Literature   

In his 1950 Nobel Prize acceptance speech, William Faulkner spoke about the writer’s duty and privilege to remind us of “courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice.” From the iconic “A Rose for Emily” to the lesser known “Two Soldiers” to the challenging “The Bear,” we will read a dozen of Faulkner’s stories and discuss how they make these abstractions concrete. Some of the stories may make us laugh, some may make us cry, some may make us uncomfortable with how they capture the racism that was endemic in Faulkner’s South. This class will challenge us to understand Faulkner’s attitudes about race in the context of his fiction that exposes racism and its complicated legacy.

NOTE: Required: “Faulkner: Stories” (Library of America, ed. Theresa M. Towner, 2023). This edition is available only in hardcover. It is also the only one that contains all the pieces we’ll discuss. You can order a copy at Bloomsbury Books or a new or used copy from online sources.

“James” is by 2020 Pulitzer finalist, Percival Everett. In “James” he inverts Mark Twain’s (Samuel Clemens’) story of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” making the slave, Jim, the protagonist. During the class, students will read the two books side-by-side, gathering impressions of the old classic and this new interpretation. The class will examine the use of language in both books, references to the river and to superstitions and folklore, and study the motivations of both authors for bringing this story to the page. “James” has been longlisted for the Booker Prize and is being developed as a feature film by Steven Spielberg. “Huckleberry Finn” is a book that most of us remember from childhood and many have not read in adulthood. It has faced several book bans for various reasons since 1885. One of the most recent publications has removed all use of the N-word, citing racism. This course will bring the two authors face to face and examine in depth their implied conversation.

NOTE: Students are encouraged to read at least the first half of each novel before the course begins. The instructor will be using the Cambridge University Press edition of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” 1995, easily available as a used book from online sources.

Shakespeare’s characters, conflicts, and themes are as relevant to America today as they were to 17th-century England. Far from the boring slog so many of us recall from 10th grade, this play brilliantly poses deep moral questions of contemporary import — about leadership, power, idealism, pragmatism, egotism, and honor. It crackles with brilliant rhetoric used to shape public opinion in a bitterly divided country. The author examines the fine lines between facts and assumptions, duty and ambition, and confidence and arrogance. The personal tragedies of the main characters mirror the dilemma of their society in the moment of transformation from the remnants of a republic to an oligarchy. At the end of the play, we are left to decide whether the end justifies the means, whether political violence can ever make Rome — or anywhere else — great again. Through lecture and discussion, the class will examine these questions in a study of the text and a variety of productions.

NOTE: No previous knowledge of Shakespeare is required, but students should have access to a copy of the play. Two separate sections of this course are offered: one is held at the Campbell Center on Wednesdays; the other is held online on Thursdays.

Shakespeare’s characters, conflicts, and themes are as relevant to America today as they were to 17th-century England. Far from the boring slog so many of us recall from 10th grade, this play brilliantly poses deep moral questions of contemporary import — about leadership, power, idealism, pragmatism, egotism, and honor. It crackles with brilliant rhetoric used to shape public opinion in a bitterly divided country. The author examines the fine lines between facts and assumptions, duty and ambition, and confidence and arrogance. The personal tragedies of the main characters mirror the dilemma of their society in the moment of transformation from the remnants of a republic to an oligarchy. At the end of the play, we are left to decide whether the end justifies the means, whether political violence can ever make Rome — or anywhere else — great again. Through lecture and discussion, the class will examine these questions in a study of the text and a variety of productions.

NOTE: No previous knowledge of Shakespeare is required, but students should have access to a copy of the play. Two separate sections of this course are offered: one is held at the Campbell Center on Wednesdays; the other is held online on Thursdays.

Since its appearance in the 8th century BCE, “The Odyssey” has always been profoundly entertaining, a fascinating tale that illuminates the human condition in multiple ways. In our lifetimes, though, it had settled into the male-generated “canon” of Western literature most of us experienced only in school. When Emily Wilson’s translation appeared in 2017, the first in English by a woman, it kindled an excitement well beyond the classroom. What might be revealed about the world of the poem — and thus about our own world — when it was re-created with a scholar’s precision but with a female sensitivity about what and who matters? We will explore together “The Odyssey” in Wilson’s translation and, hopefully, “arrive where we started/ And know the place for the first time.”

NOTE: “The Odyssey,” translated by Emily Wilson, is a required text. Because the course will be almost entirely discussion, students will be expected to read the assigned portions prior to each class.

Welcome to Part I of “The Oxford Book of French Short Stories” (in English translation). Spanning the centuries from the late 18th to the late 20th, the collection opens with a rambunctious tale from the Marquis de Sade, then proceeds to take on the masters of the 19th century, from Stendhal and Balzac to Maupassant, and reaches to Quebec, Africa, and the French Caribbean. Women writers include relatively well-known figures such as Renee Vivien, Colette, and Beauvoir, and newer writers such as Assia Djebar, Christiane Baroche, and Annie Saumont. Before each session, students will read three or four designated stories, which will then be discussed in a comfortable inclusive classroom setting. We will only be covering only the first 15 stories. The final stories, Part II, are planned to be covered in the winter of 2026. The French short story is a rich and diverse medium, but all the stories selected share a common characteristic: They will make this class exciting and fun!

NOTE: A copy of “The Oxford Book of French Short Stories,” edited by Elizabeth Fallaize, is required. New and used versions are available online with used versions priced at about $8.

“The Phantom of the Opera,” the longest running show on Broadway, celebrated its 10,000th performance in February 2012. With total estimated worldwide gross receipts of over $6 billion and total Broadway gross of over $1 billion, it was the most financially successful entertainment event until 2014. By 2019, it had been seen by over 140 million people in 183 cities across 41 countries. What is it about this story that has inspired such creative effort, captured the imagination of millions, and made it a staple of modern culture? What does it say about us that we find LeRoux’s story so compelling? Students will consider this while reading Gaston LeRoux’s 1910 work, “The Phantom of the Opera.” The course will cover four or five chapters a week for six weeks and include information about the author, the Paris Opera House and stage, screen, and literary adaptations. Discussion will center on character analysis, literary style, and a viewing of the 1925 silent film adaptation starring Lon Chaney.

NOTE: The book can be purchased or downloaded for free from several internet sources. The 1925 silent film starring Lon Chaney is available on multiple streaming platforms. Links will be provided to class participants.

The two short novels by Wendell Berry are “Hannah Coulter” and “The Memory of Old Jack.” The Port William Membership is a rural agricultural community in Kentucky and the stories are set in this fictional place in the early to mid-20th century. Berry conveys the essence of living simply, admirably, and resiliently in the midst of relentless change and modernization brought on in part by cataclysmic world events, as well as by the pressures of doing right by the community and the requirements of honoring the land. The issues addressed are relevant today, and the humanity and pathos of Berry’s language and insight into character are enough to make one feel like a resident of Port William. Students require no special skills or background to appreciate this class, and there will be no homework or requirements for outside activity. The course will be run as a discussion group. Expect to be engaged and to bring your own ideas and reactions to each session!

NOTE: Please try to read both novels before the first class meeting, although that is not a requirement for the class. Print editions are preferable to allow for close reading and margin notes. Copies are available through online sources.