University of Denver Enrichment Program
In partnership with Colorado Ballet, the Enrichment Program of the University of Denver offers the following short, non-credit course. Colorado Ballet subscribers receive a 10 percent discount by calling University College Registration at 303-871-2291 and providing the following code: CB3801.
Dusting Off the Classics: Don Quixote
Written by a descendant of “converso” Jews, Don Quixote is the story of a crusading Christian knight as told by a fictional Muslim historian. This indisputable classic published in two parts in 1605 and 1615 was recently named “the best book in the world” by the Norwegian Nobel Institute. Why is it still so popular and how does it continue to stand the test of time? Join Diana de Armas Wilson, professor emerita of Renaissance Studies, to explore this often misunderstood work and its many moments of hilarious farce and satire, as well as its uncanny insight into the human psyche. Why did Susan Sontag call the novel “the first and greatest epic about addiction”? How did the author’s five-year captivity in an Islamic culture and his subsequent return to a collapsing Spanish empire play out in the story? Discuss specific scenes, such as “fighting windmills,” learn how Don Quixote becomes a prisoner of love and where Dulcinea really lives, and examine the descent to the underworld and DQ’s disenchantment and death. Come to understand how this 400-year-old book still impacts and reflects our society’s quirks and why so many recent political projects are being called “quixotic.” Choose to culminate the course with the elaborately produced Colorado Ballet presentation of Don Quixote—it’s not what you might expect! 10 percent course discount to Colorado Ballet subscribers.Five or Six sessions:
Wednesdays from 6:30-8:30 p.m. beginning Sept. 23, 2009 and running through Oct. 21, 2009. Optional Colorado Ballet performance will be Sat., 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 24, 2009 (ticket not included) with optional pre-performance backstage tour beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House.CRN 1052 / $205*
*Don Quixote performance ticket not included.
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