All Program Dates
September 9, 2026 | 7:30pm - 9:00 pm
September 16, 2026 | 7:30pm - 9:00 pm
September 23, 2026 | 7:30pm - 9:00pm
Registration
Tuition for this course is $180. Members receive exclusive discounts on our programs and courses. Not a member? Learn more.
Please check your spam folder for your email confirmation. If you have questions, please call (215) 732-1600 or email rsvp@rosenbach.org.
This program is for those 18 and older.
To promote access to onsite and virtual Rosenbach experiences, we offer scholarships for each Signature Program. To inquire, email Sunstein Senior Manager of Digital Initiatives Edward G. Pettit at epettit@rosenbach.org.
Description
Best known for his wildly imaginative fiction, accessible style, and unflinching critiques of American culture, Kurt Vonnegut was one of the most beloved and prescient writers of the late-20th century. As we reflect on America’s 250th anniversary, this course will look back to Vonnegut’s early 1970s attempts to restore “humane harmony” in his brain as he confronted foundational American myths, a damaged planet, and a culture that seemed like a “sidewalk strewn with junk.” Focusing on Breakfast of Champions (1973) and selected short works, this three-session course will explore the how Vonnegut used his newfound celebrity in the wake of Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) to respond to the Vietnam War, the space race and other Cold War technologies, and the broader social, political, environmental, and economic breakdowns he witnessed.
Drawing on her intensive study of his manuscripts at the Lilly Library, Christina will share some of the compositional stories behind one of Vonnegut’s most creative, chaotic, and visually rich novels along with some of the experiences that helped shaped Vonnegut’s planetary citizenship and social justice engagements. More than merely appreciating Vonnegut’s prophetic vision, we will consider how his writings still offer useful wisdom and humor for our own chaotic, increasingly networked, historical moment.
Instructor
Christina Jarvis is Professor of English at SUNY Fredonia, where she teaches courses on 20th-century American literature and culture, including several different major author seminars on Kurt Vonnegut. She is the author of the books Lucky Mud & Other Foma: A Field Guide to Kurt Vonnegut's Environmentalism and Planetary Citizenship (2022) and The Male Body at War: American Masculinity during World War II (2004, 2010) and has published numerous articles and book chapters on Vonnegut’s fiction. An award-winning teacher and self-proclaimed “Vonnegut missionary,” Christina has also brought the Hoosier icon’s work to new audiences through the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library’s teacher workshops, lectures, and book discussions at the University of Indiana’s Granfalloon, and frequent podcast and radio appearances.