Long before Leonard Cohen gained fame as a singer, he was a prize-winning poet and budding novelist. He was deeply influenced by Judaism, Catholicism, and Buddhism, and drew on diverse cultural references in songs of love, conflict, war and peace, and the vagaries of belief. Look beyond his triumphant “Hallelujah” as we celebrate a 60-year career and explore the inspirations behind his provocative, erotic, and often dark lyrics.

What’s better than a good laugh? Creating that laugh. This interactive comedy-writing workshop will explore the components of humor and how to apply it to your work. Join us if you want to have fun, learn, and be inspired to write better, faster, and funnier. Taught in a supportive environment, where everyone gets a chance to present, and open to writers of all levels.

We all face big questions every day, from the metaphysical — “What is the purpose of life?” — to the mundane, such as, “Should I give a dollar to that homeless person?” Philosophers have been thinking about these types of questions for thousands of years. We will apply the ideas of philosophers from the ancient past to the lives we lead and questions we ponder today.

Discuss the features of good memoirs and good writing — how to get started, keep the words flowing, zero in on a story, and rediscover the forgotten. Learn how to shape a narrative, invest the story with drama, humor, and suspense, and enhance the writing with dialogue, descriptive details, and vivid language. Classes will include writing activities and discussion.

Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order that resulted in the exclusion and imprisonment of Japanese Americans as “enemy aliens.” Thirty years later, Japanese Americans demanded redress for their imprisonment. Examine this history, the constitutional issues, and the impact of this period on the treatment of U.S. Arab and Muslim communities since 9/11 and in current immigration debates.

The people of Old Dixie were shocked and humiliated by their unexpected defeat at the hands of the detested Yankees, and their social order was irrevocably changed. Trace the struggles that the South faced following the Civil War, and examine how Southern attitudes, Northern vindictiveness, and entrenched racism on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line combined to shape a political and social legacy that continues today. Note: This is an eight-week class. the last class meeting is on Tuesday, November 14.

The Bay Area offers an abundance of riches when it comes to symphonic music. We will examine works being performed at various venues this fall, including Haydn’s earliest symphonies, Mozart’s “Little G Minor” symphony, and Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 5 and 9. Explore each piece in detail to gain a deeper appreciation for it. This course does not include performance tickets; participants are encouraged to attend on their own.

The Allied occupations of Germany and Japan after World War II are remembered as the “good occupations” for successfully turning militaristic enemies into stable and democratic allies. Japan has recently emerged as a potential model for future nation-building projects, and a foil for understanding failures in Iraq and Afghanistan. But how did these American-led projects differ, and what can they teach us about the benefits and pitfalls of foreign interventions?

Ezra Stoller (1915–2004), an architectural photographer based in New York, produced countless iconic images of 20th-century modern architecture in America that contributed immeasurably to its mythology and leadership worldwide. His photos of the Finnish Pavilion, designed by Alvar Aalto for the 1939 New York Expo, and New York’s Lever House, completed in 1952 by Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill, are the definitive images of these architectural giants.

In this follow-up to last fall’s Part 1, survey canonical documentaries of lasting power and influence, from Berlin, Symphony of a Great City, and The Man with a Movie Camera through World War II propaganda films and latter-century essay films. Discuss documentary ethics, the use of metaphor and poetry, the intersection of reality, truth, and storytelling, and our evolving relationship to images.

Who was Shakespeare the man, and what inspired him in writing some of the world’s most searching explorations of the human soul? What was his stagecraft? We will think deeply about As You Like It, Measure for Measure, Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth. Students are encouraged to see As You Like It and Measure for Measure at Cal Shakes, but all participants will benefit from the course’s rich insights.