy captain, he commanded three warships and a squadron, with assignments at the Pentagon and State Department. He later served as a senior executive at a defense corporation and a maritime shipping company, and ran his own consulting business.