A Look Ahead to the Summer 2021

Welcome to Osher’s Summer Quarter. We hope that you and your families are safe and well and that you have all been vaccinated. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have spent the last year off-campus learning and engaging with each other via Zoom. We thank you for your active 

participation in both our online lectures and small-group seminars, and for your support of this new learning experience. 

The Chancellor has announced that the UC San Diego campus will remain closed for the summer quarter and our Osher program will continue to be delivered remotely. We expect the university will re-open in the fall and are planning our fall Osher program as a hybrid of in-person, on-campus 

lectures while continuing to stream ALL lectures and discussions via Zoom. 

As is our normal practice, the summer quarter will be a shorter program of eight weeks, Monday through Thursday, from July 12 to September 2. You can look forward to exciting, provocative and intellectually stimulating presentations every class day and continued engagement with our Osher community. 

Our summer quarter features two Master Classes. Master Class I will be the return of noted San Diego classical pianist Gustavo Romero delivering three lectures and performances of some of his favorite works by Bach, Haydn, Chopin, and others. Our second Master Class welcomes back an Osher favorite, architectural historian Diane Kane, lecturing on 

buildings around the world from the Art Nouveau movement that flourished from the 1890s to the beginning of World War I. Registration for these Master Classes will NOT be required for the summer quarter and will be offered online and open to all Osher members. 

Art historian Linda Blair will return Osher to present her updated multi-lecture series on the Great Masters of Dutch Art. Noted historian Professor Richard Bell from the University of Maryland will offer fresh perspectives on early American 

history including a look at how the American Revolution was viewed in England and the Genius of Frederick Douglas. As a departure from our daily academic lectures, education technology professor Jacki Montierth returns to conduct four 

workshops on personal digital technology. 

Other highlights of the quarter include an update from James Larrimore, PhD, on Iran and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), law professor Glenn Smith making his annual assessment of the Supreme Court’s current term, 

exciting developments in the use of gene therapy for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment, and Energy Storage: the Critical Frontier in Renewable Energy and Transportation. 

Town Hall member-led discussions replace Inside Politics during the summer and Kirk Cunningham and his special guest speakers will continue the ever-lively Hot Topics discussions. Our small-classroom seminars will again stimulate their 

loyal participants from literature to history. Theater World and Live Music will present two live performances each remotely via Zoom, but all other Osher-sponsored activities and events are cancelled including Wednesday at the Movies. See the summer catalog for a complete description of each summer class and a biography of the speakers… and stay flexible and healthy. 

The highlights above are just a sample of the enriching program your hard-working Curriculum Committee of volunteer Osher members has assembled during these difficult times. If you would like to volunteer to become a member of the 

Curriculum Committee, or have speaker recommendations, please send me an email: ssclarey62@gmail.com. 

Steve Clarey, Chair, Curriculum Committee