Fifth Annual "Books That Changed the World" Seminar

Notre Dame College is proud to present its fifth annual “Books That Changed the World” seminar series this fall, offering leaders and aspiring leaders - and anyone with a passion for lifelong learning - the opportunity to meet and discuss a common theme for the year. This year’s seminar will study “School-Day Classics Revisited.”

Seminars anchored in the “great books tradition” draw leaders into thought-provoking analyses of contemporary issues through the medium of timeless literature and 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 have stood the test of time. We are sure participants will come away from each session challenged with new ideas and views they had not considered before, while at the same time, becoming acquainted with others who have similar interests in great literature.

As an organizational or community leader, or a person who is passionate about great books and lifelong learning, we invite you to participate in “Books That Changed the World” and join your peers in stimulating discussions about fine literature.

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 the second Wednesday morning; the third Tuesday evening; and the third Thursday morning, beginning in September 2012 and ending in May 2013.  During each session, participants will explore and discuss a different great work. Participants will receive a detailed schedule in advance.

Wednesday and Thursday sessions begin at 7:30 a.m. with refreshments followed by the discussion from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Tuesday sessions begin at 6:30 p.m. with refreshments followed by the discussion from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Note: The only January session (on the 23rd) will be An Evening of Film: Death of A Salesman (1949 Pulitzer Prize winner for Best Play) featuring viewing and discussing the film discussion

The Presenters

Notre Dame College President, Dr. Andrew P. Roth welcomes participants to the seminar series. Dr. Roth, a published author in addition to his duties as President, teaches one course a year on either colonial American history or the American Revolution.

Professor Kenneth Palko is tutor and chief developer of the “Books That Changed the World” seminar series. Mr. Palko is a member of the Notre Dame College philosophy faculty.

Sr. Eileen Quinlan, is a professor of English/Communication and a published author. She joined Notre Dame’s faculty in the fall of 1999 and since has left her mark on her students and has shared her research studies with her colleagues.  

Location

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

Tuition

$375, includes all nine sessions, books and materials, and refreshments.

Registration

To register by mail, complete the School Day Classics Revisited Registration form and mail it to: Notre Dame College, 4545 College Road, South Euclid, Ohio   44121   ATTN:  Karen Poelking

To register by fax, complete the School Day Classics Revisited Registration form and fax to: 216.381.5096  ATTN:  Karen Poelking

To register by phone, call Karen Poelking at: 216.373.5239

When you call, you will need to identify whether you will be paying by check or credit card and provide your name; address; city; state; zip code; email address; and home, office and cell phone numbers so we have multiple ways to contact you should it be necessary.

If paying by credit card, please be prepared to provide your Credit Card Number, Credit Card Type, Security Code, and Expiration Date.

Please let us know whether you prefer to come to the Notre Dame campus to pick up your books, or if you would like them delivered to you. If so, please provide a shipping address.

The Reading List

The works chosen for the upcoming year will be used as case for group discussion. They are:

Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (September)                                                                

This ancient Greek play, first performed in 429 BC for the Dionysian festival in Athens, continues as a school day classic in the 21^st century. Aristotle claimed it to be the perfect tragedy and many modern critics argue it to be the greatest of the extant Greek plays. Undoubtedly, those who read the book in their youth will recall the tragic ending when Oedipus blinds himself. Reading the book as an adult and revisiting plague, child rape, patricide, and incest will undoubtedly lead to a lively discussion as we compare how our opinion and understanding of the play may have changed over time.

The Canterbury Tales: “The Knight’s Tale” and“The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, by Geoffrey Chaucer (October)

The 2000 Mel Gibson / Helen Hunt film was certainly not the first iteration of the age-old question of What Women Want.  When Chaucer sets two of his pilgrims in dialogue, the lofty romantic ideals of the Knight run headlong into the practical experience of the worldly-wise Wife of Bath. Their stories are among the best known of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, one of the first literary works of the English Middle Ages. Now that we are all well into our own middle ages, can we discover new insights on the role of women, ethical behavior in marriage, love and punishment by working our way, once more, through the rhymes and rhythms of Middle English? What do women—and men—really want?

Hamlet by William Shakespeare (November)

Since its first performance in London around 1600, Shakespeare’s Hamlet has fascinated theater-goers and scholars. This complex drama has been identified as a revenge tragedy, a murder mystery, a psychological portrait of grief, a coming-of-age story, an exploration of family and friendship. Teenagers can identify with a hero who is struggling with his father’s death, his mother’s remarriage, a wavering girlfriend, and his friends going back to college without him. Adult readers might find in the play the midlife meditations of a 40-year-old playwright at the height of his powers, facing the second half of his own life. 

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (December)

This school day classic transports us back to our youth and the excitement of the Christmas holidays. Many may have first experienced the book snuggled under a warm blanket on a cold winter’s night, with their parents reading them the story. We enter the captivating world of Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim.  Although Dickens gives youngsters a fright with his Christmas ghosts, the story ends happily, filled with life-affirming images of joy, warmth and brotherhood. Adults may be surprised to learn that Dickens never meant this work to be a story for children. The work began as a political polemic, entitled “An Appeal to the People of England, on behalf of the Poor Man’s Child,” that confronted the dark issue of the rampant, growing poverty as a consequence of industrial capitalism and greed.  A timely message, indeed.

Death of A Salesman by Arthur Miller (January Film Evening)

Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman has been required reading in most American high schools since it won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for best play. The accolades have continued ever since then—the most recent Broadway production won the Tony Award for best revival in 2012. What accounts for the ongoing success of a story about a monumental failure? How is it different to view the play when you are (or exceed) the age of Willy Loman? Explore these questions in a special movie night when we view excerpts from the [1966 film version starring Lee J. Cobb] [1985 film version starring Dustin Hoffman].

Poetry by Poe, Whitman, Dickinson and Frost (February)                                          

In 1837 the New England philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson called for the development of a distinctively American style of art.  American poetry emerged on the world literary stage through the voices of Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman and Robert Frost. We all remember the characterizations: Poe a drug-addled horror writer, Dickinson a white-clad recluse who penned sweet nature poems, Whitman and Frost the voices of “the common man” living by the sweat of his brow. Reading selections from these poets will challenge the easy stereotypes and lead to an exploration of their emotional complexities, stylistic innovations, and profound grasp of human experience.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (March)

Ranked fifth on the Modern Library list of the best one hundred novels of the 20th century, Brave New World has been read by generations of young readers. However, the work was initially received with almost universally negative reviews by critics and was even banned in several countries as being anti-religion, anti-family and pornographic. When first reading this dystopian novel, the typical high school student may not grasp some of its themes, such as work, state control, consumerism, social caste, and reproduction. Nevertheless, the messages of individual freedom and antiauthority are very appealing to young readers. How does an older adult—who has been an engaged citizen, has worked many years, and has raised a family—view the novel?

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (April)                                                                       

According to some estimates, Harper Lee’s 1961 Pulitzer-Prize winning To Kill a Mockingbird is the most-read book in American schools over the past fifty years. But in the 21^st century, is it an outdated classic? Does its hero, Atticus Finch represent, as Malcolm Gladwell argues, a paternalistic defender of the status quo in the Jim Crow South? Or, does the novel continue to positively impact the way millions of people think about race? We’ll act as both judge and jury as we scout out the answers together.

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (May)

Holden Caulfield gave a voice to a generation of youthful rebels who questioned the established order and rejected phoniness. After all, what is ultimately more important: getting good grades at Pencey Prep and meeting all the right people, or following your heart and finding a genuine soul-mate? If the coming of spring makes you homesick for a simpler life, then it may be a good time to reexamine Holden’s yearning for the lost innocence of childhood, and a good time for a ride on a carousel.

Although focused on a common theme, our readings are varied and include some of … the most popular books you may have read in high school or college. Or perhaps you always meant to read them, but didn't have the chance to do so. Or, you have read them and only now, after a lifetime of experience, realize their importance and want to revisit them from the vantage of your mature and grounded experience.

These works are often cited, frequently quoted and not always 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 the 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.

For additional information contact Karen Poelking at 216.373.5239 or kpoelking@ndc.edu or Julie DiBiasio at 216.373.5304 or jdibiasio@ndc.edu.