Literature & Creative Writing   

From heroes and heroines to princesses, crones, and monsters, this course will analyze iconic figures in European fairy tales and Greek myths to uncover their symbolism and cultural significance. The course will also examine how class, race, politics, and wealth shaped the creation and circulation of these stories, while highlighting lesser-known tales from underrepresented cultures. Through comparative readings and discussion, members will consider how these tales both reflect and influence culture.

The artist Georges Braque said, "my sketchbook serves as as a cookbook when I am hungry." In this generative workshop, the notebook will be the garden where members will plant word-seeds inspired by responding to reading model poems on a specific theme each week and sketching and sharing notebook writings. Just as an artist's process of sketching can magically transform into a work of art, our daily writings, carefully nurtured through class conversation and suggestion, can magically transform into poems.

This course is a creative workshop designed for those interested in the ways that art, symbolism, and the natural world collide. Drawing from the historical uses of floriography and our own imagined symbolism of Pennsylvania native plants, members will explore how flowers and plants communicate meaning through written and visual creative prompts. During this course, members will create a personal floriography folio—a folder documenting native plants and the meanings they hold for each individual.

This course will first examine the defining characteristics of three common literary genres: proverbs (short, wise statements); song lyrics (lyrical expressions by contemporary artists); and fables (stories that convey moral lessons). Then, writers, individually or collectively, will create their own proverbs, song lyrics, and fables. Through a collaborative writing process, writers will have opportunities to share their work and receive supportive feedback from peers and the instructor. No prior writing experience is required.

Rooted in trauma‑informed respectful practice, this course offers an engaging, hands‑on space where narrative becomes a catalyst for justice, community empowerment, and collective healing. Through mini‑immersive workshops, real‑world case studies, and guided creative exercises, members learn to craft true, personal stories that shift mindsets, challenge dominant narratives, and inspire action. Designed for advocates, organizers, and creatives, the course emphasizes purpose‑driven communication.

We will read and discuss three short novels with a colonial or postcolonial setting – The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, by Milan Kundera (Soviet Czechoslovakia,) Tefuga, by Peter Dickinson (British Nigeria), and either The Lover, by Margerite Duras (French Vietnam), or Chronicle of a Death Foretold, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (postcolonial Columbia).

The Victorians had a lot of questions about the nature of humanity, culture, and morality, many of which arose from seismic changes in how their world worked. We will examine stories about ghosts, monsters, detectives, and time travel to consider how the Victorians grappled with their anxieties and hopes about these changes. This course will weave together history, literature, and philosophy, ultimately asking what stories we tell to confront the mysteries of our own rapidly changing world.