Summer Classics in Annapolis


Full Seminar Descriptions, June 24-28

Morning
10 a.m.-noon

Homer: Iliad
Eva Brann and Lise van Boxel

Homer is perhaps the greatest poet ever to have lived.  The Iliad is his most famous poem.  It is a song about the rage of Achilles, the most famous hero in the Western world and the archetypal warrior.  Superlatives abound!  Paradoxically, Achilles’ rage does not draw him further into the battle against the Trojans. Instead, it causes him to withdraw from the war for much of the poem.  Ultimately, his rage seems to focus on questions about the human condition and the action—and inaction—of the gods in human life. 

Federalists and Anti-Federalists: The Debate over the Constitution
William Braithwaite and William Pastille

In advance of the votes to ratify the Constitution, citizens in all the states gave speeches and wrote newspaper articles both for and against ratification. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay wrote the most comprehensive series of pro-Constitution arguments in various New York newspapers. These came to be known collectively as The Federalist. Among the most prominent opponents of ratification, called Anti-Federalists, were Patrick Henry, and pseudonymous authors called “Brutus,” “Centinel,” and “John Dewitt.” We will read and discuss competing arguments regarding the need for union, protections against tyranny, states rights, representation, and the justice system.

Afternoon
2-4 p.m.

“For there she was.” –Two Novels of Virginia Woolf
Tom May and Joan Silver

Virginia Woolf ranks as one of the great innovative novelists of the 20th century in her abandonment of conventional linear narrative and exposition, favoring instead the poetic effects produced by indirect narrative and interior monologue. Participants will read two of her principal novels, Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse. The first describes a fine and full June day as its heroine Clarissa plunges into the bustle of London to purchase flowers for her party that evening. The second relates the daily life of the Ramsey family summering in the Hebrides over several summers. Each is charged with the realization that it is both wonderful and “very, very dangerous to live even one day.”

Plato's Republic
Matthew Caswell and John Tomarchio

If Western thought may be called "a footnote to Plato," then the rest of Plato's dialogues may be called a footnote to his Republic.  This epic dialogue set the terms of ethical, political, and metaphysical debate for millenia to come. In it, Socrates rises to the challenge of two youths to prove to them that justice alone could make them happy, absent any benefits of honor or wealth.  To do so, Socrates undertakes with them to construct a just city in speech, as an image of a just soul writ large, to search within it for the native seat and power not only of justice, but of the virtues of wisdom, courage, and temperance, as well as the graces of human education, friendship, and philosophy.

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Transportation and Accommodations

Transportation
The Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) is 25 miles from the Annapolis campus. Car rental and shuttle service to Annapolis can be easily arranged on the BWI website.  Washington National Airport (DCA) also serves the Annapolis area, but is not as convenient. Limited public transportation is available within Annapolis by bus and taxi. For greater flexibility renting a car is recommended.

Accommodations
The Annapolis campus offers simple accommodations in its Gilliam Hall dormitory, located on College Creek. Guests may reserve a double or single room. All beds are twin size, and bathrooms are shared among eight guests. There is no telephone service, and guests bringing computers must provide their own Ethernet connection service (WiFi is available at other locations on campus.). Rates are $38 per person per night, plus a $12 linen fee. No meals are available on campus other than the breakfasts and lunches that are included in the Summer Classics tuition. There are many nice restaurants within walking distance of the college.

For off-campus housing information, please see the accomodations section of the St. John's Business Friends. General tourist information is available from the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau on the Web at www.visitannapolis.org.

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About Annapolis

Founded in 1649, Annapolis is an historic seaport city situated on the Chesapeake Bay. It is the capital of the state of Maryland and has more 18th century buildings than anywhere else in the United States; three of these buildings are on the St. John’s campus. Annapolis is known as America’s Sailing Capital and is home to the National Sailing Hall of Fame, the Annapolis Sailing School (the oldest in America), and the United States Naval Academy.

The college’s Annapolis campus is located in the heart of the historic district, with art galleries, shops, music venues, hotels and bed and breakfasts within walking distance.  From City Dock visitors can board a water taxi to area restaurants or a Woodwind Schooner for a cruise of the Chesapeake Bay.  Annapolis is 26 miles south of Baltimore and 29 miles East of Washington, D.C.

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Fees and Policies

Tuition
Tuition for Summer Classics is $1,250 per individual seminar, which includes registration, books and other course materials, lunches, and special events. A $250 non-refundable deposit for each seminar is required to hold your space(s), and in order for you to receive seminar materials.

Balances are due in Annapolis by May 15. If payment is not received by that date, you will forfeit your space in the seminar. Those registering after May 15 must pay in full at the time of registration.

Minors
Participants under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian and notify the Community Programs Office that he or she is a minor.

Multiple Seminar Discount
Those registering for two seminars will receive a $100 discount. 

Teacher Tuition Assistance
St. John’s College offers tuition assistance to a limited number of licensed teachers (K-12) and college professors.  With proof of current employment as an educator, participants will receive a 50% discount off tuition. Discounts will be available for the first 10 teachers. No additional discounts are offered for multiple seminars.

Deposit and Balance
We cannot reserve spaces and enrollment will not be processed until the $250 non-refundable deposit(s) has been received. If full payment is not received by May 15, 2013, your enrollment will be cancelled and the deposit(s) will not be returned.

Cancellations
Cancellations made prior to May 15, 2013 will receive a full refund minus the $250 non-refundable deposits; cancellations thereafter forfeit the full payment. If you need to cancel your registration, please contact the Community Programs Office in writing (preferred), by phone 410-626-2530, or via e-mail: kathy.dulisse@sjca.edu.

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Event and Seminar Schedule - June 23-28

Registration
Sunday
3-5 p.m.
McDowell Hall

Opening Reception
Sunday
5-6:30 p.m.
Mellon Hall Café

Seminars
Monday-Friday

10 a.m.-noon
Homer: Iliad
Federalists and Anti-Federalists: The Debate over the Constitution

2-4 p.m.
“For there she was.” –Two Novels of Virginia Woolf
Plato's Republic

Morning Mingles with
Continental Breakfast
Monday and Thursday
9-10 a.m.

Lunch
Monday - Friday
noon-1:30 p.m.

Crab Feast
Tuesday
6:30-9 p.m.

Stargazing (weather permitting)
Tuesday
9 p.m.

Lecture & Question Period
Wednesday
7:30 p.m.

Closing Luncheon
Friday
noon-1:30 p.m.

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Contact Information

Community Progams Office
kathy.dulisse@sjca.edu
410-626-2530
molly.burnett@sjca.edu
410-626-2881 or 410-626-2536

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