Literature & Writing   

In 1932 Aldous Huxley created an imaginary future to examine the benefits and liabilities of living in a eutopia based on peace, prosperity, and stability. Does the quest for happiness conflict with liberty, knowledge, and progress? Join this learning through conversation seminar as we explore a future world order organized according to the alleged principles of Henry Ford. Published 92 years ago, Huxley's masterpiece confronts many of today's national and global issues.

Chico State's tradition of academic excellence goes back more than 130 years. With over 850 faculty members and 13,000 students, the University's teaching and learning community is thriving. Discover the imagination, cutting-edge research, and expertise that flourishes in our own backyard!

We will design collages on the covers of blank composition books, then write inside the notebooks about the collage pieces and other art provided for viewing. Composition books will be provided by the instructors.

W.B. Yeats, in his essay "The Celtic Element In Literature," spoke of visions of a world expressed by people who "believed that trees were divine, and could take a human or grotesque shape and dance among the shadows." Once a powerful people who dominated much of Europe, the Celts were reduced to a few small groups after the Roman invasions. However, their mythology survived, thanks largely to the efforts of medieval Irish and Welsh monks who wrote down the stories.

Reading poetry helps you to know things more fully; it commands your attention; and it can sustain good conversation. In this class, participants select poetry from favorite sources to read aloud with fellow enthusiasts.

Each week the class will read poems by an individual poet, a collection of poems on a specific subject, or a collection of poems in a specific style. A wide range of poets and poetry will be presented, from classic to contemporary, and we will discuss them from the perspective that the poet creates the work but the reader activates it.

This class will discuss favorite science fiction authors, their books, and the social, political, and scientific issues they raise. There may be occasional magical journeys into works of fantasy. The books and authors will be chosen by Stephen with suggestions from class participants and former class leader Sydney Wilde. This is a fun, free-flowing gathering of science fiction enthusiasts. Please join us and bring your ideas, insights, and suspension of disbelief.

Join us for a collaborative read of Shakespeare's The Tempest, a play about colonialism and the dispossessed. You'll be encouraged, but not required, to join in the discussion. This class is for beginners and Shakespeare veterans alike. You will want your own copy of the play, but any good standard edition will do. E-mail Jack (jdayer@ucdavis.edu) for guidance.

This writer's workshop serves a community of writers interested in sharing their writing and responding to other writers' work. We will focus on fiction, memoir, creative non-fiction, poetry, travel writing, stories for children, and other types of writing. Following a workshop format, this class will be an opportunity for students to receive feedback for their written work and provide meaningful support to fellow writers.

Learn to write a short 10- to 20-minute play. We will cover the basics of playwriting, including format, structure, character, conflict, and dialogue. This is a workshop-style class in which we discuss concepts and techniques, share what we have written, and write short exercises to develop skills. Prompts will be offered to stimulate your ideas. There will be an opportunity for some of the plays to be performed in the annual OLLI Play Festival.