This five-week course will use film to explore adaptation and adjustment to events both momentous and small. The course will look at how coping skills are explored. Many films will be examined through a variety of social lenses. How do individuals cope with change? How does an individual respond to the swirl of momentous events around them, and how does this change them? What is the meaning in understanding an historical moment? What can we learn from these films about our own times and situations? We will look at five films, each of which deals with a different sort of adjustment or adaptation: an immigrant, a survivor, a soldier, a cop and a diplomat. Each film explores a character and how they cope or reconcile their situation presented by the film. Currently, the film list includes Hester Street, Madame Rosa, Cast a Giant Shadow, Crossfire (1947), and Persona Non Gratia.  The class will be a discussion of the week’s film, based on some prompts. All class attendees will be expected to participate in discussion.  For preparation, attendees must watch the films before each class. There may be a reading or two, depending if there’s anything pertinent to our course.