Osher moves to new location for fall classes

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Did you ever wonder why we wear clothes? Or how Habitat for Humanity is reshaping the world’s developing countries? Or how ancient Chinese gambled?

If you’re in the over-50 set, you’ll find answers to these and other intriguing questions in the fall lineup of classes at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Columbia.

Classes are available at Osher’s new location at the Moss Building, 1907 Hillcrest Drive, Columbia. There will be an open house 4-6 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 28. There will be a program at 4:30 p.m.

“Osher at Mizzou offers noncredit learning opportunities for seasoned adults,” said Don Nicholson, director of University of Missouri Extension’s Osher program. The eight-week classes cover subjects ranging from literature to travel to technology to encourage lifelong critical thinking and reasoning skills and socialization.

Industry professionals, and retired and active professors from local colleges and universities teach the classes. Participants also can attend Friday afternoon film festivals and participate in discussions. A brown-bag seminar series offers thought-provoking subjects for discussion. On Mondays, “potpourri” sessions explore subjects that affect mid-Missouri. A travel club and Spanish club also are part of the program, as well as options with Columbia Parks and Recreation and trips to the New Theatre Restaurant in Overland Park, Kansas.

Annual memberships include perks such as an MU library card, the brown-bag seminars, Friday film festival and more.

Potpourri topics are:

• What seniors should know about fitness.

• What is the Community Foundation?

• Challenges of an independent newspaper with Tribune publisher Vicki Russell.

• Affordable housing options.

• Hiding in plain sight—things to see, do and eat.

• United Way changes in priorities and funding.

• Public art in Columbia.

• Where new sales tax revenue is going.

Classes include:

• Travels with Sharon Kinden.

• The ways Huckleberry Finn matters today.

• Maurice Ravel—the music, man and cultural milieu of his Paris.

• Promising trends and innovations.

• Triumph of 19th-century fiction.

• Psychology of the good life.

• Researching your family history.

• Mahjong.

• Social issues and practices of death and dying.

• General psychology.

• Beginning Spanish.

• Four Nobel Prize-winning poets.

• Elements of story.

• Conversational French.

• Why do we wear clothes?

• Exploring iPads and iPhones.

• Ethics and the news media.

• 2014 elections.

• The Bible and modern scholarship.

• Potpourri of the arts.

For more information, call 573-882-2585 or 573-882-8189, or email Till Rosenberger at [email protected] or Sarah Ginter-Novinger at [email protected].

Registration information also is available at http://extension.missouri.edu/learnforlife.