Your source of adult education in the humanities for more than 25 years.
Listed below are courses from Summer 2006 through the most recent completed term, Fall 2007. Since all of our offerings are based on instructor proposals we cannot guarantee that any of these particular courses will be offered again.
Please click on the subject links below, or simply scroll down to browse the list of seminars
Newberry à la carte
Arts and Music
Philosophy and Religion
History and Genealogy
Literature and Theater
Writing Workshops
Constructing a Medieval Book: Book Making and Manuscripts in the Middle Ages Fall 2007
This seminar will be a brief, hands-on introduction to the art and craft of making a medieval book. We will consider what materials went into the production of a book, how they were selected and by whom, and we will look at how a book's design and production were closely tied to its use and content in ways that differ greatly from book production today. Come get an up-close view of some of the Newberry's most beautiful and interesting medieval manuscripts, and learn how they were made along the way.
From Ibn Battuta to Invisible Cities: Exploring the Silk Road at the Newberry Library Winter/Spring 2007
For centuries, the Silk Road linked China to Europe and North Africa. In addition to commercial trade, there was an active cultural exchange along this route. In this seminar, we will take a look at travel accounts, historic maps, and literary works to see what they tell us about who traveled the Silk Road, and the people and places they encountered.
Introduction to Research at the Newberry Library Fall 2007, Winter/Spring 2007, Fall 2006
This session will provide an overview of the Newberry's collections, introduce researchers to the various catalogs and print resources within the Library's Reference and Bibliographic Center, and offer a behind-the-scenes tour of the Library.
Mesoamerica at the Newberry Fall 2006
This session is an opportunity to view and discuss primary sources in the Newberry's collections from explorers and indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. We will focus on, but not be limited to, Maya-related items such as Waldeck's sketchbooks and maps. After the session, be sure to view the items exhibited in The Aztecs and the Making of Colonial Mexico.
Shakespeare at the Newberry Library Fall 2006
We will explore Shakespeare, and the Shakespearean age, from a variety of the Newberry Library's particularly rich resources, including not only early printed editions of the plays and poems, but also manuscripts, prompt books, music, theater programs, maps, illustrations, and adaptations from the sixteenth century to the present.
The Art of Digital Photography Summer 2006
In this intermediate course, improve your digital photography skills by working through technical and aesthetic questions, completing weekly shooting assignments, and by viewing selections from the Newberry's collection of prints and artists' books. We will focus on improving your knowledge of the digital camera and Adobe Photoshop and will cover both scanning and digital printing. The course will also offer a history of photography and will cover archival concerns associated with the digitization of images. Participants must have a digital 35mm camera that can be used manually as well as a laptop with Photoshop Elements.
Black Letter Calligraphy Winter/Spring 2007
Learn Old English (Black Letter) style calligraphy, including elaborate borders and capitals. Gain historical background on the letterforms through slide presentations and studio demonstrations. We will cover composition of letterforms by making written sampler pieces, and we will view pieces from the Library's collection. No previous calligraphy experience necessary. Materials and supplies will be discussed at the first session.
Can Music Talk? Fall 2006
Is wordless music a universal language that can convey emotions, describe things, tell stories, and present abstract ideas? After centuries of debate, the answer to that question remains unsettled. We will consider the issue from all sides, using musical examples from classical, popular, and folk traditions.
Chicago and the Big Screen Summer 2007
This course will explore movies either shot or set in Chicago, or made by Chicagoans from the early 1900s to the present. Among the movies that will be considered are Jimmy Stewart's Call Northside 777 (1948), based on a true story about a Chicago Sun-Times reporter who helped free a man wrongly convicted of murder, and Hoop Dreams (1994), a documentary about two high school basket-ball players from Chicago's South Side.
Classic Jazz Summer 2006
A distinctive American contribution to musical experience, jazz emerged from ragtime and blues. The audible history of jazz begins with the early recordings of 1917. In the so-called classic jazz period, from World War I to the years after World War II, soloists, small ensembles, and big bands exhibited remarkable creativity. We will listen to their recordings and consider how classic jazz was succeeded by bebop and cool. No musical training is necessary.
A Dagger through the Heart: Love, Death, and the American Ballad Fall 2006
The stories we tell about ourselves speak volumes about a society and its cultural mores. Of all the musical forms, none is as enduring as the ballad, a narrative song that tells a story. We will examine the history of the American ballad with emphasis on its Anglo-Celtic roots, especially the Child ballads, considered by many scholars to be the bedrock of American music. We will also discuss the ballad's appeal and its living legacy.
Exploring Chicago's Parks Winter/Spring 2007
This seminar will explore the origins and development of several Chicago parks through a series of walking tours. We will study their evolving landscape designs, goals, and patterns of use, along with their architecture and sculpture. We will pay particular attention to the relationships between the individual parks and their neighborhoods and to the place of the parks in the larger history of recreation, sports, and leisure activities.
Family Photographs: Safe Storage and Handling Winter/Spring 2007
This two-session seminar focuses on various techniques and methods for the care, preservation, and handling of photographs. Participants are encouraged to bring individual photographs as well as bound photographic albums for evaluation and recommendation on storage and treatment.
Jazz: 1946 - 1965 Summer 2007
Jazz underwent a profound transformation after World War II, influenced by the same processes (an expanding economy, technological advances, the Civil Rights Movement, and a burst of creative energy) that shaped other aspects of American cultural life. Listen to recordings, hear lectures, and discuss the music of this twenty-year period. No musical training is necessary.
Masterpieces: Piano Concerti of Beethoven Winter/Spring 2007, Summer 2007, Fall 2007
Explore the dynamic world of Beethoven's five piano concerti. Develop the skill of "focused listening" through direction and application of simple analysis. Move from the sensuous level of listening to music to the perceptual and ultimately to the creative. Experience the joy and richness of a deeper understanding of these masterpieces. Reading music is not essential.
Masterpieces: Piano Concerti of Mozart Fall 2006, Summer 2006
Celebrate the 250th anniversary year of Mozart's birth by studying how his creative genius was expressed in the piano concerto. No composer has produced a larger quantity of this musical form or matched the quality of these works, many of which are worthy of being called masterpieces. We approach the concerti by applying a simple analysis called focused listening. The method develops necessary skills of listening that enhance the level of appreciation and enjoyment. Reading music is not required.
Opera Singers of the Golden Age Summer 2007
Opera's golden age has been identified as the period beginning in the early twentieth century and extending through the 1930s. It was an era of dominance in the musical scene by great conductors and charismatic singers, centered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. We will trace the vocal history of the period, listening to recordings by immortal artists such as Enrico Caruso, Feodor Chaliapin, Kirsten Flagstad, Lawrence Tibbett, Helen Traubel, and Ezio Pinza. No musical training is required.
Post-War Swing Fall 2007
The swing era of popular music was roughly bordered by WWI and the end of WWII. But many of the composers and performers of that period remained active through the 1950s, and the swing idiom was preserved in the work of newer talents. We will listen to swing-style works from 1946 to 1960, including Broadway and movie songs, presented by notable vocalists. No musical training is necessary.
Public Art and Public Life in Chicago Summer 2006, Summer 2007
We will explore Chicago's riches in the realm of public art, including murals, commemorative statues, architectural sculpture, commercial decorations, and park designs through a series of walking tours. We will pay special attention to the role of public art in shaping the civic, national, and ethnic identities of its audiences, and consider the role of public art in promoting tourism, commerce, and political agendas.
Revisiting Chicago's Shining Moment: The Gold Coast and the World's Columbian Exposition Fall 2006
We will focus on two of Chicago's most prominent architectural and cultural achievements of the late nineteenth century: the Gold Coast and the World's Columbian Exposition. By spending two sessions studying each location (the first at the Newberry and the second touring the site) we will examine the connections between the locations forged by Gold Coast residents who were involved in the fair, including Bertha Palmer and John W. Root.
Songs and Singers of the Swing Era Winter/Spring 2007
During the swing era (roughly bordered by WWI and the end of WWII) a remarkable confluence of musical talent emerged in the United States. This seminar considers one aspect of that experience, the popular song. We will listen to works by the great songwriters as recorded by the notable vocal soloists and vocal groups of the period. No musical training is necessary.
The Symphonic Bridge from Mozart to Beethoven Fall 2007
Mozart's final trilogy of symphonies, composed in 1788 on the eve of the French Revolution, opened the doors to the Romantic Movement, paving the way for Beethoven's Third Symphony ("Eroica") written in 1804. As the Old Guard and the Classic symphonic ideal gave way to the new, Beethoven became the flag bearer for innovation and change. We will explore the last three symphonies of Mozart and the first three of Beethoven to understand this musical transition to nineteenth-century aesthetics.
The American Founding: Philosophical Sources and Original Intent Fall 2006
We will explore ideas of human nature and government from the major thinkers who influenced the founding generation, and then trace the development of those ideas in the framers' political writings from the pre-revolutionary period to the Civil War. We will also consider what relevance these ideas have for contemporary constitutional interpretation.
American Intellects, 1870 - 2000 Winter/Spring 2007
In this course we will explore the intellectual life of the United States, after the Civil War to the present, by studying the thought and actions of philosophers and intellectuals. In comparison to Europe, the United States has been generally accused of neglecting speculative thought in favor of devoting its energies to practical, business endeavors. To probe this assertion's validity, we'll read the work of historians Bruce Kuklick, Lewis Perry, and Louis Menand. Please review Kuklick chapters 6-10 for our first meeting.
The Confessions of St. Augustine Fall 2006
Augustine's Confessions is a work of astonishing breadth and depth. An autobiographical account of a religious conversion, it also addresses the psychology and consciousness of the human person, the experience of death and loss, our knowledge of the universe, and the nature of time. The book is both a window on the ancient world and a frame for perennial questions.
Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None Fall 2006
Often misinterpreted by both disciples and critics as the scripture of a Nietzsche cult, Zarathustra stands as one of the West's great challenges to "become yourself." Exploring the themes of "will to power," "overman," and "eternal recurrence," we shall attempt to unravel the Nietzsche legend. Before the first meeting, please read the Prologue and first chapter of Walter Kaufmann, Nietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist.
John Henry Newman: The Art of the Sermon Fall 2007
The religious and psychological depth of Newman is most accessible in his sermons. The themes of his longer works are present here, for Newman's usual practice was to use his preaching to test and develop his thought. Much more than "works in progress," however, Newman's sermons are highly polished literary creations, whose elegant form perfectly matches their content. The sermons for this seminar are mostly from his Anglican years, although several are later, Catholic, compositions.
John Henry Newman's "Grammar of Assent": Faith, Reason, and Certitude Summer 2006
At the heart of the philosophy of religion lie two questions: can we believe what we do not understand? Can we have faith in what we cannot prove? Drawing on the breadth of human experience (for we do both of these things all the time in non-religious contexts), Newman develops an approach to human knowledge and our certainty about our knowledge that illuminates both the nature of faith and the inner workings of the human mind.
Siblings or Strangers? Christians and Jews in the Beginning Fall 2006, Fall 2007
We will explore the nature of the first century Jewish community, the Jewishness of Jesus and of the Christian New Testament, why the Jewish and Christian communities parted ways, and the role of the Roman Empire in the process. The seminar is based on current historical scholarship and first century sources.
Western Mysticism: Pseudo-Dionysius Summer 2007
Western mystical thought, which has its origins in Plato and the Bible, was hugely influenced by an enigmatic Syrian monk of the late fifth century who chose to write under the pseudonym of Dionysius the Areopagite, the convert and companion of Paul mentioned in Acts 17:34. We will read his treatises with an eye to seeing their effects on later developments in Western mysticism in such figures as Hildegard of Bingen, the author of The Cloud of Unknowing, and John of the Cross.
William James' Religious Philosophy: The Will to Believe and The Varieties of Religious Experience Winter/Spring 2007
William James' defense of religious belief, and his serious treatment of "supernatural" phenomena, places him among the great champions of the life of the spirit. The Will to Believe and The Varieties of Religious Experience are among the world's most influential writings in philosophy of religion. This seminar will explore James' legacy as a religious philosopher, and the continuing capacity of his ideas to clarify and inspire our own approaches to religious and spiritual matters.
Amusement Meets Anthropology: The Midway Plaisance at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 Summer 2006
During the course of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, one of the most popular attractions was the Midway Plaisance, a mile-long strip contiguous to the main fairgrounds, where living ethnographic displays were set cheek by jowl with commercial entertainments and amusements, including the world's first Ferris wheel. We will draw upon the Library's rich collections of primary materials from the 1893 fair to analyze the Midway's special powers of attraction and its lasting influence.
The Architecture of Louis Sullivan Fall 2006
In honor of the 150th anniversary of Louis Sullivan's birth, we will survey the architect's career. We will study Sullivan's biography and published writings; analyze his most important buildings in detail, paying attention to his development of distinctive building types for the tall office building, the department store, and the small-town bank; examine his connections to fellow architects, craftsmen, and materials suppliers in Chicago; and assess his ongoing influence and reputation.
Beginning Genealogy: A Crash Course Fall 2006, Fall 2007
The Newberry Library has one of the strongest genealogy research collections in the nation. If you have considered tracing your family's history in America, this one-session course will show you where to start. Learn how to organize your research and to find information through sources that can be found in your home, courthouses, libraries, and on the Internet. Feel free to stay after class to jump into the collections!
Book Futures: Past and Present Summer 2007
From incunabula to electronic literature, the Newberry's rich offerings will provide the background for this exploration of the book's future. How do artists' books and the literary avant-garde relate to viewing Shakespeare on an iPod? By comparing the transition from manuscript to print with the current shift from print to digital texts, participants will come away with a new appreciation for the book-as-technology - one with a rich and varied history and an uncertain future.
Chicago Vital Records: Finding Your Family in Civil and Church Records Fall 2006
This two-session presentation will focus on finding out when your Chicago relative was born, married, and died, and the genealogical information you can find in the records they left behind.
Civil Records
Learn how to use the many indexes that are available and how to determine the correct LDS Microfilm to find that birth, marriage, or death certificate.
Church Records
We will focus on Catholic Church sacramental records that not only supplement the civil records but also contain additional information, especially useful for European immigrant families in Chicago.
A Closer Look at Chicago Cemeteries Winter/Spring 2007
This seminar will extend the learner's knowledge of the cemetery and how it relates to the living. Through slides and lectures, we will examine the best and the worst of our system of caring for the dead.
Dealmakers and Careerbreakers: The Medici Dynasty and the Flowering of Renaissance Florence Winter/Spring 2007
The Medici family transformed the arts, politics, and economy of Florence during the Renaissance. With an interdisciplinary focus, we will explore how the influential Medici rose to unprecedented power and led Florence to the epicenter of the Italian Renaissance. We will draw on the Library's collection of primary materials, as well as visit the Art Institute. Readings will include excerpts from Machiavelli's The Prince and Ross King's Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture. Please read the first twenty pages of The Prince for the first class.
Digging Up the Dead: The Cemetery for the Genealogist Summer 2006, Summer 2007
Cemeteries generate many different kinds of records for genealogists. We can discover basic biographical information about the dead as well as more obscure descriptions of legal rights concerning burial, burial locations and relocations, and changes in cemetery populations. Explore the questions a genealogist should ask when visiting cemeteries.
The Ellis Island Experience Summer 2007
Four out of ten Americans can trace their ancestry to a small island near Manhattan where the doorway to hope was opened for many, and the dreams were dashed for some. This presentation will look at the Ellis Island experience from the point of view of the immigrant, through the processing station. It will also describe how their descendants can find genealogical information from the passenger manifest and other documents the immigrants left behind on their way to American citizenship.
Endangered Species: A Short History of the Bookshop Winter/Spring 2007
Because it can change how we feel and what we think, the bookstore has always been a powerful institution. In these early years of the twenty-first century the bookstore (especially the independent bookstore) is under siege. This course will offer a brief history of the book, the publishing industry, and the bookstore, while answering the following questions: What makes bookstores special? Why do they matter? Why should we care about their fate?
The French Revolutions: 1789, 1830, 1848, and the Commune of 1871 Fall 2007
The French Revolution of 1789-99 destroyed the old regime of three estates ruled by an absolute monarch and established fundamental legal equality, but failed to resolve the crucial question of how France would be governed and by whom. Further revolutionary upheavals in 1830, 1848, and 1870-71 sought to settle these issues. This course will trace the political, social, and cultural transformation of France from the 1770s to the 1870s.
Fundamentals of Genealogy Winter/Spring 2007
Whether you're a beginner or simply looking for formal fundamentals training, try these seminars, tailored to meet your research needs. Take all six or just those that interest you most.
Saturday, March 3
Research Methodology
We will tackle foundational genealogy methods including research basics like planning, strategy, precepts, and establishing standards of proof. We will review relevant genealogy software programs.
Records Group I
We will cover how to use vital records, the U.S. Census, religious, land, and tax records, as well as FamilySearch.org.
Saturday, March 10
Records Group II
We will discuss how genealogists use directories, newspaper, immigration and naturalization, and ethnic records, as well as maps.
Records Group III
Library reference tools are the focus of this session, including catalog searching, inter-library loan, local histories and biographical books, military publications, and local Chicago sources. We will also focus on the Newberry's genealogy collections (including a tour of the Library).
Saturday, March 17
Information Analysis, Recording, and Organizing
We will review methods for analyzing and organizing information including software available to genealogists like Bygones Research Log software, the proper way to cite sources, and how to create a style sheet.
Networking
We will cover the important sources for making connections with other genealogists to share information and ask for help, including Found Information, societies, emailing lists and eBulletin boards and more.
Getting Started With Mexican Genealogy Research Summer 2007
Designed for beginning genealogists, this seminar will provide an introduction to the research methods and resources that are particular to Mexican genealogical research. While emphasizing how to locate and use Mexican birth, marriage, death, and census records, we will also discuss local history sources and passenger ship lists from Mexico's viceregal period. Learn more about what the Newberry's holdings offer for Mexican family history research.
History of the Crusades Summer 2007
What motivated medieval European men and women to set out on the conquest of a land thousands of miles away, about which they knew very little? How did the Papacy, as head of the Catholic Church, come to promote violence against the Muslim and Jewish residents of Palestine as not only justifiable, but positively meritorious and deserving of great spiritual reward? We will explore these questions and more as this class investigates how the Crusades transformed the relations among the Muslims, Jews, and Christians in the Middle East.
History of the Sleeping Car Winter/Spring 2007
This seminar will explore the sleeping car from its beginnings in 1837 into Amtrak in the 1970s. We will cover the periods of car construction, various floor plans and room accommodations, names of the cars and some of their assignments around the country, and complicated line and designation numbers. Handouts will be available.
Hitler's Germany: From the Weimar Republic to the Third Reich, 1919 - 1945 Winter/Spring 2007, Fall 2006
We will explore the politics, society, and culture of Germany from the establishment of the Weimar Republic to downfall of Hitler's regime. Topics will include the economic and political consequences of the Versailles Treaty; Weimar politics and culture; Hitler's personal background; the rise to power of the Nazi Party and consolidation of the Nazi state; development of anti-Semitic policies from the Nuremberg Laws to the "Final Solution;" Hitler's aggressive foreign policy and quest for Lebensraum.
How to Write Your Family History Winter/Spring 2007, Fall 2007
Have you been doing family research for years but have not yet shared the results with your family? Learn to compile books varying from the simplest to one that includes historical information, biographies, and many pictures. Please bring an example of your research with you to the seminar.
Imaginative Leap: Chicago Journalists Turn to Art Fall 2006
From Ring Lardner and Ben Hecht to Mike Royko, Chicago journalists have enriched newspaper columns and gone on to create notable fiction and non-fiction. We'll read the best work of writers represented in the Newberry Library's journalism collection and view their memorabilia. Highlights include stories by Ring Lardner and Sherwood Anderson, Hecht's "literary journalism," Floyd Dell's essays, Chicago Renaissance poets such as Carl Sandburg, and Mike Royko's columns.
Internet Techniques for the Genealogist Winter/Spring 2007
This popular, fast-paced seminar is for any genealogist who would like to incorporate proven Internet research and networking techniques into their ancestral research. We will discuss basic Internet research methodology, explore the most important genealogical websites and databases, and focus on how to acquire original records quickly using the power of the Internet.
Introduction to Chicago Cemeteries Fall 2006, Fall 2007
We will explore the history, symbolism, geology, and ethnicity of Chicago-area cemeteries, both extant and lost. Mourning customs and the history of burial will also be included in our study.
It Didn't All Go Up in Flames: Researching Pre-Fire Chicago at the Newberry Fall 2006, Fall 2007
Think there's no way to research Chicago before 1871? Think the Fire burned your chances for discovering what Chicago was like in its early days? Come join us as we demonstrate that all is not (and was not) lost. This hands-on seminar will introduce you to a gold mine of pre-Fire treasures in the Newberry's collections. Maps, diaries, church records, newspapers, and sheet music are just a few of the hot items we have to share.
Medieval Britain 1066-1307 through Historical Fiction Fall 2006, Fall 2007
Explore the highlights of Medieval British history - including the Norman Conquest, the Anarchy, the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland, and the Conquest of Wales - through quality historical fiction. Novels by Morgan Llywelyn, Georgette Heyer, Sharon Penman, and others will introduce the period. With the readings as background, we will discuss questions of church-state relations, food and drink, medicine, land tenure and military service, law and commerce, and the role of women in society.
Medieval Britain 1307-1485 through Historical Fiction Winter/Spring 2007
Explore the Hundred Years War, the Black Death, the Age of Wycliffe, the Peasants' Revolt, the Wars of the Roses, and other highlights of medieval British history. Quality historical novels by P.C. Doherty, Sharon Penman, CandaceRobb, Josephine Tey and others provide an engaging introduction to the period. With the readings as background,we will discuss historical issues such as family dynasties, civil wars, taxation, peasant rebellions, anti-clericalism, plagues,royal intrigues, and everyday life.
Mortimer J. Adler, the Great Books Idea, and Late Twentieth-Century American Intellectual Culture Fall 2006
Through the energies of Mortimer J. Adler we will explore how the great books idea contributed to the intellectual culture of late twentieth-century America. Beginning with Adler's bestseller, How to Read a Book, we will study his contributions and relevancy to education, philosophy, the "great conversation," and the "great ideas" of western civilization. Please read Parts I and II of How to Read a Book for the first session.
Origins of the Great War: European Rivalries, 1871 - 1914 Summer 2007
We will explore both the long and short term causes of the First World War. Among the topics to be treated will be the emergence of rival alliance blocs; the naval arms race between Britain and Germany; imperial rivalries in Africa and Asia; the gradual disintegration of such multi-ethnic states as Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire; the growth of nationalism, especially in the Balkans; the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand; and the "July crisis."
Reading the City: Chicago through History and Literature Fall 2007
From the city's founding through the mayoral terms of Richard J. Daley, this seminar surveys Chicago's history through both histories and literature. We'll attempt to understand Chicago through the eyes of an environmental historian, a Progressive woman reformer, a provocative African-American author, a poetic literary realist, and a cynical newspaperman. Authors to be read include William Cronon, Jane Addams, Richard Wright, Nelson Algren, and Mike Royko. Please read as much of Cronon's Nature's Metropolis as is possible for our first meeting.
Searching Library Catalogs and Databases Effectively Fall 2007
Controlled vocabulary isn't what your mother meant when she told you to watch your language. What does it mean and how does it help you find information online? Did you know you can browse library shelves remotely? Or that you can search for Johnny B. Goode's obituary in the ProQuest Historical Tribune database? We will cover using *?/!# effectively, and much more, in this seminar on using twenty-first century catalogs and databases.
A Short Course in House History Fall 2006, Fall 2007
In just two sessions, learn about an array of online and hard copy sources to launch your research into your home. Investigate the inhabitants, construction date, architect and more. Hands-on time is built in; bringing a laptop with wireless access is encouraged. NOTE: we will research Chicago buildings built before 1930 only (no suburban addresses).
60 Minutes to Better Genealogy Summer 2006, Summer 2007
Sometimes 60 minutes of instruction on a focused topic can help you push through a particular question or task in your research project. This seminar is designed with genealogy researchers in mind. You can take all nine sessions, or simply choose those that most appeal to you.
Saturday, July 21
9:30 am - 10:30 am
The Many Uses of Family Tree Maker 2006 Software
11:00 am - Noon
Hidden Research Sources - Part One (based on the book, Hidden Sources, by Laura Szucs Pfeiffer)
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Making Cluster Genealogy Work for You
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
The Chicago Genealogy Map
Saturday, July 28
9:00 am - 10:00 am
Ideas and Advice on "How to Do Everything with Your Genealogy" (based on the book of the same title by George G. Morgan)
10:30 am - 11:30 am
Hidden Research Sources - Part Two (based on the book, Hidden Sources, by Laura Szucs Pfeiffer)
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
The Newberry's New Acquisitions in Genealogy/Local History
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
The Latest Internet Techniques for Genealogists
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Using the Social Security Death Index
Stalinist Culture in the 1930s Summer 2007
The Stalinist period is one of the most fascinating and controversial in Soviet history. For many (including most Americans), it represents the epitome of the cruelty of the Soviet system. However, for some Russians today it is increasingly an object of nostalgia. Using historical scholarship, diaries, novels, films, and traveler accounts, this seminar will introduce some of the major themes and trends of Soviet life and culture in the 1930s: industrialization, urbanism and architecture, the position of intellectuals and the arts, and everyday life.
Stuart Britain: Rebellion, Restoration, and the Reign of Parliament Fall 2006
The dramatic events and colorful personalities of the Stuart dynasty continue to intrigue. Topics will include the growing tensions between James I and Parliament; rebellion, civil war, and the execution of Charles I; the Puritans, the Interregnum, and Oliver Cromwell; the restoration of Charles II; the accession and abdication of James II; William and Mary and the Glorious Revolution; the Bill of Rights and the triumph of Parliament; Queen Anne and the Hanoverian succession.
To the Hebrides: James Boswell and Samuel Johnson's Most Excellent Adventure Fall 2007
In 1773, Dr. Samuel Johnson, the great English lexicographer, and James Boswell, his Scottish companion, made a journey to the Western Isles of Scotland. Johnson's Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and Boswell's Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides are considered among the finest literary accomplishments in travel writing. In addition to examining the journey itself, this course will examine the men-and their unlikely friendship-and their era.
The Two Conquests of Mexico: Conquistadors and Padres Fall 2006
This seminar is designed to integrate closely with the Newberry's fall exhibit, The Aztecs and the Making of Colonial Mexico. The conquest of Mexico is part of the grand narrative of imperial European expansion. Grand narratives, of course, mix folklore and myth with historical facts. We will begin with readings on the Aztecs and will continue with a discussion of the Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest. We will conclude by assessing the imprint left by the Indians of New Spain on the creation of modern Mexico.
Victorian Culture and Society Summer 2006
Often oversimplified in popular perceptions, the Victorian period remains fascinating for its cultural achievements, social transformations, and political tensions. We will explore such topics as Victorian values; the "condition of England" question during an age of rapid industrialization; the role of religion, including Evangelicalism and the Oxford Movement; political debates between Gladstone and Disraeli; the Victorian home; women and marriage; the controversies over Darwin's theory of evolution; and Victorian art, architecture and photography.
War, Culture, and Remembrance: World War I Fall 2007
This course explores how World War I influenced European culture, particularly the literary and visual arts. We begin by considering the experience of the war, both at the front and at home, and then discuss how poetry, painting, and cinema were shaped in important ways by the war. Please read chapter one of Paul Fussell's The Great War and Modern Memory for the first session.
The Way West: Mapping the American Frontier Fall 2007
This seminar complements the Newberry's concurrent exhibition Mapping Manifest Destiny: Chicago and the American West. We will investigate the larger trajectory of frontier cartography and Chicago's place within that history. We will consider the connections between maps and the shaping of empires and nations; the role of cartography in creating local and regional identities; and the use of maps by explorers, railroads, real estate developers, miners, tourists, and teachers.
Women's Salons: Conquering the World with Wit Winter/Spring 2007, Fall 2007
From their debut in Berlin in the 1780s to their emergence in 1930s California, women's salons served as welcoming havens where all classes and creeds could openly debate art, music, literature, and politics. We shall explore the history of some of these salons where remarkable women of intellect resolved that neither gender nor religion would impede their ability to bring about social change.
The American Short Story Fall 2007
The short story in America has developed and changed over 150 years. The class offers a survey of American short story writing from its beginnings in the mid-nineteenth century to today. We will read and discuss stories from classic writers as Hawthorne, Poe, Melville, Twain, James, Faulkner, Hemingway and Fitzgerald, to contemporary masters such as Joyce Carol Oates, John Updike and Richard Ford.
The Beats: Aesthetics and Conformity Fall 2006
In Cold War America, social, political and artistic conformity were equated with "true" American identity. The writers of the Beat Generation-including Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Diane Di Prima and William S. Burroughs-resisted such conformity in their art and lives. We will read the key texts of the Beats in order to examine and discuss the ways art, politics, and sex intersect in American culture.
Behind the Silence: German Perspectives on the Nazi Era Fall 2006
The silence that fell over the German people at the end of World War II is broken in four works, all translated from German. They are The Seventh Cross by Anna Seghers, a novel about working class reactions to the Nazi regime. Willie Reese's journal, A Stranger to Myself, describes a soldier's change in attitude on the Russian front. Ilse-Margret Vogel's Bad Times, Good Friends examines the heroic subversive actions of ordinary Germans against their leaders. An anonymous diary, A Woman in Berlin, recounts experiences in the immediate post-war, Russian-occupied German capital.
British Drama: From Earnest to Anger Fall 2007
In this lecture and discussion-based seminar, we will examine the rich period of British theater from the late nineteenth century to the midpoint of the twentieth. From the drawing room comedies of Wilde and Coward to the innovations of Synge, Eliot, and Priestley, the major themes and movements in British drama will be explored. We will also consider the influence of the political plays of Shaw and Osborne discussing how these works function as social commentary, as well as artistic achievements.
Charles Dickens: David Copperfield and Bleak House Winter/Spring 2007
Charles Dickens is often considered the most influential fiction writer of the nineteenth century, owing in part to his astounding prolificacy but also to his innovations and contributions to publishing, copyright law, popular culture, and the development of the novel form. In lecture and discussion, this seminar will focus on a close analytical reading of what many readers and scholars consider the crown jewels of Victorian literature: David Copperfield and Bleak House. This is the fifth in a series of eight seminars devoted to the reading of Dickens' novels (to which newcomers are cordially welcomed). Please read chapters 1-12 of David Copperfield for the first session.
Charles Dickens: Dombey and Son and A Christmas Carol Fall 2006
Charles Dickens is often considered the most influential fiction writer of the nineteenth century, owing in part to his astounding prolificacy (sixteen novels) but also to his contributions to publishing, copyright law, and the development of the novel form. In lecture and discussion, we will focus on a close reading of Dombey and Son and Dickens's Christmas stories, including A Christmas Carol. This is the fourth in a series of eight seminars devoted to Dickens's novels (to which newcomers are cordially welcomed). Please read chapters 1 through 13 of Dombey and Son for the first session.
Charles Dickens: Hard Times and Little Dorrit Fall 2007
Charles Dickens is often considered the most influential fiction writer of the nineteenth century, owing in part to his astounding prolificacy (sixteen novels) but also to his innovations and contributions to publishing, copyright law, popular culture, and the development of the novel form. In lecture and discussion, this seminar will focus on a close analytical reading of Hard Times and Little Dorrit. This is the sixth in a series of eight seminars devoted to the reading of Dickens's novels (to which newcomers are always cordially welcomed). Please read chapters 1 through 15 of Hard Times for the first session.
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales Fall 2006
Situating The Canterbury Tales within the historical context of the tumultuous late-fourteenth century, participants will gain an appreciation not only for Chaucer's importance to English literature, but his continuing importance as a writer who raises questions about secular and religious authority, social class, and gender relations. No previous experience with Chaucer or Middle English is required. For the first session, please read The General Prologue in either Middle English or modern verse.
Chicago Playwrights and Their Plays Summer 2006 and Summer 2007
Each week a different Chicago-based playwright will discuss one of their plays with the class. Ranging from established plays which have had a number of productions, to scripts still in the development process, this seminar will give participants an intimate glimpse into the creative process and a unique opportunity to engage in an in depth dialogue with the playwright. Playwrights will include Robert Koon, Mia McCullough, Alice Austen, and Lisa Dillman.
Chicago Theater Behind the Scenes Fall 2006
Why is Chicago theater known for being challenging and engaging? We will examine theater's role in interpreting world events, using productions by four award-winning theaters. We will read the plays, attend performances, and discuss them with directors and artists who created the productions. We seek to break "the fourth wall" and establish discussion between those who see theater and those who create it.
Contemporary American Drama Winter/Spring 2007
The plays of Lorraine Hansberry, Edward Albee, David Mamet, and others defined the American experience of the second half of the twentieth century. In a discussion-based seminar, we will examine the works of these playwrights, as well as that of Sam Shepard, Wendy Wasserstein, Margaret Edson, and David Auburn. By concentrating on theme and technique these playwrights employ, their works will be revealed to be great works of literature, theater, and social commentary.
Contemporary Chicago Playwrights Summer 2006
Meet Chicago-based playwrights during the course of this class and glimpse the creative process of writing and staging plays. Participants will have opportunities to read contemporary playwrights' works and engage writers in close discussion. We will read a range of writing for the stage, from established plays that have seen numerous productions, to scripts still in the development process, including Claudia Allen's Hannah Free, Stuart Flack's Homeland Security, Julie Nussbaum's A Thousand Mothwings Breaking, and Lisa Dillman's Rock Shore.
Cross Gartered and Cross Dressed: Shakespeare's Twelfth Night Winter/Spring 2007
Have fun unlocking the textual clues in Shakespeare's plays with the Folio technique, used by prominent Shakespeare theatre companies from around the world. Using this technique, the class will discuss, analyze and rehearse scenes from Twelfth Night. The class will also explore the gender issues at work in this timeless comedy. Bring Shakespeare from the page to the stage. No acting experience necessary.
Danger Ahead! Banned Books as Art and Controversy Fall 2007
In observance of Banned Books Week (9/19 - 10/6), this seminar focuses on five frequently banned books. We'll discuss the literary value and controversies surrounding these novels: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Of Mice and Men, Catch-22, The Catcher in the Rye, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Cultural changes that continue to fuel controversy will also be discussed. Please read chapters 1 - 30 of Huckleberry Finn for the first class.
Dark Arts: The World of the Adult Fairy Tale Fall 2007
Fairy tales have never been just for children. Historically, they've provided a way of exploring aspects of human nature that can't be spoken of aloud. Fears are dealt with on a metaphoric level, and realities are sublimated into fantastic images that titillate, entertain, and disturb all at once. We'll explore the complicated delights of fairy tales through literature, film, and art. Emphasis will be placed on recurring themes and on how certain images cross cultural boundaries. The course is intended for anyone with an interest in this classic form of storytelling.
Demystifying Old English - An Introductory Course Summer 2007
Is Old English a foreign language? This course aims to demystify the uncanny look and sound of the earliest stage of our English tongue. We will begin with some background and introductory practice. Then we will enter the world of our texts, trying to discern within their strange mix of Christian and pagan influences some likenesses of the most important features of the English language of today.
The Divine Comedy of Dante Winter/Spring 2007
For the tourist in everyone, this is the ultimate tour. Dante Aligheri the poet writes himself, Dante the pilgrim, into a journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. The real geography covered in The Divine Comedy, however, is that of the human heart and intellect. The poem is above all a drama of the soul's choice, and because no soul is isolated, the poem also presents the world of the medieval communio, including the philosophy and theology by which it lived.
Dostoevsky's Demons Fall 2006
The most explicitly political of Dostoevsky's great novels, Demons was inspired by the ideological chaos among radicals seeking to transform Russia in the 1860s. As a story about the disastrous potential of blind belief in one's ideas, the novel is especially resonant today. We will attend to the historical context of Demons, but our primary focus will be on Dostoevsky's art-exploring the problems plaguing his society (and ours) as he creates a gripping narrative.
An Enduring Heritage: Great American Short Stories of the Nineteenth Century Winter/Spring 2007
We will read a variety of classic American short stories by notable authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allen Poe and Herman Melville, and the lesser-known, including Kate Chopin and Sarah Orne Jewett. How the American character was formed, and what these writers offer us today are among the topics in this discussion-centered seminar. Enjoyment, and insight into the American literary heritage are among the goals. Please read the first five stories in the text for the first meeting.
Exiles and Immigrants: Contemporary Chicago Fiction Summer 2006
We will read and discuss the latest work by three of Chicago's most-honored writers: Stuart Dybek, Sandra Cisneros and Alexander Hemon. Their works take us from Sarajevo and Mexico to Chicago, and within Chicago from the North Shore to Pilsen. Each writer grapples with the key question: how do people make their lives meaningful in the particular places they live, by choice or chance?
A Gathering of Shades: Exploring the Literature of Hell Summer 2007
"Hell" has always offered writers and artists a rich tableau to vividly explore the development of mankind's social, political, and spiritual mindset. An examination of "hell" is, in fact, an examination of how we perceive ourselves, our surroundings, our role within the community, and our place in history. In this seminar we will read and discuss Dante's Inferno, Shelley's Frankenstein, Sartre's No Exit, Beckett's Waiting For Godot, and Albert Camus' "Myth of Sisyphus," and examine how each writer presents a vision of the afterlife that is unique to his/her culture and time period.
Herodotus' Histories Fall 2006
Herodotus is called "the father of history" for this account of the Greeks' heroic defense of their freedom against Persian invasions in the early fifth century BCE. In order to determine what made the Greeks distinctive, he also investigated other nations. We will study these profound explorations, as well as the apparently whimsical stories he tells, to see if they might help us understand his view of the Persian War and what enabled the Greeks to prevail.
Imagining Paris Summer 2007
What do we dream of when we dream of Paris? Why does Paris have such power over the American imagination? In this class, we'll travel to the Paris evoked by writers such as Henry James, Janet Flanner, and Edmund White. Since art was at the center of American interest in Paris, we will examine a specific Chicago connection: the Americans responsible for the Art Institute's extraordinary collection of Impressionist art. We'll discover how dreams of Paris shape our views of that city and the world.
The Inferno and The Dante Club: Raising Hell at Harvard Fall 2006
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's translation of Dante's Inferno forms the core of the plot of Matthew Pearl's best-selling murder mystery The Dante Club set in Boston in 1865. We will read passages from the Inferno in parallel with the novel in order to study its circumstances, events, and characters.
Irish Mythology Fall 2006
The Irish mythological tradition extends back more than 2500 years. Its drama and beauty inspired William Butler Yeats and other writers of the Irish renaissance, and it continues to be a rich source of material for such modern poets as Seamus Heaney and Nuala ní Dhomhnaill. Learn about the original myths and story cycles and examine the culture in which they flourished.
Irish Playwrights Fall 2006
The drama of Ireland poignantly captures the essence of the people-their wit, vulnerability, provinciality, fatalism, and history. William Butler Yeats was inextricably involved in Irish theatre as playwright, founder of the Irish National Theatre Society, and director of the Abbey Theatre. In their own ways, Sean O'Casey, John M. Synge, and Brendan Behan sang to "sweeten Ireland's wrong." George Bernard Shaw recast Joan of Arc as an Irish comic heroine; please read "St. Joan" before the first class.
Irish Writers Winter/Spring 2007
"The English language brings out the best in the Irish. They court it like a beautiful woman. They make it bray with donkey laughter. . . ." We will test this common observation by reading prose and poetry from some of Ireland's best writers from the early modern period to the late twentieth century, including Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, John Millington Synge, Sean O'Casey, James Joyce, and Patrick Kavanagh.
James Joyce's Early Fiction: Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Fall 2007
In this seminar, participants will learn how to read and appreciate Joyce's prose, an activity best accomplished by a careful and thorough exploration of selected stories from Dubliners and chosen passages from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Along with a close reading of the texts, we will examine the broader context of Joyce's Irish background. First-time readers of Joyce will be introduced to the rich complexities of his language while more seasoned readers will discover new verbal intricacies in his fiction.
James Joyce's Ulysses Winter/Spring 2007, Fall 2007
Many readers attempting Ulysses for the first time find themselves overwhelmed by its length and difficulty. We will give special attention to the beauty of the book's organization, the symmetry of its plan, the relationship of style and content, and the evocation of feeling through technique. We intend to strike a balance between consideration of Joyce's experimental methods and the more old-fashioned storytelling pleasure the book offers. The text is the Hans Walter Gabler edition.
Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy Fall 2007
A novel about the pleasures and limitations of language and art, Sterne's eighteenth-century comic masterpiece is a book like no other. With the spirited, digressive, hopeless efforts of his narrator to tell us who he is, Sterne anticipates all manner of postmodern mischief, from Barthelme and Rushdie to Joyce and Beckett. Tristram Shandy is itself a kind of seminar on the nature of fiction, deepening our understanding of the relationship between books and life.
Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace Fall 2007
The purpose of the seminar is to help participants understand and enjoy War and Peace. We will focus on close textual analysis of the novel, supplemented by biographical, historical, and critical information related to the book as introduced by the leader. Several short episodes will be shown from the Russian movie War and Peace, a detailed adaptation of the novel. Please read Book One for the first meeting.
Literature and the Working Class: Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and Luis Rodriguez's Music of the Mill Summer 2007
Writers have been among the most politically active citizens, translating deeply felt social concerns into some of the most memorable writing in the American canon. Through Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and Luis Rodriguez's Music of the Mill, we will discuss not only the literary merits of these two works, but also the role of art in the process of social change.
"Loos'd of Limits and Imaginary Lines": The Life and Poetry of Walt Whitman Summer 2006
"Loos'd of limits and imaginary lines" - these uncompromising words from Walt Whitman's Song of the Open Road announce his independence and embrace the democratic and expansive spirit of nineteenth century America. The nation's first great poet, Whitman spoke the American idiom and celebrated America's people and geography with inclusive and exuberant spirit. Whitman is essential to understanding the origins of American literature. We will be reading his most important poems and Justin Kaplan's biography. Please read "Song of Myself" and"Song ofthe Open Road" for the first session.
Madness and Women Modernists Summer 2006
We will read three experimental "high modernist" works written by women in the 1920s and 1930s. The anguished stream-of-remembering of Clarissa Dalloway in Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, the erotic obsession of Robin Vote in Djuna Barnes' Nightwood, and the desperate dye-my-hair-blonde breakdown of Sasha Jansen in Jean Rhys' Good Morning Midnight, raise the questions: are these writers constructing a fragmented consciousness that better reflects the female experience, or are they writing "madness," or both? Please read the first 70 pages of Mrs. Dalloway for the first session.
Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time: The Captive and The Fugitive Winter/Spring 2007
This seminar will be devoted to a discussion of Proust's chronicle, in two novels, of the psychologically complex relationship between the narrator and his lover, Albertine. Special attention will be given to the mediations therein on desire, sexuality, music, and the art of introspection. Part of an ongoing discussion of Proust's In Search of Lost Time, new participants are welcome, including those with no previous experience reading the French author.
Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time: Sodom and Gomorrah Fall 2006
Widely acknowledged as a twentieth century masterpiece, Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time is at once an inquiry into the meaning of experience, a study of the development of an artist, and a portrait of life within a particular segment of society. This class will be devoted to a discussion of Sodom and Gomorrah, a novelistic journey of discovery within the realm of sexuality, including its moral, social, and artistic expressions.
Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time: Time Regained Fall 2007
This seminar will be devoted to a discussion of the concluding volume of Proust's magnum opus which is set in Paris during and following the first World War, and which gathers together major themes of the previous novels, including time, self, memory, jealousy, and art. Participants will have an opportunity to view and discuss Raul Ruiz's highly acclaimed film adaptation of the work.
Masters of American Drama: O'Neill, Williams, Miller Fall 2006
The plays of Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller not only defined American theater in the twentieth century, but defined America itself. In this discussion-based seminar we will examine the works of these playwrights to gain insights both cultural and psychological as to what it means to be American. By concentrating on theme and the stagecraft these playwrights employ, their works will be revealed as great works of literature, theater, and social commentary.
"My Life Had Stood a Loaded Gun": The Life and Poetry of Emily Dickinson Summer 2007
Dickinson's metaphor of "a loaded gun" suggests a much different understanding of her life and work from the usual stereotypes: demure spinster, droll maiden, eccentric poetess. As one of the first great American poets, Dickinson's writing is essential to defining and under-standing the origins of American literature. We will read about Dickinson's life and controversies surrounding the publication of her poems as a way to inform our understanding of her remarkable poetry. Please read chapters one and two of The Life of Emily Dickinson for the first class.
Protest Plays: Linking Past to Present Summer 2006
Often rooted in historic events, protest plays engage us in contemporary issues such as war and the individual conscience. The Night Thoreau Spent in Jailexamines both war and conscience in the context of the Mexican War. How playwrights combine history, fact, and fiction to produce art will also be discussed as we read Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Heinar Kipphardt's In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Jerome Lawrence's Inherit the Wind.
Proust on Sleep Summer 2006
We will explore Marcel Proust's reflections on various phenomena relating to sleep - including going to bed, dreaming, and awakening - through a discussion of selected passages from In Search of Lost Time. Following the seminar participants are invited to a prix-fixe lunch in celebration of Proust's one hundred and thirty-fifth birthday at Bistro Zinc, 1131N. State Street. A materials fee is included in tuition; lunch is not.
Proust on War Summer 2007
"War is something that is lived, like a love or a hatred," the narrator observes toward the end of Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time. This program will explore selections from Proust's magnum opus that relate to the art and experience of war, both as a distinctive phenomenon and in relation to ordinary life. Following the seminar, participants are invited to join for a prix fixe lunch in celebration of Proust's one hundred and thirty-sixth birthday at Bistrot Zinc, 1131 N. State Street. All materials and a traditional French petit dejeuner are included in tuition; lunch is not.
Reading Gravity's Rainbow Fall 2006
Called the greatest work of fiction of the late twentieth century, Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow traces a number of characters through a bizarre labyrinth of unconventional and often hilarious events during the final days of World War II. Pynchon's lyric prose, the dense layering of plots and counterplots, and his compelling use of metaphor have made this book a challenge and a delight for readers. The class will offer a strategy for approaching this monumental work of fiction.
Reading Paradise Lost Summer 2006
John Milton's Paradise Lostis one of the most sublime literary achievements ever penned. While remaining true to the creation myths in Genesis, Milton offers an encyclopedic look at the war in heaven that led to Satan's downfall, details the creation of earth and humankind, recounts the major myths in the Christian Old Testament, and creates a universe uniquely "Miltonic." We will explore, through lecture and discussion, this epic poem.
Revival of Memoir: The 50th Anniversary of Elie Wiesel's Night Fall 2006
Recently memoirs selected for Oprah Winfrey's book club have triggered sharp public exchanges about recalling and transmitting memory, memory's selectivity, and its relation to historical truth. We will examine memory, memoirs, stories, and history, and the art of evocative (and occasionally imaginative) journeys into one's personal past by close reading and analysis of Elie Wiesel's Night and other memoirs about the Holocaust.
Saga of Centuries: García Márquez' One Hundred Years of Solitude Fall 2007
One Hundred Years of Solitude is a masterwork that many critics have compared to James Joyce's Ulysses and Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Times Past for its monumental scope and influence on contemporary fiction. Celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the book's publication, this seminar will present the novel in the setting of the extraordinary burst of literary creativity in Latin America known as the "Boom," of which it is the centerpiece, and will emphasize its breadth of allusion and universal relevance, as well as its innovative technique of "magic realism."
Shakespeare: Beyond the Books and on the Boards Summer 2006
Shakespeare never "directed" his actors. In the earliest collected edition of his works, published in 1623 as the First Folio, the playwright's editors used spelling, capitalization, and punctuation to convey meanings to actors. Later editors removed these "irregularities," but recently prominent theatre companies have begun to use the First Folio to discover Shakespeare's intentions. Using this Folio technique, we will discuss, analyze, and rehearse scenes from Midsummer Night's Dream and have fun unlocking textual clues. Bring Shakespeare from the page to the stage. No acting experience necessary.
Shakespeare's Comedies Fall 2007
Dr. Johnson said that Shakespeare's tragedy "seems to be skill, his comedy to be instinct." Through a unique blend of seriousness and wit Shakespeare displays a profound understanding of lovers and their complex emotions. The comedies are enriched by a gallery of unforgettable characters, including Bottom, Portia, Petruchio and Kate, Beatrice and Benedick, Rosalind, Malvolio, and - on the darker side - Shylock. The seminar will consider in order "The Comedy of Errors," "The Taming of the Shrew," "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," "Love's Labour's Lost," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "The Merchant of Venice," "The Merry Wives of Windsor," "Much Ado About Nothing," "As You Like It," and "Twelfth Night."
Shakespeare's Histories Winter/Spring 2007
Shakespeare's histories deal with fascinating problems: the nature of kingship, violent personal and political conflict, the use and misuse of power. While raising these profound issues, Shakespeare also enriches the plays with a gallery of memorable characters, among them Richard II, Richard III, King Henry IV, Prince Hal, Hotspur, and the unforgettable Sir John Falstaff. After an introductory session, we will read in order the three parts of Henry VI, Richard III, King John, Richard II, Henry IV, Parts I and II, Henry V, and Henry VIII.
Shakespeare's Tragedies Fall 2006
The tragedies of Shakespeare, like those of the Greeks, are among the most sublime achievements of the human spirit. With incomparable artistry they force us to confront ourselves and our relationship with the universe. We will consider, in order, Romeo and Juliet, Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, and Timon of Athens.
W.B. Yeats: Search for Permanence Winter/Spring 2007
The work of the Irish poet, William Butler Yeats - the major and enduring poet of the twentieth century - presents a lifetime search for consolation and permanence in a world of ever-insistent time. This seminar is a reading and interpretation of selected poems tracing the arc of that search, from an early emotional base to a later intellectual one. Please read "A Stolen Child," "Lake Isle of Innisfree," and "Song of the Wandering Aengus" for the first meeting.
William Blake: Poet and Painter Fall 2006
In this interactive seminar we will explore William Blake's illuminated poetry. We'll begin with his simplest poems and progress to his great prophecies, discussing Blake's ideas about nature, culture, erotic spirituality, social responsibility, and God. Participants will spend a session viewing the Newberry's Blake materials.
Writers and Responsibility Winter/Spring 2007
Inspired by Nadine Gordimer's essay, "The Essential Gesture: Writers and Responsibility," we'll explore the relationship between responsibility and art by reading the fiction of writers of varying nationalities and ethnicities, the majority of whom lived and worked in the twentieth century, each of whom challenged the political, social and economic conditions in which they lived. We'll unpack the context and craft behind the work of writers including Virginia Woolf, Anton Chekhov and Toni Morrison and, for those interested, we'll also do some writing of our own. Please read Gordimer's "Essential Gesture," available online, before the first class.
Activate Your Writing Ambitions Winter/Spring 2007,
Summer 2007, Fall 2007
Learning to be a writer is about owning the title "writer," making
space in your life for creativity, giving yourself permission to activate your
creative energy, and harnessing your creative imagination. This one-day
workshop, using writing exercises to help participants transition from dreaming
to doing, is appropriate for writers in all genres.
Adding Color to the Cheeks of Historical Characters Summer
2007
This workshop is ideal for the writer who wants to add more dimensions to the
historical facts of their fiction. Participants will engage in developing
character, plot and setting for their historical fiction using photographs,
maps, music, and historical research. Learn how to make the characters and
settings of the past spring to life on the page.
Antimemoirs: Constructing Life on the Postmodern Page Summer
2006
Forget the fray over James Frey's memoir. Writers have been bending
autobiography - sometimes to the breaking point - for almost a century. Learn
how to turn your life into a unique literary work, whatever your genre. Unite
life and language in a wholly original way like the poet Lyn Hejinian. Start a
literary movement like Sylvia Plath. Create a new genre like Truman Capote, or
deconstruct an old one like Dave Eggers. Then share your results and your
insights in this supportive workshop.
The Craft of Poetry: An Introductory Workshop Summer
2007
This workshop will spark your creativity with regular writing experiments and
suggested assignments, provide you with constructive feedback on your new poems
in a friendly workshop environment, and help you to become a more astute reader
of other people's work. Each week we will pay close attention to the techniques
of poetry writing - line and stanza breaks, imagery and detail, voice and
style, repetition and rhythm - and to how these elements operate in your new
poems.
Crazy Shapes: Innovative Forms for a New Century Summer
2007
You don't have to be in the avant-garde to learn from the crazy shapes
Postmodern experimentalists have invented (but it doesn't hurt either). This
workshop will give you dozens of new ideas for shaping poetry, fiction,
non-fiction, and drama. Put the fun back in writing by exploring new ways to do
it. You'll learn how to read crazy shapes too - and what to add to your summer
reading list. For writers in any genre (and those who want to break free of
genre).
Figuratively Speaking: 500 Ways to Say What You Mean Fall
2007
Did you know that in addition to metaphors and similes, there are 500 other
figures of speech at your disposal? This workshop will help you make the most
of them, producing work that is richly textured, vivid, and packed with
meaning. It is the nature of figures of speech to mean more than you say, after
all. You will also learn how writers use figures of speech to break through
writer's block, why critics call this the metonymic age, when rhetoric is a
good thing, what figures of speech work best with particular genres, and how
contemporary writers and theorists view and use these powerful writing
strategies.
Finding Your Voice, Telling Your Stories 2005--present
This workshop is designed for writers, journal writers, and family historians
who want to record their life stories - those significant tales of childhood,
transition, adventure, loss, and triumph. We will use creative writing
exercises to retrieve and record the important people, places, and events in
our lives. We will also discuss how, in telling our stories, we come to better
understand the meaning they have for us. Open to all writers, from those who
want to keep a more interesting personal journal to those who would like to
publish. Participants will have the opportunity to present drafts of their work
for group feedback.
Food Writing 101 and Beyond Fall 2007
Could you be a food writer? More than the yum-yum experience, food writing is
only beginning to approach its social, artistic and humanistic potential. We
will discuss various kinds of food writing plus how to bring your vision,
personality and research to your work. Participants may bring their own short
review (200 to 500 words) of a Chicago restaurant for discussion (not
mandatory).
From History to Story: Writing Great Historical Fiction Winter/Spring
2007
In recent years historical fiction has become one of the most popular of
literary genres. Yet how exactly does history become story? In this
short course, participants will learn how a writer is a little like an
archaeologist, bringing the story to light through patience and persistence.
Our discussion will include the crucial elements of fiction (particularly
characterization, structure, and point-of-view), as well as issues pertaining
to research, documentation, drafting, and revision. This seminar is open to all
levels.
Getting Away with Murder: A One-Day Seminar on Mystery Writing Winter/Spring
2007
Designed for anyone who has ever wanted to write a mystery novel or short
story, whether novice or experienced writer. We will address common problems in
mystery writing such as pacing, building suspense and writing realistic
dialogue. We will also review the conventions of mystery writing and finding an
agent or publisher.
Getting Published: Understanding Queries, Copyright, and Contracts Winter/Spring
2007
This seminar will provide participants with an understanding of legal basics
for writers, including copyright, fair use, defamation, and privacy rights.
We'll move on to getting your writing into the readers' hands by discussing
what makes a winning query to editors and agents, or whether self-publishing is
right for you. Finally, we'll decipher those often puzzling periodical and book
contracts. Participants are encouraged to bring a query or book proposal they
are working on to the third class.
Going the Distance: A One-Day Seminar on Writing a Novel Fall
2006, Fall 2007
Designed for anyone who has ever started a novel but been unable to finish, as
well as for the aspiring writer intimidated by the entire process. We will
address the most common problems encountered in fiction writing, including
planning and plotting a book, characterization, creating an effective opening,
writing realistic dialogue, avoiding common mistakes, dealing with writer's
block, doing research, and finding an agent or publisher.
How to Write the Personal Essay Winter/Spring 2007,
Fall 2006
The personal essay is often the door through which writers enter the writing
world. It's short, relatively easy to publish, and, unlike a memoir, it is an
excursion into an idea in order to enlighten and entertain. Essentially, it is
the writer's take on the world. Many writers first discover their authentic
voice in this form. The personal essay is unique: the writer must "get in quick
and get out." While a personal essay can be poignant and moving, humor and wit
are often used as leavening to broaden its appeal.
Indirection for the Poet Fall 2007
Maybe you're sick of writing about yourself. Or, maybe it's just you're sick of
the way you're writing about yourself. This course intends for us to
get away from the "me me me" poem and to generate poems of experience
that are a little more mysterious, indirect, and challenging. We'll read and
write unusual poems, discovering a riskier concept of what a poem can be.
Wallace Stevens, Anne Carson and Kay Ryan will be among the poets explored.
Introduction to Playwriting Summer 2006
The British paper, The Guardian, calls Chicago the "theatre
capital of the world." Be part of the action. Write your own plays,
explore a new medium, or learn about the inner life of a play. In this hands-on
seminar, we will learn about plays by analyzing classics and creating new ones.
Participants will write a short play that will be performed by professional
actors in the final session.
I Write; Therefore I Am Fall 2007
Join the ranks of essayists and memoirists all over the world. This workshop
will introduce you to the marvels of the genre over the centuries as well as
teach you the basic skills (and secrets) of memoir and personal essay writing.
We all carry stories from our earliest years to the present. It is time to put
them down on paper and enjoy the process.
Mapping the Conflict: Crafting a Plot from Start to Finish Winter/Spring
2007
A plot isn't merely a string of occurrences; it is a carefully orchestrated
telling of events. Whether you are writing a short story, novel, or memoir,
plot problems may have you stuck in the middle of your work. This class,
intended for people who have works in progress, aims to end your indecision
about what happens next. To the first class and every class following please
bring five double-spaced pages of your work to be discussed within the group.
The Mind at Work: Writing the Personal Essay Winter/Spring
2007, Summer 2007, Fall 2007
The personal essay thrives today because of its versatility of both subject and
form. It can be funny, serious, scolding, or meditative. It can take the shape
of a memoir or character sketch; book review or opinion piece; travelogue or
nature essay. In this writing workshop, people will practice writing the
personal essay, then have the opportunity to present drafts of their work for
group feedback. For the first class, please read the foreword, introduction,
and essay by Marjorie Williams in The Best American Essays 2006.
New Techniques for Keeping a Writer's Journal Summer
2007
Learn about new types of journal entries and observations that can inspire
essays and works of fiction. Writing exercises will give participants an
opportunity to practice techniques for extending and deepening their initial
ideas and entries and maximizing their potential for finished narrative forms.
Please bring a personal photograph to the workshop. It may depict a scene, a
person, a group, or whatever engaged your attention.
No More Excuses! A Writing Workshop for On-Going Projects Fall
2006
Participants should already be engaged in writing a long work of historical
fiction, autobiography, biography, family history, or creative nonfiction. The
class will help you add 50 or more pages of material to your on-gong work.
Please bring five double-spaced pages of work in progress to the first class
and plan to add five new pages each week thereafter. The class will cheer you
on as you move closer to completion, guiding you toward in-depth description,
scene-writing, and character development.
Oh the Possibilities: Writing for Children in Today's Publishing
World Winter/Spring 2007
Eager to write that children's book you've always dreamed of writing? Anxious
to learn what to do once you actually write it? This workshop introduces
newcomers to today's world of children's book publishing - the markets, the
genres, the formats and audience niches, as well as recommends a few rules of
the road and tried-and-true short cuts to make navigating that world easier.
Participants will have the opportunity to share briefly a work-in-progress in
order to see its possibilities in today's publishing world. (Note: please bring
a bag lunch as class will meet during the lunch hour).
Picture This: Writing Picture Books for Children Fall
2006, Fall 2007
This workshop focuses on how to create and write a successful children's
picture book, so that it touches, delights and informs today's young readers.
Participants' manuscripts will be shared and discussed to highlight the variety
of available picture books, the craft, the writing process, and today's
children's book publishing world. Writers of all levels will be offered a
supportive, challenging, and encouraging environment.
Poetry Workshop Fall 2006
The chief goals of this workshop are to help participants write imaginatively
and precisely, sharpen their skills as poets and enrich their experience of
poetry. Participants' poems, some of which will be written on assignment, will
be discussed closely by classmates and the instructor in a supportive
atmosphere against a background of contemporary poetic practice.
The Point of Point of View Fall 2006
Writers make a primary choice with point of view, driving the narrative and
precluding other choices. It seems simple, but successful execution may be
challenging. We'll develop awareness of the relationship of point-of-view to
psychic distance, character, style, theme, and plot, and, most importantly,
structure. We'll also explore and experience techniques for effectively
managing point of view through reading, writing, and feedback.
See the World; Write the Story Fall 2006, Fall 2007
This workshop is ideal for travelers and writers. Whether you plan to publish
your articles or simply improve the descriptive power of your letters and
postcards, whether you travel to the other side of the globe or simply to
another neighborhood in your city, this workshop will teach you the basic
skills (and secrets) of successful travel writing.
Shape Up Fall 2006
If your writing seems out of shape, flabby, unfocused, or unorganized, this
seminar will help. You will learn to use shaping tools such as genre and formal
conventions, plotting, and organizational patterns and you will be encouraged
to invent new ones. By sharing your writing, you will discover what shaping
strategies elicit the reactions you are looking for. Shaping strategies range
from the traditional (like Aristotle's plot pyramid) to the organic (like free
verse) to the experimental (like Postmodern randomness).
Showing and Telling: The Effective Use of Scene and Detail Fall
2007
The foundation of any narrative form, such as fiction and memoir, is the scene.
It "shows" characters in action and moves the plot forward. The
impact of any scene depends on its relevant details. Through a series of
writing exercises, participants will become familiar with the main functions
and best openings of scenes. We will also examine how and when to use dialogue
and description. Everyone will have a chance to read work aloud and gain
helpful feedback. Writers of all levels are welcome.
Six Secrets of Writing Short Stories Summer 2006,
Winter/Spring 2007
This workshop includes specific writing exercises to create and structure a
short story. Combining autobiographical and fictional elements, each
participant will create a main character whose goal is to escape or change his
or her current situation. But, stymied by inner and/or outer conflicts, the
character must make choices. These choices have consequences that ultimately
erupt in a climax - leading to a surprising though inevitable conclusion. We
will also examine the uses of dialogue, the five senses, and "point of
view" to create the greatest emotional impact.
Transforming Autobiography into Fiction Summer 2006
Memoir and fiction writers draw on the same sources for inspiration: experience,
observation, and point of view. They use their skills to express private
visions in a universal art form. Through a series of writing exercises,
participants will re-renter their experiences, re-examine their points of view,
and use fiction techniques to expand their discoveries into finished work.
Everyone will have achance to read work aloud and gain helpful feedback.
Writers of all levels are welcome.
Twenty Lines a Day: Writing Strategies That Work Winter/Spring
2007
This workshop offers proven strategies like Stendhal's "Twenty lines a day,
genius or not" to get you started, keep you going, and even help you
publish. The instructor will draw on her own literary relationships to provide
knowledge and suggestions you won't find anywhere else. Assignments will
inspire you, and discussion of your work will sharpen you revision skills. At
the end of the course, you will send out a piece for publication. Suitable for
writers of any genre or level.
The Write Place: A Facilitated Children's Book Writers Group Summer
2007, Summer 2006
Writers will have the opportunity to share their stories in a supportive,
focused and enlightening environment. Facilitated discussions of participants'
manuscripts will highlight the writing process, story components, elements of
narrative, craft, revision and a story's marketability within today's
children's book publishing world. Writers of all levels will be offered a
variety of writing exercises, suggested readings, and current marketing
information.
Writing as a Reader: Learning from the Best Fall 2007
What writer could resist a class with her or his favorite authors, living or
dead? Imitation is an important tradition in all forms of art. Prior works can
serve as inspiration, models, and jumping off places for new work. By engaging
with published works we can participate in a cultural dialogue, improve our
craft, and develop our unique perspective. Each class will include a discussion
of the reading(s) and a writing exercise based on the readings. Participants
are encouraged to bring in other examples related to the topics and authors we
study.