Category Archives: Courses

Divine Epics [3]: The Qur’an and The Aeneid

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COURSES > LIFELONG [→ ONLINE ARCHIVE MATERIAL]

Both the Aeneid and the Qur’an can be viewed as the culmination of divine trilogies — the Aeneid completes the story begun in the Iliad and Odyssey, and the Qur’an follows the Hebrew Bible and New Testament (or, more precisely: the Torah and the Gospel).  This course will examine these “sequels,” both as independent works and in terms of their relationships to their precursors.  In addition, we will also compare and contrast Virgil’s account of the “Trojan exodus” of Aeneas, which culminates in the foundation of Rome, with the Exodus from Egypt, which culminates in the foundation of Israel. Continue reading →

Primary Texts and Personal Empowerment

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COURSES > UNDERGRADUATE [→ ONLINE ARCHIVE MATERIAL]

“The function of the university is not simply to teach bread-winning, or to furnish teachers for the public schools, or to be a center of polite society; it is, above all, to be the organ of that fine adjustment between real life and the growing knowledge of life, an adjustment which forms the secret of civilization.”

The function of this class will be to put these words into practice as we read, discuss and write about a range of important primary texts with a variety of perspectives on the theme of personal empowerment: what it is, what it’s not, and how to get it (both inside and outside of school).  One of the authors we will read wrote the words just quoted; another author we will read disagreed.  Other authors put the emphasis elsewhere entirely.  Along the way, we will also focus on the development of critical thinking skills, including the ability to understand, assess and formulate logical arguments. Continue reading →

Divine Epics [2]: Homer and the Bible

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COURSES > LIFELONG

This course is a rare opportunity to compare four foundational texts that are usually read independently or in pairs, yielding surprising insights into the texts and ourselves. Beyond extending an existing story, sequels comment upon, reinterpret, and at times even repudiate the events and values of the original. This course examines the Odyssey as a sequel to the Iliad and the New Testament as a sequel to the Hebrew Bible in an effort to understand the later works both as independent works and in terms of their vital relationship to their predecessors. Continue reading →

Divine Epics [1]: Hebrew Bible, Iliad, and Qur’an

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COURSES > LIFELONG

This course is a rare opportunity to compare three foundational texts that are usually read independently or in pairs, yielding surprising insights into the texts and ourselves. Reading the Hebrew Bible with the Iliad illuminates the polytheistic elements of the Bible and the ways modern readers are conditioned to misread it as a purely monotheistic work. Reading the Qur’an alongside the Hebrew Bible illuminates the Biblical foundations of the Qur’an and the reasons many readers of the Bible assume the Qur’an “got it all wrong.” Through close, coordinated readings participants will understand three divine epics in a new light. Continue reading →

One-Day Hebrew Bible

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COURSES > LIFELONG [→ ONLINE ARCHIVE MATERIAL]

This seminar is an opportunity to consider the Hebrew Bible in a relaxed yet focused environment. What exactly is this work and where did it come from? Who wrote it? What are the main ideas contained in it? This one-day course will discuss these and other questions through a hands-on introduction to, and an overview of, one of the cornerstones of Western civilization and the “Abrahamic religions.” No prior knowledge or experience of any kind is required, although completion of the advance readings is expected. The reading assignment will be posted online at least one month before the seminar date. Continue reading →

Socrates Who Does (Not) Know: Gorgias, Charmides, Laches, Lysis

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COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > ONLINE

Although Socrates has become iconic for “knowing that he doesn’t know”, only some of Plato’s dialogues actually cast Socrates in this light.  Other dialogues portray a Socrates who seems to know a great deal about a great deal (including love, politics, virtue and the afterlife).  In this course we will examine important dialogues of both types.  On the one hand we will read and discuss “aporetic” or “inconclusive” dialogues about the nature of temperance (Charmides), courage (Laches) and friendship (Lysis).  On the other we will consider Plato’s great Gorgias in which Socrates practically preaches for one particular notion of the good life. Continue reading →

One-Day Three Traditions

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COURSES > LIFELONG

This daylong seminar is a short, intensive exploration of the common and contrasting themes of the three Abrahamic scriptures: the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Qur’an. Selections from these works, which are rarely read together, will be read by participants before the seminar begins. Then specific passages will be compared, contrasted, and discussed, allowing participants to discover the different views of important subjects in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The result is an exploration of key concepts such as “justice,” “mercy,” and “true religion,” and an understanding of critical similarities and differences among these three bodies of literature.  No prior knowledge or experience of any kind is required, although completion of the advance readings is expected. The reading assignment will be posted online at least one month before the seminar date. Continue reading →

Abrahamic Notions of the Afterlife

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COURSES > CONGREGATION

Although many people assume that a concern with the afterlife is as old as religion itself, a careful reading of the oldest Abrahamic scriptures shows that this is not so.  Rather, a consideration of the possibility of an afterlife — and then finally a conviction in the ultimate reality of an afterlife — developed over time.  This course will trace the development of this idea by considering key passages from the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, Talmud and Qur’an, as well as other relevant literature. Continue reading →

(Cinematic) Visions of Christ

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COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > UNDERGRADUATE [→ ONLINE ARCHIVE MATERIAL]

Although the very first depictions of Jesus were textual, pictorial representations of him were not far behind. At the turn of the 20th century, Jesus rose on the silver screen, first as simple recordings of theatrical “passion plays” and then as full-blown features depicting a wide variety of “Jesuses”. This course introduces students to the range of textual and cinematic depictions of Jesus by a close examination of a number of canonical and non-canonical gospels as well as of a number of major “Jesus movies”. Continue reading →

One-Day Qur’an

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COURSES > LIFELONG [→ ONLINE ARCHIVE MATERIAL]

This seminar is an opportunity to consider the Qur’an in a relaxed yet focused environment. What exactly is this work and where did it come from? Who wrote it? What are the main ideas contained in it? This one-day course will discuss these and other questions through a hands-on introduction to, and an overview of, one of the cornerstones of Western civilization and the “Abrahamic religions.” No prior knowledge or experience of any kind is required, although completion of the advance readings is expected. The reading assignment will be posted online at least one month before the seminar date. Continue reading →