“Men and Women Together (or Not)”

This fall, Notre Dame College proudly presents its fourth annual “Books That Changed the World” seminar. Neither a graduate literary seminar nor a mere book club, the “Books That Changed the World” seminar series is a personal and professional development experience providing anyone with a passion for lifelong learning the opportunity to meet eclectic and interesting people with whom to  explore a common theme. This year’s seminar explores “Men and Women Together (or Not).”

Inaugurated in November 2003, Dr. Andrew P. Roth is the 13th president of Notre Dame College. Under his leadership, the College began a “Voyage of Discovery,” defining the future of Notre Dame for the next generation of college leaders. Ultimately, Dr. Roth foresees Notre Dame as one of the finest, small Catholic baccalaureate colleges in the Great Lakes region.

In the intervening years, Dr. Roth has decisively moved the College toward achieving this vision. He restructured the admissions operation and financial aid process resulting in record enrollment every year since 2003. Today, more than 1,000 full-time undergraduates attend Notre Dame College and the College’s total enrollment is 1,949 students. During Dr. Roth’s five years as president, the College averaged over $1.2 million in gifts and grants, and in the fiscal year 2008 Notre Dame experienced an operating surplus of more than $2.2 million.

Dr. Roth introduced major improvements to the campus facilities in order to enhance the educational experience. In 2004, a series of campus-wide renovations began with construction in the Clara Fritzsche Library. The completely remodeled second floor houses a Smart Classroom and the Academic Support Center for Students with Learning Differences, while the first floor is the site of a Starbucks-style coffee lounge that was expanded in early 2009. Dr. Roth also oversaw construction of the Legacy Walkway on the main quad of the campus, commemorating alumni, friends of the College, and the Sisters of Notre Dame.

In 2008, despite challenging economic times, the College began the most extensive series of on-campus construction projects in recent history. Ten new classrooms, 12 new faculty offices and new facilities for the Nursing Program were built. In addition, Christ the King Chapel was completely renewed and the Connelly Center Dining Hall dramatically renovated. The growth of Notre Dame’s student population necessitated the construction of two new residence halls with a combined capacity of 288 beds. North Hall, an apartment-style residence hall housing 84 students, opened in January 2009. South Hall opened its doors to 204 students for the fall semester of 2009, completing a residence quad similar to the one envisioned by the original campus architect in 1926. The College also constructed 215 new parking spaces.

Under Dr. Roth's leadership, Notre Dame has made strides to expand academic opportunities for students. The College initiated new programs, including the Intelligence Analysis and Research Program (IARP), criminal justice, and a fully-accredited Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program. In fall 2008, Dr. Roth began the “Books That Changed the World” seminar series, a great books program for professional and civic leaders. Tenured in three different disciplines at his previous institution, Dr. Roth himself regularly teaches an undergraduate course, viewing himself as “a faculty member and teacher first.”

Seminars anchored in the “great books tradition” draw one into thought-provoking analyses of contemporary issues through the medium of timeless literature. They are among the most eagerly sought-after personal enrichment and professional development experiences. The ideas, concepts, and situations these works present are as relevant to today’s challenges and opportunities as when they were first penned.

Our selected readings will take you deep into the minds of some of history’s great figures – “Cleopatra”, “Elizabeth I” -- and most profound thinkers – Euripides, Shakespeare, Flaubert and others. You and your colleagues will explore timeless questions about human relationships, love, commitment, betrayal and loyalty. At each session, our facilitators will ask several provocative questions to stimulate conversation; then the seminar’s true value emerges as the participants share their own insights and grapple with those of others. We are sure you will come away from each session challenged with new ideas and views you had not considered before.

As a person who is passionate about great books and lifelong learning, we invite you to participate in our fourth annual “Books That Changed the World” seminar and join your peers in stimulating conversations.

The Schedule

Participants will meet monthly to discuss a great literary work during a 90-minute session. They can choose between three sessions each month, as the seminar will meet the on third Tuesday and following Wednesday and Thursday of each month, beginning in September 2011 and ending in May 2012.  During each 90-minute session, participants will explore a great work beginning with a light breakfast at 7:30 a.m. followed by the discussion from 8 to 9:30 a.m.

Note: The December sessions will take place a week earlier on the 13th, 14th and 15th.  The only January session (on the 18^th) will be An Evening of Film: Cyrano de Bergerac (1990 French with English subtitles starring Gerard Depardieu) features a film discussion.  There will be an epilogue concluding the seminar series on June 21, 2012.   

The Presenters

Notre Dame College President, Dr. Andrew P. Roth welcomes participants to the seminar series. A published author in addition to his duties as President, Dr. Roth’s interests range from literature, in particular contemporary American poetry, colonial and revolutionary era American history to philosophy, theology and information theory. He believes firmly in the liberating power of the liberal arts.

Dr. Mary (Missy) Breckenridge, Provost at Notre Dame College, brings to this year’s seminar many years of leadership experience and her background as founder of a graduate program in organizational leadership. Dr. Breckenridge’s field of expertise is leadership theory, in particular women and leadership.

Professor Kenneth Palko, Notre Dame College “Outstanding Faculty” honoree and accomplished bibliophile has partnered with Dr. Roth on the “Books That Changed the World” series from its inception. Mr. Palko is a professor of philosophy; at each session he charms the group with an exhibit from his extensive antiquarian book collection.

Dr. Michael Bloom, director of the Abrahamic Center, and Dr. Louise Prochaska, professor of theology and women’s studies, will join them.

All five presenters have years of experience in women’s studies, leadership theory, philosophy, theology and communication studies.

Location

Participants will meet in the elegant, wood paneled Tudor-style Great Room in the Main Classroom Building on the Notre Dame College campus where ample free parking is available.

Tuition

Tuition for the seminal series is $349. This includes all nine sessions, books and materials, and light breakfasts.

The Reading List

The works chosen for the upcoming year will be used as case studies to ask profound and timeless questions about human relationships, love, commitment, betrayal and loyalty. They are:

The Song of Songs  (Bloch and Bloch Translation)                        September
One of the world’s oldest and most controversial love poems, the Biblical Song of Songs has been attributed to King Solomon and interpreted allegorically as a story of God’s love for the people of Israel and the love of Christ for the Church.  But does this really tell the whole story?  Using Ariel and Chana Bloch’s recent translation of The Song of Songs, we’ll explore this sensuous, frank and intoxicating lyrical narrative of love as the greatest power on earth.

Hippolytus by Euripides                                                                       October        
This ancient Greek tragedy was first performed in 428 B.C. for the City Dionysian festival in Athens.  A crowd favorite, it won Euripides a first place prize for his trilogy.  In the play, Phaedra falls madly in love with Hippolytus, her stepson.  Her advances refused, she writes a letter falsely accusing Hippolytus of raping her and then kills herself.  Theseus finds the letter and banishes his innocent son.  Artemis appears to Theseus and reveals the truth, but it is too late as his son has been killed at sea.  Join us as we confront the power of erotic love between the sexes. 

Cleopatra: A Life  by Stacy Schiff                                                     November
This widely acclaimed biography by a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, gives us a historically reliable as well as richly contextualized portrait of an epic ruler of the ancient Mediterranean world.  Cleopatra, born in 69 B.C.E., was raised to be the queen of Alexandria.  She was the perfect partner of Anthony, since both, as Schiff notes, “were congenial, charismatic, quick-tongued…with intelligent curiosity and a remarkable capacity for work and play.”  Was her womanhood any drawback to her power?  Was her sexual passion a key to greater power or the cause of her downfall and death, at the early age of 40?

Measure for Measure  by William Shakespeare                                December
One of Shakespeare’s darkest comedies, Measure for Measure was first performed in 1604, and treats marriage as a literal and figurative form of punishment.  Isabella, an aspiring nun, faces impossible options.  In order to free her brother who is to be executed for immorality, she must sleep with a corrupt deputy.  Who wins this battle of the sexes and what roles do the characters assume to wrest power in a decayed world of blatant male authority?

Cyrano de Bergerac  (1990  film with Gerard Depardieu)           January 2012
Cyrano, a dashing officer, duelist and gifted poet, falls in love with his distant cousin, Roxanne, but is afraid to woo her because of his bulbous nose.  Knowing that another officer, Christian, also loves Roxanne, Cyrano offers to write love letters to Roxanne for Christian to deliver as if he is the author.  This touching romance poses the question of the role of physical attractiveness in a romantic relationship.  The setting is Paris in 1640.  The original play by Edmond Rostand was written in 1897.

The Life of Elizabeth I  by Alison Weir                                              February
Arguably, the most influential ruler England has ever known, Elizabeth I steps onto the throne as a result of the sexual appetites of her father, Henry VIII, and the sexual politics of her mother, Anne Boleyn.  However, it is her intelligence, independence and political shrewdness that makes her a queen for the ages.  In Weir’s acclaimed biography, we learn how Elizabeth I publically rejects all male suitors, living up to her title of the Virgin Queen, yet privately uses lust and sex as bait to keep the most powerful men in England at her side as equals, but never as masters.

Persuasion by Jane Austen                                                                      March
Austen’s last novel, Persuasion, offers us a study of the complexities of marriage in late nineteenth century England, when rigid class structures are beginning to break open.  Anne Elliot is the daughter of Sir Walter, a model of the old landed gentry but almost penniless because of foolish spending.  The young naval officers are newly wealthy and enter the middle class.  Can love surmount class barriers?  And will a not-too-beautiful but clever, kind and practical Anne follow her heart, or will she be persuaded to follow another’s more sensible advice? 

Madame Bovary  by Gustave Flaubert                                                       April
Flaubert’s first novel was met with charges of obscenity when published in 1856.  Today, it is considered his masterpiece, a seminal work of literary realism and one of the most influential novels ever written.  Henry James describes it as the “perfect” novel.  The plot of a doctor’s wife and her adulterous affairs opens the door into the complexity of the relationships between men and women.

Giovanni’s Room  by James Baldwin                                                          May
James Baldwin’s notorious novella published in 1956 treats the “or not” part of the title of our book series.  In a post-war Paris swarming with expatriates and characterized by dangerous liaisons and hidden violence, an American is unable to repress his impulses, despite his determination to live the conventional life he envisions for himself.  Giovanni’s Room is a sensitive and moving account of a young man coming to terms with his sexual identity and teaching himself not to be afraid and ashamed of his identity.

*****

Although focused on a common theme, our readings are varied and include some of world culture's greatest artifacts. Perhaps you always meant to read them, but didn't have the chance to do so. Or, you read them in college and only now, after a lifetime of experience, realize their power and want to revisit them from the vantage of your mature and grounded experience.

These works are often cited, frequently quoted and rarely understood. One of the benefits of pursuing them as a group venture is having a guide to place them in context, to review their history and how they have been understood and misunderstood through the ages, and to pose enlightening questions that enable the group to bore into them for greater insight and understanding.

Certainly, the "Books That Changed the World" seminar complements our results-driven culture by providing an important dimension to ongoing professional development - exposure to a wide range of diverse concepts that inspire and spark new ways of thinking. In a world as complex as ours, creative solutions are not only prized, they are required. The works we selected offer a wealth of perspectives that can serve as problem solving tools for those who make important decisions day after day.

What sets these books apart from others?

These books have literally "changed the world." Repeatedly, alumni and others tell us the part of their college education they valued the most (or, maybe more accurately, came to value as they advanced in their careers and lives) was the liberal arts courses where they confronted great questions - what constitutes the good life, what is my responsibility to myself, to my professional peers and those who work with me, to others, to society. How can these questions be answered? Issues like these are at the core of our seminar series, though our intent is not to provide pat answers, but to provoke deep thinking about core issues that continue to confront our society through the lens of some of the greatest works in our philosophical, political and literary heritage.

How were these books selected?

Much time and effort went into this selection with the thought of how they relate to the conditions we face in our lives today. You've probably heard people refer to them, but weren't comfortable because you lack familiarity with them. Here is your opportunity to become acquainted or reacquainted with this powerful literature. By attending this seminar, you'll be able to discuss and reflect on key aspects of the works because you know them. You will be "well-read."

Sitting down alone with many of these books and selected readings may be a pleasant pastime, but more is to be gained studying them with a group of peers who offer interpretations and ideas that you may not have considered. Take a moment to review what this seminar offers. See if you don't agree that this is a unique opportunity for those who appreciate fine literature to meet on a regular basis and discuss how these works shaped the world.