Community Calendar for January/February 2015 from St. John's College, Santa Fe

COMMUNITY

CALENDAR ST. JOHN’S COLLEGE JAN/FEB 2015 SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO

VOL. 1.15

THE CORNERSTONE OF PETERSON STUDENT CENTER IS LAID IN PLACE.

Look online for our new Event Calendar in March!

Go to www.sjc.edu and click on Programs and Events.

In this Issue: Lectures Library Panel Discussion Community Seminars Concerts Summer Classics

Celebrate with St. John’s College

The Faculty “Faculty study groups have been a part of sustaining the intellectual life of St. John’s tutors since the New Program was established in 1937. Groups of 4–12 tutors meet under a variety of circumstances, reading and working through a variety of texts, both Program and non-Program. This kind of study is important to tutors: it enables them to think in-depth about a certain subject or book, when their normal teaching schedule calls them to cover material more quickly; it helps them consider proposed changes to the Program; and it helps them prepare to teach in areas of the curriculum where they may not have much experience.”

Rosemary Harty The College, Fall 2005

Please visit www.sjc.edu regularly for updated information on the 50th anniversary.

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Collaborative learning amongst tutors takes place regularly through archon meetings and study groups.

DEAN’S LECTURES AND CONCERT SERIES

Lectures are free and open to the public and are followed by a question-and-answer period.

The Power of a Point: Euclid’s Elements and Steiner’s Geometrical Reflections Friday, January 30, 7:30 p.m.

Great Hall, Peterson Student Center Michael Fried, Ben Gurion University of the Negev

Fried looks at how the last three propositions in Book III of the Elements become transformed in the hands of the 19th century geometer, Jacob Steiner, in his 1826 work, “Some Geometrical Reflections” (Einige geometrische Betrachtungen). In fact, however, Fried is after much smaller game, the very smallest or rather simplest thing: a point. One actually goes quite far in understanding the difference between ancient and modern mathematics when one understands the different ways a point is treated. Because it has no parts, as Euclid tells us, a point can have no property other than being somewhere or being the limit of something. By the 19th century, however, a point becomes an element in a “space,” and, more importantly, it can be assigned a number or numbers. Steiner’s “power of a point” in his “Geometrical Reflections” is an example of this and serves well to bring out the difference between the modern and pre-modern conceptions of a point, among other things.

Michael N. Fried is an associate professor in the Program for Science and Technology Education at Ben Gurion University of the Negev. His undergraduate degree is from St. John’s College, Annapolis. He received his M.Sc. in applied mathematics from SUNY at Stony Brook and his Ph.D. in the history of mathematics from the Cohn Institute at Tel Aviv University. His books include Apollonius of Perga’s Conica: Text, Context, Subtext (Brill, 2001), and Edmond Halley's Reconstruction of the Lost Book of Apollonius's Conics: Translation and Commentary (Springer 2011), as well as his translation of Book IV of the Conics (originally published as a separate volume by Green Lion Press in 2002). He also works in mathematics education, and has recently edited with Tommy Dreyfus, Mathematics and Mathematics Education: Searching for Common Ground (Springer, 2014)

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Radical Civility Friday, February 6, 7:30 p.m.

Great Hall, Peterson Student Center Alice MacLachlan, York University, Department of Philosophy

What role should practices of civility play in contexts of moral and political repair—that is, in the aftermath of serious conflict and disruption? It might seem obvious that civility and courtesy—indeed, plain and simple good manners—are valuable tools of repair. Rudeness expresses disrespect, and can add insult to injury; it shuts down dialogue, alienates participants, and exacerbates feelings of resentment, contempt, and hatred. Reparative practices of apology and forgiveness are powerful in part because they are tools of civility. Indeed, democratic politics rest on the implicit assumption that we are capable of civility—that is, engaging with one another as co-participants in civil life. At the same time, practices of civility, i.e. etiquette, are social conventions; they do not reflect a critical moral-political viewpoint. The very need for repair may give us reason to be suspicious of any blanket call for civility, especially when such calls are most often made by (and benefit those) with disproportionate power and privilege. Demands that interlocutors “adjust their tone” or “be reasonable” may mask ongoing forms of domination and silencing. Reflecting on the tension between these two observations, MacLachlan offers remarks on the boundaries of civility and the politics of incivility, drawing on a wide range of voices from inside and outside of philosophical tradition. Ultimately, she considers how we might reframe the virtue inherent in practices of civility as an ethics of generosity, perhaps best framed in the language of courtesy.

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Alice MacLachlan is an associate professor of philosophy at York University. She writes and teaches in moral, political and feminist philosophy, focusing particularly on philosophical issues arising in the aftermath of conflict: the nature and limits of forgiveness, the value of apologies, and the role of moral emotions like resentment and indignation in reconciliation and repair. She is co-editor of Justice, Responsibility and Reconciliation in the Wake of Conflict (Springer 2013) and her other recent publications include “Gender and the Public Apology,” “Beyond the Ideal Political Apology,” “The Philosophical Controversy over Political Forgiveness,” and “Closet Doors and Stage Lights: On the Goods of Out.” She completed her PhD in the philosophy department at Boston University in 2007, and also holds degrees in philosophy from Cambridge University (UK) and Queen's University (Canada).

Thinkin’ About Lincoln Friday, February 20, 7:30 p.m.

Great Hall, Peterson Student Center Michael Zuckert, University of Notre Dame, Department of Political Science

The lecture will pursue the question of what Lincoln understood about the needs of statesmanship in a democratic republic.

Michael Zuckert is Nancy Reeves Dreux Professor, and Department Chair of Political Science at University of Notre Dame. Professor Zuckert teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in political philosophy and theory, American political thought, American constitutional law, American constitutional history, constitutional theory, and philosophy of law. Zuckert has published extensively on a variety of topics, including George Orwell, Plato, Shakespeare, and contemporary

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liberal theory. He is currently finishing a book called Completing the Constitution: The Post-Civil War Amendments and is co-authoring another book on Machiavelli and Shakespeare. He co-authored and co-produced public radio series Mr. Adams and Mr. Jefferson: A Nine Part Drama for the Radio and was senior scholar for Liberty! (1997), a six hour public television series on the American Revolution. He also served as senior advisor on the PBS series on Benjamin Franklin (2002) and Alexander Hamilton (2007). He is currently head of the new Tocqueville Center for the Study of Religion in American Public Life.

Dante’s Ulysses Friday, February 27, 3:15 p.m.

Great Hall, Peterson Student Center Gabriel Pihas, Saint Mary’s College of California, Integral Program of Liberal Arts

Readers of the Divine Comedy are often puzzled about why a Christian author paid so much attention to pagan literature and philosophy. This issue is in the foreground in Canto 26 of the Inferno, where Dante meets the Greek hero Ulysses.Ulysses is punished in hell for fraudulent counsel, but it becomes clear early in the canto that Dante identifies with the sinner, and even has an intense fascination with him. Like Dante, Ulysses is a leader in a community, a master of rhetoric, and a seeker after “virtue and knowledge.” Ulysses is a grand figure, so much so that many critics have been uncertain about whether our author wishes us to admire him or condemn him. What, if anything, distinguishes Dante from Ulysses?

Gabe Pihas (A '93) is a tutor at the Integral Program of Liberal Arts at Saint Mary’s College of California. He is also the director of the Rome Institute of Liberal Arts, and formerly a tutor at the Annapolis campus.

PANEL DISCUSSION THE FUTURE OF LIBRARIES Saturday, February 7, 2015 10 a.m. - noon Great Hall, Peterson Student Center

Please join us for a panel discussion, with a reception immediately afterward.

The panel discussion will be moderated by author, columnist, and radio show host James McGrath Morris. Panelists will include: Michael Delello, Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Cultural Affairs and Acting State Librarian Sarah Heartt, Former Librarian, Santa Fe Public Schools Patricia Hodapp, Director, Santa Fe Public Library Tomas Jaehn, Archivist, NM History Museum Jennifer Sprague, Library Director, St. John's College

This event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library and St. John's College.

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ST. JOHN’S COLLEGE COMMUNITY SEMINARS Community Seminars are special opportunities for community members to read and discuss seminal works in the same unique manner as our students. Seminars are discussion-based and small in size in order to ensure spirited dialogue. There are topics to pique every interest, and for many participants the discussion-based learning model is an entirely new experience.

St. John’s College President, Mike Peters

SHAKESPEARE: THE HISTORY PLAYS Friday, February 13, 4-6pm: Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part II Saturday, February 14, 10am-Noon: Shakespeare’s King Henry V Cost: $125 for Friday and Saturday sessions

Teachers receive half off the seminar price.

Juniors and seniors in high school attend free.

St. John’s College President Mike Peters and Tutor Lise van Boxel will lead a Community Seminar covering two of Shakespeare’s English History plays, Henry IV, part 2 and Henry V.

Shakespeare’s second tetralogy plays covering “The War of the Roses” offer remarkable insight into the overlapping intricacies of the political and the personal with action ranging from the courts, to the battlefields to the flea-bitten inns of London. High politics, shrewd statecraft, low comedy and memorable characters all find keen expression in these plays.

Texts are available for purchase at the St. John’s College Bookstore.

Please call 505-984-6118 or email Yoshi Gruber to register for the seminar.

Full-time teachers with proof of current employment can enroll in a Community Seminar at a 50-percent discount. Community Seminars are free to 11th and 12th grade high school students (limited spaces available).

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CONCERTS SANTA FE PRO MUSICA Friday, January 23, 7:30 p.m.

Great Hall, Peterson Student Center

The Santa Fe Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra will perform Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, Stravinsky’s Concerto in E-flat major, “Dumbarton Oaks,” and Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 48.”

Santa Fe Pro Musica is a nationally recognized musical organization, founded in 1980 by Thomas O’Connor and Carol Redman. Their regular concert season, which includes concerts at the Lensic Performing Arts Center, the St. Francis Auditorium, and the Loretto Chapel, features performances with nationally known soloists.

Admission is free.

STEPHEN HOUSER Sunday, February 8, 3 p.m.

Great Hall, Peterson Student Center

Stephen Houser, guitarist and tutor at St. John’s College, will perform works by Milan, Scarlatti, Sojo, Sculthorpe, and Albeniz. Mr. Houser studied classical guitar under David Tanenbaum and George Sakellariou at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, privately with Margarita Escarpa and Kathleen McIntosh, and has performed in master classes given by Julian Bream, David Russell, Aniello Desiderio and others.

Admission is free.

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SAVE THE DATE SUMMER 2015 Week 1: July 6-July 10, 2015 Week 2: July 13-July 17, 2015 Week 3: July 20-July 24, 2015 For 25 years, Summer Classics at St. John’s College in Santa Fe has hosted participants from around the world for week-long seminars in the best literature, science, history, philosophy and opera that the East and West have to offer. Summer Classics is an opportunity to experience lively, in-depth, and highly participatory discussions modeled after those of the St. John’s Great Books program.

2015 summer seminar offerings will be announced in February.

To join our mailing list and receive a brochure, please email santafe.classics@sjc.edu or call (505)984-6105.

To register online in February or for more information, visit the Summer Classics web page at: http://www.sjc.edu/programs-and-events/summer-classics/

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www.sjc.edu

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