By Lacey Wallen
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – A mini-course on the famous television series “The Sopranos” will take place this fall at Camden County College. If you are interested in learning about the Italian mafia and only want to pay a small price to do so, this mini-course might be for you.
The mini-course, which will be taught by Randolf Voldish, will begin on Nov. 13 and go every Thursday except Nov. 27 for five weeks. It will be from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in Madison Hall, Room 210, at Camden County College in Blackwood.
This is the first time this particular mini-course has been taught at Camden County College. Voldish has been teaching mini-courses for ten years, but never this one!
“I have never taught this particular course before. Each week we will focus on a particular theme, for example, the nature of violence within the mob; masculine vs. feminine roles in the mob community, especially stereotyping and how the males often feel threatened by domineering women and ethnic minorities; and where The Sopranos fits in the genre of Mafia-related movies and television shows.” Voldish said.
There are no books or grades required for this course. As Mr. Voldish put it, “just lots of thought-proving discussion!”.
Http://camdencc.edu/civiccenter/Mini-Courses.cfm states: “When the HBO series ‘The Sopranos’ debuted on January 10, 1999, it attained instant, international cult status. Its slick production values, thoughtful scripts, topical issues, hip musical score, plots and dialogue that on occasion could approach Shakespeare and seductive and charismatic characters have given it a well-deserved fame base. This course will examine its primary themes and try to explain the reasons for its ever-growing popularity. The discussion for each class will be built around a particular theme and feature excerpts from one or two episodes.”
Week one: Theft, murder and other assorted violent tendencies will be the topic.
Week two: The question — does the series perpetuate or subvert stereotypes of Italian Americans? — will be examined.
Week three: The men of the family’s disdain for social change will be the topic.
Week four: The recurring themes of both manhood and femininity and the search for the male ideal, forever threatened by the independent female, will be discussed.
Week five: The ideas of race and ethnic identity will get attention.
Voldish teaches at St. Hubert Catholic High School for Girls, located in Northeast Philadelphia at Cottman and Torresdale Avenues, although he has always lived in Gloucester County.
To find out more, visit http://www.camdencc.edu/civiccenter.