Community Calendar

Bruce Springsteen stands as one of America’s true rock-and-roll superstars, one who has achieved both commercial and artistic success. Springsteen’s influence extends beyond music, however, as in recent years he has become a prominent and outspoken voice in American politics. This course will explore Springsteen’s development as an artist working within the same tradition as Walt Whitman, Hank Williams, Woody Guthrie, and Bob Dylan. We will also explore key themes in his work, especially the American Dream, the power of love, and humanity’s deep need for redemption. We will look at how Springsteen has continuously updated his conception of American promise and possibilities, and how this vision has increasingly led him to engage in contemporary political debate, challenging President Trump over perceived erosion of American constitutional limits and liberties. In short, we will listen to some great music and at the same time explore how Bruce Springsteen has engaged in and continued to influence the American cultural and political landscape.

TOPICS

● Week 1: New Jersey Rocker to Folk Poet

● Week 2: Bruce Springsteen and the American Dream

● Week 3: Stay True: Mega-Stardom and the Working Class Hero

● Week 4: Voice of Americans: This Land is Our Land

This course takes place both in-person at the Thousand Oaks campus and online via Zoom.

The Fifty and Better (FAB) program was designed for people ages 50 and older, seeking intellectual stimulation through university-level courses — without the pressure of grades — for the sake of learning and social engagement.

“There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also isn’t an American at all…This is a nation, not a polyglot boarding house.” Although these words might sound familiar considering our contemporary political rhetoric, it was Theodore Roosevelt who uttered these words more than 100 years ago. This course will explore and trace the past, present and future of global authoritarian movements. From the rise of notorious 20th Century dictators such as Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, and Pol Pot to the present global authoritarian/populist shift, we will examine how and why these forms of government take hold, even in democratic societies. Along these lines, we will play special attention to the American experience with authoritarianism; both its short and long-term consequences and what it tells us about our current global moment.

This course takes place both in-person at the Thousand Oaks campus and online via Zoom.

Course does not meet on Tuesday, September 23.

The Fifty and Better (FAB) program was designed for people ages 50 and older, seeking intellectual stimulation through university-level courses — without the pressure of grades — for the sake of learning and social engagement.

The Arctic world is a land of stark duality. Geographically peripheral, yet central to today’s most pressing strategic, economic, and climatological questions. A primordial wilderness that nonetheless hosts several million human inhabitants and a surprisingly rich—if endangered—ecosystem. Presently, one of the most important places on earth, yet still one of the most poorly understood. Come explore this forbidding but endlessly fascinating region, starting with its indigenous peoples, then moving on to Euro-American exploration (including the race to the North Pole), scientific and anthropological research, and the industrial and military exploitation of the Arctic.

Week 1: Encounters: Indigenous Northerners and Early European Incursions

Week 2: From Bering to Franklin: Exploration in the 1700s and Early 1800s

Week 3: Northern Steeplechase: Exploration and Nation-Building from the 1840s to the 1940s

Week 4: Arcticide? Militarization, Exploitation, and Climate Change from 1945 to the Present

This course takes place online via Zoom.

Course does not meet on Wednesday, September 24.

The Fifty and Better (FAB) program was designed for people ages 50 and older, seeking intellectual stimulation through university-level courses — without the pressure of grades — for the sake of learning and social engagement.

Cults capture our attention because we wonder why they exist and how people can be made to make such out of the ordinary choices and have vastly different views of reality. In the previous course, we considered some of the more well-known cults, looking deeply into Jonestown, the Branch Davidians, and NXIVM. This second course will discuss some lesser-known cults, such as Heaven’s Gate and Synanon. Each week will examine one specific cult to understand its inception and its end. The final week will investigate the members of the various cults discussed in parts 1 and 2, in order to grasp what makes people join cults and why they stay.

You do not need to have attended the Part 1 course in order to attend Part 2.

This course takes place both in-person at the Thousand Oaks campus and online via Zoom.

Course does not meet on Wednesday, September 24.

The Fifty and Better (FAB) program was designed for people ages 50 and older, seeking intellectual stimulation through university-level courses — without the pressure of grades — for the sake of learning and social engagement.

Two-time Grammy Award Winner Mads Tolling has had a career in music, learning and playing the violin the traditional way, only to bring it into contemporary music styles. This lecture will teach you all you need to know about the violin: From the history of the instrument, and how to get a basic sound to cutting edge looping technology that makes it possible to play just about any kind of genre as a one-man-band. This lecture will include some demonstration and playing of the violin to accompany the presentation.

This lecture takes place online via Zoom.

The Fifty and Better (FAB) program was designed for people ages 50 and older, seeking intellectual stimulation through university-level courses — without the pressure of grades — for the sake of learning and social engagement.

Peek behind-the-scenes of our chocolate factory to get a high-level overview of the chocolate-making process, from bean to bar! This event is great for families, corporate groups, bachelorette weekends, and anyone new to chocolate or curious about where their food comes from. You’ll get to taste warm, flowing dark chocolate from our tempering machine, and you’ll get to sample our single origin 75% dark chocolate bars.

Peek behind-the-scenes of our chocolate factory to get a high-level overview of the chocolate-making process, from bean to bar! This event is great for families, corporate groups, bachelorette weekends, and anyone new to chocolate or curious about where their food comes from. You’ll get to taste warm, flowing dark chocolate from our tempering machine, and you’ll get to sample our single origin 75% dark chocolate bars.

Bruce Springsteen stands as one of America’s true rock-and-roll superstars, one who has achieved both commercial and artistic success. Springsteen’s influence extends beyond music, however, as in recent years he has become a prominent and outspoken voice in American politics. This course will explore Springsteen’s development as an artist working within the same tradition as Walt Whitman, Hank Williams, Woody Guthrie, and Bob Dylan. We will also explore key themes in his work, especially the American Dream, the power of love, and humanity’s deep need for redemption. We will look at how Springsteen has continuously updated his conception of American promise and possibilities, and how this vision has increasingly led him to engage in contemporary political debate, challenging President Trump over perceived erosion of American constitutional limits and liberties. In short, we will listen to some great music and at the same time explore how Bruce Springsteen has engaged in and continued to influence the American cultural and political landscape.

TOPICS

● Week 1: New Jersey Rocker to Folk Poet

● Week 2: Bruce Springsteen and the American Dream

● Week 3: Stay True: Mega-Stardom and the Working Class Hero

● Week 4: Voice of Americans: This Land is Our Land

This course takes place both in-person at the Thousand Oaks campus and online via Zoom.

The Fifty and Better (FAB) program was designed for people ages 50 and older, seeking intellectual stimulation through university-level courses — without the pressure of grades — for the sake of learning and social engagement.

“There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also isn’t an American at all…This is a nation, not a polyglot boarding house.” Although these words might sound familiar considering our contemporary political rhetoric, it was Theodore Roosevelt who uttered these words more than 100 years ago. This course will explore and trace the past, present and future of global authoritarian movements. From the rise of notorious 20th Century dictators such as Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, and Pol Pot to the present global authoritarian/populist shift, we will examine how and why these forms of government take hold, even in democratic societies. Along these lines, we will play special attention to the American experience with authoritarianism; both its short and long-term consequences and what it tells us about our current global moment.

This course takes place both in-person at the Thousand Oaks campus and online via Zoom.

Course does not meet on Tuesday, September 23.

The Fifty and Better (FAB) program was designed for people ages 50 and older, seeking intellectual stimulation through university-level courses — without the pressure of grades — for the sake of learning and social engagement.

UCSB Library is pleased to present Andy Merolla (Communication) in the Pacific Views: Library Speaker Series for Fall 2025. In his talk “What Hope Do We Have? Searching in the Small Moments of Everyday Communication,” Merolla will examine how hope—as well as the social connection underlying it—is constructed through social interaction. This includes interaction with loved ones, acquaintances, and complete strangers. In many ways, this perspective is heartening, guiding us toward better treatment of others. Yet, it is also troubling given the numerous personal and structural factors that undermine and constrain social connection. Framing hope as an interpersonal phenomenon highlights the opportunities and inherent complexities within our everyday communication experiences.

Andy Merolla is a Professor of Communication at UCSB. His research focuses on interpersonal processes, such as social connection, conflict management, and forgiveness. He has received multiple research and teaching awards, including the Distinguished Teaching Award from the UCSB Academic Senate. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in communication theory, interpersonal communication, health communication, and conflict management. Merolla is the co-author of The Social Biome: How Everyday Communication Connects and Shapes Us (Yale University Press, 2025), which was featured in a New York Times interactive article and quiz.

Merolla’s approximately 45-minute presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.

This event may be photographed or recorded.

Advance registration is recommended as space is limited.