LLARC Study Groups, Winter 2026
The winter 2026 LLARC Study Group schedule is now available. Please see below.
Details
Study groups fill up quickly! Register as soon as you can for the best chance of getting into the study groups you want.
- Study groups are typically led rather than taught by LLARC member volunteers or select Regis College faculty. Most use a seminar format, emphasizing discussion, usually with preparatory reading. Please read descriptions carefully for these details, and note any requested texts or materials that need to be obtained independently.
Some classes will meet in person, while the others will meet via Zoom.
Who may join? LLARC welcomes adults with a desire for learning.
Study group leaders will communicate any preparation necessary for the first class meeting.
You are responsible for any additional cost of books and other materials if needed.
We are offering the following Study Groups for winter 2026:
Book Chats
Karen Mallozzi
Fridays 1 to 2:30 p.m., In Person FAC 301
Four Weeks, Beginning January 23
In this course, we will spend two weeks each on two books, one nonfiction and one fiction. The first, a nonfiction work, is The Place of Tides by James Rebanks, in which the author reflects on his summer spent on a remote island off the coast of Norway with an elderly woman who practices the ancient tradition of collecting eiderdown from the nesting birds. What began as a journey of escape becomes an extraordinary lesson in self-knowledge and forgiveness. The Second, Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield, is historical fiction with gothic elements, set in the Victorian era. William Bellman's boyhood action of killing a rook is soon forgotten, but throughout his life William Bellman must confront themes of moral reckoning and the mystery of life's fleeting nature.
Karen Mallozzi has led 10+ sessions of the Mystery discussions as well as a two-week summer Intersession on the book North Woods by Daniel Mason. She graduated from URI in 1981 with a BA in history with minors in English and Political Science. In 2012 she completed her MA in religious studies from Andover-Newton Theological School. In her free time, she gardens, bakes, and volunteers, and reads, reads, reads!
Creative Writing
Virginia Slep
Mondays 10 to Noon, Via Zoom
Four Weeks, Beginning January 26
In this writing group, the creative talents of the participants will be encouraged by their peers. Members are invited to write in any genre: memoir, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, essay, humor or play. Handouts will be provided to stimulate writing. Participants are given time to share their writings with classmates if they choose. Sometimes in talking about someone else’s writing, we are able to clarify our own thoughts and abilities. This is a light-hearted, supportive, welcoming group whose members enjoy writing for the fun of it.
Virginia Slep holds a BA and an MA in English and taught high school English for 35 years before her retirement. She has been leading this writing study group at LLARC since 2008 and was awarded the 2023 LLARC Bernie Shuster Award for excellence in teaching. She writes a regular column for the North Reading Transcript. Virginia has a PhD in Clinical Hypnosis and has a private practice in Wayland. In this writing group, the creative talents of the participants will be encouraged by their peers. Members are invited to write in any genre: memoir, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, essay, humor or play. Handouts will be provided to stimulate writing.
A Tour of America Through Musicals
Ronna Frick
Tuesdays, 1 to 4 p.m., Via Zoom
Four Weeks, Beginning January 20
Join Ronna Frick for a tour through America in this 4-session course that will examine the musical as a mirror of American values and concerns across time and geography. We will start in Hollywood to view and discuss the musical that tops most best musical lists: Singin’ in the Rain. The we’ll travel to New York for the original West Side Story. Then we move on to Chicago, and finally we return to the west coast to see just how much musicals have changed with LaLa Land. This course will examine the American musical as we trace its evolution through these four major works that represent different decades, regions, and cultural attitudes. We will explore how these musicals both celebrate and critique America in what should be a fun, informative, and exhilarating ride!
Ronna Frick has led literature and film related discussion groups at LLARC since 2010 and is a former recipient of the LLARC Bernie Shuster Award for teaching excellence. Prior to LLARC she taught high school English for over 40 years and served nine years as English department chair at Wellesley High School. She thoroughly enjoys teaching at LLARC and looks forward to another meaningful and fun experience with other lifelong learners.
Football Talk
Bill Koehler
Mondays, 1 to 2:30 p.m., Via Zoom
Four Weeks, Beginning January 5
We’ll get together each week to discuss the most compelling playoff games and NFL story lines through the Super Bowl, and we’ll throw in a few mini-lessons on football rules, tactics, and strategy. Fans of all teams (except the Cowboys!) are welcome.
William Koehler, Dean of the Sloane School of Business and Communication at Regis College, holds a Ph.D. in Modern European History from Brandeis University and has taught in higher education for over three decades.
People You Need to Know: The Ordinary Doing the Extraordinary
Kara Torres-Kilgannon
Tuesdays 10 to 11:30 a.m., In Person FAC 301
Three Weeks, Beginning January 20
Navajo code talkers, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Nicholas Winton, the Ten Boom family, Irena Sendler, and/or Stefania Podgorska - do these names sound familiar? If no, then they should because they all represent ordinary people doing extraordinary things during the Second World War. Who were these people? What did they do during the war? What were their motivations? What happened to them after the war? Learn the answers to these questions and more during this 3-week study group.
Kara Torres-Kilgannon is a historian specializing in Holocaust and Genocide Studies; she earned a BA in History from Sheffield Hallam University, an MA (in Law) from the University of Sheffield, and an MA from Yeshiva University. She is pursuing her PhD in Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Gratz College.