Class Platform: Paradise Campus

Day/Time: Monday, 11 AM - 12:45 PM, February 1 - April 19, *10 week class*

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Class Description: Why should we read the classics? Continue the in-depth exploration of timeless classics of American literature that we began in the spring of 2020. In her Great Courses lecture series, Professor Arnold Weinstein of Brown University shows us the richness of American writing, what these authors tell us of our history, values, and conflicts, and how they not only influenced or reflected the perceptions and understanding of their time, but what they can tell us about our time, our beliefs, and our understanding of people and society. The professor upends the common stereotype of classics as stodgy, difficult-to-comprehend relics of some remote era and unearths the real meaning of classic and how these authors speak to us today. Since our semester time frame can’t accommodate all the authors presented in the Great Courses series, we will explore six authors across the spectrum of American history, including Emerson, Hawthorne, Steinbeck, Ellison, Williams, and Morrison.

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Instructor Biographies: Dorothy Howard, DSW, a native of Boston, relocated to Las Vegas in 1987 to conduct mediation and evaluation of child custody disputes for Clark County. She received her Master of Social Work and her Doctor of Social Work degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. Her work experience includes teaching on the elementary school level and social
work in the mental health and child welfare field with children, families, and seniors. She retired in 2008 from the Department of Family Services. An OLLI at UNLV member since 2009, she has maintained her abiding interest in history and literature and sought to further her understanding and appreciation of art and music through OLLI classes. In recent years she has instructed or co-instructed classes in women’s studies, mythology, mindfulness, death and dying beliefs and rituals, poetry, and literature. An ardent exerciser, she regularly hikes with OLLI and the City of Henderson.