Correction to my earlier note: The Great Books Certificate Program is now accepting class/seminar enrollment. I incorrectly said "Great Reads" program in my earlier note. Please contact Paola Gilbert pgilbert@mpc.edu if you have any questions regarding enrollment in the following courses:
MPC Great Books Program - This program is founded on the idea that throughout human existence, there is something called The Great Conversation, and that students should become part of that conversation by reading and discussing Great Works from not only the Western Tradition but from various Traditions of the World as well. Essential to the discussion is that there is no teacher agenda but there is instead an open shared enquiry into the readings. The Great Conversation is where, from generation to generation, minds react with other minds through the written word and through free discussion of that written word. In The Great Conversation, for example, the concept of beauty is reshaped, authority is challenged, enduring questions are pondered. In our program, we approach the Great Ideas through reading and discussing primary texts in history, philosophy, and literature courses, as well as a core Great Books course (English 5) and in one-unit seminar courses (English 25A, B, C) - and in so doing, we ourselves become part of The Great Conversation. Starting mid-June, Paola Gilbert will be coordinating the MPC Great Books Program. Email her at pgilbert@mpc.edu.
English 5 - Intro to Great Books - This course rounds out the program. To earn the MPC Great Books Certificate, students must take this core course. In it, students will learn about the roots of the Great Books Movement, the benefits of reading Great Books, the concept of The Great Conversation, the centrality of shared enquiry to the Great Books concept, the ways to approach the difficult reading of Great Works, and so on. As we read about and discuss this background information, we will plunge deeply into the reading and discussing of particular works of literature - using the shared enquiry method, a kind of seminar and Socratic dialogue approach to the reading and discussing of Great Works. Students will learn the good of Great Books - from the gaining of personal freedom to the gaining of social freedom, from stimulation of the mind to stimulation of actions, from a life of sleep to a life of wokeness. Paola Gilbert is teaching the course. Email her at pgilbert@mpc.edu.
English 25C - Great Books Seminar III - This is a one-unit course which revolves around the shared enquiry method and a desire to be part of The Great Conversation - the reading and discussing of Great Works. This particular class is a place where students can get together to read and discuss Great Short Fiction or Poetry in an open, seminar approach. Since it's only one unit, it makes a good additional course for any schedule, no matter what the student's major is. In fact, STEAM students and Career Tech students, as well as students of the Humanities and Social Sciences, are welcome to join in to The Great Conversation! Topics vary from semester to semester, but in Fall 2021, the focus will be on speculative short fiction (short stories) produced by authors from a variety of racial and ethnic groups. In this course, we'll dip into afro futurism, decolonial sci fi, social change literature, among other genres. This course will highlight the Great Books concept of literature as a tool for awakening the individual and society, and it will include speculative fiction written in the past and in the present, written in the U.S. and written in other parts of the world, written in English and in translation. Paola Gilbert is teaching the course, email her at pgilbert@mpc.edu.
Correction to my earlier note: The Great Books Certificate Program is now accepting class/seminar enrollment. I incorrectly said "Great Reads" program in my earlier note. Please contact Paola Gilbert pgilbert@mpc.edu if you have any questions regarding enrollment in the following courses:
MPC Great Books Program - This program is founded on the idea that throughout human existence, there is something called The Great Conversation, and that students should become part of that conversation by reading and discussing Great Works from not only the Western Tradition but from various Traditions of the World as well. Essential to the discussion is that there is no teacher agenda but there is instead an open shared enquiry into the readings. The Great Conversation is where, from generation to generation, minds react with other minds through the written word and through free discussion of that written word. In The Great Conversation, for example, the concept of beauty is reshaped, authority is challenged, enduring questions are pondered. In our program, we approach the Great Ideas through reading and discussing primary texts in history, philosophy, and literature courses, as well as a core Great Books course (English 5) and in one-unit seminar courses (English 25A, B, C) - and in so doing, we ourselves become part of The Great Conversation. Starting mid-June, Paola Gilbert will be coordinating the MPC Great Books Program. Email her at pgilbert@mpc.edu.
English 5 - Intro to Great Books - This course rounds out the program. To earn the MPC Great Books Certificate, students must take this core course. In it, students will learn about the roots of the Great Books Movement, the benefits of reading Great Books, the concept of The Great Conversation, the centrality of shared enquiry to the Great Books concept, the ways to approach the difficult reading of Great Works, and so on. As we read about and discuss this background information, we will plunge deeply into the reading and discussing of particular works of literature - using the shared enquiry method, a kind of seminar and Socratic dialogue approach to the reading and discussing of Great Works. Students will learn the good of Great Books - from the gaining of personal freedom to the gaining of social freedom, from stimulation of the mind to stimulation of actions, from a life of sleep to a life of wokeness. Paola Gilbert is teaching the course. Email her at pgilbert@mpc.edu.
English 25C - Great Books Seminar III - This is a one-unit course which revolves around the shared enquiry method and a desire to be part of The Great Conversation - the reading and discussing of Great Works. This particular class is a place where students can get together to read and discuss Great Short Fiction or Poetry in an open, seminar approach. Since it's only one unit, it makes a good additional course for any schedule, no matter what the student's major is. In fact, STEAM students and Career Tech students, as well as students of the Humanities and Social Sciences, are welcome to join in to The Great Conversation! Topics vary from semester to semester, but in Fall 2021, the focus will be on speculative short fiction (short stories) produced by authors from a variety of racial and ethnic groups. In this course, we'll dip into afro futurism, decolonial sci fi, social change literature, among other genres. This course will highlight the Great Books concept of literature as a tool for awakening the individual and society, and it will include speculative fiction written in the past and in the present, written in the U.S. and written in other parts of the world, written in English and in translation. Paola Gilbert is teaching the course, email her at pgilbert@mpc.edu.
Thank you.
Have a good day.
Sincerely,
Donna