8 weeks, Tuesdays, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
**POSTPONED **

12 weeks, Thursdays, 6:15 to 8:15 p.m.
**COURSE FULL**

6 weeks, Wednesdays, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
**CANCELLED**

12 weeks, Wednesdays, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
**Online**

Many works of fiction have been inspired by actual events, yet the extent of the writer’s adherence to—and transformation of— factual material diff ers among authors. In Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, for example, the author describes his work as “immaculately factual,” though he admits employing “techniques of fictional art” in his narrative. Philip Roth in The Plot Against America, on the other hand, relies heavily on diverse historical sources but also integrates fictional events and characters into his narrative. Singularly different from these writers, Bernard Malamud in his Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Fixer, draws upon a memoir in numerous particulars, which resulted in a controversial charge of plagiarism.

Examining the diverse ways in which novelists fictionalize real events, selectively drawing from sources such as archives, histories, memoirs, investigative reports, newspapers, interviews and more, provides a unique and fascinating window into the writer’s creative process and into the work itself. While these authors begin with actual events in time, the very best of their work resonates not only with events of the past, but with the present as well—and with human nature more generally

6 weeks, Tuesdays, 6:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
**Atwater or Online**

Fifteen hundred years after the composition of the Consolation of Philosophy, many of the ideas presented in Boethius’ (c. 480–524) seminal work still have relevance today. This course will consider Boethius’ philosophical examination of consolation and happiness. How can humans, who constantly seek out happiness, understand this never-ending chase? When we finally reach one goal, why does another sprout in its place? What does this tell us about our nature? How is our happiness affected by a world that experiences constant change, change that is separate and independent of our own free will?

With these questions in mind, we will also explore the exemplum of Orpheus and Eurydice. Participants will read the myths from the perspective of Virgil and Ovid and then compare them to the version of the tale found in the Consolation of Philosophy. We will seek to understand why Orpheus represents such an important image for Boethius. More importantly, what can we, the reader, learn from the story? What does this story of loss have to do with consolation, freedom of choice, and human happiness? 

6 weeks, Mondays, 6:15 to 8:15 p.m.
**POSTPONED UNTIL SPRING 2024**

6 weeks, Wednesdays, 6:15 to 8:15 p.m.
**Online**

In this continuation of our ongoing series on Women’s Poetry, we will stop to examine six poets more closely. Circling around our core question, what does it mean to talk about “women’s poetry”?, we will spend each week with a single poet, and ask: To what extent do women’s lives shape their poetic output? In what ways do our poets work with or against the technical demands of poetic forms? Are there ways our poets take up language that emerge as especially “gendered”? Or, does poetic language transcend any simple question of gender? Our readings for this course will include works by Emily Dickinson, Anne Carson, Ellen Welcker, and others.

12 weeks, Mondays, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
**Online**

Join us this year as we closely follow the concerts of the main orchestras of the city, as well as chamber music groups, baroque ensembles, choirs, and a smattering of jazz and music from various traditions. The post-pandemic era is an exciting time to be following these concert programs for many reasons: Ensembles are presenting concerts with a renewed energy, and the current social climate has prompted a renewal of the sometimes-staid repertoire of classical ensembles. Fresh, exciting concerts are taking place on an almost nightly basis in this great cultural city! Course leader François A. Ouimet will provide videos and quality audio to the class through Zoom, and discuss certain aspects of the music, so that participants will better appreciate what they hear in the concert hall.

12 weeks, Mondays, 6:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
**COURSE FULL**

The result of a consistent and total substitution of lies for factual truth is not that the lie will now be accepted as truth and truth be defamed as a lie, but that the sense by which we take our bearings in the real world – and the category of truth versus falsehood is among the mental means to this end – is being destroyed.

- Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism

The rise of social media in the twenty-first century has created a fertile environment for the propagation of false information and lies, what is often referred to as “disinformation.” Whether taking the form of former President Trump’s ‘big lie’ of massive voter fraud or Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s false accusations that George Soros was planning to flood Hungary with illegal immigrants, disinformation destabilizes democratic governments by using lies to support political parties more interested in gaining power than preserving democratic values. Such lies can be easily disseminated on social media by party supporters and foreign governments, making democratic populaces vulnerable to anti-democratic propaganda and their countries at risk of democratic backsliding.

8 weeks, Thursdays, 6:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
**POSTPONED**

Sustainability, by its very nature, is not just a buzzword—it’s about taking the long view. The positive steps we take towards this goal must be achievable time and time again—today, tomorrow and for the rest of our days. 

-Scott Golding, The Sustainable Diet                       

How do you make the daily decision of what to put on your plate? Do you identify as vegetarian, vegan, omnivore? Are there religious rules you follow—kosher, halal? Where do you shop for food—the farmers’ market or a big-box store? How do you find out whether your food is being raised in a sustainable manner? What about animal welfare?

In this course we will explore the complexity involved in the ethics of eating. 

6 weeks, Tuesdays, 6:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
**Atwater**

This six-week workshop focuses on storytelling and embodiment, combining elements of theatre practice with the development of writing skills. 

Embodied narrative goes beyond mere words by highlighting the connection between lived experience, language, and self-expression. Participants will study the components of a monologue, engage in movement and voice exercises, and develop their own narrative (monologue) based on life experience. The goals of this workshop are: 1) to give participants the skills to better articulate their own experiences, 2) to offer a range of practices that foster embodiment and body awareness, and 3) to provide the opportunity to practise creating, editing, and presenting within a supportive communal setting.

12 weeks, Mondays, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
**Pointe-Claire**

What do reading and travel have in common? How has the figure of the tourist been represented in literature and popular culture? In what ways have tourism and literature been influenced by each other? This course will consider these questions by examining literary works that engage with tourism from the late 19th century to the present. 

Through discussions of works ranging from E. M. Forster’s A Room with a View (1908) to Yun Ko-eun’s The Disaster Tourist (2013) and Thomas King’s Indians on Vacation (2020), we will explore the complexities of tourism and the ways in which literature has endorsed, critiqued, and participated in the tourist industry over the last 100 years. 

Above all, we will ask what we can gain from thinking about literature and tourism together. Like tourism, reading literature requires leisure time and can lead to a new understanding of the world and the self; in the words of literary critic Jahan Ramazani, reading and travel both involve “a quest for alternate worlds.” At the same time, literature, like tourism, can be voyeuristic and appropriative and reinforce existing biases or harmful stereotypes. In thinking about these parallels, we will consider what it means to be a conscientious reader, writer, and traveller in an age of globalization and unprecedented mobility.

8 semaines, les mardis, 19h00 à 21h00
**Gatineau**

Quels sont les changements sociaux qui ont conduit à l’étude des théories du genre? Faut-il repenser les définitions de l’être humain, au-delà des ruptures entre le sexe biologique et le genre social? Jusqu’où peut aller la détermination de l’identité personnelle et la construction sociale, au-delà de l’emprise des normes? La justice recherchée dans la lutte contre les discriminations est-elle atteinte? Est-il nécessaire que l’identité personnelle soit stable?

6 weeks, Thursdays, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. 
**POSTPONED**

Every year in late March the CBC presents Canada Reads. This popular series features five panellists who come together in a “battle of the books” to discuss and defend their choice of the book all Canadians should read. Here at TMI we will enjoy a mini version of Canada Reads. Once CBC releases its shortlist, we will select two books to explore and discuss together. Depending upon the dates and times of the CBC programs, we might be able to gather to listen to the last one to see whether one of our selections won. Join us in this relaxed reading group.