News & Publications
Annapolis
Spend a Saturday Morning Exploring a Classic at St. John's College
FOR RELEASE: January 20, 2010
CONTACT: Patricia Dempsey, 410-626-2539
Patricia.dempsey@sjca.edu
St. John's College invites the community to its Saturday Seminars, an opportunity to explore timeless, relevant questions through readings and seminars that make St. John's distinctive in higher education. The seminars explore seminal works by William Shakespeare, W.E.B Du Bois, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, 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 for seminars led by a St. John's College tutor. The seminars will be held in McDowell Hall on Saturday, February 27, from 9:30 a.m. to noon.
Registration is required; the cost is $40. Early registration is recommended. Online registration is also available on our website - select Outreach, then Annapolis Saturday Seminars. All registrations must be accompanied by payments to hold the space. Phone registrations will not be accepted until after February 10. 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 12 readings from classic works of literature, philosophy, theology, politics, and science. Among the seminars are: Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale," which depicts the devastating effect of King Leontes' jealousy on his family, friends, and himself and explores the tension between justice and forgiveness; and Ryunosuke Akutagawa's "In a Bamboo Grove," an early modernist short story which consists of seven varying accounts of the murder of a samurai.
Also on the slate of offerings are: Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire." Set in New Orleans just after WWII, this is the story of Blanche DuBois, a young woman struggling to survive in a changing world. "The Souls of Black Folk," a collection of essays by W.E.B. Du Bois, lends new perspective on what has been done, and what remains to be done, in race relations.
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. Complete seminar descriptions are available here.