Great Music Inspired by the Old Testament
Stories in the Old Testament that have inspired great composers through the ages. Using the oratorios of Handel as a basis for the course, we will also feature the music of Rossini, Saint-Saens, Verdi and others.
Instructor: Charles Powell
Tuesday February 28th until April 4th
12 noon until 1.30 PM
2nd Floor Conference Room, Francis House
Fee: $60.00
Reconsiderations: Three Novels of the Bronte Sisters
Sometimes called “the first family of literature,” the Bronte sisters nurtured one another’s creativity from early childhood. Using male pen names of Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell, the sisters published a book of poems in 1846. Maintaining their pseudonyms, each published her first novel in 1847. We will read the works in order of publication: Jane Eyre, a coming-of-age story; Wuthering Heights, a gothic and psychological masterpiece; and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, the story of a woman living as a single mother of a young son in order to escape an abusive marriage. Besides considering the characters’ struggles for personal identity and meaningful relationships in a rigid caste and class system, we will consider how the critical reception of these works has changed since their publication
Instructor: Sr. Fran McManus, RSM
Feb. 23 – Apr. 13 No class Ap. 6th (Holy Thursday)
(Please Note: the starting date for this course is incorrectly listed as “Feb. 2” in the printed brochure)
Thursday 12:30-1:30
On Zoom
Fee: $60.00
Affirming the Light: The Poetry of Joy Harjo
Joy Harjo’s poetry is descriptive and rhythmic, drawing on her connection to the land, her Muscogee heritage, her deep listening to the voices of history, promises broken and fulfilled and the hope of forming a collective and unifying story. We will spend the first hour and a half of each class discussing Harjo’s poems. The last half hour will be spent writing a poem in light of the themes and techniques of Harjo’s poems. The last half hour is optional; all students are welcome to participate.
Required Texts: Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light: Fifty Poems for Fifty Years. Published in hardcover in November, 2022, the collection shows the range and development of Harjo’s work and contains extensive notes on the poems. The text is available in electronic form and hard copy and can be purchased as a new or used item through Amazon.
Instructor: Sr. Fran McManus, RSM
Feb. 27 – Apr. 17 (no class April 10th)
Mondays 6-8PM
On Zoom
Fee: $60.00
Three Diverse and Remarkable Women in Church History
This seminar will present the lives of three diverse women from different time periods and spanning three continents. Venerable Mary Ward was born in 1585 during the late Tudor period in West Riding of Yorkshire, England. She was a pioneer in women’s education and is linked with the history of the Bar Convent in York, England’s oldest surviving Catholic convent established in 1686.
Saint Josephine Bakhita, born in Darfur, Sudan in 1869, was captured by slave traders as a child. Years later she was able to escape and arrived in Italy where she became involved with the Canossian Sisters in Venice.
Venerable Satoko Kitahara was born in Tokyo, Japan in the year 1929. An aristocrat who was descended from Samurai warriors, she became a different kind of warrior dedicating her life in service to the orphaned, sick, and poor who were suffering from the damage inflicted during World War II in a riverside area known as Ants Village.
Instructor: Denise De Vito, M.S. Ed, M.S.
Friday, October 28, 2022
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Clare Room
Fee: $50.00
Liturgical Music after Vatican II
In this five-week course will explore the reforms of the Second Vatican Council and how the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy was implemented over the past 60 years. Participants will listen to the music from various traditions and cultures, and seek paths forward with expressions of today’s idioms while still celebrating the Church’s sacred musical treasury.
Instructor: William Mulligan, M.Mus.
October 16 – November 13, 2022
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Clare Room
Fee: $50.00
The Dublin of Joyce and Yeats
James Joyce is considered one oof the greatest writers of the modern period, and W. B. Yeats, the 1923 Nobel Laureate, is according to T. S. Eliot, the “greatest poet of the 20th century.” This course will focus on Joyce’s stories in The Dubliners, followed by Yeats’ early love poems, such as Maude Gonne, and his political poems, like Easter 1916. John Huston’s film, The Dead, will supplement the readings.
Instructor: Edward Kent, OSF, M.A.
Mondays, October 17 – November 21, 2022
12:00 PM to 1:30 PM; Classroom 1B
Fee: $60.00
Sacred Music of the Romantic Age
Music has been of great importance to the propagation of the faith for over a thousand years. It has uplifted the spirits of believers and has been instrumental in furthering the impact of the church in the world.
The course will survey the sacred music of some of the great classical composers from 19th century, including Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Brahms.
Instructor: Charles Powell
Tuesdays, October 18th – November 22, 2022
12.15 PM to 1.30 PM
Room 1B
Fee: $60.00
Que pasa en la Misa
En esta clase estudiaremos las diferentes partes de la Misa para entender de qué se trata nuestro ritual más importante y qué dice sobre lo que creemos. Este curso está abierto a todos, católicos y otros, que deseen aprender más sobre el catolicismo. Es una oportunidad para que los lectores, ministros eucarísticos, ministros de hospitalidad y otros voluntarios profundicen su comprensión de su ministerio.
Instructor: Oscar Cruz, M.A.
Martes, 18 de octubre – 29 de noviembre, 2023
De 6:30 PM a 7:30 PM
Aula 2D
Fee: $50.00
Truth Telling: The Poetry of Naomi Shihab Nye
Most known for her poem “Kindness,” Naomi Shihab Nye claims that “poetry tries to tell the truth, many truths, and tries to look and see deeply.” Her lyrical, passionate and compassionate poems sometimes invite us step into the worlds of children, the travels of immigrants and refugees, victims and perpetrators of violence. Other poems call us to reconsider the objects and events of our daily lives.
For the first hour and a half of class, we will discuss Nye’s poetry. In the last half hour, students are invited to write and share poems in response to prompts based on the evening’s work. The writing component is optional, and students may revise their work and submit it for further comments during the course.
Text: Everything Comes Next: Collected and New Poems by Naomi Shihab Nye, available in digital (Kindle) and hard copy.
Instructor: Sr. Fran McManus, RSM
Mondays Oct. 17 to Nov. 28, 2022
6:00 – 8:00 PM
on Zoom
Fee: $60.00
Well-Placed Words: The Short Fiction of O. Henry (1862-1910)
O. Henry (William Sidney Porter) is most known for his surprise endings. However, O. Henry’s stories prove him a master of dialect and word play, a keen observer of place and a compassionate social critic. We will explore literary, biographical, and historical events that inform the stories.
The stories are widely available on the web, but if you are going to purchase a text, I suggest any of the complete works of O. Henry available in digital or print format
Instructor: Sr. Fran McManus, RSM
Thursdays Oct. 6 to Dec. 1, 2022
(No class Oct. 20 and Nov. 24)
12:30-1:30 PM
on Zoom
Fee: $60.00
