Short Summer Seminars 2023

There will be two outstanding short summer seminars in 2023. Enrollment is on a first-come-first-served basis, so register now!

“You’re Not in Kansas Anymore”: Reading speculative literature

Moderator: Elizabeth Armstrong

Five weekly meetings, Tuesdays 2-4 p.m., starting June 13, not including July 4. Maximum number of participants: 16, including moderator.

Speculative literature is an umbrella term covering such fiction genres as fantasy, dystopian and utopian stories, cyberpunk and science fiction. We will read a selection of shorter works by a wide range of authors including Ursula Le Guin, Philip K. Dick, Octavia Butler, George Saunders, Kurt Vonnegut and Kim Stanley Robinson. Participants will be expected to read the assigned texts and participate in discussions. Recommended book is Brave New Worlds by John Joseph Adams. All assigned selections will be either included in this anthology or are available to be read online.

Feminism: Our Stories, Ourselves

Moderator: Finnegan Alford-Cooper and Bonnie Strickland

Five weekly meetings, Wednesdays 1:30-3:30 p.m., starting July 5. Maximum number of participants: 12, including two co-moderators.

Through storytelling participants will explore the experience of our generation with the feminist movement and its ideals. We will try to answer some key questions. Were our individual decisions driven by personal circumstances or sociohistorical factors or both? Have older people paved the way, making tough choices and refusing to “fit in”, so that younger people have more opportunities with less social rejection? Over the years what has feminism meant or not meant to us? How can we identify and communicate what we’ve learned, our wisdom, to younger generations? We will reflect on our life experiences and their relevance today. Each participant will 1) share one or more stories (in any manner she/he/they choose(s)–write her/his/their own story, share a short, published story or essay, provide a pictorial presentation, etc.) and 2) provide “advance” discussion questions to all participants.