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
Sep. 29		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
Oct. 6		Donald Trump and the American Party System John Zaller, PhD Professor Emeritus, Political Science, UCLA
Oct. 13		Proposition 40: California Billionaire Tax Kirk Stark, JD Barrall Family Professor of Tax Law and Policy
Oct. 20		Democracy in Legal Jeopardy: What Attacks on the American Bar Teach about Professional Resistance Scott Cummings, JD Robert Henigson Professor of Legal Ethics at the UCLA School of Law
Oct. 27		The U.S. Economic Outlook and the Changing Landscape of Global Supply Chains and Energy Markets William Yu, PhD Economist, Anderson Forecast, UCLA Anderson School of Management
Nov. 3		The Long History of US-Cuban Relations Robin Derby, PhD Associate Professor in the Department of History and the Director of the Caribbean Program in the International Institute
Nov. 10		Telling the Story of Sea Level Rise in California Rosanna Xia Los Angeles Times Environmental Reporter; author, California Against the Sea: Visions for Our Vanishing Coastline
Nov. 17		Unpacking the 2026 Elections: A Hinge-of-History Moment in American Politics Ralph Begleiter, M.S. Former CNN World Affairs Correspondent (1981–1999), Founding Director of UD’s Center for Political Communication

Fall 2026 Schedule

Date

Details

Format

September 29 - November 17

Tuesday 10:30AM - 12:00PM PT

Instructor:

Jim Aldinger

REG#

409611

Fee:

$120.00

Hybrid

UCLA Extension Gayley Center in Westwood

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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 July 27, 2026 to October 11, 2026

Schedule

Type

Date

Time

Location

Lecture

Tue Sep 29, 2026

10:30AM PT - 12:00PM PT