Courses

Founded in 1905, The Chicago Defender exposed the horrors of Jim Crow and inspired millions to come to Northern cities in what became known as the Great Migration. After the Second World War, the newspaper wielded its political clout to elect congressman, governors and presidents, including Harry S. Truman and John F. Kennedy.

This class will delve into a close reading of Doestoevsky’s final masterpiece, The Brothers Karamazov. A murder “mystery,” social critique, and recognized philosophical masterpiece, this is arguably not only Doestoevsky’s greatest book but also one of the greatest novels ever written.

Want to find a way to make writing for business and the professions even more effective? Simple: tell your story. In this eight-week class, you will learn to create an authentic, compelling story that clarifies your mission, vision, and value proposition.

The seminar takes us on a tour of some dramatically different conceptions of love. The scandalous affair between the 12th century scholastic Abelard and his brilliant student Heloise is memorialized in their letters, in which they struggle to understand that affair in the context of their religious lives ten years later.

Basic Program Year 1 continues with Winter Quarter.

We will read selections from the first two volumes of Gibbon’s six volume masterpiece, the vast scope of which defeats any attempt to squeeze into a single quarter’s study.

This three quarter series is a study of the historical geography of the land of the Bible from prehistory to the establishment of the modern State of Israel and the conflict over the Palestinian territories. While the history of this land varies from one era to the next, the land remains the same.

What makes a piece of art great? What makes it deep, interesting, and meaningful? Just as we learn how to read fiction, we must learn the basic principles of visual art in order for the interaction to be worthwhile.

What makes a piece of art great? What makes it deep, interesting, and meaningful? Just as we learn how to read fiction, we must learn the basic principles of visual art in order for the interaction to be worthwhile.

“I think he died for me.” (Gretta Conroy, “The Dead” from Dubliners)

What are the principles on which our ethical commitments are based? This course examines one of the many directions this perennial question might lead, into an 18th-century debate that continues to resonate today: is ethics based in feelings--in 18th-century terminology, "sentiments"--or in reason?

The seminar takes us on a tour of some dramatically different conceptions of love. The scandalous affair between the 12th century scholastic Abelard and his brilliant student Heloise is memorialized in their letters, in which they struggle to understand that affair in the context of their religious lives ten years later.

Pioneering a style of unparalleled versatility and expressiveness, Haydn, Mozart, and the early Beethoven created a musical repertory of elegance, wit, optimism, and logic that remains the benchmark of Western musical culture to this day.

The Basic Program of Liberal Education for Adults will once again partner with Chicago Shakespeare Theater to offer exciting lecture and play packages for select performances during their 2018-2019 season.

The course will focus on dark matter, dark energy, the destiny of the universe, the origin of (ordinary) matter, cosmic inflations, and the multiverse.

In the Phaedo, Plato presents his friend and teacher Socrates on the cusp of death, waiting to fulfill – by hemlock – the sentence imposed upon him by the people of Athens. Socrates, with friends & acquaintances, ruminates on the soul, its possible immortality, as well as on the nature of what can be known and how we can know it.

Basic Program Year 1 continues with Winter Quarter.

In Winter Quarter, the Year Three Seminar takes us from the ancient world to Medieval Europe with three texts focusing on different kinds of journeys.  The Year Three Tutorial focuses on two classic texts seeking the ungrounded ground of reason. 

The Year 2 Seminar follows three different journeys of self-discovery as the authors explore ideas of alienation, transformation, and homecoming.

“Season 2” of our Iliad seminar picks up near the end of book 4 with battle proper - between the Greeks and Trojans - (re-)engaged. Though Achilles remains withdrawn, other heroes & heroines, gods & goddesses vie with one another to shape events at Troy.