Tuesday Courses   

Artificial intelligence is reshaping how we think, write and learn. This hands-on course explores how tools like ChatGPT can serve as a tutor, guide and personal learning companion. Participants will experiment with prompts, compare AI and Google searches, co-write short pieces, explore multiple perspectives and design a personal learning plan. Each session combines short presentations, live demonstrations, small-group activities and reflection. Topics include how AI “learns,” effective prompt writing, creativity, research and ethics. No experience with AI or technology is required — just curiosity and a willingness to explore how intelligent tools can extend lifelong learning.

NOTE: Students must bring a laptop or tablet computer to use during class.

This course is an open discussion forum to explore and discuss breaking news from Oregon and around the globe each week. All differing views and opinions are not only welcome but essential to create lively discussion in the group. We cover a wide range of topics, including politics, climate change, technology and medicine. An agenda with articles will be sent to you before each class. Students are also encouraged to send in topics and news articles to add to each week’s agenda. Please join us for a sizzling hot journey around the world in our fast, fun and sometimes controversial class whose success is largely a product of the wisdom, knowledge and experience of our great group. Many people take the class again because it’s better than a strong cup of coffee to get your week going!

This course is an open discussion forum to explore and discuss breaking news from Oregon and around the globe each week. All differing views and opinions are not only welcome but essential to create lively discussion in the group. We cover a wide range of topics, including politics, climate change, technology and medicine. An agenda with articles will be sent to you before each class. Students are also encouraged to send in topics and news articles to add to each week’s agenda. Please join us for a sizzling hot journey around the world in our fast, fun and sometimes controversial class whose success is largely a product of the wisdom, knowledge and experience of our great group. Many people take the class again because it’s better than a strong cup of coffee to get your week going!

Tuning a musical instrument to the Western 12-note scale requires compromises in the “distance” between notes. Temperaments are tuning systems that incorporate these compromises by “tempering” (adjusting) the pitches to meet different musical needs. Various tuning systems achieve these compromises in different ways, resulting in different sounding chords. This course will demonstrate why the compromises are necessary, how they are achieved and how we perceive them. The course will present and demonstrate the physical properties of sound, the origin of the 12-note scale and a history of various temperaments that arose to tune those 12 notes, including Pythagorean, just, meantone, well and equal. What have we lost by using equal temperament since the 20th century, and what have we gained?

NOTE: The instructors will use PowerPoint, demonstrations and audio examples live and from the internet. Some knowledge of music will be useful for a full understanding of temperament. 

This course is designed for students who have taken the Absolute Beginners Pickleball course or have a rudimentary knowledge of the game. It will be taught by seasoned instructors who are experienced players. They are members of the Ashland Oregon Pickleball Club. Expect to build on the basic game to include advanced strategy in play. We will meet at Lithia Park pickleball courts for 1½ hours a day for five consecutive days. There will be an emphasis on safety, playing by USA pickleball rules and sportsmanship. This skill-building course will focus on serves; third-shot drops or “drop shots;” drives; lobs; partner communication; types of scoring; and understanding Bert, Ernie and Nasty Nelson. The last day will be a fun, fast-paced round-robin in which all players will rotate.  

NOTE: Please bring your favorite paddle, wear court shoes and a hat or visor, and bring a hydrating drink. Eye protection is recommended. If we have inclement weather, the class will be canceled. Liability waiver required to participate.

We all know the piano is a musical instrument. But what is going on inside the piano? How is a piano different from a harpsichord? What does it mean to say a piano is “in tune” and how do you tell? Through lecture, Q&A and hands-on exploration, we’ll see the evolution from harpsichords to fortepianos to pianos, how the “machine” parts work and how pianos are tuned. We will look at a harpsichord, an upright piano and a grand piano and take parts out to see how different they are. This course will appeal to people interested in music and to those who like to know how things work. A complementary course this term offers the theory and practical application (including demonstrations) of different tuning systems (temperaments). Take them both for twice the fun! 

NOTE: The second session of this course will be taught at the SOU Music Building. Liability waiver required to participate.

Enjoy a deep dive into some of the finest short stories published last year. Contributing authors include Elizabeth McCracken and Sarah Braunstein. Before each session, students will read three designated submissions from the book “The Best American Short Stories 2025: An Anthology of Award-Winning Literature,” which will then be discussed in warm, comfortable and inclusive surroundings. This collection explores a wide variety of settings, characters, styles and intentions — all stunningly contemporary. This is a highly interactive class. Be ready to speak up and engage in dialogue about all the stories so that everyone can enjoy and learn from the text and from each other. 

NOTE: A copy of “The Best American Short Stories 2025: An Anthology of Award-Winning Literature,” edited by Celest Ng, is required.  

During this course, students will learn and practice dances from the Renaissance, Baroque and Regency eras. At each class, participants will actively engage in a physical warm-up and targeted dance techniques, and have ample time to practice the dance movements as they are taught. The warm-up is to prepare the body to move and dance. The techniques taught will cover basic Baroque dance steps that form the basis for 17th- and 18th-century dances. The course will begin with Renaissance dances from England, France and Italy and progress into the 17th and 18th centuries. The course will finish with early 19th-century waltz and quadrille dances. Previous students will find some old favorites as well as new dances to enjoy. A partner or prior dance background is not required to participate.  

NOTE: This is an active, physical class. We will be on our feet for the duration of the 1½-hour class. Know your own limitations. Liability waiver required to participate.

This course is designed for those with little or no knowledge of maintaining and repairing a home. You’ll learn how water, gas and electricity enter a home and how to shut them off; how to change the filter in your furnace; and how to clean the coils on your refrigerator. We’ll talk about how to replace a light switch and outlet, fix door problems, plumbing and electricity, and what tools to have. You’ll learn what to watch for outside the home, such as clogged gutters, water leaks, siding damage and invasive vegetation. We’ll discuss the advantages and disadvantages of buying through big-box stores versus independent merchants, how to choose a contractor and not get cheated, and much more. We’ll talk about what class members want to know about maintenance and repairs at home. 

Your brain is the most complex object in the known universe. Fortunately, caring for your brain is not that complicated! We are getting older but our brains age at different rates. Let’s explore what the latest science says about this range of function, from subjective cognitive decline to mild cognitive impairment and on to Alzheimer’s. After reviewing basic brain function and defining terms, we’ll look at myths, realities and breakthroughs in brain health. We will then consider the therapeutic lifestyle choices (TLC) that prevent or slow cognitive loss, including exercise; nutrition; mental, emotional and social connection; sleep; and stress resilience. Finally, we’ll look at happiness and beyond: wisdom and self-transcendence. We will use full-color slides, lecture, discussion and Q&A. 

NOTE: The instructor’s book “Keep Your Marbles: Your Game Plan for a Healthy Brain” is recommended for this course. It is available on Amazon but will be available at a discount at the first class meeting. 

Discover the art of creating with clay in this hands-on, beginner-friendly ceramics course. Over eight weeks, students will explore the fundamentals of handbuilding techniques, including pinch, coil and slab construction, while learning how to shape, texture and join clay. The course will also cover surface decoration methods, glazing and an introduction to the firing process. Each week builds on core skills, guiding students from simple functional forms to more creative, sculptural projects. By the end of the course, participants will have completed a collection of unique ceramic pieces and gained a strong foundation in working with clay. No prior experience is needed, just a willingness to get a little messy and experiment! 

NOTE: Total cost to participate is $200 ($25 per session). Liability waiver required to participate.

This course will be an introduction to astronomy, specifically observational astronomy. Students will learn how to look in the night sky without a telescope to see constellations, identify planets and discern lunar phases. This class will specifically focus on our Southern Oregon skies in spring. Students will get a chance to practice their knowledge by observing in the North Medford High School Planetarium. The planetarium features a Digistar 7 system, a fully digital system capable of manipulating space and time with real-time data and stellar computer graphics. The course will be half online lecture, half lab-based in the planetarium. There is no background knowledge necessary; all levels of learners are welcome.  

NOTE: The course will alternate between online instruction using Zoom one week followed by lab-based practice of concepts at the North Medford High School Planetarium the next week. Weeks 1, 3 and 5 will be online and weeks 2, 4 and 6 will be at the planetarium. Liability waiver required to participate.

Develop a passion for printing in this hands-on class that includes art, design and printmaking. We will focus on a variety of media, including cyanotype, jelly prints and screen printing. Each week, students will learn different aspects of what makes a good design based on composition principles such as the golden ratio, the rule of thirds and the use of positive and negative shapes. Students will learn how to digitize and edit designs for screen printing using an iPad (provided on site by Talent Maker City). Additional printing methods will be introduced.

NOTE: Total cost to participate is $200 ($25 per session). Liability waiver required to participate.

This is the foundation course for four courses of history that describe how current America was shaped. Two key events are covered: the idealistic founding of the Republican Party and Reconstruction that it created. After the Civil War, formerly enslaved people, women, abolitionists and radical Republicans courageously fought to create an interracial, nonpatriarchal democracy. In the face of a hegemonic white and male supremist strategy of misrepresentation and terror, they succeeded in creating the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, the legal basis for citizenship, equality before the law, voting rights for all men regardless of race and abolishing slavery. This is their story and the consequences of their defeat. Required is an interest in how historical events shaped today’s America. 

NOTE: Strongly recommended reading before the class: “The Fall of the House of Dixie: The Civil War and the Social Revolution That Transformed the South” by Bruce Levine (2013). 

Why is the Rogue Valley a low area and why are the adjacent mountains so high? This course aims to help students interpret the landscape where they live. Using the local area as our laboratory, we’ll explore the factors that create diverse landscapes. Via interactive lectures, the course will review the regional geology with a focus on local details and explain the basic principles needed to understand how Earth works and changes through time.

NOTE: The in-person section will include a field trip to local sites; students may choose either Saturday, May 9 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) or Tuesday, May 12 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.). The trip will require students to carpool and sign the SOU liability waiver. Walking distances will be short. No prior geologic experience is needed. This course was offered before, most recently in Spring 2023.

Why is the Rogue Valley a low area and why are the adjacent mountains so high? This course aims to help students interpret the landscape where they live. Using the local area as our laboratory, we’ll explore the factors that create diverse landscapes. Via interactive lectures, the course will review the regional geology with a focus on local details and explain the basic principles needed to understand how Earth works and changes through time.

NOTE: The in-person section will include a field trip to local sites; students may choose either Saturday, May 9 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) or Tuesday, May 12 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.). The trip will require students to carpool and sign the SOU liability waiver. Walking distances will be short. No prior geologic experience is needed. This course was offered before, most recently in Spring 2023.

This course will examine the enormous impact lesbian activists have had on women’s suffrage and voting, labor and working conditions, unionization, education, service to poor and immigrant communities, Social Security legislation and professional development from the late 1800s to the 1950s. Many lesbians either chaired or were part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Ladies Brain Trust” and helped Labor Secretary Frances Perkins draft essential human welfare legislation, including Social Security and the Fair Labor Standards Act, legislation that still serves us today. Lecture and discussion will be included.

NOTE: Required text: “To Believe in Women” by Lillian Faderman (1999).