Sample of literature courses for adult learners

In this six-week course, participants will examine the cultural and literary significance of Rod Serling’s groundbreaking anthology television series, The Twilight Zone, through some of its most affecting episodes.

We will view a classic episode from the series in each class and hold lively conversations about the themes, subject matter, and conflicts in the narratives. Along the way, we will read relevant texts to complement the episodes and to enrich our class discussions and activities. 

We will also read scripts of the episodes and historical texts from the period that shed light on the cultural anxieties that Serling pinpointed so powerfully in his art.

As long as people have been writing, they have been writing about their lives. In this six-week course, we will read memoirs from throughout history, beginning with an engaging 11th-century Japanese noblewoman and continuing to the current day, where authors are breaking new ground in this flourishing genre. Along the way, participants will be encouraged to write the stories of their own lives, and can use the structure of the course as a guide to their own project, if they choose. We will read works by Sei Shonagon, Vladimir Nabokov, Mark Twain, James Baldwin, Michelle Zauner, and more!

Join the Living Poets Society! Each week in this class, we will meet one or more contemporary poets who are helping us understand what it means to be alive at this moment. We’ll learn about their backgrounds, read major works, and view short interviews and readings to understand the themes and concerns in their writing. (Also, expect to meet women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ poets who might not have made it into Mr. Keating’s lectures!)

Reading from the diverse voices of poets today can connect us to our contemporaries and understand their fears, joys, and contradictions. Featured poets include Ada Limòn, Tracy K. Smith, and others

Contact me to create a custom literature course.