James Baldwin: Speaking to Us at 100

Dates: July 11 - August 15, 2024
Meets: Th from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Location: Osher Online
Cost:  $75.00
Date Day Time
07/11/2024Thursday11 AM to 12:30 AM
07/18/2024Thursday11 AM to 12:30 AM
07/25/2024Thursday11 AM to 12:30 AM
08/01/2024Thursday11 AM to 12:30 AM
08/08/2024Thursday11 AM to 12:30 AM
08/15/2024Thursday11 AM to 12:30 AM

Online registration is not available at this time. Please contact our office for more information.

Support Person: Academic Technology and Outreach  Phone: (406) 994-6550  Email: continuinged@montana.edu

Please note: This course program requires membership in a 2024-2025 OLLI at MSU Membership

Description

This program will not be recorded.

American writer James Baldwin (1924-1987) may be best known as an activist and essayist. Yet, he was also a groundbreaking writer of novels and short stories. While he was born 100 years ago, his voice sounds fresh, urgent, and relevant to our evolving understanding of what it means to be American. We will read two of Baldwin's novels, "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and "Giovanni's Room," in which he explores race, religion, and sexuality. We will analyze Baldwin's unique voice and talent as a writer. Together, we will discuss the ways Baldwin uses his fiction to help us understand what connects us as human beings despite our differences.

Prerequisites: Participants should be willing to read and engage with complex texts addressing challenging subjects. See materials tab for textbooks.

About the Osher Online Program

Experience shared online presentations with OLLI members from coast to coast! As part of the Osher Online program, OLLI at MSU members will enjoy national speakers and interact with fellow OLLI members nationwide.

Scholarships

Apply for a needs-based scholarship to take this offering.

Meet the Instructor

Fee:  $75.00

Osher Online

This is a real-time (live) online class that meets at the specified day(s)/time(s) listed.

Catherine Frank

Catherine Frank has taught more than 60 original OLLI courses in 24 years, both as a volunteer and as director for OLLI at UNC Asheville. She holds three degrees in English from UNC-Chapel Hill, where she wrote her dissertation on Thomas Hardy's poetry. She developed her interest in African American literature on her own but hopes and believes that through literature, we can understand lives we do not live ourselves. By reading together, we enhance our ability to understand literature and life.
Date Day Time Location
07/11/2024Thursday11 AM to 12:30 AM Osher Online
07/18/2024Thursday11 AM to 12:30 AM Osher Online
07/25/2024Thursday11 AM to 12:30 AM Osher Online
08/01/2024Thursday11 AM to 12:30 AM Osher Online
08/08/2024Thursday11 AM to 12:30 AM Osher Online
08/15/2024Thursday11 AM to 12:30 AM Osher Online
Required textbooks (all by James Baldwin):
  • "Go Tell It on the Mountain" (1952), ISBN: 978-0375701870
  • "Giovanni's Room" (1956), ISBN: 978- 0141032948