Schemel Forum to Begin Virtual Evening Courses
Leading The University of Scranton’s Schemel Forum virtual spring courses are University professors: Billie R. Tadros, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of English and Theatre; Oliver J. Morgan, Ph.D., professor of counseling and human services; and Andrew LaZella, Ph.D., associate professor of philosophy. Registration is required to participate.During the spring semester, University of Scranton professors will share their expertise on contemporary love poems, new perspectives on addiction and treatment, and pioneering women philosophers. Schemel Forum evening courses will meet in six weekly virtual sessions from 6 to 7:15 p.m. A zoom link will be emailed to participants.
Billie R. Tadros, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of English and Theatre, will teach “Eros and Metaphor: Contemporary Love Poems.” Dr. Tadros said, “In this seminar, which borrows its title from a talk given by poet Alicia Suskin Ostriker at Rutgers University in 2005, we will develop a vocabulary for the shared practice of close-reading poems, and we’ll analyze and engage twenty-first century love poems. Class discussions will concern the formal and structural aspects of poems, as well as the broader questions of what constitutes a ‘love poem’ – or, even, what constitutes a ‘poem’.” Participants will read poems by a diverse group of contemporary poets including award-winning writers Jericho Brown, Meg Day, Natalie Diaz, Jack Gilbert, Louise Gluck, Terrance Hayes, Maggie Nelson and Carl Phillips. Virtual classes will meet on the following Mondays: Feb. 8, 15 and 22; and Mar. 1, 8 and 15.
“Addiction, Attachment, Trauma, and Recovery: The Power of Connection” will be taught by Oliver J. Morgan, Ph.D., professor of counseling and human services. The Independent Press Award recognized Dr. Morgan’s book “Addiction, Attachment, Trauma, and Recovery: The Power of Connection” as a winner in the category of Addiction and Recovery. Dr. Morgan will provide a fresh take on addiction and recovery through cutting-edge work in attachment, interpersonal neurobiology and trauma, integrated with ecological-systems thinking to provide a consilient and comprehensive picture of addiction. His work reorients understanding and clinical practice for mental health and addiction counselors, psychologists, and social workers, as well as for addicts and those who love them. Virtual classes will meet on the following Thursdays: Feb. 11, 18 and 25; and Mar. 4, 11 and 18.
Andrew LaZella, Ph.D., associate professor of philosophy, will teach “Women Philosophers of the Middle Ages and Early Modernity.” This course will study the ideas of six women philosophers of the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period, along with their place in the larger philosophical and historical landscape. The philosophers include Heloise, Julian of Norwich, Christine de Pizan, Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia, Anne Conway and Margaret Cavendish. “Participants will analyze how we construct the narrative of the history of philosophy, what philosophers are included and who is overlooked,” said Dr. LaZella. “The philosophers treated in this course are most often overlooked in canonical tellings of the history of philosophy, yet their voices provide an important perspective in expanding the narrative.” Virtual classes will meet on the following Tuesdays; March 16, 23 and 30; and April 6, 13 and 20.
Participants can enroll in any course for $60; Schemel Forum members and University staff, students and faculty can enroll free of charge. During the spring semester, the Schemel Forum is also offering eight virtual World Affairs Seminars to area residents.
To register for the seminars, contact Alicen Morrison, Schemel Forum assistant, at 570-941-6206 or alicen.morrison@scranton.edu. And, for more information on Schemel Forum programs and memberships, contact Sondra Myers, Schemel Forum director, at 570-941-4089 or sondra.myers@scranton.edu.
