This seminar will introduce participants to a selection of excellent Western films that may not be as familiar as the classics. Each session will include an introduction before the film and a discussion afterward, with attention to story, character, themes, film-making, and the lasting appeal of the Western genre.

Few people will debate the fact that when the New Golden Age of TV started, it was led by three of the greatest writers in TV history who at HBO created three of the greatest series in TV history. David Chase created The Sopranos; David Simon created The Wire; David Milch created Deadwood. This seminar will explore these three celebrated creators and their groundbreaking series.

Do you feel like you know Mary Tyler Moore, the girl next door who won America’s TV hearts with her cheerful smile and her regular spunk?  This two-day seminar will describe Mary’s difficult childhood, her early career as a dancer, her sudden rise to fame on the Dick Van Dyke Show and later The Mary Tyler Moore Show during the 1960s and ‘70s. You will also learn about the second half of Mary’s career and her struggles with family, marriage, alcohol, and diabetes.  Learn about the public image vs the private reality of Mary’s fascinating life and enjoy many clips of her best television moments.

Do you feel like you know Mary Tyler Moore, the girl next door who won America’s TV hearts with her cheerful smile and her regular spunk?  This two-day seminar will describe Mary’s difficult childhood, her early career as a dancer, her sudden rise to fame on the Dick Van Dyke Show and later The Mary Tyler Moore Show during the 1960s and ‘70s. You will also learn about the second half of Mary’s career and her struggles with family, marriage, alcohol, and diabetes.  Learn about the public image vs the private reality of Mary’s fascinating life and enjoy many clips of her best television moments.

This seminar will explore Samuel Beckett’s drama, including Waiting for Godot, and his novels, including the trilogy Molloy, Malone Dies, and The Unnamable. The class will also consider other absurdist writers, including Eugène Ionesco’s The Chairs and Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story.

William Shakespeare is considered by many to be the world’s most gifted writer. His plays are studied as literature in schools and universities, and they are performed in a multitude of languages around the globe. For theatre historians, there is much more to his story that his writing genius. Shakespeare appeared on the scene in London when amateur traveling troupes were transforming into professional theatre companies with permanent playhouses. In addition to being an actor and shareholder (co-owner) of his company, Shakespeare took on the job of writing plays so that his troupe had a repertoire of new plays to keep the London audience coming back for more. No one considered the plays as literature at the time; they were simply good stories—with lots of action and dramatic characters—that the actors could embrace and use to hold their audiences spellbound. We will explore the theatre history of Shakespeare’s era, including the playwrights, playhouses, actors, audiences, performance conventions, costumes, and business of theatre. And by doing so, we will create a window into a broader view of history, including the social, cultural, and political Elizabethan environment in which Shakespeare’s theatre thrived. We will time travel, too, looking at Shakespearean actors and performances in our own time. The class will be of interest to people who like Shakespeare, theatre, and/or history. We will do some in-class exercises in which we put on the historian’s hat, view lots of visual materials, and engage with a few Shakespearean monologues. Prior experience with his plays is not necessary.

This seminar will use film clips from great movies to explore universal themes about life, meaning, and human nature. Each session will include 40 to 45 minutes of selected clips followed by discussion of topics such as heroism and villainy, love and meaning, and the power of paradoxes. Participants will consider what memorable films can teach us about ourselves and the world around us.