The need for today’s leaders to become expert with their use of “soft skills” is more pivotal than ever. Anyone approaching leading others in the setting of business, education, social groups, religious organizations, sports, and other forums will be called upon to utilize the right techniques and behaviors to exert influence. These far-reaching practices were mastered by the Beatles.
Join us for Tuesday Night Book Club! Hosted by Monmouth University’s Ken Womack. This month’s novel is Louisa May Alcott, Little Women. Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read. It is no surprise that Little Women, the adored classic of four devoted sisters, was loosely based on Louisa May Alcott’s own life. In fact, Alcott drew from her own personality to create a heroine unlike any seen before: Jo, willful, headstrong, and undoubtedly the backbone of the March family. Follow the sisters from innocent adolescence to sage adulthood, with all the joy and sorrow of life in between, and fall in love with them and this endearing story. Praised by Madeleine Stern as “a book on the American home, and hence universal in its appeal,” Little Women has been an avidly read tale for generations.
Based on his acclaimed podcast, Producing the Beatles, Jason Kruppa explores the music of the Fab Four from the perspective of the one person whose point of view has never been properly and thoroughly examined: their producer, George Martin. Using innovative techniques to break down their recordings, we’ll discover how the Beatles went from learning their way around the studio to becoming masters of the art of recording, with their producer working side by side with them each step of the way.
This two-session virtual course taught by Mike Farragher (’88), author of four books. The course builds on the wildly popular Intro to Memoir Writing workshops with an emphasis on character development, dialogue, and scene setting that will make any story a page turner. Practical lessons are interspersed with writing prompts to get the creativity going during this two-week course. No prior writing experience needed and all levels welcome!
Join us for Tuesday Night Book Club! Hosted by Monmouth University’s Ken Womack. This month’s novel is The 1619 Project. A dramatic expansion of a groundbreaking work of journalism, The 1619 Project: A New American Origin Story offers a profoundly revealing vision of the American past and present. The New York Times Magazine's award-winning "1619 Project" issue reframed our understanding of American history by placing slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of our national narrative. This new book substantially expands on that work, weaving together eighteen essays that explore the legacy of slavery in present-day America with thirty-six poems and works of fiction that illuminate key moments of oppression, struggle, and resistance. The essays show how the inheritance of 1619 reaches into every part of contemporary American society, from politics, music, diet, traffic, and citizenship to capitalism, religion, and our democracy itself.
The term “Yacht Rock” exploded in popularity since the eponymous satirical web series debuted 20 years ago. But what exactly is the genre? How did it start, and which songs qualify as Yacht Rock? This two-session virtual course, taught by Kit O'Toole, explores the origins and rise of Yacht Rock, the smooth R&B and jazz-inspired genre.
Join us for Tuesday Night Book Club! Hosted by Monmouth University’s Ken Womack. This month’s novel is Harold Pinter, Betrayal. One of the most essential artists produced by the twentieth century. Pinter’s work gets under our skin more than that of any living playwright.” New York Times. Upon its premiere at the National Theatre, Betrayal was immediately recognized as a masterpiece. It won the Olivier Award for best new play, and has since been performed all around the world and made into an Academy Award-nominated film starring Jeremy Irons, Ben Kingsley, and Patricia Hodge. Betrayal begins with a meeting between adulterous lovers, Emma and Jerry, two years after their affair has ended. During the nine scenes of the play, we move back in time through the stages of their affair, ending in the house of Emma and her husband Robert, Jerry’s best friend.
From 1963 to 1969, the Beatles sent Christmas messages on flexidiscs to their US and UK fan clubs. In 1970, a compilation of these messages was sent out, and they were re-released as a collector’s set in 2017. Join SCOTT FREIMAN and KEN WOMACK for a one-session virtual course to explore this unique aspect of the Beatles’ history.
Parliament/Funkadelic’s George Clinton declared “we want the funk,” and by the mid-70s the genre was in full swing. On the R&B and pop charts as well as on the dance floor, funk had officially taken over. This two-session virtual course taught by Kit O’Toole covers the peak of the genre, its eventual decline in popularity, and its continuing influence. Artists examined include the Ohio Players, Stevie Wonder, Average White Band, Kool and the Gang, Earth, Wind, and Fire, the Commodores, Cameo, Slave, Zapp and Roger, and many more. In addition, subgenres including go go, punk funk (coined by Rick James), funk rock, and Bay Area funk will be covered. The course includes multimedia presentations and class discussions.
Join us for Tuesday Night Book Club! Hosted by Monmouth University’s Ken Womack. This month’s novel is Percival Everett's James. AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR FOR 2024 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW • A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and darkly humorous, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view. When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.
