Coming Online and Onsite Events
Become a subscriber in the Community of Lifelong Learners for $40 per month for unlimited attendance at on-site and online events, or $25 per month for only ONLINE events. Subscribers are responsible for ordering their own books. One-day ONSITE seminar tuition is $125 per person for non-subscribers. Special events have differing tuition. Scholarships are available for teachers and students. Please inquire via email here.
Online Weekly Intensives
Online Seminar Series - NOW MEETING/ENROLLING
Jane Austen - All Six
Thursday Evenings - Ongoing to November 5, 2026​
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Mansfield Park begins June 4
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Has anyone observed character and manners in language more crisp than Jane Austen has? Has anyone made prose fiction more precise? Part of her great artistry must surely be in making her characters not less, but more, lively and real for their ability to converse in accents as bright as those in which she writes. Somehow her characters can sound like Jane Austen and still be themselves. Can anyone ever have spoken like this? Can anyone reading her care, so long as they get to hear more of it? Like some reading Desdemona, we “devour up (her) discourse.” In her treatment of the real work of human happiness as taking place on the ground where the sexes meet, she must be almost unmatched in coupling charming drollery of speech with the moral drama of composing soul-bursting passion into ardor’s fulfilled articulation.
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Won’t you come and converse with Jane? She's good company -- on a Friday night, or any night. Come for one, two, several, or all. Pick the ones you like, but don’t count out the ones you don’t know. Richness and beauty fill them all.
Online seminars in this series will take place on Thursday evenings, 5:30-7:00PM Pacific Time. Attendees will be sent books in order. Sessions will be facilitated by Eric Stull. Groups will be limited to 16 participants and no prior knowledge is required. Teachers will be offered CEU credits for participating. Each book in the online series is offered as stand-alone or can be grouped into a set for a discount.
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Online Seminar Series - NOW ENROLLING
Introduction to Buddhism: Theravada and Mahayana Traditions
Wednesday Evenings - September 9 to December 16, 2026​
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Buddhism originated in 5th-century BCE in Northeast India, founded by Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) who taught the path to the liberation from suffering and the ultimate goal of reaching Nirvana, a state of freedom, peace, and the extinguishing of greed, hatred, and delusion. As a non-theistic tradition emphasizing ethics and mindfulness, it grew from a local movement into a major religion that spread across Central, East, and Southeast Asia. The religion evolved into diverse traditions — notably the Theravada and Mahayana practices — while shaping art, philosophy, and society, eventually evolving into a global presence with roughly 500 million followers today.
We will explore these two traditions through a selection of readings from two texts: In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon, and The Lotus Sutra. The online series will take place over 14 Wednesday evenings, 5:30-7:00PM Pacific time. Participants will be mailed the texts and no prior knowledge is required. The series tuition is $800. Comunity of Lifelong Learning subscribers receive a $100 discount through a refund. Payment options are available and teachers receive 2 CEU credits upon request
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Free Community Series
Free Onsite Community Seminar Series
Eastern Classics
Tuesday, June 2, 2026
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Like the west, the east has its own tradition of influential texts that address the perennial questions of human kind. Centering around the bodies of work from China, Japan, and India, this series will focus on the texts of Taoism, Confucius, Buddhism, and Hinduism. We invite you to join us and attendees can feel free to join intermittently.
June 2 reading:
The Tao Te Ching - Verses 46-47
Click icon to download, or click here
for all chapters.
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Schedule:
1:00 - 2:00PM PDT
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Location:
111 East Ojai Avenue in Ojai, California
Free Onsite Community Seminar Series
Sufi Poetry
Tuesday, June 9, 2026
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Khajeh Shams-od-Din Mohammad Hafez Shirazi (c. 1325–1390) was a legendary Persian lyric poet renowned as the pinnacle of Persian literature. His pen name "Hafez" means "one who has memorized the Qur'an". His Divan explores themes of love, spirituality, and a critique of religious hypocrisy, deeply influencing Persian culture and Western writers like Goethe and Emerson. We invite you to join us once per month to explore his poetry together.
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June 9 reading:
Beloved, who has bid thee ask no more by Hafiz
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Schedule:
1:00 - 2:00PM PDT
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Location:
111 East Ojai Avenue in Ojai, California
Free Onsite Community Seminar Series
The Poetry of Mary Oliver
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Mary Oliver's poetry is widely recognized for its deep connection to the natural world, often focusing on detailed observations of plants, animals, and landscapes, with a central theme of finding beauty and meaning in everyday moments, while exploring human experiences like mortality, loss, and the interconnectedness of all living things, all presented through vivid imagery and a conversational tone. We invite you to join us once per month to explore her poetry together.
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June 23 reading:
Don't Hesitate​​
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Schedule:
1:00 - 2:00PM PDT
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Location:
111 East Ojai Avenue in Ojai, California
Upcoming Regular Events
Online Seminar Series
Monday Night Poetry Group
Next Session - Monday, June 1, 2026
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Join us as we explore, through close reading, what makes a poem. Each online session will focus on a single poem or two shorter ones. We'll examine how language becomes art, taking note of everything from forms and sound patterns to imagery and word order, discovering how poets transform ordinary language into “machines made out of words” that resonate on emotional, sensory and imaginative levels.
No preparation is required— we’ll read aloud and discover the poems together. Each of the seminars is self-contained, so join for any or all that interest you. Whether you're new to poetry or a seasoned reader, these gatherings will deepen your ability to see how poems work their particular magic, revealing the craft behind moments of beauty, surprise and insight.
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Visit the Monday Night Poetry Group page for more information and to access upcoming poems.
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June 1 Reading:
Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley
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Schedule:
5:00-6:00PM PDT
Tutor:
Carol Seferi
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Location:
Online. Register to receive the link.
Online Seminar Series
The Periodic Table: A Memoir by Primo Levi
Saturday, June 6, 2026
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Published in 1975, The Periodic Table by Primo Levi is a collection of 21 autobiographical stories, each named after and inspired by a chemical element. Levi recounts episodes from his life, including his experiences before, during, and after the Holocaust, to explore themes of identity, memory, and the human condition. The book interweaves his passion for science and his professional life with his personal history, showing how chemistry provided a lens through which to understand and survive experiences. In 2006, the Royal Institution of Great Britain named it the best science book ever written. We invite you to join us as we read and discuss portions of the text in online seminars about one month apart, eventually completing the entire book.
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June 6 Reading:
The Periodic Table by Primo Levi
Lead, Mercury, Phosphorus (pages 79-126)
Schocken - ISBN 978-0805210415
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Schedule:
12:00-2:00PM PDT
Tutor:
Andy Gilman
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Location:
Online. Register to receive the link.
Online Contemporary Issues Seminar Series
The Emperor of All Maladies - A Biography of Cancer
by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Sunday, June 7, 2026 (moved from May 2)
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From the author - "In a sense, this is a military history—one in which the adversary is formless, timeless, and pervasive. Here, too, there are victories and losses, campaigns upon campaigns, heroes and hubris, survival and resilience—and inevitably, the wounded, the condemned, the forgotten, the dead. In the end, cancer truly emerges, as a nineteenth-century surgeon once wrote in a book's frontispiece, as "the emperor of all maladies, the king of terrors."
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The Emperor of All Maladies won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction: the jury called it "an elegant inquiry, at once clinical and personal". The Guardian wrote that "Mukherjee manages to convey not only a forensically precise picture of what he sees, but a shiver too, of what he feels." Literary Review commended Mukherjee's narrative: "It is so well written, and the science is so clearly explained, that it reads almost like a detective story—which, of course, it is." We invite you to this monthly offering, reading several chapters each time.
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June 7 Reading:
Part Four - Prevention is the Cure (pages 237-285)
Scribner; Reprint edition (August 2011)
ISBN 978-1439170915
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Schedule:
12:00-1:30PM PDT
Tutor:
Andy Gilman
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Location:
Online. Register to receive the link.
Online Seminar Series
Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
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Let us leave theories there and return to here's hear.
Having done the longest day in literature with Ulysses (1922), Joyce set himself an even greater challenge for his next book - the night. "A nocturnal state... That is what I want to convey: what goes on in a dream, during a dream." Published in 1939, the book would take Joyce two decades to complete.
A story with no real beginning or end, the work has come to assume a preeminent place in English literature. Anthony Burgess has lauded Finnegans Wake as "a great comic vision, one of the few books of the world that can make us laugh aloud on nearly every page". Harold Bloom has called it Joyce's masterpiece, and, in The Western Canon (1994), wrote that "if aesthetic merit were ever again to center the canon, Finnegans Wake would be as close as our chaos could come to the heights of Shakespeare and Dante".
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Join us as we read this text a few pages at a time, every other Wednesday afternoon. Click here to visit the Finnegans Wake Online Seminar page, with links to media and the Discussion Forum.
June 10 ​Reading:
Book Three - Chapter Three of Finnegans Wake by Joyce (page 491, Line 24), Penguin Classics; Reissue edition (December 1999). ISBN 9780141181264.
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Schedule:
12:30-2:00PM PDT
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Tutor:
Barry Rabe
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Location:
Online. Register to receive the link.
Online Seminar Series
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
by Max Weber
Saturday, June 13, 2026
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Written in 1905, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Max Weber argues that certain aspects of Protestantism, particularly the belief in a calling and predestination, fostered a mindset conducive to the rise of modern capitalism. He proposed that the anxiety of not knowing if one was chosen for salvation drove believers to see worldly success and diligent work as a sign of election, creating an work ethic that encouraged reinvestment and a relentless pursuit of wealth that continues to influence the world today. We invite you to join us as we read and discuss portions of the text in online seminars about one month apart, eventually completing the entire book.
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June 13 Reading:
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Max Weber
Part 2 - Chapter Five: Asceticism and the Spirit of Capitalism (pages 102 - 125)
Routledge Classic Edition - ISBN 978-0415254069
or click here to download the PDF
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Schedule:
12:00-2:00PM PDT
Tutor:
Andy Gilman
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Location:
Online. Register to receive the link.
Online Seminar Series
The Chemical History of a Candle by Michael Faraday
Saturday, June 27, 2026
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"There is not a law under which any part of this universe is governed which does not come into play and is not touched upon during the time a candle burns." Michael Faraday’s The Chemical History of a Candle, written in 1861, is based on his famous six-lecture series, uses the simple, everyday burning of a candle to introduce fundamental scientific principles such as combustion, capillary action, and respiration. Faraday explains that a candle flame is a complex, oxygen-driven chemical reaction that produces water and carbon dioxide, while also demonstrating the role of carbon particles in producing light and the convective forces that shape the flame. We invite you to participate in discussing these six lectures, taking place about one month apart.
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June 27 Reading:
Lecture Two - A Candle: Brightness of the Flame, Air Necessary for Combustion, Production of Water
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Schedule:
12:00-1:30PM PDT
Tutor:
Andy Gilman
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Location:
Online. Register to receive the link.
Online Seminar Series
Mahatma Gandhi - The Essential Writings
Saturday, July 11, 2026
Gandhi (1869–1948) was a profound and original thinker as well as one of most influential figures in the twentieth century. A religious and social reformer, he became a crucial leader in the Indian nationalist movement, made famous for his advocacy of non-violent civil resistance. His many writings describe challenges he faced, his religious views, his political will, and the evolution of his ideas. We invite you to join us as we read this text, portions at a time about one month apart, eventually reading the entire book over seven online sessions.
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July 11 Reading:
I. Gandhi, his mission, and the influences on him - (pages 1-38)
The Essential Writings (Oxford World's Classics)
Oxford University Press (May 2008)
ISBN 978-0192807205
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Schedule:
12:00-2:00PM PDT
Tutor:
Andy Gilman
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Location:
Online. Register to receive the link.
Online Seminar Series
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn
Saturday, August 8, 2026
First published in 1962, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions fundamentally reshaped the history and philosophy of science by challenging the long-held belief that scientific progress is a steady, cumulative accumulation of truth. He introduced the concept of a paradigm—a universally recognized framework of theories and methods that guides everyday "normal" science. When anomalies arise that cannot be explained within the current framework, a crisis ensues, eventually leading to a radical paradigm shift where the old system is replaced by a completely new one. This work profoundly impacted modern culture and as well as social sciences and humanities. By highlighting how emotional, psychological, and sociological factors influence scientific breakthroughs, the book revolutionized not just science, but how society as a whole understands human knowledge. We invite you to join us as we read this foundational text, portions at a time about one month apart, eventually reading the entire book over five online sessions.
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August 8 Reading:
Preface, Introduction, The Route to Normal Science - (pages xxxix - 22)
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
University of Chicago Press (April 2012)
ISBN 978-0226458120
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Schedule:
12:00-2:00PM PDT
Tutor:
Andy Gilman
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Location:
Online. Register to receive the link.
Online Seminar Series
Male and Female - A Study of the Sexes in a Changing World by Margaret Mead
Saturday, June 20, 2026
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Published in 1949, Male and Female by Margaret Mead examines how cultures construct different gender roles, moving beyond her earlier work by incorporating biological constants into her analysis. Drawing on her fieldwork, she explores how biological differences interact with cultural expectations to shape male and female identities, arguing that while certain biological realities exist, social and cultural norms are the primary determinants of behavior and temperament. The book concludes with a critique of American gender dynamics, proposing that each gender has distinct "superiorities" and that a lasting "sexual peace" requires understanding and respecting these cultural constructions. We invite you to join us as we read and discuss portions of the text in online seminars about one month apart, eventually completing the entire book.
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June 20 Reading:
Male and Female by Margaret Mead
Part Two - The Ways of the Body - First Learnings, Even-Handed, Money-Handed, and Womb-Envying Patterns (pages 45-96)
Mariner Books - ISBN 978-0060934965
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Schedule:
12:00-2:00PM PDT
Tutor:
Andy Gilman
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Location:
Online. Register to receive the link.
Online Seminar Series
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Saturday, August 15, 2026
Braiding Sweetgrass is a profound exploration of human connection to the natural world. As a botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Kimmerer blends Indigenous ecological philosophy with Western scientific knowledge, revealing how plants and animals are our oldest teachers, possessing their own gifts and languages. The book advocates for a shift away from a consumerist, commodity-based culture toward a "gift economy" rooted in gratitude and reciprocity. Through lyrical essays, the author outlines the "Honorable Harvest"—a set of ethical guidelines for taking from the earth responsibly, which requires asking permission, taking only what is needed, and giving back in return. We invite you to join us as we read this text, portions at a time about one month apart, eventually reading the entire book.
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August 15 Reading:
Preface, Skywoman Falling, The Council of Pecans, The Gift of Strawberries - (pages 1 - 32)
Braiding Sweetgrass
Milkweed Editions (August 2015)
ISBN 978-1571313560
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Schedule:
12:00-1:30PM PDT
Tutor:
Andy Gilman
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Location:
Online. Register to receive the link.