Humanities
LITERATURE ANTI-RACIST READING PRACTICES Ravi Shankar | Professor
As we reckon with our shared history of colonialism and the legacy of slavery, it is more imperative than ever to cultivate anti-racism, which takes requires conscious, deliberate actions in order to confront racial discrimination on both an individual and institutional level. In this class, we will look at literature’s role in the history of racism, reexamining texts such as Joseph’s Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Mark Twain’s Huck Finn and reading them alongside contemporary works of fiction, poetry, and criticism. We will read excerpts from James Baldwin’s The Fire Inside, Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped From the Beginning, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me, Audre Lorde’s Sister Outsider, Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, Saeed Jones’ How We Fight for Our Lives, among other texts. We will problematize the notion of “white fragility,” debunk the myths of non-racism, white genocide, and the “model minority myth” and discuss such phenomena as cultural appropriation. By the end of the course, we will raise our consciousness about race but also link our knowledge to pragmatic actions necessary to create a more equitable society. C O U R S E C O D E : S L AY Sec. 01: 8 Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30pm. Begins Sep. 14 | $270
RUSSIAN GOLDEN AGE Paul Karpuk | Emeritus Professor, Central Connecticut State University
In the 1820s and 1830s, talented Romantic-era poets and prose artists laid the foundation of modern Russian literature. The three most significant Russian Romantic authors were Alexander Pushkin, whom Russians almost universally consider their greatest writer; Mikhail Lermontov, the nation’s second greatest poet after Pushkin; and Nikolai Gogol, Russia’s comic genius. We will study landmark works by them: Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin, Lermontov’s A Hero of Our Time, and Gogol’s Petersburg Tales. COURSE CODE: ROMA Sec. 01: 8 Wednesdays, 7:45-9:15pm. Begins Sep. 15 | $240
A SHAKESPEARE SEMINAR: HENRY IV PART 1 Susan Glassman | Ph.D., English, University of Rhode Island
Shakespeare’s mingling comedy, history, and tragedy reached its peak in Henry IV. Acknowledged to be Shakespeare’s greatest historical saga, Henry IV, Part 1 is a tale of power, treachery, and war, exploring the complexity of father-son relationships. King Henry IV despairs because his son Hal lives a dissolute life. The play focuses on the development of Prince Hal rather than on the title character. Hal’s closest friend is Falstaff, a substitute father figure, a witty person who lives with gusto. COURSE CODE: HEIV Sec. 01: 8 Tuesdays, 10:30-11:45am. Begins Sep. 14 | $230 Sec. 02: 8 Tuesdays, 2-3:15pm. Begins Sep. 14 | $230
YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN GERMAN CONVERSATION ABOUT LITERATURE: DER RICHTER UND SEIN HENKER ON PAGE 23
JAMES JOYCE AND EDNA O’BRIEN Margery Sabin | Lorraine Chiu Wang Professor of English Emerita
James Joyce’s autobiographical Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, published as a book in 1916, established him as the leading modernist writer in English. Male writers—Joyce, Yeats, T.S. Eliot, and Beckett—were an intimidating roster for young Irish women aspirants to freer self-expression as the 20th century progressed. After reading Portrait we will read Edna O’Brien’s bold, groundbreaking 1960 novel—Country Girls—that, like Joyce’s early writings, engendered scandal and fierce criticism from church and social convention. A sample of outstanding short stories will conclude the course by registering the diversity of identity and experience among Irish women writers. COURSE CODE: JTTS Sec. 01: 8 Wednesdays, 10:30am-12pm. Begins Sep. 15 | $230
MONSTROUS FICTION Von Beckford | English Literature Professor UMass Boston
Do you love monsters? Take a break from mundanity with this eight-week course focusing on monstrous short stories by authors like Haruki Murakami and Octavia Butler. What are monsters? Why are we so fascinated by them? What can we learn from them? Ranging from folktales to modern-day dark fiction, this course will teach you to use literary devices as tools for dissecting some of humankind’s worst fears. C O U R S E C O D E : O C TA Sec. 01: 8 Mondays, 7:45-9pm. Begins Sep. 13 | $260 No class Oct. 11
GRIMM BROTHERS’ MAGICAL YET VERY REAL WORLD Olga Turcotte | Jungian Consultant and Instructor
Brothers Jacob and Wilhelm got along well enough to work together harmoniously most of their lives and compiled over 200 folk tales from across the globe that were originally meant for us, the adults. Over the years, we have asked the young and the innocent to read and understand them, while we have been a little busy living out sundry parts of the tales ourselves. Join us to read and interpret these age-old stories. Please acquire The Complete Grimm Fairy Tales ISBN 978-0394709307 byPantheon. COURSE CODE: REAL Sec. 01: 6 Thursdays, 1-2:30pm. Begins Nov. 4 | $170 No class Nov. 11 & 25
SWISS AND AUSTRIAN AUTHORS: DEVELOPMENT AND PORTRAYAL OF THE MODERN WAY OF LIFE Petra Bittner | Literature Instructor
Set in the mid-twentieth century, Robert Seethaler’s A Whole Life is a story about the arrival of the modern world in an Austrian village and of the value of solitude. The Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt in his play The Visit has fashioned a macabre and entertaining parable that is a scathing indictment of the power of greed. As a member of a new generation of Swiss writers, Benedict Wells tells the story of a family through the fractured lives of three siblings. The End of Loneliness is a meditation on the power of our memories. COURSE CODE: SWIS Sec. 01: 4 Wednesdays, 2-3:30pm. Begins Oct. 6 | $115
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