POL SCI 747

Osher (50+). This current events lecture series features a different speaker each week. Guest speakers are experts in their field who provide a one-hour lecture followed by a thirty-minute Q&A.

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Typically Available

Fall

Winter

Spring

Duration

As few as 8 weeks

Units

0.0

Current Formats

Hybrid

Cost

Starting at $120.00

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About This Course

Pulled from today’s headlines, this exclusive speaker series offers an in-depth analysis of significant contemporary issues. Each week, an expert from the political, social, technological, or economic spectrum provides a 1-hour lecture focused on a major global, national, or local issue. Afterwards, students participate in a 30-minute Q&A session with the speaker. A list of speakers for this term will be available online approximately one month before the course begins. This course uses the Hybrid format which allows students to participate remotely and/or in the classroom. Speakers will be in the classroom. This course will be recorded. Students will have access to videos for the duration of the course.

DATE		LECTURE
Jan. 5		The 120th U.S. Congress (working title) Christian Grose, PhD Director, USC Democracy and Fair Elections Lab; Professor of Political Science and International Relations; Professor of Public Policy, USC
Jan. 12		Middle East Update Steve Zipperstein, JD Associate Director, UCLA Center for Middle East Development; author, Zionism, Palestinian Nationalism and the Law: 1939-1948 and Law and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: The Trials of Palestine
Jan. 19		Wartime Iran in Historical Context (not recorded) Kevan Harris, PhD Associate Professor and Vice Chair, UCLA: author, A Social Revolution: Politics and the Welfare State in Iran
Jan. 26		Justice, Justice, Shall We Pursue! Laurie Levenson, JD Professor of Law who holds the David W. Burcham Chair in Ethical Advocacy, LMU Law School; founding director, the Loyola Project for the Innocent, the Loyola Center for Ethical Advocacy, and the Fidler Institute on Criminal Justice
Feb. 2		TBD
Feb. 9		California Under Water: Assessing Flood Risks and Insurance Options Lloyd Dixon, PhD Senior Economist, Director, Kenneth R. Feinberg Center for Catastrophic Risk Management and Compensation, RAND Corporation
Feb. 16		U.S. Health System Performance During the Second Trump Administration Thomas Rice, PhD Distinguished Professor of the Department of Health Policy and Management, UCLA
Feb. 23		Impacts of Tariffs on the U.S. Economy Pablo Fajgelbaum, PhD Professor Economics, UCLA

Winter 2027 Schedule

Date

Details

Format

January 5 - February 23

Tuesday 10:30AM - 12:00PM PT

Instructor:

Jim Aldinger

REG#

410510

Fee:

$120.00

Hybrid

UCLA Extension Gayley Center in Westwood

Updating...

Notes

Hybrid course: combination of in-person and live-online.

Course fee is $120 for both OLLI Basic and Plus members. Enrollment limited; enrollment prior to the first class required. Visitors not permitted.

You must be at least 50 years old and a current member of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UCLA to enroll in this course. If your membership has expired or if you wish to become a new member, please proceed with enrolling in courses and you will be automatically prompted to add a membership during checkout.

If you participate remotely, please download a free version of Zoom at https://zoom.us/ to participate in this course.

Deadline

Refunds only available from November 02, 2026 to January 17, 2027

Schedule

Type

Date

Time

Location

Lecture

Tue Jan 5, 2027

10:30AM PT - 12:00PM PT