2019 Summer Classics: The City and The Soul

THE CITY AND THE SOUL

SUMMER CLASSICS

2019 S T. J O H N ’ S COLLEGE IN SANTA FE NEW MEXICO

An Unrivaled Intellectual Retreat

p

SPEND A WEEK AT SUMMER CLASSICS IN SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO

CITY THREE WEEKS OF SEMINARS

July 7-12 July 14-19 July 21-26 REGISTRATION

Register online: sjc.edu/summer-classics SUMMER CLASSICS TUITION

For questions or assistance email santafe.classics@sjc.edu or call 505-984-6105.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The City and the Soul

2

Schedule of Events

5

Seminar Schedule

6

Seminar Descriptions

8

Registration, Fees, Policies

21

Accommodations and Travel

23

Science, Film, and Leadership Series

24

SOUL 1

THE CITY

AND A brain spa. A retreat to what is important.

The intellectual pinnacle of my year.

That’s how some past participants describe the Summer Classics program at St. John’s College.

Here we engage in rigorous intellectual conversations on timeless artistic works, shining a light on our world and ourselves, illuminating fundamental questions about what it means to be human.

This year’s theme, The City and the Soul, offers a chance to explore the complex relationship between the individual and society through multiples lenses: political theory, philosophy, literature, and film, among others.

Whether we are wrestling with the dynamics of leadership in Machiavelli’s The Prince, examining the breakdown of 19th-century class systems in George Eliot’s Middlemarch, or addressing the tensions between patriotism and nationalism in Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s The Leopard, we reflect on the myriad points of intersection between individuals and their communities.

2

3 WEEKS OF SEMINARS July 7-12 July 14-19 July 21-26 Register and learn more at sjc.edu/summer-classics.

Three weeks of seminars— the choice is yours: n

One seminar?

n

Multiple weeks?

n

Morning?

n

Afternoon?

n

Both?

n

A specialty series?

THE SOUL The motto of St. John’s College is “We make free adults out of children by means of books and a balance,” and freedom itself—with its many meanings and manifestations—also provides a fruitful lens for viewing the current Summer Classics offerings.

These intensive weeklong sessions follow the lauded St. John’s seminar approach, with two full-time tutors acting as guides for groups of 18 or fewer participants. Specialized knowledge on any given topic is not required, but a passion for learning most definitely is.

The backgrounds of your fellow attendees span regions, cultures, interests, and ages, and each seminar, regardless of individual focus, makes room for multiple points of view. We are united, however, in a commitment to the texts we study and an unwavering belief that to understand another’s point of view is an act of generosity.

Join us and immerse yourself in what one Summer Classics alum so eloquently characterizes as a “thoughtful, civil dialogue about the most important questions in life.”

3

“That the city is both by nature and prior to each individual, then, is clear. For if the individual when separated from it is not self-sufficient, he will be in a condition similar to that of the other parts in relation to the whole. One who is incapable of sharing or who is in need of nothing through being self-sufficient is no part of a city, and so is either a beast or a god.� — Aristotle, Politics

4

SUMMER CLASSICS WEEKLY

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS REGISTRATION

Sunday, 2-4 p.m. | Peterson Student Center, second floor

OPENING RECEPTION

Sunday, 4-5:30 p.m. | Peterson Student Center, Junior Common Room

SEMINARS

Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-noon, 2-4 p.m. | St. John’s College classrooms

MORNING MINGLE

Monday and Thursday, 9-10 a.m. | Schepps Garden

MUSIC ON THE HILL

Wednesdays, 6-8 p.m. | Athletic Field

OPEN HOUSE

Thursday, 4-5 p.m. | Graduate Institute | Levan Hall

CLOSING LUNCH

Friday, 12-1:30 p.m. | Peterson Student Center, Great Hall

OPERA

Wednesday and Friday, 8:30 p.m. | Santa Fe Opera House

5

SUMMER CLASSICS SEMINAR SCHEDULE WEEK 1 | JULY 7-JULY 12

Morning and Afternoon

ARISTOTLE’S POLITICS

The Science Institute THE ORIGINS OF PROBABILITY

Morning

Michael Grenke and Lise van Boxel

VIRGINIA WOOLF’S “A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN” AND TO THE LIGHTHOUSE Claudia Hauer and Krishnan Venkatesh

GEORGE ELIOT’S MIDDLEMARCH

Steven Isenberg and Mike Peters

JAMES JOYCE’S ULYSSES

Grant Franks and David Townsend

GREEK TRAGEDIES AND COMEDIES

Eric Salem and Cary Stickney

OBLIQUELY ON THE WAY: THE BOOK OF CHUANG TZU Topi Heikkerö and Ian Moore

Afternoon

Guillermo Bleichmar and Peter Pesic

WEEK 2 | JULY 14 - JULY 19

Morning

MACHIAVELLI’S THE PRINCE Judith Adam and Warren Winiarski

WILLIAM FAULKNER’S ABSALOM, ABSALOM!

James Carey and Frank Pagano

SELECTED POEMS OF W. H. AUDEN

Janet Dougherty and Sarah Stickney

JANE AUSTEN’S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Ron Haflidson and Krishnan Venkatesh

CORMAC MCCARTHY’S BLOOD MERIDIAN

JOHN STUART MILL’S ON LIBERTY

David Carl and Lise van Boxel

Film at Summer Classics

Michael Golluber and Tom May

William Kerr and Julie Reahard

ITALIAN CINEMA NEO-REALISM David Townsend and Krishnan Venkatesh

6

WITH DANTE IN LOVE AND HELL

Afternoon KEATS’S LYRIC POEMS

Robert Abbott and Susan Stickney Film at Summer Classics

ITALIAN CINEMA AND POLITICS Rebecca Goldner and Krishnan Venkatesh

Morning and Afternoon LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP FROM THE CLASSICS: EAST MEETS WEST

HENRY JAMES’S THE GOLDEN BOWL

Patricia Greer and Krishnan Venkatesh

JOHN RAWLS’S JUSTICE AS FAIRNESS: A RESTATEMENT Michael Dink and Jay Smith

GIUSEPPE TOMASI DI LAMPEDUSA’S THE LEOPARD

David Carl and Walter Sterling

Charles Bergman and David Townsend

Afternoon

The Science Institute

FATHER AND SON: THE TRIALS OF FRANZ KAFKA

QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT: BELL’S THEOREM AND THE BOHR-EINSTEIN CONTROVERSY Phil LeCuyer and Peter Pesic

WEEK 3 | JULY 21-JULY 26

Morning

Guillermo Bleichmar and John Cornell Film at Summer Classics

ITALIAN CINEMA: THE GOOD LIFE

Seth Appelbaum and David Carl

Morning and Afternoon

PLATO’S LYSIS

The Science Institute

TOLSTOY’S ANNA KARENINA

Peter Pesic

Seth Appelbaum and Michael Golluber Litzi Engel and David Townsend

GENERAL RELATIVITY: A TRIP TO THE FOURTH DIMENSION

MONTAIGNE’S “APOLOGY FOR RAYMOND SEBOND” John Cornell and Natalie Elliot

7

] Week 1 | JULY 7–JULY 12

Morning | 10 a.m.–noon ARISTOTLE’S POLITICS Michael Grenke and Lise van Boxel Aristotle’s Politics is one of the most fundamental works ever produced on the topic of politics. The work offers a comprehensive theoretical framework for thinking about all kinds of politics and for thinking about exactly what constitutes the political. In addition to this theoretical framework, Aristotle offers many practical insights about adapting theory to accommodate the particular circumstances that each citizen or people may find itself in. This work offers a rich and lasting education in how to think well about politics and, consequently, in how to practice politics responsibly.

VIRGINIA WOOLF’S “A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN” AND TO THE LIGHTHOUSE Claudia Hauer and Krishnan Venkatesh Virginia Woolf has much to tell us about the ways in which women’s individual goals interact with society’s expectations. First we delve into her famous essay “A Room of One’s Own,” where she explicates the hurdles faced by women as they attempt to

8

write and pursue the arts. Then we read To the Lighthouse, a novel featuring Mrs. Ramsey, Cam Ramsey, and Lily Briscoe, all women exploring their creativity while fulfilling their roles in a man’s world.

As Woolf brings us into the lives of these and other characters, she delivers a tale of art, relationships, memory, and love.

GEORGE ELIOT’S MIDDLEMARCH Steven Isenberg and Mike Peters The setting is England in the 1830s, where society edges uneasily toward change, as seen in the ethos of its countryside. At the novel’s center are marriages where strain and strength emerge from differences in age and romantic outlook, duty and ambition, idealism and practicality. While all characters bear the mark of their class, gender, and upbringing, they are ultimately stamped by individuality. The tale of their vivacity and fates is shaped by the narrator’s exceptional

“What do we live for, if not to make life less difficult to each other?”

— George Eliot, Middlemarch intellect and sensibilities. Even as it portrays the visible dilemmas within marriage, the novel’s hallmark is psychological depth and the heart’s secrets. Henry James saw George Eliot as having achieved a “deeply human little world” and “a contribution of the first importance to the rich imaginative department of our literature.”

JAMES JOYCE’S ULYSSES Grant Franks and David Townsend This luminous and difficult work follows the lives of Stephen Dedalus, Leopold Bloom, and Molly Bloom through a single day in Dublin, in thematic and symbolic imitation of Homer’s Odyssey. Questions of love, friendship, body, mind, and spirit are presented through a rich texture of language and image that grounds philosophical, psychological, and spiritual questions in the beautiful. Will we find our way home in this reawakened myth?

GREEK TRAGEDIES AND COMEDIES Eric Salem and Cary Stickney Euripides was in his time the most celebrated of Athenian tragedians. Women were often at the center of his plays, and there was a rumor that Socrates had collaborated with him. More than 30 of his plays survive, as opposed to seven each by Sophocles and Aeschylus. How does Euripides’s work differ from theirs? And why did the great comic playwright Aristophanes take such particular delight in mocking him? Were Aristophanes

and Euripides somehow rivals, contesting the same territory? Perhaps comedy always mocks tragedy, but does Aristophanes protest too much against some allegedly new Euripidean element? (There was also a rumor that Plato’s favorite bedside reading was Aristophanes.) We address these and other questions regarding the sometimes contentious but always enduring relationship between comedy and tragedy.

OBLIQUELY ON THE WAY: THE BOOK OF CHUANG TZU Topi Heikkerö and Ian Moore The Book of Chuang Tzu is second only to Tao Te Ching in the hierarchy of Taoist classics. In addition to presenting profound and provoking philosophical inquiries, it is also a strange and beautiful literary work.

Chuang Tzu (c. 369-286 BCE) writes about “the Way” (Tao) and other themes that can’t be directly addressed, such as the need for non-striving and non-doing (wu wei) and for a life of wandering (yu) without reason. How does one broach such topics adequately? Riddling anecdotes, paradoxes, and crazy humor seem to be some of the author’s tactics. We carefully read the most important chapters of the book (the “inner chapters”) and then spend the remaining two sessions discussing a selection of the significant “outer chapters.”

9

10

“The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. Each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental or spiritual.

Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest.”

— John Stuart Mill, On Liberty

Afternoon | 2– 4 p.m.

JOHN STUART MILL’S ON LIBERTY William Kerr and Julie Reahard Mill’s On Liberty is one of the foundational texts of classical liberalism, a tradition expressly attempting to reconcile humanity’s dual political and private natures.

Mill offers a “very simple principle” to set a boundary between the two realms: “That principle is that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number is selfprotection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others …

Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.” On Liberty is an exposition of this principle and a discussion of its practical implications (and, possibly, a demonstration that the principle is not so very simple).

one of cinema’s most unforgettable performances, Giulietta Masina as the proverbial prostitute with a heart of gold. Tree of the Wooden Clogs (Ermanno Olmi, 1978), set in rural northern Italy around 1900, follows a group of peasant families through their daily dilemmas during a period of revolution. By the end of its three hours you feel as if you have lived for several decades among its cast of non-professional actors.

See page 25 for more information about Film at Summer Classics.

Morning and Afternoon 10 a.m.–noon | 2– 4 p.m.

The Science Institute

THE ORIGINS OF PROBABILITY Film at Summer Classics

ITALIAN CINEMA NEO-REALISM David Townsend and Krishnan Venkatesh What is the foundation of human dignity?

Is there any point at which life is no longer worth living? Explore three Italian films that challenge us to address these questions and others. Arguably one of the the greatest films ever made, Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, 1948) brings to life post-war Rome, shattered but resilient. By employing concise, observant understatement, it tells a simple story with tremendous power. Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini, 1957) features

Guillermo Bleichmar and Peter Pesic In the 17th century, various thinkers began to explore the possibility that chance might be subject to rules that could be studied mathematically. The analysis of simple games of chance eventually led to the discipline of probability, which would forever alter our conception of causality, nature, and the place of human action in a world of random possibilities. We study the rise of this probabilistic world view in texts by Pascal, Fermat, Huygens, and Laplace.

See page 24 for more information about the Science Institute.

11

] Week 2 | JULY 14–JULY 19 WILLIAM FAULKNER’S ABSALOM, ABSALOM! James Carey and Frank Pagano

Morning | 10 a.m.–noon MACHIAVELLI’S THE PRINCE Judith Adam and Warren Winiarski “We are beholden,” said Francis Bacon, “to Machiavelli and others that wrote what men do, and not what they ought to do.”

In The Prince, Machiavelli writes, at first glance, about the rule of princes. But, in the process, he also speaks about the character of ruling of all kinds. He is therewith enabled to reveal the fundamental character of political life itself as the reflection of human nature. In our discussions we pursue, through Machiavelli’s eyes, the fundamental character of political life and human life as a whole, as they are illuminated by the relation between what men do and what they ought to do.

12

Absalom, Absalom! is William Faulkner’s greatest novel. It confronts directly the fundamental American paradox: that it was possible for democrats who naturally adhered to the Declaration of Independence to become devoted slaveowners. The man who undergoes this transformation, Thomas Sutpen, is the central enigmatical figure of the novel.

In the course of establishing the largest plantation in Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha County, he condemns his family to the temptation of incest and the tragedy of fratricide. No other work in American letters explains the roots and effects of American slavery with such veracity.

“Every life is in many days, day after day. We walk through ourselves, meeting robbers, ghosts, giants, old men, young men, wives, widows, brothersin-love, but always of the plot eventually bring Elizabeth to meeting ourselves.” make a startling declaration: “Till this — James Joyce, Ulysses

SELECTED POEMS OF W. H. AUDEN Janet Dougherty and Sarah Stickney W. H. Auden was one of the greatest English-speaking poets of the 20th century, admired both for his technical virtuosity and his broad-ranging intellect. Born in England in 1907, he became an American citizen in 1939 and lived in New York until his death in 1973. His poems are informed by reflections on literature, art, social and political theories, and scientific advances, as well as deeply personal matters. Auden was an enthusiast of formal verse and employed a wider variety of forms than any other poet of his time or since, yet his work often contains the improvisational, conversational feel that we associate with contemporary poetry. We read a selection from Auden’s poems varying in form and subject matter.

moment I never knew myself.” The nature of self-knowledge, among other perennial questions, is likely to be a topic of our conversation. Participants, whether longtime Austen fans or first-time readers, are sure to enjoy the author’s singular ability to illuminate our human condition in such a way that provokes both insight and laughter.

CORMAC MCCARTHY’S BLOOD MERIDIAN David Carl and Lise van Boxel A fierce and poetic vision of the ruthless violence that helped shape the American frontier, Blood Meridian is widely considered Cormac McCarthy’s masterpiece.

Unfolding along the Texas-Mexico border during the early 1850s, the novel follows an unlikely teenage protagonist (“the kid”) as he falls in with the Glanton gang. While riding with Glanton, the kid witnesses and participates in ruthless acts of violence, forges unlikely alliances, and meets one

JANE AUSTEN’S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE Ron Haflidson and Krishnan Venkatesh The perennial popularity of Pride and Prejudice undoubtedly owes much to its captivating heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, a fiercely intelligent, witty, and independent woman who considers herself a discerning judge of character. Over the course of the novel she definitively discovers that she is not so discerning after all, neither about herself nor others. The twists and turns 13

Afternoon | 2– 4 p.m.

KEATS’S LYRIC POEMS Robert Abbott and Susan Stickney

of the most enigmatic and terrifying characters in Western literature. The kid’s journey serves as an occasion for profound meditations on the physical and spiritual devastations wrought by violence, as well as the possibility of redemption after a life of solitude and destruction.

WITH DANTE IN LOVE AND HELL Michael Golluber and Tom May Dante’s encounter with Beatrice Portinari and her enduring effect upon his heart, soul, and imagination provide the impetus of his quest for self-knowledge and the highest possible poetic achievement. In La Vita Nuova, with its unique alternation of poetry and prose, Dante relates and reflects upon his initial encounters with Beatrice. She also inspires the subsequent arduous journey he undertakes with his guide Vergil in Inferno, where a succession of remorseless sinners are placed in high relief against the drama of individual moral choice, human history, and divine judgment.

14

Are beauty and truth attached? If so, as Keats asserts at the end of his most famous poem, how? Is it a trustworthy coupling?

Keats writes intimately of his experience in nature but just as intimately and directly of the experience of reading great poets. Both themes lead him into realms that at first seem perfect, transcendent, but turn out to be more unsettling than one would expect in a so-called Romantic poem. Whether he is lamenting the transience of beauty, wondering at the dual inspirations of tradition and nature, or contemplating the threat of a young death, Keats is always trying to understand what the poetic imagination is and what extraordinary possibilities poetry extends to us from the page.

Film at Summer Classics

ITALIAN CINEMA AND POLITICS Rebecca Goldner and Krishnan Venkatesh Do we have an unbreakable moral core, or is there always a breaking point? In the ocean of political pressure and social transformation, do we swim or drown? Three stylistically different films engage these questions and raise many more. General della Rovere (Roberto Rossellini, 1959) stars Vittorio De Sica as a con man forced by the Nazis to impersonate a general in the resistance. Rocco and His Brothers (Lucchino Visconti, 1960), filmed in operatic neorealism, is a complex epic about a family’s disintegration after migrating to the big city.

Finally, Conformist (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970) features many allusions to Plato and a deep consideration of moral dilemmas and the nature of politics. It is also one of the most visually extraordinary films of all time, and every expressive frame rewards contemplation.

See page 25 for more information about Film at Summer Classics.

Morning and Afternoon 10 a.m.–noon | 2– 4 p.m.

LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP FROM THE CLASSICS: EAST MEETS WEST Charles Bergman and David Townsend Come participate in a rare opportunity to examine leadership lessons from the past in the context of the present. This seminar examines the points of view of Thucydides (“The Melian Dialogue” from The Peloponnesian Wars); Shakespeare (Henry V); Mencius, China’s “second sage”; and Han Feizi, chief author of China’s Legalist school of philosophy. We consider the range of practical leadership tactics and techniques as applied by the five authors, surveying political and military strategies for building consensus, motivating allies, outfoxing enemies, bolstering tradition, and innovating in the face of changing circumstances. This intensive examination of Western and Eastern classical traditions illuminates the enduring principles of leadership and the ways in which they relate to our own moment in time.

See page 26 for more information about Lessons in Leadership from the Classics: East Meets West.

Science Institute

QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT: BELL’S THEOREM AND THE BOHR-EINSTEIN CONTROVERSY Phil LeCuyer and Peter Pesic Quantum theory is arguably the most radical aspect of modern physics. Though it has met every experimental test during the past century and has led to our present “wired” world, quantum theory still challenges comprehension. Albert Einstein argued that it led to correlations between distant events that, in his view, were “spooky,” because they seemed to violate fundamental ideas about causality and action at a distance. We study his arguments and his ensuing dialogue with Niels Bohr, who defended quantum theory against his critique. We then consider a theorem by John Bell that led to experimental tests of Einstein’s arguments, concluding with ongoing attempts to interpret quantum theory in terms of many worlds, as well as other interpretations.

See page 24 for more information about the Science Institute.

15

] Week 3 | JULY 21–JULY 26 Morning | 10 a.m.–noon PLATO’S LYSIS Seth Appelbaum and Michael Golluber Plato wrote an entire dialogue on the subject of friendship, and Aristotle devoted an entire fifth of his Nicomachean Ethics to the subject. Modern philosophy, however, appears to be unconcerned with the significance of friendship for human life; Hobbes, for example, reduces friendship to a relationship of power. We examine the ancient conception of friendship through a careful study of Plato’s Lysis.

Socrates enters into a dialogue with two young friends, Menexenus and Lysis, as well as the older Hippothales, who is an unrequited lover of Lysis. Engaging in a discussion of eros and philia, the dialogue ends with the question of the nature of the human soul.

TOLSTOY’S ANNA KARENINA Litzi Engel and David Townsend “Happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

So Tolstoy begins this complex novel, investigating reason and imagination, love and fear, desire and obsession, law and custom, virtue and weakness, and—as La Rochefoucauld said—the ways in which “men love women and women love the love of men.” Do you identify with Levin, Kitty, Vronsky, Dolly, Stiva, or Anna herself? And how different do you find the elements of Tolstoy’s Russia to be from those of your own family, society, and country?

16

MONTAIGNE’S “APOLOGY FOR RAYMOND SEBOND” John Cornell and Natalie Elliot Just as Socrates fetched philosophy down from the heavens and settled it in the city, so Montaigne took the study of the soul out of the cloister and installed it in the drawing room and the library. Breaking an age-old taboo, he wrote exhaustively about himself—a new, more mindful and sociable kind of human being. But in his most famous essay, “Apology for Raymond Sebond,” Montaigne makes his subtle attack on human presumption explicit.

He pulverizes pride with an examination of ignorance reminiscent of Socrates.

The radical question “What do I know?” becomes his motto. This seminar studies the essay in which Montaigne undertook the Socratic demolition work that cleared the way for the modern era.

“When the heart is ‘against’ are

JOHN RAWLS’S JUSTICE AS FAIRNESS: A RESTATEMENT Michael Dink and Jay Smith

HENRY JAMES’S THE GOLDEN BOWL Patricia Greer and Krishnan Venkatesh The Golden Bowl is often regarded as Henry James’s greatest masterpiece. This complex story is told in two parts: Part I, “The Prince,” is imagined from the point of view of the Italian Prince Amerigo, and Part II, “The Princess,” is imagined from the point of view of Maggie Verver, an American traveling with her art collector father through Europe, whom the Prince courts and marries. The Golden Bowl is told in the exquisite prose, subtle elegance, and wit infused with erotic tension for which James, “the Master,” is esteemed. At the novel’s core is mystery: can we ever bring to light the inscrutable secrets in the lives of those with whom we are most intimate?

right, ‘for’ and forgotten.”

— Chuang Tzu

In his appropriately famous work A Theory of Justice, Rawls explores the possibility and limits of a rational approach to determining the shape of a democratic and just society, in which rational actors are shrouded by a veil of ignorance, i.e., they are to suppose they do not know their position in the society they are constructing. Rawls attempts to ground the first principles of such a society without appeal to metaphysical or religious principles. The assigned text is a late-in-life restatement wherein Rawls responds to many of the criticisms of A Theory of Justice, addressing a major shortcoming by supplying for fairness a background concerning the more traditional tensions of a democratic and just society.

GIUSEPPE TOMASI DI LAMPEDUSA’S THE LEOPARD David Carl and Walter Sterling Considered one of the greatest historical novels of all time, Lampedusa’s The Leopard, from 1958, inspired the great Italian film of the same name, made by Luchino Visconti in 1963. Both explore the life and times of Italian prince Don Fabrizio during the Italian Risorgimento and the rise of Garibaldi. The story explores personal power and rampant appetite, social change and political upheaval, violent revolution and economic development, while addressing themes of romanticism, nationalism, and patriotism, as well as jealousy, betrayal, loyalty, and the collision between state and family. We study both novel and cinematic interpretation, looking closely at literary and visual details of the two works and comparing these two visions of one of world literature’s most compelling characters.

17

Afternoon | 2– 4 p.m.

FATHER AND SON: THE TRIALS OF FRANZ KAFKA Guillermo Bleichmar and John Cornell Franz Kafka, one of the most iconic writers of the 20th century, never expected world fame. Indeed, he intended most of his works to be destroyed. But he did make one request of his publisher, namely that a few of his stories be printed together, because of what he called their “secret” connection.

By reading the three stories he singled out—“The Judgment,” “The Stoker,” and “The Metamorphosis”—along with the “Letter to His Father,” we seek to shed light on the inner meaning of these famous tales.

18

Film at Summer Classics

ITALIAN CINEMA: THE GOOD LIFE Seth Appelbaum and David Carl Our tour of Italian cinema ends with works that span 1960 to 2010 and explore visions of “the good life.” We begin with two from 1960: Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita and L’Aventura, by Michelangelo Antonioni, who was influential in the development of international cinema. Dino Risi’s Il Sorpasso, made two years later, offers an investigation of the comic and tragic elements of the exuberant Italian penchant for fast cars, beautiful women, expensive wine, and fine dining. We finish with a look at Michelangelo Frammartino’s Le Quattro

Volte, from 2010—a quiet, philosophic, and deeply poetic mediation on a radically different view of the good life, one that highlights cosmic harmony and the timeless cycle of nature.

See page 25 for more information about Film at Summer Classics.

Morning and Afternoon 10 a.m.–noon | 2– 4 p.m.

The Science Institute

GENERAL RELATIVITY: A TRIP TO THE FOURTH DIMENSION Peter Pesic Most popular expositions of Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity avoid dealing with his actual equations.

This limits any deeper understanding. In contrast, we study the math involved in his equations, discussing in detail how they are derived and what they mean. If you are comfortable with high school algebra, have taken a beginning calculus course, and are not afraid of equations, you can do it. We go through a concise exposition of

Einstein’s field equations by Lillian Lieber, which Einstein himself “warmly recommended” as “clear and vivid.” Her book is a classic that embraces the mathematics other books avoid, highlighting its beauty and intelligibility. In addition, we read sections from Einstein’s 1916 paper that introduced general relativity.

See page 24 for more information about the Science Institute.

“For masterpieces are not single and solitary births; they are the outcome of many years of thinking in common, of thinking by the body of the people, so that the experience of the mass is behind the single voice.”

—Virginia Woolf, “A Room of One’s Own” 19

GENERAL INFORMATION

SANTA FE Santa Fe, the nation’s oldest capital city and its second-largest art market, is a vibrant city that consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in the United States. An amalgam of the three cultures present and celebrated in New Mexico—Native American, Hispanic, and Anglo—the city is a magnet for those engaged in creative arts, for intellectuals, and for lovers of outdoor recreation.

July offers such events as the International Folk Art Market, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and the world-renowned Santa Fe Opera.

Additionally, Santa Fe’s best outdoor music happens right on campus Wednesday nights, when the concert series Music on the Hill presents live jazz and world music in a family-friendly, relaxed atmosphere with gorgeous sunset views.

St. John’s is located only three miles from Santa Fe’s historic downtown plaza and within walking distance of four major museums and the famous Canyon Road art galleries.

20

REGISTRATION, FEES, POLICIES, AND ACCOMMODATIONS Seminar Tuition Tuition for Summer Classics is $1,300 per individual seminar. Tuition includes registration, books, and other course materials, weekday lunches, special events, and library and gym access. A $300 non-refundable deposit for each seminar is required to hold your space and to receive seminar materials. Balances must be paid in full by June 7, 2019. Those registering after June 7 must pay in full at the time of registration.

]

Science Institute and Lessons in Leadership Tuition Tuition for the Science Institute and Lessons in Leadership is $2,000 per week or $1,000 per week for full-time licensed teachers (K-12), with proof of employment under the Teacher Tuition Assistance program.

The Science Institute and the Lessons in Leadership sessions meet twice daily. Tuition includes registration, books, other course materials, and weekday lunches.

Multiple Seminar Discount Individuals registering for two seminars receive a $100 discount, and those registering for three or more seminars receive a $250 discount on the total cost.

OPERA

WEDNESDAY, JULY 10

Georges Bizet | The Pearl Fishers 8:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, JULY 12

Giacomo Puccini | La Bohème 8:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 17

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Così fan tutte 8:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, JULY 19

Group-rate orchestra section tickets

are available at the time of seminar registration or until sold out at sjc.edu/ summer-classics. For more information about the Santa Fe Opera, visit santafeopera.org.

Van transportation is $10 per person per opera. To attend pre-opera talks, you must arrange your own transportation.

Giacomo Puccini | La Bohème 8:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 24

Leoš Janáček | Jenůfa 8:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, JULY 26

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Così fan tutte 8:30 p.m.

21

Teacher Tuition Assistance St. John’s College offers tuition assistance to full-time licensed teachers (K-12). With proof of current employment as an educator, participants receive a 50-percent discount on tuition. Discounts are available to the first 30 teacher registrants. No additional discounts are offered for multiple seminars. When applying online, please provide the name and address of your place of employment and contact information of someone who is authorized to verify your employment. For additional questions about this discount, please contact: santafe.classics@sjc.edu.

Minors Participants under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian and must notify the Summer Classics office that he or she is a minor at the time of registration. Persons under the age of 18 may find our Summer Academy more appropriate for their participation.

See page 27 for information on the Summer Academy.

Cancellations Cancellations made prior to June 7, 2019, result in a full refund, minus the $300 non-refundable deposit; cancellations thereafter forfeit the full payment. If you need to cancel your registration, please contact in writing:

R E G I S T R AT I O N

Summer Classics St. John’s College 1160 Camino Cruz Blanca Santa Fe, NM 87505 Email: santafe.classics@sjc.edu

22

Register online sjc.edu/summer-classics Questions and Assistance santafe.classics@sjc.edu 505-984-6105 Fees at a Glance Seminars Film at Summer Classics Science Institute Lessons in Leadership Room and Board

$1,300 $1,300 $2,000 $2,000 $525

Discounts available for multiple seminars and K-12 teachers

Accommodations The college offers housing in a limited number of suites on campus. Accommodations are simple yet comfortable, with five single-occupancy bedrooms arranged around a shared living room. Suites share a double bathroom. Housing is located about a five-minute walk from the classrooms and dining area. Due to the cool summer evenings, our accommodations are not fitted with air conditioners. An ethernet port is provided in every room, as well as a telephone for local calls.

Wireless service is available in most areas throughout campus. Cell phone service can be unreliable in some parts of campus.

Room and board fees include accommodations, linens, and meals from Sunday dinner through breakfast on Saturday. A linen exchange is offered to individuals staying more than one week. All rooms are single-occupancy. Housing is available on a first-come, first-served basis. If suite housing is no longer available, the college is happy to place you on a wait list, or dormitory-style space may be available. Use of the college gymnasium is available during your stay. The college gymnasium offers exercise equipment, racquetball and basketball courts, showers, and locker rooms.

Room and board fees are $525 per week per person. Payment for housing is due at the time of registration. If you anticipate having any special needs during your stay on campus, please inform the Summer Classics office at the time of registration. Due to limited space on campus, we cannot accommodate early arrivals or late departures. Room keys are available at registration on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Checkout time is 10 a.m. on Saturday. Please make travel arrangements to accommodate this schedule. General tourist information is available from the Santa Fe Convention and Visitors Bureau at santafe.org or by calling 800-777-2489.

Transportation to Santa Fe The closest major airport is in Albuquerque, a one-hour drive from Santa Fe. Travel reservations from the airport to Santa Fe may be made with an airport shuttle service or by visiting santafe.com/getting-here.

The Santa Fe airport also operates a limited number of commercial flights. Limited public transportation is available within Santa Fe by bus. For greater flexibility, a rental car is recommended.

23

THE SCIENCE INSTITUTE The Science Institute draws on St. John’s College’s long tradition of studying science through the discussion of original texts, emphasizing hands-on involvement and experiments. Each weeklong session is an intensive immersion in landmark topics and texts, with twice-daily seminars centered on discussion among participants.

Rather than viewing science as an edifice of facts, we encounter it through the living questions it poses and, in so doing, reenact the experience of scientific discovery. By encouraging each other to express and engage with those questions, we open ourselves to the wonder of inquiry into the mysteries of nature.

Join us this summer to explore the origins and meaning of probability, the paradoxes of quantum entanglement, and the mathematical delights of general relativity.

The Science Institute is open to those who want to delve more deeply into the questions raised by science and mathematics. The subjects covered during the first two sessions—probability in week one and quantum entanglement in week two—require only an acquaintance with high-school mathematics. The third week’s seminar on general relativity requires a fearless attitude toward equations and a basic knowledge of calculus.

Mr. Pesic, tutor emeritus and musicianin-residence at St. John’s College, Santa Fe, is the director of the Science Institute.

24

THREE WEEKS OF SEMINAR OFFERINGS RUN CONCURRENTLY WITH SUMMER CLASSICS. Two sessions daily: 10 a.m.- noon | 2-4 p.m.

Week 1 | July 7-12 THE ORIGINS OF PROBABILITY Guillermo Bleichmar and Peter Pesic Week 2 | July 14-19 QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT: THE BOHR-EINSTEIN CONTROVERSY AND BELL’S THEOREM Phil LeCuyer and Peter Pesic Week 3 | July 21-26 GENERAL RELATIVITY: A TRIP TO THE FOURTH DIMENSION Peter Pesic

FILM AT SUMMER CLASSICS Perhaps no single nation has done more for the development of cinema over the past 100 years than Italy. From the cinematic innovations of neo-realism to the lush visual landscapes of Federico Fellini’s masterpieces and from the radical formalism of Michelangelo Antonioni to the intense and passionate psychological insights of Visconti and Rossellini, Italian cinema has consistently been at the forefront of the most important developments in filmmaking.

Over the course of this three-week program, we study the range of thematic, stylistic, social, political, and aesthetic qualities of a 65-year period of Italian cinema through a close examination of the greatest films made by the country’s greatest directors. In doing so, we also develop a technical understanding of the style and vocabulary of cinema, while simultaneously learning to recognize each film as a distinctive work of art. Along the way, we become better viewers of film and deeper thinkers about the cinematic art form.

Students may enroll in one, two, or all three of the seminar weeks. Each week presents a self-contained, individualized curriculum, and all three weeks taken together offer a survey of the history of Italian cinema. Participants should view all movies before arriving on campus; copies of the films and a suitable viewing area are also provided by the college for students’ use before each class. If you need assistance viewing the films prior to arrival on campus, please contact Summer Classics at santafe.classics@sjc.edu. Tuition for a Film at Summer Classics seminar is the same as other Summer Classics seminars.

THREE WEEKS OF SEMINAR OFFERINGS RUN CONCURRENTLY WITH SUMMER CLASSICS. Films are screened mornings and evenings.

One afternoon session daily: 2-4 p.m.

Week 1 | July 7-12 ITALIAN NEO-REALISM David Townsend and Krishnan Venkatesh Week 2 | July 14-19 ITALIAN CINEMA AND POLITICS Rebecca Goldner and Krishnan Venkatesh Week 3 | July 21-26 ITALIAN CINEMA: THE GOOD LIFE Seth Appelbaum and David Carl

25

LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP FROM THE CLASSICS: EAST MEETS WEST Week 2 | July 14-19 CHARLES BERGMAN AND DAVID TOWNSEND Following its successful debut last summer, Lessons in Leadership from the Classics: East Meets West once again offers participants a rare opportunity to examine leadership lessons from the past in the context of the present. Together we delve into five texts from distinctive cultural and historic traditions and, by placing them in dialogue with one another, deepen our understanding of leadership as we connect their principles to the challenges confronting leaders in today’s world.

Each morning, we examine the points of view of Thucydides (“The Melian Dialogue” from The Peloponnesian Wars); Shakespeare (Henry V); Mencius, China’s “second sage”; and Han Feizi, chief author of China’s Legalist school of philosophy. These sessions are “great books” discussions structured in the traditional St. John’s seminar method: we read and discuss the works closely, with the intention of learning from—rather than about—our authors.

To that end, we consider the range of practical leadership tactics and techniques as applied by the five authors, surveying political and military strategies for building consensus, motivating allies, outfoxing enemies, bolstering tradition, and innovating in the face of changing circumstances.

During our afternoon sessions, we apply lessons in leadership to real-world situations through a variety of exercises and activities, using video clips, contemporary case studies, writing exercises, short debates, small-group discussions, and psychometric tools. Throughout, we consider the historical and critical contexts that shaped the life and thought of our five authors.

Join us for an intensive examination of Western and Eastern classical traditions, one that illuminates the enduring principles of leadership and the ways in which they relate to our own moment in time.

26

“Another excellent seminar. Diverse attendees with their own perspectives on the subject material make the seminar worthwhile and enlightening.

You learn much from listening to other attendees’ contributions on how they interpreted the same work you read—often radically different from your own and insightful.”

—2018 participant

SUMMER ACADEMY FOR TEENS A Pre-College, Residential Program for High School Students Ages 15-18 The Summer Academy at St. John’s College offers 15- to 18-year-olds the opportunity to experience the college through an immersive, weeklong course of study based on a specific theme. Students read primary texts and engage in stimulating discussions that highlight questions central to the human mind and spirit. With exciting classroom activities and off-campus excursions, the Summer Academy program provides opportunities to build friendships both in and out of the classroom.

Summer Academy seminars are led by St. John’s College faculty and employ the college’s discussion-driven, collaborative method of learning. Participants are encouraged to express their opinions, to listen, and to discuss openly what they do and don’t understand.

Through this process, students’ minds are sharpened, and their views on education are transformed.

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND June 30-July 6 Revolution and Rebellion July 7-July 13 Freedom and Order SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO July 14-July 20 Beginnings July 21-July 27 The Beautiful and the Sublime July 28-August 3 Technology and Transcendence Tuition for each session is $1,100.

Tuition includes room and board, books, and activity fees.

Students may participate in multiple sessions, and financial aid is available.

For more information visit sjc.edu/summeracademy or contact Liz Wilkinson at SantaFe.Academy@sjc.edu, 800-331-5232.

27

GRADUATE INSTITUTE

Get your master’s degree in two years or in four summers.

Focus on the Western classics or the Eastern classics.

Receive generous student aid, a rarity in graduate programs. Discover the magic of our renowned discussionbased seminars.

Many who have enjoyed Summer Classics choose to continue their St. John’s experience by completing the Master of Arts in Liberal Arts (MALA) program. In discussion-focused classes, students of the MALA dive deeper into Western literature, religion, philosophy, science, and history. Over the course of four semesters, the MALA provides the opportunity to explore enduring, fundamental questions through engaging discussion, careful reading, and thoughtful writing. As with Summer Classics, we read only original texts, and our classes are entirely devoted to deepening our understanding of these works—no lectures, no exams, just the earnest exploration of ideas and our own thinking about these ideas.

In order to accommodate a wide range of students, a number of options provide flexibility: students may begin the program in the fall, spring, or summer semester, take the segments in a number of different sequences—such as four summer semesters—take time off between segments, and transfer between the Santa Fe and Annapolis campuses at the start of any segment.

The Santa Fe campus also offers the Master of Arts in Eastern Classics (MAEC). In this three-semester program, students immerse themselves in the thought of India, China, and Japan while studying classical Chinese or Sanskrit. The program introduces students to the breadth and richness of these traditions and how the conversation among them lends insight into the fundamental and enduring questions of humankind.

For more information, contact santafe.giadmissions@sjc.edu or 505-984-6112.

28

IMAGE CREDITS Cover: Upper Manhattan, 2000 (w/c on paper), Graham, Peter (Contemporary Artist) / Private Collection / Bridgeman Images.

Inside Cover: A Roman atrium (pen & ink on paper), Jones, Inigo (1573-1652) / Collection of the Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth House, UK / © Devonshire Collection, Chatsworth / Reproduced by permission of Chatsworth Settlement Trustees / Bridgeman Images.

Page 8: In the Mosque, (watercolour heightened with white and touches of gum arabic 63), Werner, Carl Friedrich Heinrich (1808-94) / Private Collection / Photo © Christie’s Images / Bridgeman Images.

Page 10: Justice (oil on canvas), Subleyras, Pierre (16991749) / Musee d’Art Thomas Henry, Cherbourg, France / Bridgeman Images.

Page 1: Third Avenue El, 1932 (oil on canvas), Du Bois, Guy Pene (1884-1958) / Private Collection / Photo © Christie’s Images / Bridgeman Images.

Page 11: News from Suez, London Pub, (watercolour, pen, brush, black ink and grey wash), Ardizzone, Edward (1900-79) / Private Collection / Photo © Christie’s Images / Bridgeman Images.

Page 2-3: Detroit Industry, North Wall, 1932-33 (fresco) (detail of 139314), Rivera, Diego (1886-1957) / Detroit Institute of Arts, USA / Gift of Edsel B. Ford / Bridgeman Images.

Page 12: Jesuit Church, Venice; Venise, l’Eglise des Jesuites, 1938 (watercolor and gouache with traces of pencil on paper), Dufy, Raoul (1877-1953) / Private Collection / Photo © Christie’s Images / Bridgeman Images.

Page 4: Madison Square Garden, 1898-1900 (oil on canvas), Smillie, James David (1807-85) / Private Collection / Photo © Christie’s Images / Bridgeman Images.

Page 13: Hadrian’s Villa, near Tivoli (pen and gouache on paper), Clerisseau, Charles Louis (1721-1820) / Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, UK / Bridgeman Images.

Page 5, l to r: The Forum, Rome, 19th century (w/c on paper), Ruskin, John (1819-1900) / Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, UK / Bridgeman Images.

Architecture I: Orders of Architecture, engraved by Charles Lawrie (engraving), Waring, John Burley (1823-1875) (after) / Private Collection / Bridgeman Images.

Arch of Titus, Rome, 1891 (pencil & w/c on paper), Mackintosh, Charles Rennie (1868-1928) / Private Collection / Photo © Christie’s Images / Bridgeman Images.

Page 6, l to r: Horse Guards, London (pen and ink on paper), Canaletto, (Giovanni Antonio Canal) (1697-1768) / Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice, Italy / Bridgeman Images.

Panorama of Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America, drawing by Francois-Fortune Ferogio (1805-1888) from sketch by Stansbury and Jules Remy (1826-1893), from Journey to City of Saints, country’s capital Mormon, 1860 / Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Italy / De Agostini Picture Library / Bridgeman Images.

The ‘Definitive Design’: section, elevation and half plan of St. Paul’s Cathedral dome (pencil on paper), Wren, Christopher (1632-1723) / St. Paul’s Cathedral Library, London, UK / Bridgeman Images.

Page 7, l to r: View from Tribeca, 2008 (graphite on paper), Shechter, Laura / Private Collection / Bridgeman Images.

Staircase, fol. 15v, and Architectural sketch for an ‘Ideal City’, fol. 16r, from Paris Manuscript B, 1488-90 (pen & ink on paper), Vinci, Leonardo da (1452-1519) / Bibliotheque de l’Institut de France, Paris, France / Bridgeman Images.

France, Lyon (engraving) / Private Collection / Tarker / Bridgeman Images.

Page 14: Abbey Churchyard, Bath, Cazzulini, Marco / Private Collection / Bridgeman Images.

Page 15: City in Shards of Light (oil on canvas), Hubbard-Ford, Carolyn (Contemporary Artist) / Private Collection / Bridgeman Images.

Pages 16-17: The city of Kinsai, from the ‘Livre des Merveilles du Monde’, c.1410-12 (tempera on vellum), Boucicaut Master, (fl.1390-1430) (and workshop) / Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France / Bridgeman Images.

Page 18: Allegory of Good Government, detail of Justice inspired by Wisdom, 1338-40 (fresco), Lorenzetti, Ambrogio (1285-c.1348) / Palazzo Pubblico, Siena, Italy / Alinari / Bridgeman Images.

Page 19: Caledonian Market, 1916 (oil and pencil on canvas), Charlton, George (1899-1979) / Private Collection / Photo © Christie’s Images / Bridgeman Images.

Page 20: Pedestrians and street with cathedral, downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, photo, 2009, © QT Luong.

Page 24: Albert Einstein (1879-1955) swiss physicist (German born) c. 1930 / Bridgeman Images.

2018 SUMMER CLASSICS PARTICIPANT COMMENTS

“

Expect an intellectual, provoking, joy-filled learning atmosphere at Summer Classics.

From the attendees to the hosts to the staff

to the tutors, a community of fellows pursuing goodness and truth certainly transpires in under a week—don’t miss it.

p

It’s a chance to meet people who want a break from the wired world while learning about themselves.

p

Just Do It... by the end of the week, your spirit will soar, your mind and heart will be as open as the skies above Santa Fe, and you’ll be planning

”

your return to experience it all again.

1160 Camino Cruz Blanca Santa Fe, NM 87505 sjc.edu