August 8, 2024 - A divided populace, immigration problems and attacks on political
and legal institutions. Sound familiar? Yes, that鈥檚 the current political climate
in the U.S., but it鈥檚 also very similar to that of the Roman Empire just before 27
B.C., according to Getty Museum docent and retired U.S. Navy captain Scott Jones.
鈥淎ll of those hot button issues in Rome are hot button issues for us today,鈥 Jones said.
Jones, an expert on the Roman empire, is one of the experts teaching one of the 11 classes offered in for the (黑料正能量) Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI)鈥檚 Fall I Session. Each class meets once a week for six weeks, either virtually on Zoom, in person, or a combination of both, with class locations in Camarillo, Ventura, and Thousand Oaks.
is now open for the OLLI Fall I Session, with classes beginning on August 19 and lasting through September 27. Among the classes available are: 鈥淎rt Movements from the Roaring 20s to the Swinging 60s,鈥 鈥淎sian Phoenix: The Stories of Modern North and South Korea,鈥 鈥淲hat makes the Grand Canyon 'Grand'?鈥 and 鈥淥ur (Inter)National Pastime - Baseball from its Inception to the Modern Era,鈥 taught by a former Red Sox coach.
Notable among the OLLI instructors is the rich background and scholarship each one brings to the Fall I session of classes. Jones, for example, is a retired U.S. Navy captain with 30 years of service and worked on Capitol Hill as the naval advisor for a U.S. senator and later served as naval advisor at the U.S. State Department. His work as a docent involves leading interactive tours through the J. Paul Getty Museum, a replica of a first century Roman villa.
鈥淚 have a special affinity for Rome,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e an amazing civilization. It started as a little village, and a few hundred years later they are a world power with brilliant people, scientifically-oriented and with beautiful architecture.
There is much we can learn from their triumphs and downfalls, according to Jones. Rome had a Republican democracy that lasted 500 years with a strong democracy and a separation of powers.
鈥淏ut as the empire grew, they began wrestling with enormous wealth disparity and disagreed on how to handle immigration,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he populace became divided between liberals and conservatives.鈥
Jones says he will not tell anyone how to vote in the next election, but will lay out the history, the similarities and what we can learn from the fall of the Roman empire.
Aside from politics, history, current events and science, OLLI also offers classes in the arts, music and sports.
Teaching the class on baseball is Katie Krall, an adjunct faculty member of Northwestern
University鈥檚 Master鈥檚 of Sports Administration program. Besides working in as the
Senior Project Manager of Global Baseball Strategy for a division of Sony Sports Business,
Krall spent 2022 as a development coach for the Boston Red Sox. The helmet she wore
to coach first base is in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Krall鈥檚 class
will cover all the bases in baseball, from the history to the business to the mechanics
of a great pitch.
She will also talk about critical historical moments in the sport, such as Cuban baseball under Fidel Castro and the Negro Leagues.
Krall grew up outside of Chicago and her mom was on the board of the Chicago White Sox, so she grew up going to White Sox games. Her godfather was Rick Stelmaszek, catcher and bullpen coach for the Minnesota Twins, inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame. Thanks to him, her education went beyond baseball statistics.
鈥淗e always used to say, 鈥楾hose damn spread sheets are ruining baseball!鈥欌 Krall said. 鈥淗e used to tell me to turn on the TV, turn on a (Tampa Bay) Rays game, and watch. He鈥檇 say 鈥楲ook at Blake Snell. Look at his mound presence, look at the way he dictates the cadence.鈥欌
One more thing鈥攚hen asked her opinion about who will make it to the World Series, the L.A. Dodgers made the cut.
Learn more about OLLI鈥檚 Fall I courses via the and explore additional program offerings at . You can reach the OLLI program at 805-437-2748 or OLLI@csuci.edu.