Philosopher Bertrand Russell was a supporter of Israel but took an interest in Palestinian issues and worked with Israeli leftists, leading to his final statement of February 1970. This Zoom conference will be presented by John Lenz (a classicist from Drew University) and Thom Weidlich (an independent scholar), both of whom are active members in … Continue reading Bertrand Russell on Israel and Palestine (1917-1970)
Agatha Christie is one of the best-selling authors of all time. Her And Then There Were None is the seventh best-selling book (100 million copies) of all time. Christie is famous for her 66 detective novels, some of which featured the fictional Belgian detective Hercule Poirot or an elderly English spinster named Miss Marple. Christie … Continue reading Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None
Please arrive 10 minutes early to allow for registration. Please bring a printed copy of your voucher and your picture ID to the session. If you are under the age of 18, but at least 14, you need to bring a parent or guardian and complete additional forms. You must contact Richard A. Schaefer via … Continue reading Admissions Testing
Back in Elizabethan times, it was considered funny to tell stories about how badly a man beat his disagreeable wife. However, Shakespeare turned this trope on its head. For years, people have been arguing about whether the play is feminist or antifeminist. (Kate is eventually "tamed.") However, the moral of the story is clear: the … Continue reading Shakespeare: The Taming of the Shrew
Can one man change the course of a world war? From 1941, working from rooms over a Cairo brothel, British officer Dudley Clarke conceived a new way of fighting the Nazis: using the tools of the mind. Deception in war isn't a new idea, but this eccentric colonel realized that global conflict offered the chance … Continue reading Theodore Talk: Dudley Clark, the Genius of Deception (the Illusionist Who Fooled Hitler)
Middlemarch is a novel that is set in a provincial town in England in the years leading up to the Reform Act of 1832, which broadly increased voting rights in Britain (but women still could not vote). Middlemarch deals with many themes, including "the woman question" and the nature of marriage, as well as religion … Continue reading George Eliot: Middlemarch
Want to play a game? How about a bunch of games? American Mensa’s Mind Games is a four-day board-game-judging marathon, during which the year’s seven best new-to-market games are chosen and awarded the coveted Mensa Select® seal. Mensa members and their guests evaluate a pre-selected lot of games based upon certain judging criteria and submit honest, constructive … Continue reading Mensa Mind Games
George Orwell was the pen name of Eric Blair. He was a novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic. His memoir Homage to Catalonia recounts his participation in the forces of the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM) during th Spanish Civil War and his consequent disillusionment with Marxist politics. In 1945, Orwell wrote Animal Farm: … Continue reading George Orwell: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Let's take a nice walk through the grounds of the Frelinghuysen Arboretum. An arboretum is literally a tree museum, but there are also plenty of flowers. This is a lovely event for people of all ages.
Geoffrey Chaucer was the author of the Canterbury Tales, which is an anthology of 24 short stories that are supposedly being told by people who are traveling from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine of St. Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The Canterbury Tales were mostly in verse and were written in Middle English. … Continue reading Geoffrey Chaucer: The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales (April Showers)
