World War II ended with German capitulation, but many aftershocks continued, with more than a million displaced persons left behind in Germany. This Last Million would spend the next 3-5 years in displaced persons camps, divided by nationality but with their own systems of governance. The Cold War considerably complicated matters with increased scrutiny of refugees from the East and with preference for anti-Communists. The international community could not agree upon their fate and it was only after 1948, with the partition of Palestine and the passage of a US displaced persons bill, that the situation faced resolution. In his acclaimed book The Last Million, Award-winning author David Nasaw, tells the gripping yet largely unknown story of postwar displacement and statelessness. The remarkable saga of the Last Million has profound contemporary resonance, making it our history as well.
Shakespeare's Comedies at the Movies
All of Shakespeare's comedies end in community. What a great way to celebrate our return to Plato!
In this S/DG, we will spend two sessions per play, exploring and discussing seven of Shakespeares popular comedies. For the first week of the pair, we will read the comedy, and discuss the play. Although these are comedies, they all have deeper issues including gender, power, politics and religion.
In the second week, we will watch a selected movie version of that play, focusing on the screen attributes. The films were produced between the years of 1993 (Much Ado starring Emma Thompson) and 2020 (Measure for Measure, a thriller starring Mark Winter). All of the films listed are available on Amazon Prime, and each of the films has an Amazon 4+ or 5 star rating. Needless to say, the plays are superb.
Short Stories by the "Jewish Literary Mafia"
In 1968 Truman Capote told Playboy: “Bernard Malamud and Saul Bellow and Philip Roth and Isaac Bashevis Singer and Norman Mailer are all fine writers but they’re not the only writers in the country as the "Jewish Literary Mafia" would have us believe.” On April 15, 1969 on the Johnny Carson Show, talking about the recent publication and success of Roth’s Portnoy’s Complaint, Capote credited the "Jewish Literary Mafia" with the success of that novel and explained himself : “Philip Roth is a friend and very talented. But you see, there’s this whole thing in New York-it’s called the Jewish Literary Mafia, and it starts at Columbia University and it goes through all the little magazines and what-not; and I don’t mean that it’s conscious or unconscious-but they promote each other continuously. And they promote this little clique of which Philip Roth is the youngest, and in many ways, the most brilliant. And they started the drum going for this book-you know-a good year and a half ago, and it’s just appearing in the magazines. [At that time, there were many other productive Jewish writers, such as E.L. Doctorow, Stanley Elkin, Joseph Heller, Chaim Potok, Ayn Rand, Henry Roth, J.D. Salinger, Irwin Shaw, Susan Sontag, Leon Uris and Elie Weisel none of whom, apparently, was in the "Jewish Literary Mafia".]
Singer, Malamud, Bellow, and Roth were born between 1903 and 1933. Their works became central to American literature after World War II and up to about 2018. Between the four of them, they earned numerous literary awards including a two Nobels, three Pulitzer’s, and ten National Book Awards.
In this SDG we will read some of their short stories and novellas. We will compare them to each other, find their common themes and subject matter and try to determine why they were so successful in their time, what legacy they left and who, if anyone, has or will likely replace them.
The Evolution of Life
Using Neil Shubin's latest work, "Some Assembly Required, Decoding Four Billion Years of Life, from Ancient Fossils to DNA", we will explore the evidence for how life evolved from bacteria, virus and cells to humans over 4 Billion years. It seems that life evolved not by the creation of new parts, but the repurposing of what already existed within living beings. An important part of the study/discussion should be the implications of this assertion. Shubin uses paleontological and genetic evidence to make his case, in a very readable work, that the repurposing and jumping of genes and the domestication of invading viruses have played a significant role in evolution. In the process he relates the fascinating tales of those scientists (most of whom you never heard of) who made the significant breakthroughs to provide the evidence for his thesis. The course should be an eye-opener for all. We will follow the eight chapters of the book as we probe the story of how we have been assembled.Chaptes deal with misconceptions of how evolution works and what is really happening to cause organisms to evolve. The pivotal working insights of many scientist are highlighted to illustrate how the scientific method has led to confirmation of a better understanding of evolution.
Twentieth Century Architects in Los Angeles
Architecture in Los Angeles has generated praise, innovation and scorn from the beginning. Great architects have designed important structures for Los Angeles, and altered the city’s landscape in ways residents do not always understand. This SDG will study selected Los Angeles architects and their unique architectural contributions to the city during the 20th century, starting with craftsmen architects Greene & Greene and ending with Frank Gehry. We will utilize the survey of L.A. architecture published by architect and UCLA professor Charles Moore, former Dean of Yale Architecture School, entitled The City Observed: Los Angeles; weekly topics will require some research by presenters from the internet, or from sources identified in Moore’s book, regarding the architects and works that our group will examine.
Culture in The Free World 1945-1965
In the 2 decades following World War II, the US exploited its enormous material advantage to achieve dominance in social and cultural change and development. Remarkable personalities were in the vanguard of this transformation. It was a time when people cared, when a painting, a book or a movie mattered, when ideas mattered. Our core book, The Free World: Art and Thought in the Cold War by Louis Menand, is the acclaimed acclaimed public intellectual's personal and controversial view of the cultural milestones of the period. We will evaluate Menand's choices, his emphasis and philosophical opinions as we analyze the cultural and intellectual landscape of a transforming society. From George Kennan to John Lennon, George Orwell to Andy Warhol, this diverse, eclectic work will give us a nostalgic opportunity to remember how our world and culture came to be. Many of us lived through all or part of this remarkable period. As we revisit it and its context, we will experience discovery, discussion and fun.
The Genius of Mike Nichols: Compared to What?
Come join us on a 14 week movie journey, I promise not to make you feel woozy! We'll be choosy and discover the very best of Mike Nichols, and his filmography is a doozy! Mike was an intuitive storyteller, and a director that preferred narratives, including his own fascinating personal life.
Mike Nichols, born Igor Mikhail Peschkowsky, (November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude for getting the best out of actors regardless of their experience. Nichols began his career in the 1950s with the comedy improvisational troupe The Compass Players, predecessor of The Second City, in Chicago. He then teamed up with his improv partner, Elaine May, to form the comedy duo Nichols and May. Their live improv act was a hit on Broadway, and the first of their three albums won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. We will chart Mike's career highs from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf through The Bird Cage.
So, now to answer the question you are all burning-up to hear. What do we mean by compared to what? Our criteria for selecting a Mike Nichols comparison movie consists of several elements. Each comparison movie must be deemed by critics as among the best of all time; a masterpiece in its genre; the movie has to be fun and most important of all the movie has to engage our feelings and focus our judgment to make comparisons with issues raised by in a Mike Nichols film. Finally, we'll brutally rate each movie!
All movies will be readily available to watch on streaming services, I will provide links and resources. Additionally, I am willing to provide access to a movie if anyone requires.
The Golden Age of American Drama
In the 1930’s and 1940’s American theater came into its own. The variety, quality and social relevance of the plays made it truly the Golden Age of American Theater. The plays selected for this SDG deal with the social and political issues that engaged the country, including the Great Depression, economic inequality, Freudian theories, World War II and American economic success after the War. The best of them combine serious treatment of those issues with skillful and entertaining drama. The playwrights include Odets, Kingsley, Miller, Williams, van Druten, Wilder, Hellman, O’Neill, Barry and McCullers.
Discussions will include each play’s structure, language and characters, as well as its societal setting and message. There will also be a focus on the lives and careers of the playwrights and two organizations that sponsored important plays in the 1930’s, the Group Theater and the Federal Theater Project. Each Presenter will be encouraged to select key passages of the plays for that week for SDG members to read aloud "in character."
The British Are Coming; The War for America 1775-1777
In this first part of a three part Revolutionary Trilogy, Rick Atkinson, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize, tells the story of the first twenty-one months of America's violent effort to forge a new nation. From the battles of Lexington and Concord in spring in 1775 to those at Trenton and Princeton in winter 1776-77, American militiamen and the ragged Continental Army take on the world's most formidable fighting force and struggle to avoid annihilation. It is a gripping saga alive with astonishing characters: Henry Knox, the former bookseller with an uncanny understanding of artillery; Nathaniel Greene, the blue-eyed bumpkin who became one of America's greatest battle captain; Benjamin Franklin, the self-made man who proves himself the nations wiliest diplomat, George Washington, the commander in chief who learns the difficult art of leadership when the war seems all but lost. The story is also told from the British perspective: we see the fight through their eyes and down their gun barrels, which make the mortal conflict between the redcoats and the rebels all the more compelling. Full of riveting details and untold stories, the British Are Coming gives new life to an old tale.
