The courses listed below start in February
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The World War II | $50 Jay Casey
February 2-March 9, 2026 | Mondays | 1:15-2:45pm
The course will highlight significant events that led up to and encompassed the interwar years, as well as the years 1939-1945. The course will include a discussion of the political and ideological framework of the interwar period, leading up to the outbreak of war, as well as prewar attitudes prevalent in the United States. The course will primarily focus on the European and Pacific Theaters of the Second World War, with additional information on other wartime fronts. The course will also examine wartime culture, in addition to military operations, and encompass various categories, including film, music, and other types of wartime media. Participants will also have the opportunity to examine artifacts from the wartime period, both in support of instruction and as a window into the historical process.
Four Modern American Poets | $50 Justin Sider
February 2-23, 2026 | Mondays | 10:00am-12:00pm
This course introduces four great modern American poets: Robert Frost, T. S. Eliot, Marianne Moore, and Wallace Stevens. Writing in the first decades of the twentieth century, these poets raised American poetry to new heights and secured its reputation not only in the United States but around the world, leaving an indelible mark on American literature more generally. We’ll learn about the role these poets played in the history of literature and ideas, the influences on their writing, and their legacy in American culture. Each session will explore a few masterpieces by an individual poet: T.S. Eliot’s quintessential expression of modern alienation, “The Love-Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” and several shorter lyrics; Robert Frost’s subtle explorations of mortality in “The Woodpile” and “Death of a Hired Man”; Marianne Moore’s magnificent poems of natural wonder, “An Octopus” and “In the Days of Prismatic Color”; and Wallace Stevens’s meditations on the power of the imagination—“The Idea of Order at Key West,” “The Motive for Metaphor,” and “A Postcard from the Volcano.” We’ll cover basic poetic terms and concepts, but no prior experience with poetry is necessary. Come encounter four great American artists at the height of their powers.
Where Theory Meets the Road: Long-Distance Cycling and Leadership Education | $5 Coleman Patterson (Mornings with the Professor)
February 3, 2026 | Tuesday | 9:30-11:00am
What happens when college students are challenged to turn leadership theory into real-world practice? In this session, you’ll hear the remarkable story of how groups of students planned and completed long-distance bicycle rides across Texas and beyond. These were not recreational outings, but ambitious leadership workshops on wheels that combined adventure, teamwork, and philanthropy. Over the course of ten cycling projects, students organized every aspect of the rides: routes, lodging, meals, transportation, publicity, sponsorships, and safety. Once on the road, they faced weather shifts, equipment breakdowns, fatigue, and the constant need to maintain high spirits. Each challenge became a lesson in leadership, organization, and resilience. Along the way, the rides also served charitable causes, raising funds and awareness while showcasing what motivated young people can accomplish together. For the students, these projects were transformative. They did more than read about leadership—they lived it, practicing communication, teamwork, problem solving, and perseverance in ways no classroom alone could teach. For communities and supporters, the rides became inspiring stories of determination and purpose. This presentation will share highlights, behind-the-scenes stories, and video clips from the rides. Come prepared to be amazed by how ordinary students achieved extraordinary things on bicycles, and how a bold idea turned into a powerful model of leadership education.
Making Sentences Make Sense | $50 Anne Wimberly
February 3-24, 2026 | Tuesdays | 10:00-11:30am
Most of us put sentences together to write research papers, memoirs, stories, and social media posts. And all of us read sentences, but can’t always decipher the intended message. How many of us fully understand the relationship between sentence grammar and the readability of a missive? This interactive course uses examples from social media, news, and literature (and from you, if you wish to share) to examine the importance of strong sentence structure in all forms of communication.
A Tour of Italy | $50 Dr. Giuseppe Grispino
February 4-March 11, 2026 | Wednesdays | 4:00-5:30pm
A Tour of Italy invites students on a captivating journey through five iconic Italian cities—Venice, Bologna, Rome, Naples, and Palermo—exploring the rich tapestry of history, art, cuisine, and culture that defines the Italian peninsula from North to South. Beginning in the enchanting canals of Venice, students will uncover the city’s maritime legacy, Renaissance art, and architectural wonders. The course then moves to Bologna, a hub of medieval scholarship and culinary excellence, where students will learn about its historic university and taste the roots of Italian gastronomy. In Rome, the eternal city, students will delve into ancient Roman civilization, the grandeur of the Vatican, and the timeless influence of classical art and architecture. The journey continues to Naples, birthplace of pizza and a gateway to the ancient ruins of Pompeii, offering insights into Southern Italian traditions and vibrant street life. Finally, the course concludes in Palermo, the cultural crossroads of Sicily, where students will explore Arab-Norman heritage, Baroque splendor, and the island’s unique culinary and artistic expressions. Through lectures, multimedia presentations, and interactive activities, students will develop a deeper appreciation of Italy’s regional diversity and enduring global influence. Whether you’re passionate about art, history, or food, this course offers a panoramic view of Italy’s soul—one city at a time.
OLLI Discussion Group | $0 Chris Elliott & Tina Henderson
February 4-May 13, 2026 | Wednesdays | 10:00-11:30am
Join us on Wednesday mornings for a relaxed, weekly Discussion Group just for OLLI members who want to talk about what’s happening in the world. It’s a space to share ideas, feelings, and concerns—and to learn from each other through open conversation. This isn’t a typical OLLI class with a set curriculum or a faculty leader. Instead, you and your fellow members guide the discussion and choose the topics. Come for the fellowship, stay for the thoughtful exchange! *Class will NOT meet 3/18
U.S.-Russia Relations | $50 Rob Andrew
February 4-25, 2026 | Wednesdays | 9:30-11:30am
Russia remains the only country in the world that can destroy much of the U.S. in just a few hours with a nuclear attack. If nothing else, that is the ultimate reason why the U.S. and Russia need or are forced to deal with each other despite often severe complications in the relationship. This course is designed to provide an overview of U.S.-Russia relations over the past 200+ years, with an in-depth look at Cold War tensions and the contentious relationship since the “re-emergence” of Russia from the post-Soviet morass in the Putin era.
Civil War in Indian Territory | $50 Mike Sheriff
February 5-26, 2026 | Thursdays | 9:30-11:30am
When people think about the U.S. Civil War, most think about the battles in the East. There were over 100 Civil War engagements in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), with casualties comprising a higher percentage of the total in Indian Territory than in other states during the war. This class will be a dialogue discussing the various aspects of war in Indian Territory, including its origins in the Indian Removal Treaties, why Indians were involved, negotiations by both sides to make allegiances with the Indians, some of the battles in the territory, Indian freeman involvement, strategy, tactics, weapons, etc. It will cover the war from both a military perspective and from a personal view. The class will end with a discussion of the Treaties of 1866 (basis for McGirt cases), which took lands from the Indians, eventually allowing lands for land run in Oklahoma, and telling the tribes that they should accept their slaves as citizens of the tribes.
I Hate Modern Art -But You Shouldn’t and Here’s Why | $50 Alan Atkinson
February 5-March 12, 2026 | Thursdays | 12:30-2:00pm
An exploration of why most Modern art probably isn’t as awful as you may have thought through the work of six modern masters: Marcel Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Alice Neel, and Andy Warhol.
Turbulence, Trouble, Tension, Tariffs, and Trump: What’s Next? | $50 Cal Hobson
February 16-March 9, 2026 | Mondays | 1:00-3:30pm
Beats me, and that will be the point of this seminar. Instead of telling you four months in advance what we will discuss, cuss, and dissect each week, we’ll experiment in the spring and let current events at the time drive our weekly conversations. For example, will America still be a democracy as our 250th national anniversary approaches? By the spring, can DC lawmakers decide they too are an equal branch of government, or will they continue to rubber-stamp whatever comes while drawing their checks and issuing compliant press releases? What about those black-robed intellectual heavyweights who, some believe, have been anything but during Trump II? Oh, and to mix continents and concerns, by the 2026 tornado season, will there even be a place in Eastern Europe called Ukraine? Locally, Governor Kevin Stitt will be in his final, and perhaps predictably forgettable, year as occupant of his corner office on the second floor of The People’s Building. Simultaneously, up to the fourth, an increasingly conservative legislature - is that even possible - works overtime to retain such an ignominious, and in my biased opinion, harmful national reputation and reality. In closing, this class will be akin to a TV quiz show, where questions are asked, and answers are eventually provided. But at this point, we don’t even know the questions!
The Matzene Collection and the Founding of the OU Art Museum | $5 Tomoko Yoshida (Mornings with the Professor)
February 17, 2026 | Tuesday | 9:30-11:00am
2026 marks the 90th anniversary of the founding of The University of Oklahoma Museum of Art (now known as the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art). Few people remember that the museum got started with a donation of several hundred objects from Asia. The donor of this collection was a European photographer who settled in Ponca City, R. Gordon Matzene (1880?-1950), a somewhat enigmatic globetrotter. Upon Matzene’s initial donation in 1936, his friend at OU, Oscar B. Jacobson, became the museum’s first director. After Jacobson’s retirement in 1950, however, the collection was divided based on its artistic versus ethnographic values, and the objects were split between the art museum and the Natural History Museum (now known as the Sam Noble Museum). Matzene frequently visited Asia due to his photographic career and amassed a substantial collection of local art. His collections are primarily from China, India, and Nepal, encompassing a wide range of items, including Greco-Buddhist sculptures, Persian miniatures, Nepalese religious objects, as well as Chinese paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and textiles. In the South and Midwest of the 1930s, art museums were still relatively new, and a large collection of Asian art was even rarer, making the story of OU’s Museum founding especially noteworthy. This lecture focuses on the reception of the Matzene collection at OU and considers its cultural and historical significance.
The Shareholder Reigns Supreme: How the Rich Make Their Money | $5 Mary Carter (Mornings with the Professor)
February 24, 2026 | Tuesday | 9:30-11:00am
This course examines the dynamic interplay between corporate decision-making, economic policy, and political influence in shaping contemporary inequality. Members will examine how the relentless focus on quarterly profits has reshaped corporate priorities, often at the expense of long-term sustainability and social responsibility. The answers to these questions will be examined: 1.) What happens when Corporations focus only on Share Price? 2. How do corporations react when all business decisions become short-term in order to show a profit for each and every quarter? 3.) How Winner-take-all politics began working to undo corporate regulation and the progressive tax structure that helped ensure the fair distribution of economic rewards. 4.) Why did the change in the calculation of GDP affect the economy? 5.) Who owns the majority of stocks? 7.) How has American politics created runaway inequality? 8.) What role did deregulation play? 9.) What happened when progressive tax policies were scrapped?
