Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man: Reading Group (Durham, NC)

from $25.00

**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+

Full Tuition: $280 — Sliding-scale tuition options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select. To pay in installments, choose to pay with PayPal or Klarna at check out.

Since its publication in 1952, Ralph Ellison’s first and only completed novel, Invisible Man, has been hailed as one of the greatest works of American literature and a crucial commentary on Black life in the Jim Crow US. Together we’ll examine the novel’s cultural contexts and literary intertexts. You’ll learn key approaches to literary analysis and leave with a stronger understanding of this important work.

Over the course of four weeks, we’ll travel with the nameless narrator through four major phases of his life: his time at an all-Black college in the South; his migration north to work in a factory; his experience with a political party known as The Brotherhood; and his entanglement with underground economies and figures, eventually leading him to build his own lair underground. Each week we’ll work carefully through the language of this dense and allusive novel while discussing important but lesser-known aspects of Ellison’s life that impacted his writing. For example, did you know that before becoming a champion of liberal individualism, he was involved with the Communist Party USA? That he loved reading Herman Melville? That he was one of the earliest adopters of the computer and died with over 10,000 unpublished files on his computer? Or that he worked with Richard Wright and Frederic Wertham to establish The LaFargue Clinic, the first psychiatric clinic for Black people in the US…which was literally underground in a basement!? This reading group will give you a chance to read one of the most important novels written in the last century, as well as the tools and information to understand it at a deeper literary and historical level.

—

The Fine Print:

Gift certificates may only be redeemed at the full tuition tier.

SLIDING SCALE TUITION

We now offer an early-bird low-tier tuition special as a way of incentivizing early enrollment. This is available up to 4 weeks before the class begins. Early enrollment allows us to gauge if a course will meet the minimum number of students required to run the course.

Full tuition is the cost per-student of running the class. If you choose a tier below full tuition, you are receiving a discount. If you choose to make a donation in addition to full tuition, you are helping to cover the cost for students who are not able to pay the full amount.

The mid-level tier is a discounted rate for people whose household income is at or above living wage but who have limited discretionary income.

The low-level tier and the full-scholarship tier are for people whose household income is below living wage or who need extra assistance to meet their needs.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Through our fundraising efforts, we are able to offer three full scholarships per class. The full-scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering. Each student may only take one full-scholarship class at a time. Because our scholarship funding is limited, if a student selects multiple overlapping classes at the full-scholarship level, they will be disenrolled from all classes.

All sliding-scale and scholarship needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.

Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans, refund policy, and sick and inclement weather policy.

Sliding-Scale Tuition:

**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+

Full Tuition: $280 — Sliding-scale tuition options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select. To pay in installments, choose to pay with PayPal or Klarna at check out.

Since its publication in 1952, Ralph Ellison’s first and only completed novel, Invisible Man, has been hailed as one of the greatest works of American literature and a crucial commentary on Black life in the Jim Crow US. Together we’ll examine the novel’s cultural contexts and literary intertexts. You’ll learn key approaches to literary analysis and leave with a stronger understanding of this important work.

Over the course of four weeks, we’ll travel with the nameless narrator through four major phases of his life: his time at an all-Black college in the South; his migration north to work in a factory; his experience with a political party known as The Brotherhood; and his entanglement with underground economies and figures, eventually leading him to build his own lair underground. Each week we’ll work carefully through the language of this dense and allusive novel while discussing important but lesser-known aspects of Ellison’s life that impacted his writing. For example, did you know that before becoming a champion of liberal individualism, he was involved with the Communist Party USA? That he loved reading Herman Melville? That he was one of the earliest adopters of the computer and died with over 10,000 unpublished files on his computer? Or that he worked with Richard Wright and Frederic Wertham to establish The LaFargue Clinic, the first psychiatric clinic for Black people in the US…which was literally underground in a basement!? This reading group will give you a chance to read one of the most important novels written in the last century, as well as the tools and information to understand it at a deeper literary and historical level.

—

The Fine Print:

Gift certificates may only be redeemed at the full tuition tier.

SLIDING SCALE TUITION

We now offer an early-bird low-tier tuition special as a way of incentivizing early enrollment. This is available up to 4 weeks before the class begins. Early enrollment allows us to gauge if a course will meet the minimum number of students required to run the course.

Full tuition is the cost per-student of running the class. If you choose a tier below full tuition, you are receiving a discount. If you choose to make a donation in addition to full tuition, you are helping to cover the cost for students who are not able to pay the full amount.

The mid-level tier is a discounted rate for people whose household income is at or above living wage but who have limited discretionary income.

The low-level tier and the full-scholarship tier are for people whose household income is below living wage or who need extra assistance to meet their needs.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Through our fundraising efforts, we are able to offer three full scholarships per class. The full-scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering. Each student may only take one full-scholarship class at a time. Because our scholarship funding is limited, if a student selects multiple overlapping classes at the full-scholarship level, they will be disenrolled from all classes.

All sliding-scale and scholarship needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.

Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans, refund policy, and sick and inclement weather policy.