Instructor: Karen Roberts, Ph.D. Have you ever heard the name of an artist and wondered why this person is renowned? Have you ever heard the title of a work of art and wondered why it deserves such fame? This series will examine why specific artworks become masterpieces to be revered by all ages and what …
Continue reading W142B – What’s in the Famous Name? Why Do I Recognize That Picture?

Instructor: Sheryl Flatow For some 40 years, composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb delighted and sometimes disturbed Broadway audiences with musicals that combined razzle dazzle with a hefty dose of cynicism. The team usually focused on misfits and underdogs and often addressed political or social issues, frequently played out against some kind of show …
Continue reading W143B – Kander & Ebb & All That Jazz

Instructor: Shelly Isaacs, M.A. Writer-director team Jean Pierre and Luc Dardennes among the most honored in world cinema. Having created a unique body of work, combining an intense naturalism with challenging and highly involving narratives, their exploration of working-class life and young people on the fragile edges of society have been highly acclaimed and awarded …
Continue reading W144B – The Dardennes Brothers:  Redefining Narrative Realism in the 21st Century 

An era of dramatic and rich vision and representation-the age of Rembrandt and Vivaldi-the baroque period of European culture left a powerful mark on history. This dark, strongly contrasting, elaborate style pervaded painting, architecture, music, and literature. In this course, Taylor Hagood presents the baroque era across the arts, considering what forces shaped this style …
Continue reading W361D – The Baroque: The Art, Literature, Music, and History of Europe’s Splendidly Dark Era

What is abstract art? Why has it been so globally embraced by artists of all disciplines? To understand this departure from reality, one must recognize that abstraction is always rooted in nature and authentic experience and that it is actually realism deftly exposed. These talks will be enhanced by discussions of the artists, their ideas, …
Continue reading W382D – Abstract Art:  A Global Survey

Artists become celebrated as their words and music speak to the hopes and dreams of the people, with grace, humor, passion, and style. From the historic grandeur of Tchaikovsky to the spare classicism of Pink Floyd; from the tales of the Singing Cowboys to the Key West parables of Jimmy Buffett; from the sultry sound …
Continue reading W383 – Music Americana: The New Golden Age

Most movie buffs are well aware of famous costarring teams: Powell & Loy, Tracy & Hepburn, Stanwyck and MacMurray. Lesser known are the costars who were married to one another in real life Interestingly, lawfully married couples rarely played husbands-and-wives on screen. The eight films we will screen costar real-life husbands and wives. With few …
Continue reading W484 – I Now Pronounce You Husband and Wife and Co-Stars: Husbands & Wives Who Starred in Movies Together

Instructor: Mark Luttio, Ph.D. This lecture is designed to help us see that there is more to philosophy than the study of dusty, old philosophical texts. Philosophy is about life— about living an examined life and adopting a critical, reflective stance toward one’s social and cultural environment. Nowhere is this more evident than in the …
Continue reading W541B – Philosophy and Film:  How Philosophical Ideas are Portrayed in Movies 

Over the last twenty years, Giuseppe Albanese has presented a series of exceptional documentaries dealing with people and places from the exciting world of Grand Opera. In this lecture series, he has carefully chosen the finest programs from the Grand Opera collection. Maestro Albanese will provide interesting insight and commentary on each of the topics …
Continue reading W582 – The Best of Portraits of Musical Greatness:

Instructor: Karen Roberts, Ph.D. Have you ever heard the name of an artist and wondered why this person is renowned? Have you ever heard the title of a work of art and wondered why it deserves such fame? This series will examine why specific artworks become masterpieces to be revered by all ages and what …
Continue reading W142B – What’s in the Famous Name? Why Do I Recognize That Picture?

Instructor: Sheryl Flatow For some 40 years, composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb delighted and sometimes disturbed Broadway audiences with musicals that combined razzle dazzle with a hefty dose of cynicism. The team usually focused on misfits and underdogs and often addressed political or social issues, frequently played out against some kind of show …
Continue reading W143B – Kander & Ebb & All That Jazz

Instructor: Shelly Isaacs, M.A. Writer-director team Jean Pierre and Luc Dardennes among the most honored in world cinema. Having created a unique body of work, combining an intense naturalism with challenging and highly involving narratives, their exploration of working-class life and young people on the fragile edges of society have been highly acclaimed and awarded …
Continue reading W144B – The Dardennes Brothers:  Redefining Narrative Realism in the 21st Century 

Instructor: Cora Bresciano, MFA Any enthusiastic reader can affirm that myths created thousands of years ago continue to reappear in literature and film today. Why do we keep writing—and reading—these ancient tales? What can they tell us about ourselves and our place in this awesome, confusing world? This series will explore various stories, novels, and …
Continue reading S343A – Deathless Stories: How Ancient Myths Live On 

Instructor: Mark C. Gridley, Ph.D. The eminent jazz historian Mark Gridley will highlight four different jazz styles that were introduced by trumpeter Miles Davis, the most important bandleader of the past sixty years. The course will be organized according to the composer-arrangers he hired: Gil Evans, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Joe Zawinul. …
Continue reading S443AD – Celebrating the Best Miles Davis Recordings of the 1950s and 1960s

Instructor: Kurt F. Stone, D.D.According to Hollywood myth, a few moments before John Barrymore died, his brother Lionel asked him, "Jack: is dying difficult?" Brother John's response? "Dying is easy, Lionel; it's comedy that's difficult." Although the story is likely apocryphal, it nonetheless is true: making great comedy is terribly difficult. Perhaps that is why …
Continue reading S484 – Great Comedy is Serious Stuff: Eight Truly Fun Films

Instructor: Giuseppe Albanese Franco Zeffirelli not only excelled at the live production of operas, he was also equally adept at the art of motion picture direction. This love of opera and motion pictures resulted in two of opera's most stunning motion picture adaptations in cinematic history. Verdi supplied the inspiration when Zeffirelli turned to movie …
Continue reading S542A – A Tribute to Franco Zeffirelli, Part 2: The Opera Movies

Instructor: Shelly Isaacs, M.A. Writer-director team Jean Pierre and Luc Dardennes among the most honored in world cinema. Having created a unique body of work, combining an intense naturalism with challenging and highly involving narratives, their exploration of working-class life and young people on the fragile edges of society have been highly acclaimed and awarded …
Continue reading W144B – The Dardennes Brothers:  Redefining Narrative Realism in the 21st Century 

Instructor: Cora Bresciano, MFA Any enthusiastic reader can affirm that myths created thousands of years ago continue to reappear in literature and film today. Why do we keep writing—and reading—these ancient tales? What can they tell us about ourselves and our place in this awesome, confusing world? This series will explore various stories, novels, and …
Continue reading S343A – Deathless Stories: How Ancient Myths Live On 

Instructor: Mark C. Gridley, Ph.D. The eminent jazz historian Mark Gridley will highlight four different jazz styles that were introduced by trumpeter Miles Davis, the most important bandleader of the past sixty years. The course will be organized according to the composer-arrangers he hired: Gil Evans, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Joe Zawinul. …
Continue reading S443AD – Celebrating the Best Miles Davis Recordings of the 1950s and 1960s

Instructor: Kurt F. Stone, D.D.According to Hollywood myth, a few moments before John Barrymore died, his brother Lionel asked him, "Jack: is dying difficult?" Brother John's response? "Dying is easy, Lionel; it's comedy that's difficult." Although the story is likely apocryphal, it nonetheless is true: making great comedy is terribly difficult. Perhaps that is why …
Continue reading S484 – Great Comedy is Serious Stuff: Eight Truly Fun Films

Instructor: Giuseppe Albanese Franco Zeffirelli not only excelled at the live production of operas, he was also equally adept at the art of motion picture direction. This love of opera and motion pictures resulted in two of opera's most stunning motion picture adaptations in cinematic history. Verdi supplied the inspiration when Zeffirelli turned to movie …
Continue reading S542A – A Tribute to Franco Zeffirelli, Part 2: The Opera Movies

Instructor: Shelly Isaacs, M.A. Biopics have always been a staple of world cinema. How cinema represents history and "real lives" has become more and more an ongoing debate. While some biopics are grounded in historical convention and the genre's defining traits, others represent the potential for innovation in their storytelling. In this session, we will …
Continue reading S144A – Reel Imagined Lives

Instructor: Cora Bresciano, MFA Any enthusiastic reader can affirm that myths created thousands of years ago continue to reappear in literature and film today. Why do we keep writing—and reading—these ancient tales? What can they tell us about ourselves and our place in this awesome, confusing world? This series will explore various stories, novels, and …
Continue reading S343A – Deathless Stories: How Ancient Myths Live On 

Instructor: Mark C. Gridley, Ph.D. The eminent jazz historian Mark Gridley will highlight four different jazz styles that were introduced by trumpeter Miles Davis, the most important bandleader of the past sixty years. The course will be organized according to the composer-arrangers he hired: Gil Evans, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Joe Zawinul. …
Continue reading S443AD – Celebrating the Best Miles Davis Recordings of the 1950s and 1960s

Instructor: Kurt F. Stone, D.D.According to Hollywood myth, a few moments before John Barrymore died, his brother Lionel asked him, "Jack: is dying difficult?" Brother John's response? "Dying is easy, Lionel; it's comedy that's difficult." Although the story is likely apocryphal, it nonetheless is true: making great comedy is terribly difficult. Perhaps that is why …
Continue reading S484 – Great Comedy is Serious Stuff: Eight Truly Fun Films

Instructor: Giuseppe Albanese Franco Zeffirelli not only excelled at the live production of operas, he was also equally adept at the art of motion picture direction. This love of opera and motion pictures resulted in two of opera's most stunning motion picture adaptations in cinematic history. Verdi supplied the inspiration when Zeffirelli turned to movie …
Continue reading S542A – A Tribute to Franco Zeffirelli, Part 2: The Opera Movies

Instructor: Shelly Isaacs, M.A. Biopics have always been a staple of world cinema. How cinema represents history and "real lives" has become more and more an ongoing debate. While some biopics are grounded in historical convention and the genre's defining traits, others represent the potential for innovation in their storytelling. In this session, we will …
Continue reading S144A – Reel Imagined Lives

Instructor: Tom Neile Most people think Improv is either standup comedy or "Whose Line Is It Anyway." True improv is much more than that. True improvisers create great scenes spontaneously. You don't have to be funny, clever, or even outgoing. All you need to be is human. In this series, you'll learn a few simple, basic …
Continue reading SGD263 – Improv Acting: Everyone Can Create a Scene

Instructor: Cora Bresciano, MFA Any enthusiastic reader can affirm that myths created thousands of years ago continue to reappear in literature and film today. Why do we keep writing—and reading—these ancient tales? What can they tell us about ourselves and our place in this awesome, confusing world? This series will explore various stories, novels, and …
Continue reading S343A – Deathless Stories: How Ancient Myths Live On 

Instructor: Mark C. Gridley, Ph.D. The eminent jazz historian Mark Gridley will highlight four different jazz styles that were introduced by trumpeter Miles Davis, the most important bandleader of the past sixty years. The course will be organized according to the composer-arrangers he hired: Gil Evans, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Joe Zawinul. …
Continue reading S443AD – Celebrating the Best Miles Davis Recordings of the 1950s and 1960s

Instructor: Kurt F. Stone, D.D.According to Hollywood myth, a few moments before John Barrymore died, his brother Lionel asked him, "Jack: is dying difficult?" Brother John's response? "Dying is easy, Lionel; it's comedy that's difficult." Although the story is likely apocryphal, it nonetheless is true: making great comedy is terribly difficult. Perhaps that is why …
Continue reading S484 – Great Comedy is Serious Stuff: Eight Truly Fun Films

Instructor: Giuseppe Albanese Franco Zeffirelli not only excelled at the live production of operas, he was also equally adept at the art of motion picture direction. This love of opera and motion pictures resulted in two of opera's most stunning motion picture adaptations in cinematic history. Verdi supplied the inspiration when Zeffirelli turned to movie …
Continue reading S542A – A Tribute to Franco Zeffirelli, Part 2: The Opera Movies