Courses & Events

We've planned a jam-packed three-day excursion to Kansas' western frontier that includes atwo-night stay in Colby, with visits to the Prairie Museum, Monument Rocks, the El Quartelejo Pueblo Ruins, the Duff Buffalo Ranch, Keystone Gallery, Lon Frahm Farm, and Nicodemus National Historic Site. Guiding us along the way will be Rex Buchanan, director emeritus of the Kansas Geological Survey. Sign up today!

Departing from the KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park, we'll pick up travelers in Lawrence and at the Manhattan Junction (I-70 & KS-177). We'll stop for lunch at the historic Midland Railroad Hotel in Wilson before we venture on tothe Prairie Museum in Colby. Afterwards,we'll check into the Comfort Inn. That evening we'll enjoy a private reception before dinner at the City Limits Bar & Grill.

On Thursday morning we're off to the majestic Monument Rocks, a series of chalk formations reaching to 70 feet and formed 80 million years ago when this area was a vast inland sea. Then, we'llvisit the iconic Keystone Gallery, once a remote church built in 1917.

Today it is a combination museum, art gallery and gift shop. While half of our group visits the gallery, the rest ofus will tour Duff's Buffalo Ranch, riding out into the herd in an open-airwagon. Then we'll switch with the gallery group.

We'll leave that dusty western Kansas landscape and descend into the verdant oasis of Lake Scott State Park, site ofthe El Quartelejo Pueblo Ruins. Here we'll enjoy a box lunch picnic before heading north to Oakley to visit the Buffalo Bill Monument.

Thursday night, we'll be the dinner guests of Lon Frahm at the Frahm Farmland-27,000 acresof irrigated corn, dryland corn, dryland wheat, sorghum and soybeans.Approximately 8,000 acres are irrigated with 65 center pivots and 18,000 acresare dryland. It'll be a great evening out onthe farm!

On Fridaywe're off to Nicodemus, the historic town site of the 1877 westward migration of African Americans looking to enjoy their newfound freedom on land they owned and farmed. Then it's lunch on your own in Hays and back on the road home.

ABBA's timeless songs propel this joyful tale of love, romance andfriendship. Winner of five Tony Awards, Mamma Mia! shares the story ofbride-to-be, Sophie, and her quest to find her long-lost father in time to walkher down the aisle at her island wedding. ABBA classics like "Dancing Queen,""Take a Chance on Me" and the title number of this smash hit musical are sureto have you dancing in the aisles!

In this course we will explore the music and lives of some of the great composers of classical music. We will track their careers from their early work, through influences that impacted their musical styles, to the late work that culminated their careers. Each class will explore one or two composers in detail, with many musical examples. Composers will range from Johann Sebastian Bach to Philip Glass and several in between.

In thelatest edition ofOsher Extended!-our day-long immersion into a single course of study-we're partnering with Nelson-Atkinsprovenance research specialiststo explorethe issues surrounding thousands ofworks of art that were stolen, looted, displaced or illegallyexchanged during the Naziera in Europe. Jewish collectorswere particularly affected by this looting due to Nazi laws thatforbade Jews fromowning property. After thewar, Allied forces found much of the lootedart and returned itto the rightful owners, but other items remain lost. TheNelson-Atkins has researchedand documented the ownership history of its once-looted artworks.

As part ofour study, Michael Hoeflich, former dean of the KU School of Law and versatileOsher instructor, will explore the dark history of the Nazis' assault on art and explainthe laws governing their restitution and title.

MacKenzieMallon,Nelson-Atkins provenance specialist,will describe the journey of several works ofart that were once in thehands of Nazis, includingtheir thefts and return to theirrightful owners and the subsequent legal acquisition by the Nelson-Atkins.

Finally, Alan Lubert, Nelson-Atkins popular docent and veteran Osher artsand literature instructor, willguide us throughthe current Nelson- Atkins exhibition, "Discriminating Thieves:Nazi-looted Art and Restitution," highlighting four worksof arts salvaged fromthe Nazis. MacKenzie will also show us Nazi-held artworksin other galleries of the Museum.

Of course,no visit to the Nelson wouldbe complete without lunch in the majestic Rozzelle Court and time on yourown to visit other galleriesand the Museum store. Join us!

The 1936 Berlin Summer Olympic Gameswere mainly a propaganda event for Hitler'sNazi Party.  Butthe Americans-including a group of Kansas farm boys, the inventor of"basketball,"and Jesse Owens- oftenstole the spotlight from the host Germans. We'llreview the struggles of the Kansas Olympians to earn their way to Germany; discuss the internationalpolitics, boycotts and the glittering spectacle that defined the Berlin Games and document the Americans'competitive efforts, including the first Olympic gold medal awarded inbasketball. Finally, we look at the "Hitler Olympics" in retrospect.

This course will explore the historical development of the U.S.-Mexico border from the perspective of both Mexico and the United States.Together, we will explore how the border evolved and hardened through the creation of the Border Patrol, the Mexican Revolution and the effects of Prohibition. We'll review personal accounts, photographs and songs of"borderlanders," along with government officials providing crucial context to today's current debates. Finally, we will examine how to negotiate the border in the age of nationalism.

NOTE: This course will meet in Regnier Hall 165 and not as listed in the catalog.