Literature Classes
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The Pound Era: the Birth of Literary Modernism
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research See all classes by this school @ 1016 Beverley Rd, Brooklyn, NY
Explore the complexities of literary modernism through the lens of Ezra Pound's controversial influence, as well as the critical legacy of Hugh Kenner’s The Pound Era. This course delves into the interplay of modernist aesthetics, politics, and social transformation, challenging established narratives and examining the untold stories of race, gender, and history.
This class isn’t on the schedule at the moment, but save it to your Wish List to find out when it comes back!
Dialectical Matter: Aristotle, Politics, and Utopia (In-Person)
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research See all classes by this school @ 68 Jay St, Brooklyn, NY
Explore the unexpected potential for a leftist reading of Aristotle's philosophy, challenging its traditional association with conservatism. This course delves into the dynamic interpretations of Aristotle’s hylomorphism, examining how thinkers like Ernst Bloch, Avicenna, and Marx reveal a transformative, agential view of matter and political critique.
This class isn’t on the schedule at the moment, but save it to your Wish List to find out when it comes back!
Friedrich Nietzsche: Truth and Morality
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research See all classes by this school @ 68 Jay St, Brooklyn, NY
Challenge the foundations of truth, morality, and objectivity through Nietzsche’s radical philosophy. Explore key concepts like the will to power, the übermensch, and eternal recurrence — and uncover how his provocative critique of traditional values seeks to confront nihilism and reimagine what it means to live beyond good and evil.
This class isn’t on the schedule at the moment, but save it to your Wish List to find out when it comes back!
Sigmund Freud: The Interpretation of Dreams (In-Person)
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research See all classes by this school @ 81 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY
Explore the profound role dreams play in revealing unconscious desires through Freud’s foundational theories of condensation and displacement. Analyze his own dream interpretations and trace the evolution of dream analysis through thinkers like Jung, Fromm, and Cixous. Examine how dreams are transformed when rendered into language.
This class isn’t on the schedule at the moment, but save it to your Wish List to find out when it comes back!
Tourism: Space, Leisure, and the Global Economy
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research See all classes by this school @ 68 Jay St, Brooklyn, NY
Embark on a critical exploration of global tourism's impact on space, leisure, and the economy. From the evolution of mass travel to contemporary digital nomadism, delve into the complexities of tourist economies and their effects on both travelers and local communities worldwide. Challenge conventional notions of authenticity and examine the intersections of commodification, imperialism, and ecology in the realm of leisure travel.
This class isn’t on the schedule at the moment, but save it to your Wish List to find out when it comes back!
Ovid’s Metamorphoses
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research See all classes by this school @ 45 Main St , Brooklyn, NY
Ovid begins his Metamorphoses, “My soul would speak of bodies changed into new forms,” and it is the great theme of physical transformation that unites the poem’s many myths: humans becomes animals and plants, and vice versa; humans becomes stones and constellations; and humans change their sex. No poem from antiquity has so influenced Western European literature and art. Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, and Dante creatively raided Ovid’s...
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Introduction to Queer Theory
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research See all classes by this school @ 68 Jay St, Brooklyn, NY
Delve into queer theory, a field exploring how sexuality and gender shape our lives and social relations. Uncover the intellectual roots of queer theory, its connections to feminism, Marxism, and poststructuralism, and examine its evolving influence. Engage with key thinkers to understand and challenge the norms shaping identity and desire.
This class isn’t on the schedule at the moment, but save it to your Wish List to find out when it comes back!
Philip Roth: Masculinity, Misogyny, and Psychoanalysis (In-Person)
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research See all classes by this school @ 81 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY
Examine the provocative legacy of Philip Roth through his early novels and the cultural debates they continue to spark. This course explores themes of identity, masculinity, guilt, and self-knowledge alongside Roth’s formal innovations and controversial portrayals of Jewish-American life. Engage critically with literature, psychoanalysis, and contemporary discourse.
This class isn’t on the schedule at the moment, but save it to your Wish List to find out when it comes back!
The “I” of Criticism: An Introduction to Vivian Gornick (In-Person)
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research See all classes by this school @ 68 Jay St, Brooklyn, NY
Step into how personal narrative becomes literature through the lens of a groundbreaking voice in memoir and criticism. Examine the intersections of memory, politics, feminism, and urban life while engaging major twentieth-century writers and thinkers. Reflect on what life writing can reveal about history, ideology, and the craft of storytelling itself.
This class isn’t on the schedule at the moment, but save it to your Wish List to find out when it comes back!
Sigmund Freud: Civilization and Its Discontents (In-Person)
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research See all classes by this school @ 81 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY
Examine how inner psychological conflicts shape human behavior and society at large. Explore the tension between instinct, repression and the structures that maintain order. Engage with enduring questions about leadership, social systems and the forces driving collective change.
This class isn’t on the schedule at the moment, but save it to your Wish List to find out when it comes back!
Mike Davis: City of Quartz
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research See all classes by this school @ 411 S 5th St, Brooklyn, NY
Explore the forces that have shaped one of America's most influential and contested cities through critical reading and discussion. Examine themes such as urban development, inequality, environmental change and political power while engaging with landmark texts. Gain fresh insight into how the past continues to influence the future of modern cities.
This class isn’t on the schedule at the moment, but save it to your Wish List to find out when it comes back!
Gothic Feminism: Repression, Transgression, and Rage (In-Person)
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research See all classes by this school @ 68 Jay St, Brooklyn, NY
Explore the Gothic genre as a vehicle for feminist thought, delving into themes of repression, transgression, and rage through madwomen, ghosts, witches, and monsters. Examine key feminist concepts related to capitalism, reproduction, race, sexuality, and freedom by reading fiction, poetry, and theory. Engage with works by authors such as Toni Morrison, Silvia Federici, Angela Carter, and more, to uncover the powerful intersections of Gothic tropes and feminist discourse.
This class isn’t on the schedule at the moment, but save it to your Wish List to find out when it comes back!
Mikhail Bulgakov: The Master and Margarita (In-Person)
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research See all classes by this school @ 45 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY
Examine a landmark work of twentieth-century literature through themes of censorship, morality, faith and artistic freedom. Explore how fantasy, satire and allegory challenge political power while raising enduring questions about truth, love and conscience. Gain deeper historical and cultural insight through thoughtful discussion and close reading.
This class isn’t on the schedule at the moment, but save it to your Wish List to find out when it comes back!
Literature B2/C1/C2 (Advanced/Expert)
French Institute Alliance Française See all classes by this school @ Virtual Classroom
Immerse yourself in the rich world of French literature with this advanced course, exploring classic and contemporary works by Jean-Baptiste Andrea, Annie Ernaux, Boris Vian, and more. Through in-depth analysis and discussion, you'll gain a deeper understanding of literary themes and styles, enhancing your language proficiency while discovering the cultural and philosophical significance of these masterpieces.
This class isn’t on the schedule at the moment, but save it to your Wish List to find out when it comes back!
Wonderful, Wonderful Times: Reading Elfriede Jelinek
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research See all classes by this school
Explore the provocative works of Elfriede Jelinek, Nobel Prize-winning author, in this course from the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research. Analyze Jelinek's anti-realist technique, the influence of capitalism and fascism on sex and romance, and the role of myth in her worldview. Discover how her writings challenge societal norms and provide a lens into life after liberal humanism.
This class isn’t on the schedule at the moment, but save it to your Wish List to find out when it comes back!
Reading Lolita: Desire, Obsession, Literature (In-Person)
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research See all classes by this school
Explore one of literature’s most provocative and polarizing works through close reading and critical discussion of its themes—desire, obsession, morality, and representation. This course examines the complex legacy of Lolita, its reception over seventy years, and the uneasy relationship between art and ethics.
This class isn’t on the schedule at the moment, but save it to your Wish List to find out when it comes back!
A Ruthless Criticism of Everything Existing: an Introduction to Marx (In-Person)
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research See all classes by this school
Engage with Karl Marx's "ruthless criticism of everything existing" as this course examines his transformative contributions to philosophy, economics, and politics. Through key texts and influential interpretations, explore how Marx's ideas shaped diverse movements, from feminism to ecosocialism. No prior background is required to dive into this critical exploration.
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Reading Dostoevsky's The Idiot with Liza Knapp
92nd Street Y See all classes by this school @ 1395 Lexington Ave, New York, NY
In writing The Idiot,a novel dear to his own heart, Dostoevsky set about to depict a truly good man. As he asks whether goodness can survive in the world and/or a novel, Dostoevsky also addresses traditional assumptions about marriage, family life, the “woman question,” Russian identity, health, sickness, love and death. To celebrate the 150th anniversary of The Idiot (finished in 1869), we take a new look.
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Reading Shakespeare
92nd Street Y See all classes by this school @ 1395 Lexington Ave, New York, NY
Join James Shapiro, the Larry Miller Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, for a seminar on Shakespeare’s long narrative poems: “Venus and Adonis” and “The Rape of Lucrece,” both of which he composed during a plague outbreak in June 1592, when the theatres were closed for nearly six months, and “A Lover’s Complaint.” Professor Shapiro recommends the Oxford World’s Classics edition of Shakespeare’s...
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Shakespeare with Leo Schaff - The Winter’s Tale
92nd Street Y See all classes by this school @ 1395 Lexington Ave, New York, NY
Join charismatic actor and teacher Leo Schaff as he breathes life into Shakespeare’s words, acting out portions of the play and offering illuminating insights into the Bard’s language, plot lines, historical context and eternal relevance, all with a generous sense of humor. The Tempest - January 8 The magic hand of Prospero guides us through storm, loss, adventure and abandonment—to comedy, romance, and righteous reconciliation. Ariel, Caliban,...
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