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The stories of cults have been burned into our national consciousness. From statements like “don’t drink the Kool-Aid,” or remembrances of Waco, many of us have seen cults end in tragic ways. Despite a knowledge of cults having entered into our culture, we continue to harbor many misconceptions about them. We don’t under why a man like Jim Jones, with his bent on “revolutionary suicide,” was able to hold such a sway over people. We see cult members as “brainwashed.” We sometimes refer to them as “sheep.” Nevertheless, cults continue to exist and continue to bring people into their ranks. Why? And how can this be stopped? This series will examine cults in general, and then probe deep into specific case studies like Jonestown, Waco, and a more modern cult, NXIVM.
Bio:
Jason Hensley, PhD (Holocaust and Genocide Studies), Dmin (Biblical Studies), teaches religious studies at a private school in Los Angeles. He is a fellow of the Michael LaPrade Holocaust Education Institute of the Anti-Defamation League, a higher-education ambassador for the Council on Foreign Relations, and the award-winning author of 12 books. His work has been featured in The Huffington Post as well as the BBC, and he has served as the historical advisor for a Holocaust documentary.

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.

Artists often work and create together to formulate new styles. Just as often, they compete and respond to each other's work, leading to breakthroughs and new developments. In this course, we begin in the Renaissance with the ideological rivalry between Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, and then between Michelangelo and Raphael. We then move forward in history, exploring different artistic rivalries and how they fueled artistic creation. Other frenemies include Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso and Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock.

Week 1: Renaissance Rivalries (Brunelleschi and Ghiberti, Leonardo and Michelangelo, Michelangelo and Raphael, Caravaggio and Baglione)

Week 2: Manet and Degas

Week 3: Van Gogh and Degas

Week 4: Matisse and Picasso

Bio:

Katherine E. Zoraster is an Art Historian and a Professor of Art History at several local colleges specializing in Western art from the Renaissance to the 20th century. She graduated with a double major in English Literature and Art History from the University of California, Los Angeles. Following her undergraduate degree, she received a Master’s Degree with Distinction in Art History from the California State University at Northridge.

In addition to the courses Katherine teaches for other lifelong learning programs, she also works as an Art History Instructor for the full-time program at the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Arts. Katherine also serves as a commissioner for the Burbank Cultural Arts Commission and volunteers at the Burbank Animal Shelter. In her free time, Katherine is an avid runner and travels extensively.

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 Lost Art of Instrumental Music” focuses on a time in popular music history when creativity in composing music without vocals not only flourished but was commercially viable. Today, you rarely hear memorable melodies that do not feature lyrics. Television shows don’t have theme songs and film scoring has hit a new low in memorable melodies. The apex of instrumental music was the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s, when all of these elements came together in a variety of different forms.

Week 1: Musical Miniatures

Week 2: Mood Music and Sonic Explosions

Week 3: Television Theme Songs

Week 4: Movie Theme Songs

Visit the website for an extended description.

Bio:

Cary Ginell is a Grammy-nominated writer and author of 12 books on American music. After a 30-year career in radio, he has spent the last 20 years as a public speaker, talking about music in classrooms, at conferences, and on cruise ships. Cary brings a lifelong passion for the recording industry to his work and is one of the world’s foremost authorities on his specialty, western swing. Cary previously served as President of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections, an international organization of music scholars and world-renowned institutions.

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

The unique culture and climate of California as well as our receptiveness to novel ideas offered a splendid variety of opportunities for those architects who designed our built environment in the 20th century. This class explores works of distinguished California architects such as Paul Williams, Wallace Neff, Richard Neutra, Rudolph Schindler, Julia Morgan, John Lautner, and others. Each architect brought an individuality of style to the California landscape, and the innovative characteristics of their work as well as the personal attributes and challenges that influenced their designs will be discussed.

Bio:

Eleanor Schrader is an award-winning educator, lecturer, and author. She lectures worldwide on art and architectural history, and leads art and architecture tours throughout the world. She has been named a Distinguished Instructor at UCLA Extension, where she teaches history of architecture, interior design, furniture, and decorative arts. She is also Professor Emeritus of Art and Architectural History at Santa Monica College. She has done graduate work in fine and decorative arts at Sotheby's Institute in London and New York. She has served as a Design Review Commissioner for the City of Beverly Hills and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the John Lautner Foundation.

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

What was life in the Soviet Union like? This class combines history lectures with an insider’s view of someone born and raised in the USSR. The Bolshevik Revolution, followed by several years of civil war and foreign intervention, changed not only the political structure of the country, but its economy, its social fabric and even the nature of the most personal relationships among its citizens. In this course, we will consider the Soviet planned economy, its repressive dictatorial political regime and its imperial nature. We will examine in what ways post-Soviet Russia continues with economic, political and social models that were established by the Soviet regime.

Visit the website for an extended description.

Bio:


Asya Pereltsvaig received a degree in English and History from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a PhD in Linguistics from McGill University. She taught at Yale, Cornell, and Stanford universities, and has been teaching in lifelong education programs since 2010. Her expertise is in language, culture, and history, and the relationship between them. Asya has published five scholarly books with Cambridge University Press.

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

Ancient art serves as a portal to understanding the cultural, historical, and technological aspects of civilizations long past. This interdisciplinary course will explore the science and engineering aspects of ancient art from cave paintings to frescoes, mummy portraits, and sculptures in stone and bronze. This journey back in time will unravel the mysteries of how the ancients made the captivating art that we love today and the role that technology played in its creation. This course invites students to delve into the fascinating world of color creation, technique, tools, and materials used by ancient artists. We will explore various art forms including cave painting, frescoes, portraits, stone statuary, the lost-wax method of bronze casting, and ancient Greek pottery.

It will answer the question, “How did they do that?”

Visit the website for an extended description.

Bio:

Scott Jones is a retired naval officer and businessman with broad experience in national security, foreign relations, and politics. Scott is also a docent at the J. Paul Getty Museum (Getty Villa) where he leads tours in the Greek and Roman Galleries, special exhibitions, Roman architecture, and Roan gardens. He teaches for a few lifelong learning programs in the area.

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

Hosted by Ventura songwriter Henry Stewart

Join our empowering workshop designed for songwriters and aspiring songsmiths, providing a nurturing space to share, collaborate, and support each other in the intricate journey of the creative process. Whether you’re a seasoned songwriter or just starting, discover a community where inspiration flows and creativity thrives.

Donations appreciated.

The Folk Orchestra of Santa Barbara, a 30-piece orchestra of local musicians, celebrates Winter! Chinese plums blooming in the snow. Ancient Norwegian chants sung in the darkest night. Simon & Garfunkel bringing a smile. Haunting melodies from Schubert and Sibelius. The nyckelharpa, hurdy-gurdy, and Chinese flute join the violin, cello, accordion, harp, bagpipes, mandolins and more for a unique experience that can't be heard anywhere else.

The Folk Orchestra of Santa Barbara, a 30-piece orchestra of local musicians, celebrates Winter! Chinese plums blooming in the snow. Ancient Norwegian chants sung in the darkest night. Simon & Garfunkel bringing a smile. Haunting melodies from Schubert and Sibelius. The nyckelharpa, hurdy-gurdy, and Chinese flute join the violin, cello, accordion, harp, bagpipes, mandolins and more for a unique experience that can't be heard anywhere else.

The Folk Orchestra of Santa Barbara, a 30-piece orchestra of local musicians, celebrates Winter! Chinese plums blooming in the snow. Ancient Norwegian chants sung in the darkest night. Simon & Garfunkel bringing a smile. Haunting melodies from Schubert and Sibelius. The nyckelharpa, hurdy-gurdy, and Chinese flute join the violin, cello, accordion, harp, bagpipes, mandolins and more for a unique experience that can't be heard anywhere else.