Literature & Writing   

This course presents five men and five women who can give us great wisdom. First, you will get to meet each one and learn their story. Why did they matter? Next, you will hear their wisdom crystallized in a beautiful gemstone. Why do their words touch me so? Can they inspire us all?

This course provides support and encouragement for new writers as well as experienced authors. Badiali believes wholeheartedly that personal histories are valuable treasures to be recorded and shared with loved ones. They are worth sharing with your extended family and others.

Special notes: Participants should read a memoir or autobiography of their choice before class and bring it to the first course session. Please bring materials to support in-class writing based on personal preference (paper and pencil, laptop computer, iPad, journal, etc.).

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein has been a key text in English literature since its first publication in 1818. At its 200th anniversary seven years ago, The New York Times identified it as “the rare story to pass from literature into common myth.” This course will focus on the texts, intertexts, and adaptations of Frankenstein, its role in British Romanticism, and why we obsessively return again and again to its central questions: what is the responsibility of a creator toward their creation, of a parent toward their child, of a human toward another human? This course includes a short lecture followed by discussion.

Special notes: Participants should read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, preferably the 1818 first edition, available on Project Gutenberg or Penguin Classics. ISBN#: 978-0143131847

Nearly 200 years after they were written, the works of Charles Dickens continue to attract the interest of movie makers, authors, political pundits, cartoonists, and artists, particularly around Christmas time. To discover why Dickens still speaks to us, participants will read and discuss A Christmas Carol and explore its continued relevance in US popular culture. Participants may purchase or borrow any version of the book in whatever format best suits them. No other book is required, but the instructor recommends The Man Who Invented Christmas to those who want to learn more.

Nearly 200 years after they were written, the works of Charles Dickens continue to attract the interest of movie makers, authors, political pundits, cartoonists, and artists, particularly around Christmas time. To discover why Dickens still speaks to us, participants will read and discuss A Christmas Carol and explore its continued relevance in US popular culture. Participants may purchase or borrow any version of the book in whatever format best suits them. No other book is required, but the instructor recommends The Man Who Invented Christmas to those who want to learn more.