Event—Adult Education

Climbing the Walls: Three Short Claustrophobic Classics

This seminar will explore three American short stories: “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe, “Bartleby, the Scrivener” by Herman Melville, and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Newberry Adult Education Seminars will meet virtually via Zoom. For more information about the Newberry’s virtual seminars, including a Zoom tutorial, please see our Virtual Seminars FAQ page. If you have questions about online learning, please reach out to seminars@newberry.org.

Seminar Description

This seminar will explore three American short stories: “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe, “Bartleby, the Scrivener” by Herman Melville, and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Each is a distinct kind of horror story, speaking to us in 2021 of pandemic, precarity, confinement, domesticity, and strife inside and out.

Four sessions. Registration – $195

Will Hansen is Director of Reader Services and Curator of Americana at the Newberry. He has previously led seminars on Moby-Dick and other works by Herman Melville and on Alexander Hamilton.

Materials List

Required:

  • A free digital course packet of additional material, compiled by the instructor and distributed electronically before the seminar begins.

Optional:

First Reading:

Registration Information

Registration opens at 9 am (CST) on Wednesday, January 13th. Newberry Associates members at the Literati level and above will have access to early registration beginning January 7 at 10am. Learn more about membership benefits and becoming a Newberry Associate.

Please note: For more information about registration, including a guide to online registration, see our Registration Information page. Questions? Please contact seminars program staff via email at seminars@newberry.org.

We offer a 10% discount to members, seniors, and students.

This seminar is part of the Newberry’s Adult Education Seminars Program. Learn more about registering for a seminar, program policies, or teaching a seminar.