Immigrant Voices in Modern Short Stories
(Re)discover six foreign-born authors — living, widely published and successful — who all write in English as a Second Language. Most stories have a strong political component, transporting us to Communist China under Mao’s regime, to Haiti under the military dictatorship, to Tel Aviv under missile attacks.
Each week centers on a specific author and short story, and revolves around class discussion and dialogue rather than a traditional lecture-style format. Study questions are provided before class to guide the discussion. The last part of each class is devoted to showing video clips of the selected author, providing a clearer sense of what informs their writing.
Faculty Bio
A teacher for over thirty-five years, Caroline Smadja has an M.A. in English from Paris and an MFA in Creative Writing from Pacific U. A French native, she is a published author of fiction, poetry and non-fiction.
This is a Livestreamed + Recorded Course
- Classes will stream live on the scheduled day and time
- Classes will also be video recorded
- Please note: This course is primarily discussion-driven and may occasionally include small breakout groups to facilitate dialogue
- Fee assistance is available if cost is a barrier. Learn more.
Schedule Highlights
- Course starts on Monday, Sept. 18 and ends on Monday, Oct. 23
- Classes meet for six weeks, two hours per session (9:30–11:30 AM)
- Videos will post on Fridays in Member Dashboards
- All course materials, including videos, will be available to view and enjoy through Dec. 31
Member Praise for Caroline Smadja
Great combination of discussion of the written material and videos about the writers we studied. Professor was engaging, intelligent, and well liked by the class.
I loved the classroom setup which facilitated discussion —more like a seminar than a lecture. That was great!