Holiday Stories by Leo Tolstoy, The Brothers Grimm, O. Henry *Online* *NEW*

From the giants of the short story and folktale genre come tales about generosity, community, memories, and family that capture the magic of this special season. We will read and discuss one or two texts each week. Please obtain Christmas Stories: 32 Classic Stories and Poems for the Young and Old (ISBN-13: ‎978-1670213747). For our first meeting, please read Leo Tolstoy's "Papa Panov's Special Christmas" and Henry van Dyke's “Keeping Christmas." Instructor: Petra Bittner

Sections

Instructor

Petra Bittner is a German native from Berlin who holds degrees in English literature (Ph.D.) and teaching German as a second language (MA/Staatsexamen). She has taught language and cultural studies classes for Boston University, Harvard University and MIT. Between 2007 and 2020 she taught cultural studies and business communication courses for various universities in Munich. During that time, Petra was also a lecturer and language instructor for the adult education center in Munich (Münchner Volkshochschule). Since 2020 she has been teaching both English and German literature as well as German language classes for CCAE. In 2022 she started teaching for Tufts/OLLI.

Petra loves the cultural diversity in adult education classes as well as the relaxed but dedicated atmosphere in the classroom. In her language teaching she focuses on communicative competency and cultural awareness.