News & Publications
Annapolis
Spend a Saturday Morning Exploring Great Works at St. John’s College
FOR RELEASE: January 7, 2011
CONTACT: Patricia Dempsey, 410-626-2539
Patricia.dempsey@sjca.edu
St. John’s College invites the community to Saturday Seminars, an opportunity to explore timeless, relevant questions through the readings and seminars that make St. John’s distinctive in higher education. The seminars explore seminal works by Anton Chekov, Cervantes, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and several other notable authors. Saturday Seminars are sponsored by the Friends of St. John’s College and typically attract about 200 participants from varied ages and walks of life. Participants gather for coffee and donuts before joining groups of 18-20 in seminars led by a St. John’s College tutor. The seminars will be held in McDowell Hall on Saturday, February 26, from 9:30 a.m. to noon.
Registration is required; the cost is $40. Early registration is recommended. To register online, go to www.stjohnscollege.edu, select “Outreach,” then “Annapolis Saturday Seminars.” All registrations must be accompanied by payments to hold the space. Phone registrations will not be accepted after February 9. For more information and a registration form, contact Alice Chambers at 410-295-5544 or alice.chambers@sjca.edu.
This year, St. John’s faculty members have chosen 13 readings from works of literature, philosophy, theology, politics, and science. Among the seminars are: Anton Chekov’s “Gooseberries,” which depicts the quest of two brothers for ultimate happiness; Cervantes’ “The Glass Graduate,” about an academic who goes mad; and Wallace Stevens’ “The Planet on the Table” and “The Idea of Order at Key West.” Also on the slate of offerings are: Edith Wharton’s “The Reckoning,” a short story that explores the ethics of fidelity in marriage; Kant’s “An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment (1784), and Plato’s “Meno.”
Participants read the assigned works in advance and then join with others on seminar day in a discussion of the work. No previous knowledge of the subject or author is required. For complete seminar descriptions visit the Saturday Seminars page.