A compilation of Charlie Chaplin’s career will come to life during the Keep on Learning community education series at Wartburg College beginning Thursday, Feb. 5.

Scott Cawelti, University of Northern Iowa professor emeritus, will discuss Chaplin’s comic genius, which entranced three generations of filmgoers and bridged the silent and sound eras of film.

Classes continue Feb. 12, 19 and 26 in the Heritage Room of Saemann Student Center. Coffee will be served at 9 a.m., followed by the class from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Parking is available near Saemann Student Center for those entering campus by Wartburg Boulevard.

The course will examine four films from the end of Chaplin’s career from 1936 to 1952. The first movie to be featured will be “Modern Times.” Subsequent movies include “The Great Dictator,” “Monsieur Verdoux” and “Limelight.”

“They all have so much in common, and yet are different in their own ways,” said Cawelti. “We will discuss his career and why the actor was eventually exiled from the U.S. and lived the last 25 years of his life in Switzerland.”

Cawelti was a professor at the University of Northern Iowa from 1968 to 2008, teaching literature, writing and film, and is now an adjunct instructor. He has taught previous Keep on Learning courses on Woody Allen, Alfred Hitchcock and the power of movies.

Pre-registration is not required. The first class of each session is free; a $30 fee is due at the second class and covers the rest of the course.
The Wartburg Alumni & Parent Relations Office coordinates Keep on Learning with the assistance of a volunteer committee. For more information, call 319-352-8491, email alumni@wartburg.edu or visit www.wartburg.edu/kol.