Friday Courses Oct. 2-Nov. 6 Lois Welch Women’s Comedy Friday, 3:00 pm-4:30 pm: Todd Bldg-UM
Text: Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, Orlando by Virginia Woolf; The Comforters by Muriel Spark; Anagrams by Lorrie Moore; I Feel Bad about My Neck and Other Thoughts… by Nora Ephron; Poems New & Collected by Wislawa, Symborksa “Women not only have no humour in themselves but are the cause of the extinction of it in others.” This traditional--and obviously false-view of women’s comedy is the starting point for this class. In the past twenty years, as women comedians have become more visible in this country, women’s comedy has emerged as a significant field of study. We will investigate the meaning and function of comedy, its seriousness as well as its indispensable hilarity. Because comedy is largely culture-bound, we will focus primarily on British and American women’s comedy, using novels, essays and poetry. Jokes, film, TV and comic theory will enhance the context of our profound and delightful investigation. Men are welcome to register! Lois Welch is Professor Emeritus of English at UM where she taught Comparative Literature from 1966 to 2000 and directed the Creative Writing Program for eight years. She received her MA and Ph.D at Occidental College, then taught at Portland State University before coming to UM. Her publications include articles on Aristotle, Dostoevsky, Richard Hugo, Eudora Welty and women’s comedy. She is currently working on a memoir about her late husband, the author James Welch.
MOLLI Connecting the Circle summer camp
In June 2009, MOLLI hosted our first summer camp: Grandparents and Grandkids: Connecting the Circle. Thirty-two learning teams consisting of one adult and one child came together for two days of fun and learning. The first day started with G.Wiz Magic of Chemistry. Participants ate Cheetos straight from a vat of Liquid Nitrogen and exploded a volcano with flames shooting 4 feet in the air! Monte was on hand to cheer on the participants, after which they went to class to learn more about bees, fossils, stars, and the science of motion with puppets and robots. On the second day participants engaged in field experiences. A special thanks goes to EPSCoR for their grant funding of the very successful summer camp and SpectrUM for their great support and dedication to science learning. Also, thanks to the professors and their assistants for sharing their knowledge with the participants and for making this camp memorable for all! To learn more and see pictures from the camp go to www.umt.edu/ce/plus50