Thursday Courses   

This course is designed for students who have taken the Absolute Beginners Pickleball class or who have a rudimentary knowledge of the game. It will be taught by seasoned instructors who are experienced players and have taught before. Expect to build on the basic game to include advanced strategy in play. We will meet for 1½ hours at Lithia Park courts for five consecutive days. There will be an emphasis on sportsmanship and safety. This skills-building course will focus on different types of serves, lobs, third-shot drops or drop shots, drives, partner communication, stacking, and different types of scoring. We will introduce Nasty Nelson, Bert, and Erne. The last day will be a FUN Round-Robin whereby players will rotate play with all players. The instructors will be from Ashland Oregon Pickleball Club.

NOTE: If you have mobility issues, this course may not be for you. A waiver must be signed prior to the first class. Students are expected to have their own paddle, know the basic game, have court shoes, and a hat or visor. Safety glasses are recommended. Bring a hydrating drink and snack. If inclement weather occurs, class will be canceled.

Learn how to work smarter rather than harder in furthering your acting career. Actors must concentrate their marketing efforts on roles for which they are best suited. The terms “leading man, leading lady, ingenue” are almost never mentioned in casting notices; however, gender, age, ethnicity, and occupation are nearly always specified. People’s jobs determine much of their lifestyle, wardrobe choices, and often their friends. In the first session, students will learn how to conduct a market survey to assess how others see them in order to determine their acting type, as well as to concentrate on auditioning for the roles for which they are best suited. In the second class, they will share the results of their market surveys with other class members, which will also serve as a networking event with other actors. In addition, students will learn where to get headshots taken and where to have them reproduced for marketing purposes.

NOTE: There are two in-person sections of this course offered, both on Thursdays. The first starts the first week of the term; the second starts the first week of February.

Learn how to work smarter rather than harder in furthering your acting career. Actors must concentrate their marketing efforts on roles for which they are best suited. The terms “leading man, leading lady, ingenue” are almost never mentioned in casting notices; however, gender, age, ethnicity, and occupation are nearly always specified. People’s jobs determine much of their lifestyle, wardrobe choices, and often their friends. In the first session, students will learn how to conduct a market survey to assess how others see them in order to determine their acting type, as well as to concentrate on auditioning for the roles for which they are best suited. In the second class, they will share the results of their market surveys with other class members, which will also serve as a networking event with other actors. In addition, students will learn where to get headshots taken and where to have them reproduced for marketing purposes.

NOTE: There are two in-person sections of this course offered, both on Thursdays. The first starts the first week of the term; the second starts the first week of February.

Learn a more truthful version of American history with open primary historical sources, including settler violence against indigenous people in the 1637 Pequot genocide; Wounded Knee in 1890; militarist imperialism and the killing of brown skinned Morro (Muslim) women and children on the Island of Jolo in the Philippines in 1906; and My Lai, Vietnam, in 1968. Art; first-person testimony; prose and poetry by Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling, and Daniel Ellsberg; as well as vintage photography reveal the dark side of our glorious national story. A small class size will allow for thoughtful discussion.

NOTE: This course covers sensitive material that some may find disturbing.

In this beginning ceramics course, students will be introduced to the beauty of clay. They will learn and explore coil building, slab construction, pinching, and basic wheel-throwing techniques. Using this know-how, students will create functional and decorative clay pieces while exploring the various ways to form and manipulate clay. Instructors will focus on different building techniques each week. The course will likely be divided into two weeks of hand-building and two weeks of wheel-throwing. A variety of glazing and surface decoration techniques will be introduced as well. By the end of this course, students will be able to independently create pieces. Specific techniques and lessons will vary, depending on student interest.

NOTE: There is a fee of $20 materials cost per student.

Students will learn foundational design basics, create their own designs, and then make designs come to life in the studio. This may include screen printing, laser engraving, and sticker decals. Participants will start with the design process and move to digital graphics applications as they advance their skills. This course covers all the basics, from design process to printing. Students will get hands-on experience with producing their own custom designs using different techniques, guided by Talent Maker City instructors. This is a safe and supportive environment for individuals to learn and advance their creative skills. The goal is to build relationships and collaborate, experiment, value unexpected challenges, and problem-solve. Most important, the goal is to keep learning, growing, improving, and celebrating success.

NOTE: There is a fee of $20 materials cost per student.

“James” is by 2020 Pulitzer finalist, Percival Everett. In “James” he inverts Mark Twain’s (Samuel Clemens’) story of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” making the slave, Jim, the protagonist. During the class, students will read the two books side-by-side, gathering impressions of the old classic and this new interpretation. The class will examine the use of language in both books, references to the river and to superstitions and folklore, and study the motivations of both authors for bringing this story to the page. “James” has been longlisted for the Booker Prize and is being developed as a feature film by Steven Spielberg. “Huckleberry Finn” is a book that most of us remember from childhood and many have not read in adulthood. It has faced several book bans for various reasons since 1885. One of the most recent publications has removed all use of the N-word, citing racism. This course will bring the two authors face to face and examine in depth their implied conversation.

NOTE: Students are encouraged to read at least the first half of each novel before the course begins. The instructor will be using the Cambridge University Press edition of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” 1995, easily available as a used book from online sources.

Shakespeare’s characters, conflicts, and themes are as relevant to America today as they were to 17th-century England. Far from the boring slog so many of us recall from 10th grade, this play brilliantly poses deep moral questions of contemporary import — about leadership, power, idealism, pragmatism, egotism, and honor. It crackles with brilliant rhetoric used to shape public opinion in a bitterly divided country. The author examines the fine lines between facts and assumptions, duty and ambition, and confidence and arrogance. The personal tragedies of the main characters mirror the dilemma of their society in the moment of transformation from the remnants of a republic to an oligarchy. At the end of the play, we are left to decide whether the end justifies the means, whether political violence can ever make Rome — or anywhere else — great again. Through lecture and discussion, the class will examine these questions in a study of the text and a variety of productions.

NOTE: No previous knowledge of Shakespeare is required, but students should have access to a copy of the play. Two separate sections of this course are offered: one is held at the Campbell Center on Wednesdays; the other is held online on Thursdays.

In 1845, the northern boundary of Mexico lay just a dozen miles from today’s SOU campus. In the Mexican-American War, the United States conquered roughly half of Mexico, moving the border more than 600 miles to the south. Ever since then, both countries have lived with a muddled memory of this experience. The border has moved over people, and people have moved across the border. In fact, the two countries’ populations, economies, and political histories are so closely interrelated that we may meaningfully ask, “Where does one country end and the other begin?” This course is a lecture series (with extended time for discussion) presented by SOU faculty who have explored this historical and cultural middle ground from a wide range of academic perspectives. It brings together Chicano literature, Spanish literature, history, and anthropology professors to examine the complex relationships between the U.S. and Mexico and among the people and places that belong to both worlds.

NOTE: The faculty presenters are: Alma Rosa Álvarez, “The History and Politics of Chicano Identity”; Enrique Chacón, “Ambiguous Border: The Representations of the U.S.-Mexico in Film”; Sean McEnroe, “The Imagined Communities of the Mexican-American War”; Mark Axel Tveskov, “The Archaeology of the Battle of Buena, 1847: La Angostura and the Construction of Manifest Destiny.”

This course is designed to help participants take, organize, store, edit, and share digital photos and videos. Emphasis will be on using Apple Photos on the iPhone, Mac, and iCloud. Participants will learn to manage iCloud settings; store and share photos and videos; perform basic edits; play and modify memories; set up albums and slideshows; search and organize photos by person, location, and activities; trim live photos, bursts, and videos; and remove duplicate photos. Privacy and security issues will also be discussed. Participants should be able to use Zoom for video conferencing and have a basic comfort taking digital photos, accessing the web, and using online applications.

NOTE: Two separate sections of this course are offered: one is held at the Campbell Center of Fridays; one is held online on Thursdays. 

Want to expand your creativity and have fun? Join us to experience joyful, easy art projects. Bring your imagination, an open mind, and a willingness to explore possibilities. You may be surprised by what you produce in this four-session course. We will offer new ideas and techniques that are different from what was presented in the course Playful Art for Everyone I. Together, we’ll complete exercises in: abstracts, all over composition, collage, and word art. We will provide a sketchbook for each student; cardstock paper; watercolor paper; and some pens, pencils, markers, and magazines for use during class. No experience is needed, and participation in the course Playful Art for Everyone I is not a prerequisite.

NOTE: A contribution of $5 is due at the first class to offset our costs for the sketchbook, paper, copies, and other supplies. Students will be asked to bring some basic supplies. That information will be outlined for registered students in the pre-course email.

This course will teach about the development of sexual organs in humans and the known factors that can influence that development. It will identify human conditions known to affect the appearance of the external sexual organs at birth and at puberty. The genetics of sexual presentation will be discussed, as well as maternal conditions and environmental factors that can affect the presentation at birth. Embryological development will also be presented. The implications of this information will be discussed and some of the fallacies of current political thought will be noted. Students will be encouraged to ask questions and share information. The instructional method will be lecture with a PowerPoint presentation. Citations from medical literature will be available. A basic understanding of biology and genetics at high school level will be assumed for students.

The 47th president will be inaugurated on January 20, and two weeks earlier the 119th Congress will have been sworn in. The country could have a president and Congress of one political party, a president and a Congress of different parties, or a Congress with divided party majorities in the House and Senate. We will have lots to talk about, beginning with the results of the November election, the new president’s formation of a government leadership team, and the makeup and leaders of the House and Senate. Articles I and II of the Constitution will be reviewed, along with how those provisions have evolved over the past two centuries. Current issues will also be discussed. Students should have opinions to be shared and a respect for the views of others.

NOTE: There are two sections of this course offered: one is at the Campbell Center in Ashland; the other is at the Higher Education Center in Medford.

The instructor is a volunteer working on Ashland’s update to its Community Wildfire Protection Plan. The purpose of the plan is to keep you safe and our community whole when wildfire affects Ashland. In this course, students will engage with community members drafting the plan and have an opportunity to improve the plan before it is finalized in April 2025. Conversations and exercises will include the following topics:

1. Assessing community risk

2. Reducing business and rental property vulnerabilities

3. Public health and safe evacuations

4. Inclusive community risk reduction

5. Maintaining Ashland forests and water supply

6. Wildfire recovery and implementing a sustainable plan

NOTE: While this course focuses on Ashland, the discussion topics have broad applicability that may be useful in any community. Participation is strongly recommended because several exercises will be done in small groups

The instructor is a volunteer working on Ashland’s update to its Community Wildfire Protection Plan. The purpose of the plan is to keep you safe and our community whole when wildfire affects Ashland. In this course, students will engage with community members drafting the plan and have an opportunity to improve the plan before it is finalized in April 2025. Conversations and exercises will include the following topics:

1. Assessing community risk

2. Reducing business and rental property vulnerabilities

3. Public health and safe evacuations

4. Inclusive community risk reduction

5. Maintaining Ashland forests and water supply

6. Wildfire recovery and implementing a sustainable plan

NOTE: While this course focuses on Ashland, the discussion topics have broad applicability that may be useful in any community. Participation is strongly recommended because several exercises will be done in small groups

The two short novels by Wendell Berry are “Hannah Coulter” and “The Memory of Old Jack.” The Port William Membership is a rural agricultural community in Kentucky and the stories are set in this fictional place in the early to mid-20th century. Berry conveys the essence of living simply, admirably, and resiliently in the midst of relentless change and modernization brought on in part by cataclysmic world events, as well as by the pressures of doing right by the community and the requirements of honoring the land. The issues addressed are relevant today, and the humanity and pathos of Berry’s language and insight into character are enough to make one feel like a resident of Port William. Students require no special skills or background to appreciate this class, and there will be no homework or requirements for outside activity. The course will be run as a discussion group. Expect to be engaged and to bring your own ideas and reactions to each session!

NOTE: Please try to read both novels before the first class meeting, although that is not a requirement for the class. Print editions are preferable to allow for close reading and margin notes. Copies are available through online sources.