"The Arabian Nights" is a timeless collection of stories narrated by the beautiful Scheherazade over 1001 nights to capture the imagination of her husband, the powerful Sultan, and save herself each dawn from execution. The tales were collected from many sources over hundreds of years, and old as they are, their brave heroes and cunning villains continue to influence fiction and film in the modern world. In this four-session seminar, we'll spend the first three sessions exploring famous and lesser-known tales and the fascinating times and rich cultures in which they evolved. In the final session, we'll examine some of the many works of later fiction and film that the stories have inspired. Handout listing books and films referenced. Seminar format with PowerPoint slides. This program is being presented as a seminar with limited enrollment to foster discussion.
“Cora is smart, interesting and a great presenter.” – OLLI Patron
LECTURES:
1: Deceit and Trickery: Tales of tricksters, liars, con artists, and other untrustworthy folk.
2: Adventure and Revenge: Sword-wielding, rollicking adventurers and their deeds and misdeeds.
3: Love and Longing: Endings both happy and sad for lovers both loyal and star-crossed.
4: A Million and One Inspirations: Stories and films that took the tales as their guide to thrill and delight us.
