THE COMPLEAT GARGOYLE - Graham School of General Studies ...

Course Code BPULDF
Section 12U1
Summer 2012
Gleacher Center
$335 Early registration ends June 13
$365 Regular registration
Tuesdays
June 19–August 7
6–8:30 pm
Teacher Recertification CPDUs: 20
For the first class please read
Chapters 1–7 of Little Dorrit, and in
Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, the
Introduction and Plan of the Work,
and Chapters 1–4 of Book I.
Shakespeare and His
Sources: The Roman Plays
Julius Caesar and Antony &
Cleopatra are two of Shakespeare’s
best-known works; though less
familiar, Coriolanus has been called
their artistic equal (notably by
T. S. Eliot, who judged it superior to
Hamlet). Apart from their common
setting in ancient Rome, they also
share a major historical source in
Plutarch’s Lives, which Shakespeare
not only read (in Thomas North’s
1579 translation), but also borrowed
quite heavily from at times. We
will examine the transformation
of history into legend and art
by reading these three plays in
comparison with the raw material
(Caesar, Brutus, Pompey, Antony,
Coriolanus …) that Shakespeare
found in Plutarch.
Michaelangelo Allocca
See bio under Before the Cemetery:
Eco’s Early Novels.
Course Code BPUSSR
Section 12U1
Summer 2012
Gleacher Center
$250 Early registration ends June 13
$280 Regular registration
Wednesdays
July 11–August 8
6–9:15 pm
Teacher Recertification CPDUs: 18
Please read the lives of Julius Caesar
and Marcus Brutus in Plutarch for
the first class.
To Boldly Go
Beginning with Greek myths and
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s
novel Frankenstein, Or the Modern
Prometheus, this course will explore
the relationship between science
fiction and innovation. What do
authors provide and reading audiences
seek in science fiction? What
relationships exist among science,
mathematics, logic, and technology?
How does science fiction reveal
complex attitudes about change
and innovation? What more can
we say about the characteristics of
science fiction, its attraction, its
effects, its contribution to culture?
We will read a wide range of novels
in the genre, including Frankenstein,
Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game,
and Cordwainer Smith’s Norstrilia.
Keith Cleveland and Marissa Love
Mr. Cleveland began teaching in
the Basic Program in 1968. He has
taught every part of the program’s
reading list, and many alumni
courses on Plato, Aristotle, political
philosophy, history, the sciences,
The Tale of Genji, and much else. He
received the 2009 Graham School
Excellence in Teaching Award for
the Basic Program. Ms. Love is assistant
director of Humanities, Arts,
and Sciences at the Graham School
and has taught in the Basic Program
since 1998. Her areas of interest
include 19th-century novels, Shakespeare,
Japanese literature, and
lyric poetry.
Course Code BPUBGO
Section 12U1
Summer 2012
Gleacher Center
$335 Early registration ends June 13
$365 Regular registration
Thursdays
July 5–August 23
6–8:30 pm
Teacher Recertification CPDUs: 20
For the first class please read
the Preface through Chapter 6 of
Frankenstein.
Humanities
Classics of Children’s
Literature
There are certain children’s books
whose themes resonate with adults
as well: the pain of growing up, the
pull of adventure versus the desire
to stay safe with family and friends,
clashes between parents and children.
These classics are reinterpreted
again and again in films and
stage plays. In this class we will go
down the rabbit hole again with
Alice in Wonderland, fly with Peter
Pan, visit an Oz that is very different
from the famous 1939 film version,
and explore Frances Hodgson
Burnett’s Secret Garden.
Cynthia Rutz
See bio under The Early Sleuths:
19th-Century Detective Fiction.
Course Code BPUCCL
Section 12U1
Summer 2012
Gleacher Center
$335 Early registration ends June 13
$365 Regular registration
Thursdays
July 12–August 16
6–9:15 pm
Teacher Recertification CPDUs: 18
For the first class, please read Mark
Twain’s Tom Sawyer.
Texts & Contexts
13