As an adult, do you miss going to school and learning new things?  The Pequannock Library has a solution for you—it’s our newly designed Learning Lecture Series.  It’s like adult school, but without the fee. Attend one or two or all of the lectures offered. These classes are offered this semester:

Thurs. Jan 31 at 7:00 p.m.

Youth activism, arts and human rights in the Middle East and beyond

Synopsis: 
This talk discusses the role of youth collective action and art to fuel human rights in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. In 2011, a wave of revolutionary upheavals shook the MENA when young protesters demanded political change, but many regimes across the region cracked down on the so called Arab Spring. Despite the consolidation of autocratic rule, youth who mobilized and drew from different forms of art to promote democratic ideals, constitute a watershed moment in the historical context of the region. In his lecture, Dr. Kurze maps their actions, highlighting various forms of performance art and street art. He also weighs their impact on the legacy of democracy promotion in different countries.
 
Bio: 
Dr. Arnaud Kurze is Assistant Professor of Justice Studies at Montclair State University. His scholarly work on transitional justice in the post-Arab Spring world focuses particularly on youth activism, art and collective memory. He is the co-editor of the forthcoming book New Critical Spaces in Transitional Justice: Gender, Art and Memory published by Indiana University Press.

Thurs., Feb., 14 at 7p.m.

Bad Boy, Repentant Sinner, or Doomed Poet? 

Synopsis:
This talk discusses the “bad boy” poet Paul Verlaine and his cultivation of “doomed poet” through photographs. Although he was known as “the Master” to his friends and admirers by the time of his death in 1896, French poet Paul Verlaine endured a rocky relationship with the public during his life. Verlaine’s literary reputation declined in his final years—in part because of his scandalous behavior—even as he was identified as a major influence on the burgeoning symbolist movement. Verlaine was also one of the models for the Decadent movement that began in the 1870s.

Bio: 

Elizabeth Emery, professor of French, received a PhD from New York University. Her research interests include: medieval and 19th-century French literature and cultural studies; the reception of medieval art, architecture and literature in nineteenth and 20th-century Europe and America; early photojournalism, celebrity interviews, European and American writer house museums; naturalism, decadence, mysticism, cabaret culture, 19th-century French theater; the collection and study of Asian art in 19th-century France; and global food politics and sustainability studies. She teaches a variety of courses related to French language, literature and culture, with particular emphasis on the medieval period and the 19th and early 20th centuries.

For more information or to register for these free events, please call 973-835-7460.