7 minute read
LITERATURE
BANNED BOOKS: NEWBERY MEDAL WINNERS**
UD OLLI Online (H303–06)
Friday 9–10:30 a.m. 2/9/2024–3/8/2024
Instructor: Emily Ginder
Number of class sessions: 5
Course format: Discussion
The Newbery Medal is given yearly to an author who has made a distinguished contribution to American literature for children. Many winning books are controversial, resulting in attempts to ban them. We read and discuss five winners that have been challenged/banned to see if they are suitable for young readers. We discuss the current furor over book banning. We read The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox, Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli, Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor and New Kid by Jerry Craft.
BEACH READS FOR BABIES AND BEYOND
Trinity Faith Education Building, Lewes (H273–01)
Monday 10:45 a.m.–noon 2/5/2024–3/4/2024
Instructor: Joyce Calamia
Number of class sessions: 5 • Class limit: 10
Course format: Discussion, Lecture
Through in-class reading and discussion, this course introduces students to children’s books about the beach, the ocean and sea life, written by the best kiddie-lit authors. Some books are classics, some are newcomers, all are delightful!
BOOK CLUB: THE WAR GIRLS
Wyoming Church, Dover (H300–01)
Thursday 9–10:15 a.m. 4/4/2024–5/2/2024
Class limit: 25
UD OLLI Online (H300–06)
Wednesday 12:45–2 p.m. 4/3/2024–5/8/2024
Class limit: 24
Instructor: Bobbi Neaton
Course format: Discussion
Required text: The War Girls: A WW2 Novel of Sisterhood and Survival, V.S. Alexander, ISBN:978-1-4967-3479-2
Join in a discussion of this historical novel based on true stories of life in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Nazi occupation of Poland. It chronicles the lives of three women who served with the Allies, worked with the Resistance and endured the cruelty of life in the Ghetto. Please note that there is no class for the online section (H300–06) on Wednesday, May 1; it is rescheduled to May 8.
CHARLES DICKENS & EMILE ZOLA: BRITAIN, FRANCE AND THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION*
Arsht Hall, Wilmington (H304–01)
Thursday 10:45 a.m.–noon 2/8/2024–5/9/2024
Number of class sessions: 13 • Class limit: 35
Course format: Discussion
Required text: Hard Times, Charles Dickens (2003 edition), Kate Flint, ed.
Famous 19th-century authors Charles Dickens in Hard Times and Emile Zola in Germinal presented some of the effects of modern capitalism and the Industrial Revolution. But one was English, the other was French. We compare their content and approach, reflecting their individual cultures. Excerpts from late-20th-century films of the novels are included in the presentations.
GREAT BOOKS IN GENRES**
Arsht Hall, Wilmington (H302–01)
Class limit: 75
Thursday 12:45–2 p.m.
2/8/2024–4/25/2024
Number of class sessions: 11
UD OLLI Online (H302–06)
Class limit: 75
Wednesday 10:45 a.m.–noon
2/7/2024–4/24/2024
Number of class sessions: 11
Instructor: Rebecca Worley
Novels come in several genres, among them historical novels, subdivided into fiction and those based on fact adapted for fiction. And mysteries can be cozies, puzzles or detective fiction. Then there’s the epistolary novel, written as letters. And we can’t forget the epic novel or the memoir. In this course, we study genres and read novels that represent only the “best of the best” for each genre. See website for specifics at https://sites.google.com/udel.edu/booksgenres.
HISTORICAL FICTION: WHAT’S OLD IS NEW
Arsht Hall, Wilmington (H306–01)
Wednesday 10:45 a.m.–noon
2/7/2024–5/8/2024
Instructor: Deborah Alvarez
Number of class sessions: 13
Course format: Discussion
Required texts: Roman Ice, Hypatia’s Diary and Templar’s Bank by Dave Bartell
This course blends history and fiction. We read three books by Dave Bartell: Roman Ice, Hypatia’s Diary and Templar’s Bank. The author uses an ancient historical fact to build a storyline for his novels, which feature new discoveries, revelations and environmental considerations. In these informative and intellectually vibrant novels, we root out the historical fact that drives the fiction.
LITTLE GIDDING: POETRY OF GEORGE HERBERT AND T. S. ELIOT**
Arsht Hall, Wilmington (H305–01)
Wednesday 10:45 a.m.–noon
2/7/2024–5/8/2024
Instructors: Bill Collins, Esther Summers
Number of class sessions: 13
Course format: Discussion, Lecture
Required text: The Complete Works of George Herbert ISBN 1420947923 and Four Quartets, T.S. Eliot ISBN 0156332256
The tiny community of Little Gidding in England was important to both the metaphysical poet (and Anglican priest) George Herbert and to T.S. Eliot. In this class, we discuss some of Herbert’s poetry (and a bit of his prose) and listen to some musical settings of his more famous verse. Then, we turn to Eliot, a great admirer of Herbert, and dive fearlessly into his Four Quartets, considered by many critics to be Eliot’s poetic masterpiece.
LOUISE GLÜCK: THE POETRY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE POET*
Arsht Hall, Wilmington (H296–01)
Thursday 10:45 a.m.–noon 2/8/2024–5/9/2024
Instructor: Paul Desmond
Number of class sessions: 13
Course format: Discussion, Lecture
Required text: Louise Glück: Poems 1962-2012, ISBN-10 0374534098.
We read, discuss and analyze the development and major works of Louise Glück.
MICHAEL CONNELLY: MYSTERY WRITER*
Trinity Faith Education Building, Lewes (H301–01)
Tuesday 10:45 a.m.–noon
2/6/2024–4/23/2024
Class limit: 40
UD OLLI Online (H301–06)
Class limit: unlimited
Instructor: Paul Collins
Number of class sessions: 11
Course format: Discussion, Lecture
Michael Connelly has almost 40 best-selling novels to his credit with Harry Bosch, Mickey Haller and now Renée Ballard as the chief protagonists. He also has three television series he has produced over the last few years. We examine his life, review some of his novels and watch episodes from some of his television shows.
POET TALK**
UD OLLI Online (H224–06)
Thursday 10:45 a.m.–noon
2/8/2024–3/7/2024
Instructor: Linda McMeniman
Number of class sessions: 5 • Class limit: 20
Course format: Discussion
For each class meeting, students listen at home to a selected episode from The New Yorker Poetry Podcasts archive. In class we continue the discussion of craft and process begun by the podcast host and guest poet, focusing on the two poems read on the podcast and other poems by the poets. An interest in the craft of poetry and willingness to explore poems through close reading are required. The New Yorker Poetry Podcast is free, available widely on the internet.
ROBERT FROST AND RAYMOND CARVER**
UD OLLI Online (H297–06)
Tuesday 9–10:15 a.m. 2/6/2024–4/23/2024
Instructor: John Snyder
Number of class sessions: 11 • Class limit: 20
Course format: Discussion
Required text: The Robert Frost Reader ISBN 13-978-0-805027021-7 and Where I’m Calling From, Raymond Carver ISBN 978-0-679-72231-1
This class is about two famous American authors: Robert Frost and Raymond Carver. We discuss Frost’s poetry and Carver’s short stories. This class does not contain lectures, but interactive class discussion.
SHAKESPEARE IN PERFORMANCE*
Arsht Hall, Wilmington (H214–01)
Monday 9–10:15 a.m.
2/5/2024–5/6/2024
Instructors: Jeff Wilkinson, Judy Goldbaum
Number of class sessions: 13 • Class limit: 100
Course format: Discussion, Lecture, Video Based
Each semester we explore three Shakespeare plays via videos of stage or movie productions. Class discussion and video lectures by Shakespeare scholars supplement the primary source—the plays themselves. This semester: Coriolanus, The Comedy of Errors and Henry V.
THE HEBREW BIBLE (THE OLD TESTAMENT) AS LITERATURE**
Wyoming Church, Dover (H299–01)
Thursday 10:45 a.m.–noon 2/8/2024–4/18/2024
Instructor: Robert Heifetz
Number of class sessions: 10 • Class limit: 25
Course format: Discussion, Lecture
In this survey of several key books in the Hebrew Bible, we come to understand the varied literary styles in one of mankind’s great works of art.
THE LATER STORIES OF JOHN UPDIKE*
Arsht Hall, Wilmington (H295–01)
Tuesday 10:45 a.m.–noon 2/5/2024–5/7/2024
Instructor: Paul Desmond
Number of class sessions: 13
Course format: Discussion, Lecture
Required texts: Licks of Love ISBN-10 978–0345442017, My Father’s Tears ISBN-10 0307271560
The purpose of this course is to carefully read and discuss the later stories of John Updike. We also read some of Updike’s poetry. We study the stories in two of the later collections: Licks of Love: Short Stories and a Sequel, “Rabbit Remembered” (2001) and My Father’s Tears and Other Stories (2009).
THE NEW YORKER: REVIEW AND OPINION**
UD OLLI Online (H209–06)
Wednesday 2:30–3:45 p.m. 2/7/2024–4/24/2024
Instructor: Mary McLaughlin Koprowski
Number of class sessions: 11
Course format: Discussion
Required text: The New Yorker magazine subscription
The class reviews and discusses various articles that appear in The New Yorker magazine. Everyone is encouraged to share summaries and opinions on various articles and offer their viewpoints for the class to consider.
THE PLAYS OF HENRIK IBSEN
Arsht Hall, Wilmington (H298–01)
Monday 10:45 a.m.–noon
2/5/2024–5/6/2024
Instructor: Donald Byrne
Number of class sessions: 13 • Class limit: 50
Course format: Discussion, Video Based
This course covers several plays of Henrik Ibsen, including Ghosts, A Doll’s House, Hedda Gabler, An Enemy of the People, The Master Builder and The Wild Duck.
