Scarsdale Adult School Catalog Spring/Summer 2025

Suetonius’s Lives of the Caesars , the Gossipy Biographer of Ancient Rome

Newly retranslated in a jaunty, colloquial way by Tom Holland, Suetonius’s Lives of the Caesars (also known as The Twelve Caesars) is an entertaining series of biographies of the first emperors of Rome. Suetonius, writing a couple of generations after the events he described, could be said to have invented the art of biography itself. From the ambitious Julius Caesar to the magisterial Augustus, from the tragic Tiberius to the tormented Caligula and Nero, to emperors such as Claudius and Vespasian who attempted to simply do the job, Suetonius illustrates how the character of its leaders can color the nature and future of a society. NICHOLAS BIRNS is an adjunct instructor at NYU, has taught at several other institutions in the New York area, and has lectured abroad in Sweden, Australia, and China. He covers classic and contemporary fiction as well as the major works of Western and world literature, on which he has written many books and articles, most recently co-editing The Cambridge Companion to the Australian Novel (Cambridge University Press) and authoring The Hyperlocal In Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century Literary Space (Lexington). He has contributed to The New York Times Book Review, Modernism/Modernity, Modern Language Quarterly, Partial Answers, and Studies in Romanticism. 5 Sessions, starting Thursday, May 22 (no class 6/19) • 10:30am-12:00pm • Zoom • Course 13131 • $175

Nineteenth Century Avant-Garde Fiction In 1879, Henrik Ibsen shocked critics and audiences with his revolutionary, sold-out play A Doll’s House , challenging society's gender-based norms. The bold plot generated public debate, even among those who had not seen it. In 1818, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was also a commercial success, yet condemned by critics as perplexing, disgusting, and gruesome. Both innovative stories feature misunderstood characters shunned for their behavior or appearance. Please use A Doll's House (Annotated): The 1879 Classic Edition (Sky Publishing, October 6, 2023), ISBN-13: 978-9916732182, and Frankenstein the Original 1818 Text Edition (A Classic Novel of Mary Shelley) (Independently published, February 1, 2023), ISBN-13: 979-8373316552 . Read Act I of A Doll's House before the first class for dialog and character development. Students will receive discussion prompts and are encouraged to submit written responses in advance of class. MARILYN DeRIGHT is an adjunct professor of English at Iona College, and has taught literature, film, and drama for SAS for many years.

Short Stories on Primary Connections

Connections to others in key relationships are vital to well-being and are the dominant focus of many short stories. Delve into narratives involving characters of different ages, places, and times, confronting challenging situations in which the choices they make or avoid are crucial. Explore fundamental links between characters whose behaviors in pivotal moments are life-shaping for everyone involved. Stories to be considered may include "A Clean Marriage" by Sayaka Murata and "Sweetness" by Toni Morrison, among others. Students will receive PDFs of the assignments via email one week in advance of class and are asked to read once for story and a second time for setting, plot, character development, and theme. Students will also receive discussion prompts and are encouraged to submit written responses to be shared prior to class. MARILYN DeRIGHT (see bio for “Nineteenth Century Avant-Garde Fiction”). 6 Sessions, starting Monday, June 2 Monday, June 9 • 1:00pm-3:00pm • Zoom • Course 13296 • $180

6 Sessions, starting Monday, March 31 (no class 4/14) • 1:00pm-3:00pm • Zoom • Course 13111 • $180

www.ScarsdaleAdultSchool.org • (914) 723-2325

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