Lifetime Learning delves into film noir and Hemingway

The fourth week of the Lifetime Learning Fall session beginning on Oct. 18 will include the following courses:

On Monday, Oct. 18 from 1:30 to 4 p.m., Marc Strauss presents the first in a four-part course titled “Classic Films Noir.” Film noir is a term used to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, emphasizing cynical attitudes and motivations, and filmed in black and white. Detectives Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, created by Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, respectively, personify film noir in the four films that will be offered. In the first class, Professor Strauss will introduce and show “The Maltese Falcon” (1941). A discussion of the film will follow the screening. This course is zoom only and will not be recorded.

On Tuesday, Oct. 19 from 10:30 a.m. to noon, Steve Reynolds, director of plays and musicals at Eventide Theatre and Cape Rep, presents the third in a four-class course on “The Model of a Modern Musical: Gilbert and Sullivan’s Nautical Comic Operas; H.M.S. Pinafore and the Pirates of Penzance.” The class will listen to and watch production videos and then discuss each operetta. This course is a hybrid.

On Tuesday from 1:30 to 3 p.m., Richard Finnegan, Professor Emeritus of Stonehill College, presents the final class in his four-week course on “The South Caucasus Region: Vital Global Conflict Zone.” The South Caucasus region is marked by long-term tense relations between Turkey and Armenia (stemming from the Armenian genocide, 1915-1921); the transition to democracy in Armenia (the Velvet Revolution of 2018); the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed area of Ngorno-Karabakh; and the overarching ambition of Russia to reassert its control over the region. This course is a hybrid.

On Tuesday from 5 to 6:30 p.m., Steve and Jeff Bornemeier present the second in their four-class course, “Novels and Ideas: Heroes and Heroines.” The second novel for discussion is “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte. This course is a hybrid.

On Wednesday, Oct. 20 from 1:30 to 3 p.m., Kathie Gulotta presents the final class in her four-part course, “Souls Of Black Folk.” Exploring the role of empathy in social-cultural transformation the class will examine U.S. history through the eyes of black writers, including luminaries like James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, Martin Luther King,Jr., Malcolm X, Isabelle Wilkerson, Nathan McCall, Barbara Holmes, and Ibram X. Kendi. The title of the course comes from a 1903 book written by Massachusetts native W.E.B. Dubois. This course is a hybrid.

On Thursday, Oct. 21 from 10:30 a.m. to noon, Kerry Brown presents the third of four classes on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” In his final play, Shakespeare presents diverse issues such as royal legitimacy, colonialism, borderlines between science and magical thinking, and the limits of love. The class will explore how Shakespeare blends tragedy and comedy into a genre called romance. This course is a hybrid.

On Thursday from 1:30 to 3 p.m., Paul Kelleher presents the third of four classes on “Fifty Years of Affirmative Action: Remedy for Oppression or Reverse Discrimination?” This class will consider Supreme Court decisions in college admission cases. It will examine the legal conflict between those who believe that laws must be color-blind and those who believe that Constitutional decision-making must take race into account. This course is zoom only.

On Friday, Oct. 22 from 10:30 a.m. to noon, Joe Auciello begins his new three-part course on the “Selected Stories of Ernest Hemingway.” The first class will discuss “A Way You’ll Never Be,” “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber,” “Under the Ridge” and “The Snows of Kilimanjaro.” This course is a hybrid.

On Friday from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., Mary Ann Eaton presents the third part in her four-class course, “Introduction to Irish Literature: Part I.” This course provides an overview of key literary eras and genres as well as a literature timeline. It will touch on ancient mythological tales, folklore, poetry, and a journal from the Western island of the Great Blasket. This course will conclude on Friday, Oct. 29 from 10:30 a.m. to p.m. 12:30. This course is a hybrid.

Register by mail, at the library, or online. Registration is ongoing. Please register at least 24 hours before the class. You may pick up brochures and a registration form and register at Snow Library, 67 Main Street, Orleans. Your registration and donation can also be mailed in. Course information and registration is also available online at www.friendsofsnowlibrary.org/lifetime-learning-program. $10 is the suggested donation per course.