Presidents, electric vehicles and AI offered at fall ORICL classes

U.S. presidents. Artificial intelligence. The future of electric vehicles and the consequences of mismanaged groundwater during the climate crisis. Debt, Social Security, Medicare and inequality.

These topics of current interest will be covered in courses offered to members of the Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning (ORICL) during the fall term, which runs from Sept. 11 through Dec. 1. Anyone interested in lifelong learning can become a member for a fee much lower than the typical lifelong learning program in the nation.

If history fascinates you, ORICL offers classes on the history of ancient North American civilizations, an ancient Native American road that passed through Oak Ridge, gold mining in East Tennessee, world-class Victorians and college students opposing Hitler’s regime. There are two classes on stories of the Secret City during Oak Ridge’s Manhattan Project days.

Daniel Feller, editor-director emeritus of “The Papers of Andrew Jackson” at the University of Tennessee, will present a class on a significant crisis during the seventh president’s administration; Alan Lowe, director of the American Museum of Science and Energy (AMSE) in Oak Ridge, will teach a class on “Presidents I Have Known,” from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama; and popular ORICL instructor David Holman will begin a series of classes on the presidents of the United States.

Most of the courses are taught at RSCC in Oak Ridge, but several art classes are taught at the Oak Ridge Art Center, 201 Badger Road. Each course consists of one class or a series of weekly classes, each 70 minutes long. Several classes will be online only, and one class and one book group will be hybrid (online and in-person).

At ORICL you can join a book group and read and discuss classic literature, mystery novels, other fiction, nonfiction, speculative fiction or technical books. Other literature classes will explore the way language began, two novels on the American experience, Irish and American poets, as well as American folk tales. Also available are group readings of Shakespeare plays and three plays by the Greek playwright Sophocles.

Linda Best, author of an award-winning novel, will once again teach the popular class on “Writing Your Memoir.” Karen Davis, longtime Russian and Ukrainian translator and language teacher for the federal government, will teach courses in Russian and Ukrainian.

Two classes in Latin will be presented.

Other courses are focused on how to perform CPR and use an automatic external defibrillator to potentially save a life and how to keep your body in motion and keep mentally fit. Another class that exercises the mind is the one devoted to cryptic varietal crossword puzzles. If you enjoy conversing while crocheting or knitting, there is a class for you.

If you wish to better understand your local community, consider enrolling in classes on the fundamentals of Oak Ridge city government, economic development in the city and a status report on the Oak Ridge campus of Roane State Community College by its director, Andy Spellman.

Courses in computers, science and technology address topics such as AI for science, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, ice-dam failures and catastrophic floods, honey production and ways to become a community scientist.

Classes are being offered on ethics, early American sectarian religions (including the Shakers), religion in America and Buddha’s teachings about lovingkindness and unbounded friendliness.

For many retirees, ORICL courses on charitable estate planning, tax planning and stock investing for income should be of interest.

For a fee at the Art Center, you can take courses on the history of loom weaving, forming decorative wavy bowls and making jewelry. Art classes on the RSCC campus include colored pencil drawing and wet-on-wet watercolors. A Great Courses series on the life and music of Peter Tchaikovsky will be presented.

The Friday Lecture Series brings interesting speakers on science and related topics.

Four trips are available to ORICL members and non-members for a fee. They include visits to the National Museum of African American Museum in Nashville, the Shaker community in Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, the David Hall cabin in the Claxton area and two Oak Ridge museums – AMSE and the K-25 History Center.

Online registration for your selection of the 71 courses offered during the term opens on Tuesday, Aug. 8. Paper registration forms with a payment may also be submitted. For the three 2023-24 terms, the membership fee is $150, payable online or by check to ORICL. Visit www.roanestate.edu/oricl to see the online catalog and register for courses on a variety of subjects. For more information and a paper catalog, e-mail the ORICL office at oricl@roanestate.edu or visit the ORICL office in Room F-111, Coffey-McNally Building, Roane State Community College (RSCC), 701 Briarcliff Ave. The office is open from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, Monday through Thursday.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Presidents, electric vehicles and AI offered at fall ORICL classes