Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is often misunderstood as a boy's adventure book or merely a dialogue on race. Instead, this classic novel addresses youth violence and bad boys, schools and parents, and civil rights and minstrel shows. The novel, banned in New England, needs to be read and discussed anew for a better understanding of America, then and now. Join this course for a new and fresh analysis of this highly criticized and misunderstood novel. 

Instructor: Jeffrey Walker, Emeritus Professor of English at Oklahoma State, authored a critical study of the Revolutionary poet and traitor Benjamin Church, edited collections of essays on Fenimore Cooper, co-edited the first scholarly edition of Cooper’s 1821 bestseller The Spy, and is completing an edition of Cooper’s unpublished letters. A Fulbright lecturer in Norway and Belgium, he won the Phoenix Award for outstanding graduate teaching, the A&S Outstanding Professor Award, and the Regents Distinguished Teaching Award. His teaching interests include American literature, Dickens, the history of the book, textual editing, comedy, mystery, and film. 

Course dates: Mondays, January 27 to March 3, from 1:00 to 2:30 PM (Eastern)

Course preview (video): https://vimeo.com/953713599?share=copy

Registration is required to attend, and limited space is available.

Osher Online is a shared program exclusively for members of select Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (OLLIs). This collaboration between the Osher National Resource Center and the School of Professional Studies at Northwestern University presents lecture and discussion-style courses over four academic terms – fall, winter, spring, and summer – yearly. The purpose of Osher Online is to share quality online courses and occasional special community events with local OLLIs.