Do you relish the idea of in-depth study with dynamic and enlightening faculty? Have you ever wanted to take advantage of the many resources on Yale`s campus that you haven`t had time to explore? This summer, you’re invited to an immersive and all-inclusive on-campus experience designed to give you insider access to the University’s unique treasures with dedicated professors as your partners in exploration.

About the Course Topic
This course, co-sponsored by Yale’s Humanities Program, and led by Director of Undergraduate Studies and Lecturer, Paul Grimstad, will explore a strain of Antebellum Gothic in the prose, criticism and poetry of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. In different ways, Poe and Hawthorne brought out a brooding, melancholic, even lurid, strain in the American temperament. For Hawthorne this was part of the Puritan meditation on sin, a lingering Calvinist gloom he explored in allegorical forms of unparalleled delicacy and grace. For Poe it was more a matter of inventing new forms of writing that would be viable (and lucrative) in a burgeoning print culture of the United States. Read together, we get a unique parallax view of the origins of American literature in the mid-19th century. Works include, The Scarlet Letter, "My Kinsman, Major Molineau," "The Ministers Black Viel," "The Birthmark," "The Tell Tale Heart," "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Raven," "The Gold Bug," and critical appraisals by Charles Baudelaire, Henry James and F.O. Matthiessen.

Yale Alumni Academy’s immersive summer seminars feature themes in the humanities for a small group of passionate learners. The select group of alumni who join these courses will be treated to an intensely engaging, participatory, social, and scholarly adventure as Yale students. You’ll dive into a residential experience together, enjoying exclusive meals and events with faculty, exploring the University’s private collections and indulging in the libraries, the museums and the campus’ newest facilities. There are no papers, assignments or tests; just a passion for learning adventures. Comfortable hotel accommodations, vibrant and delicious meals at local restaurants, and course materials are all included in the one registration price.

What Alumni Are Saying About Summer Immersion at the Academy
“I find the experience to be an embarrassment of riches, absorbing the wisdom of faculty members, guest speakers and great support by Yale Alumni Academy. Well done! It doesn’t get any better.”

“Yale Alumni Academy courses represent the best of a Yale education. The courses are chosen for their popularity and relevance, the professors are chosen for their teaching, research, and writing skills and the students are curious and motivated.”

“I didn`t quite know what to expect before the class, but I didn`t expect it to be this refreshing and stimulating. The presentation and discussion are so engrossing that hours fly by without my realizing it. After each one, I eagerly looked into the books mentioned at class, and dove into the reading for the next session. It is such a privilege to have the opportunity for continued learning at Yale.”

Course Format
The immersion experience begins as soon as you register and receive your books. By June, you will be ready for one week of intensive study with a collegial group of dedicated learners, a passionate faculty leader and special guest presenters.

The main course sessions will include daily small-group seminars held on campus and led by faculty and guest speakers. Alumni participants will come together for a scholarly endeavor that hearkens to the days of being a student again. Group discussions provide ample opportunity to engage with experts and peers, informed by comprehensive readings and complementary materials from Yale collections: galleries, libraries, and museums. Special guest speakers add context to the themes of the syllabus, and evening salons create space to share new ideas and understandings from the lectures and readings. This program has been specially designed for Yale Alumni Academy by Professor Grimstad and The Humanities Program at Yale. We invite you to enjoy the privilege of an intimate and bespoke classroom experience with an excellent study leader.