Summer Classics at St. John's College: The Examined Life

St. John's College brochure for their Summer Classics program came today and there are several tempting seminars I'd love to take. They should update their information page to reflect this year's program (The Examined Life) in the next few days so you can see in detail what they will cover. It looks like there will be four weeks of online classes and two weeks in-person at their Santa Fe campus.

I would really like to do an in-person class. I'm tired of online meetings, but who knows what restrictions will be in place by then. Plus the online option does have a discount from the in-person option. I know it will be out of the range of many, but I can still dream, right? If you're interested be sure and get on their mailing list. For the record, everyone I have dealt with at St. John's has been extremely friendly and helpful. One day I'll actually make it there.

Check their website next week for more details. From their site:
"Seminar topics and schedule posted here no later than February 5, 2021
Registration opens online February 8, 2021"

Virtual Summer Classics at St. John's College in Santa Fe

I have mentioned the Summer Classics program at St. John's College in Santa Fe, New Mexico (most recently here), so I wanted to give an update in case you have been interested in the courses but were unable to travel to attend. This summer's program has been changed to virtual seminars, so you'll be able to attend from home. Check out their updated registration page.

A reduction in cost and not having to travel does have its appeal, although wanting to attend in person was what I had hoped to do. Regardless, if you want an in-depth dive into some great works, check it out. From their website:

A Summer Classics seminar is not a lecture, nor is it a book club. At St. John’s, seminars are lively, in-depth, highly participatory conversations on the reading at hand. Discussions begin with an opening question presented by a tutor, but can take on a myriad of dimensions. Everyone contributes in some way to the conversation, bringing ideas to the table (online this year) whether they have expertise in the topic or not. Listening is just as important as speaking.

St. John's College Summer Classics program

There’s also a great entry in one of Hawthorne’s journals about when Hawthorne became the ambassador to England. He invited Melville to come visit him and they walked on the moors. Apparently Hawthorne wrote something like: “Out rambling on the moors all morning with Melville this morning. God again.” That’s an eloquent two word summary of a conversation.

If you're not familiar with St. John's College Summer Classics program, visit their site to find out more. This year's brochure also lays out the seminars available in July 2020 at their Santa Fe campus. The seminars are pricey for me, but one can dream, right? If you could take one seminar this summer, which would you choose? There are so many that appeal to me, not to mention the chance to go to the Santa Fe Opera.

The post's opening quote comes from Tutors Talk Books: Cary Stickney On Moby Dick and More. Cary Stickney will be one of the tutors this summer covering Melville's book. I've never heard Moby Dick called a good beach read, but the more I think about it the more I agree with it.

For more on Nathaniel Hawthorne and Melville, check out Melville Meets Hawthorne at American Heritage magazine. I have been unable to find the quote Stickney references, but this article includes this quote from Hawthorne's journal, which sounds similar (if not longer worded):

Melville, as he always does, began to reason of Providence and futurity, and of everything that lies beyond human ken.… It is strange how he persists—and has persisted ever since I knew him, and probably long before—in wandering to-and-fro over these deserts, as dismal and monotonous as the sand hills amid which we were sitting. He can neither believe, nor be comfortable in his unbelief; and he is too honest and courageous not to try to do one or the other. If he were a religious man, he would be one of the most truly religious and reverential; he has a very high and noble nature, and better worth immortality than most of us.