Meet our Instructor

Eleni Anastasiou has been an instructor with OLLI at Pitt for almost four years.  She teaches a variety of literature courses and has an upcoming course, John Donne and the Metaphysics of Love .  Recently, we sat down with Eleni to chat.

When did you first start teaching for OLLI?

I first started teaching for OSHER in the summer of 2014 when I offered a course on World War I Poetry to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the start of that Great War.   It was a wonderful experience in terms of interacting with students for the first time where I did not have to judge them in terms of final grades, who were there purely for the love of learning and who, because of that, pushed me to learn more about a topic that had always interested me.  I have enjoyed teaching OSHER courses ever since, especially meeting so many interesting students.

What book is on your nightstand? What will be the next book that you read?

I am always in the midst of reading several books for research and pleasure.  My current bed time reading is The Curious History of Food and Drink; I love reading about quirky facts such as how in Anglo-Saxon days, a man who had a “shrewish” wife was advised to eat radishes before bedtime.  Another book at my bedside is a biography of the poet John Donne for my upcoming course.  Then, among the next handful of books I will be reading are a collection of essays on Harry Potter to think about the series in terms of gender and class and a book about alchemy.

Where is your dream destination and why?

There are so many places I am planning to visit that I can’t list them all: I would love to explore the architecture in Italy, to volunteer at an elephant sanctuary in Thailand, to take a long RV trip to as much of the United States as I can efficiently map out, and to travel in the south of France to see where Van Gogh painted.  A long time dream I have held is to tour Australia and New Zealand.   My sister lives in Australia – and I fell in love with the landscape of New Zealand after watching the movie The Piano; The Lord of the Rings movies only reinforced how beautiful New Zealand is. 

If you could offer advice to a relatively new OLLI instructor, what would it be?

I actually just offered advice to a first-time OSHER instructor who might be teaching this summer.  I had encouraged her to apply to teach in the programme because it’s such a great experience.  The advice that I gave was to be really prepared because OSHER students not only enjoy learning about every aspect of a subject but also seek out supplementary materials from their instructors.  I would also advise her to have fun and be open to the range of experiences that an OLLI population has to offer.

What is your favorite time of the year?

My favourite time of year is early summer, just before that heavy Pittsburgh humidity kicks in.  I love seeing my vegetable garden grow and enjoying more time in the outdoors.  Even bookworms need a bit of sunlight!

Anything else you’d like to share?

OLLI is such a wonderful programme that I look forward to not only continuing to teaching for it but also one day taking classes as a member!

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