Literature

BILING E02, French Literature

This course helps older adults understand and appreciate the vast literary output of France and other French speaking countries, and introduces them to French culture and people. Older adults explore a variety of French literature in the language in which it was written and engage in stimulating discussions with their peers.

Course Number: 9730 Time: 2 to 3:50 p.m. TLocation: ONLINEInstructor: Isner-Ball D R

BILING E03, Literature from Around the World

Course Number: 9851  Time: 1:30 to 3:20 p.m. WLocation: ONLINEInstructor: Reich S LThis section will appreciate Yiddish culture and explore a variety of Yiddish literature, in the language in which it was written. Some Yiddish speaking and reading skills are needed to fully enjoy this class. Share life experiences; read aloud newspapers, classic stories, and modern literature to learn about a thousand years of Yiddish culture.

ENGL E20, Literature: The Novel

This course, which examines the world’s greatest literary works (such as James Joyce’s Ulysses) is designed to help older adults learn about trends in writing in different societies. Older adults learn about the uniqueness of each age of literature and each author under scrutiny. Various literary themes and the concerns of authors in different historical periods serve as a basis for discussion so that older adults may compare and contrast these topics with current events, modern cultures and sub-cultures, and societal structures and mores. Older adults will also discuss with their peers how these works relate to their own life experiences and accumulated knowledge.

Course Number: 9732 Time: 2 to 3:50 p.m. MLocation: ONLINEInstructor: Dwyer FAfter finishing our long journey through Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, we will be choosing a new novel at the beginning of the 2026 spring semester. Past novels have included Moby Dick, Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot, and works by Ferrante, William Maxwell, and Emile Zola.

ENGL E22, Short Story

This course is designed for older adults who want to explore literature, such as the works of Milton, Austen, Hawthorne, and T.S. Eliot, as well as short stories from Latin America, America, Europe, and Africa, and discuss it with their peers. This course allows older adults to experience a wide range of classic and contemporary literature in a social setting and relate that content and emotion to their own personal life experiences.

Course Number: 9733 Time: 10 to 11:50 a.m. TLocation: ONLINEInstructor: Mackay K

Course Number: 9734 Time: 11 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. WLocation: EC 1227 409Instructor: Ghabaei BThis course is hybrid. Instructor will provide a Zoom link to students wishing to join remotely.

ENGL E23, Shakespeare

This course allows older adults to study and discuss selected plays by William Shakespeare and his contemporaries with their peers. Older adults will experience or re-experience the emotional and dramatic content in Shakespeare’s classic works in light of their current life situations, and discuss the concerns of the human heart from the height of passion to the depths of despair.

Course Number: 9735 Time: 9 to 10:50 a.m. MLocation: EC 1227 107Instructor: Achorn J CWe will look at Shakespeare and his history plays, specifically Henry IV, Part 1 (the Folger edition). This will be a hybrid class offered both online with Zoom and in the classroom at Emeritus.

Course Number: 9736 Time: 11 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. MLocation: EC 1227 107Instructor: Achorn J CWe will look at Shakespeare and his history plays, specifically Henry IV, Part 1 (the Folger edition). This will be a hybrid class offered both online with Zoom and in the classroom at Emeritus.

ENGL E24, Bible as Literature

This course introduces older adults to a wide variety of interpretations of biblical literature, encouraging students to offer interpretations based on their own knowledge and life experiences.

Course Number: 9737 Time: 10 to 11:50 a.m. ThLocation: ONLINEInstructor: Jenks GThis semester we will be studying and reading through portions of the Hebrew writings of prophets. Come read with us and discover more about God’s messengers and messages during this critical period in Israel’s history.

ENGL E25, Literature: The American Novel

This course assists older adults in analyzing American novels, discussing them with their peers, and renewing their appreciation for this unique form of literature. Older adults learn background and trends in writing in different time periods and regions of America, and discuss how these works relate to their own life experiences and accumulated knowledge.

Course Number: 9738 Time: 9 to 10:50 a.m. TLocation: EC 1227 107Instructor: Achorn J CWe will look at post-modern American literature with a specific emphasis on Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 (Simon & Schuster edition, 2018). This will be a hybrid class both online with Zoom and in the classroom at Emeritus.

ENGL E27, Poetry and Fiction

This course helps older adults explore poetry and fiction as adventure, confirmation, and renewal. Emeritus students also employ selected poems as a means to examine their life experiences and discuss these experiences with their peers. This course is designed to refresh students enjoyment and increase their appreciation of poetry and fiction as a means of expression and helps them explore these genres in relation to other types of literature in their use of language and imagery.

Course Number: 9739 Time: 10 to 11:50 a.m. WLocation: ONLINEInstructor: Davis C V

Course Number: 9740 Time: 1 to 2:50 p.m. FLocation: MALBU 219Instructor: Fox Jr R WAbove section 9740 meets at the Malibu Campus, 23555 Civic Center Way, Malibu; schedule your classes with travel time in mind.

ENGL E29, Greek Literature

This course introduces older adults to the world of ancient Greek drama and fosters discussion among peers. Older adults will study Greek theater from a literary viewpoint and learn about plots, characters, and different interpretations through comparative analysis. Older adults will learn how ancient Greek drama is interpreted in modern media and will relate it to their own lives and experiences.

Course Number: 9741 Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1:20 p.m. MLocation: ONLINEInstructor: Dwyer FWe will continue a study of the evolution and influence of Greek Tragedy with reading and discussion of plays by Seneca, Aeschylus, Euripides, and later playwrights, such as Webster, Brecht, Chekhov, Racine, and others. Text: Six Tragedies by Seneca, translated by Emily Wilson.

ENGL E30, Creative Writing

This course nurtures, revitalizes, and stimulates older adult writers who may already be producing or thinking about producing written material. The course is intended to discover, encourage, and develop untapped writing talent in older adults. It also allows older adults to develop and refine their writing and self expression skills, discuss their writing with peers, and comment on their peers’ writing in a respectful and constructive manner. The course is also a forum for older adults to share their creative voices with peers.

Course Number: 9742 Time: 9 to 11:15 a.m. MLocation: ONLINEInstructor: Kronsberg G J

Course Number: 9743 Time: 9:30 to 11:20 a.m. TLocation: MALBU 112Instructor: Davis C VAbove section 9743 meets at the Malibu Campus, 23555 Civic Center Way, Malibu; schedule your classes with travel time in mind.

Course Number: 9744 Time: 9:30 to 11:45 a.m. TLocation: EC 1227 408Instructor: Ghabaei BThis course is hybrid. Instructor will provide a Zoom link to students wishing to join remotely.

ENGL E33, Autobiography

This course helps older adults review and integrate the experiences that have shaped their lives, share memories with peers, and create a record of events for themselves and their families. Through this class older adults achieve a sense of pride in their accomplishments, improve their writing abilities, and express themselves in writing that can be shared with family, friends, and the public if desired.

Course Number: 9745 Time: 9:30 to 11:45 a.m. SLocation: PAC 116Instructor: Fox Jr R WAbove section 9745 meets at the Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th Street. This is a hybrid course; some weeks will meet fully online, while others will be fully in person. Class will meet the first two sessions in person only, followed by two online-only sessions. The Zoom link will be issued by the instructor.

Course Number: 9746 Time: 10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. ThLocation: EC 1227 408Instructor: Kiss H K

Course Number: 9747 Time: 12 to 2:15 p.m. SLocation: ONLINEInstructor: Mackay K

Course Number: 9748 Time: 3 to 4:50 p.m. FLocation: MALBU 219Instructor: Fox Jr R WAbove section 9748 meets at the Malibu Campus, 23555 Civic Center Way, Malibu; schedule your classes with travel time in mind.

ENGL E34, Writing for Publication

This course will be split into three units of focus. The first unit will be spent writing and sharing new pieces of memoir, fiction or poetry. During the second unit, students will prepare their selected piece (or several short ones) for publication in the Emeritus Chronicles journal. Each student will give and receive several rounds of editorial feedback. During the third and last unit of this course, enrolled students will give editorial feedback to writers not enrolled in this class who also submitted pieces to the Emeritus Chronicles. This course will culminate in the assembly of the Emeritus Chronicles which will be published in the spring.

Course Number: 9749 Time: 1 to 3:50 p.m. MLocation: ONLINEInstructor: Mackay KThis is a hands-on course focusing on the production of the SMC Emeritus Newsletter and literary journals, as well as being an active writer’s workshop with an emphasis on polishing and revising work in preparation for submission and publication. The class will produce the SMC Emeritus Newsletter in the first 4 weeks of the class, and then turn its focus to producing either the Chronicles or the Ongoing Moment, the two literary journals of Emeritus.

ENGL E37, Writing Seminar

This course develops and refines older adults’ writing skills in an informal round-table atmosphere through classroom readings and critiques of their own and classmates’ writing. The course is intended to discover, encourage, and develop untapped writing talent in older adults and nurture, revitalize, and stimulate older adult writers who may already be expressing themselves through the written word. The course is also a forum for older adults to share their creative voices with peers.

Course Number: 9750 Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1:20 p.m. MLocation: ONLINEInstructor: Kronsberg G J

ENGL E99, Special Studies in English

This course enables Emeritus students to study various special subjects in English literature and language arts that may vary broadly from term to term, as specified in the section notes.

Course Number: 9842 Time: 10 to 11:50 a.m. TLocation: EC 1227 409Instructor: Kiss H KThis section will look at Gothic short stories.