Alumni

Piraeus

Socrates: I went down to the Piraeus yesterday with Glaucon, son of Ariston,
to pray to the goddess; and, at the same time,
I wanted to observe how they would put on the festival,
since they were holding it for the first time.
—The Republic, Plato

St. John’s College, in cooperation with the Alumni Association, is pleased to offer
Piraeus 2008, a continuing education program for alumni.

A $50 non-refundable deposit is required for each seminar in order to reserve your space. Enrollment will not be processed until this deposit is received. We must receive full payment by the date indicated in the brochure for each program or your enrollment may be cancelled and the deposit not returned. 

For more information please contact the Alumni Office: 410-626-2531 in Annapolis or 505-984-6103 in Santa Fe.

Download the brochure and registration form.

Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote
First Section: Led by Victoria Mora and Peter Pesic
Second Section: Led by Cary Stickney and Henry Higuera
January 18 - 20, 2008 - Santa Fe

Those of us who, like Don Quixote, are lovers of books even as we sojourn through this all-too-practical world will find that this darkly humorous tale of a brave (though perhaps mad) knight-errant has lost none of its power to delight its readers, growing in significance with each successive reading. It has even been asserted that Don Quixote is the patron saint of St. John’s College. And we? Where do we stand with respect to the Don?

We will wrestle with Don Quixote through five seminars over three intense days. The seminar will meet in the morning and afternoon on both Friday and Saturday, concluding with a final seminar and brunch Sunday morning. Participants can also look forward to the Friday night lecture, dinner together on Saturday evening, and Santa Fe’s beautiful snow-capped mountains.

Cost: $250.00 per person,
Includes all seminars, receptions, and brunch.
Saturday night dinner compliments of the Alumni Association.

Registration and payment deadline is December 21, 2007

Dred Scott Decision and Selected Lincoln Speeches
Led by Jim Carey and Walter Sterling Sr.
April 11 - 13, 2008 - Santa Fe

The Dred Scott Decision was the most controversial decision made by the Supreme Court in the nineteenth century. We shall read and discuss this decision in light of the language of the Declaration of Independence and relevant sections of the United States Constitution. We shall then consider Abraham Lincoln’s critique of the Dred Scott Decision and several other speeches of his dealing with slavery and with the secession crisis.

This program will begin with seminar on Friday afternoon, continue with two seminars on Saturday, and conclude with a final seminar Sunday morning. Dinner on Saturday and brunch on Sunday will be an opportunity to continue the conversation as well as a chance for alumni to chat more informally. Participants may also enjoy attending the Steiner Memorial lecture on Friday evening.

Cost: $230.00 per person
Includes all seminars, receptions, and Sunday brunch.
Saturday night dinner compliments of the Alumni Association.

Registration and Payment deadline is March 28, 2008

Homer's Iliad
Led by Eva Brann and David Carl - This section is CLOSED
Second section led by Judy Seeger and Eric Salem
June 5 - 8, 2008 - Annapolis 

The song of Achilles’ rage initiates Western civilization’s fascination with the poetry of war, friendship, loyality, passion, and loss. Against the backdrop of the ten-year war between the Greeks and Trojans, the Iliad reveals to its readers the struggles that rage equally intensely in the souls of its heroes: Achilles and Hector, Helen and Andromache, Ulysses and Ajax, Nestor and Priam, and the warriors and gods who fight both with and against them.

This program harkens back to the freshman year experience by beginning with seminar on Thursday evening. Five seminars over four days allow participants time to explore the environs around the Annapolis campus: downtown Annapolis, the metropolitan area, the Eastern Shore. Two special dining events punctuate the long weekend: a Saturday evening dinner and a departing champagne brunch on Sunday. Participants may choose to stay on-campus in Gilliam Hall, a new state-of-the-art dormitory, for that full-on undergraduate experience.

Cost: $320.00 per person
Includes all seminars, receptions, and Sunday brunch.
Saturday night dinner compliments of the Alumni Association.
On campus room and board $200.00 per person for three nights.

Registration and payment deadline is May 16, 2008