COMMUNITYCALENDAR

A PUBLICATION OF ST. JOHN’S COLLEGE

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO VOL. 4.12

JULY/AUGUST 2012

In this Issue:Dean’s Lecture and Concert Series, SummerLecture Series, Community Seminars, Events

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DEAN’S LECTURE AND CONCERT SERIESPlease join us for the beginning of the fall 2012 Dean’s Lecture and ConcertSeries. All lectures are free and open to the public. Evening lectures take placein the Great Hall, starting at 7:30 p.m., and afternoon lectures take place inthe Junior Common Room, starting at 3:15 p.m.

OPENING LECTUREWalter Sterling, Dean, St. John’s College, Santa FeFriday, August 24, 7:30 p.m.Great Hall, Peterson Student Center

St. John’s College Dean Walter Sterling will offer the first lecture of the fall2012 Dean’s Lecture and Concert Series.

J. Walter Sterling earned his bachelor’s degree in 1993 from St. John’s College,Annapolis, and master’s degree in philosophy in 1997 from Emory University.He held academic positions at Loyola College, Gwynedd-Mercy College, andTemple University, and also worked with Project H.O.M.E. (Philadelphia)before joining the faculty of St. John’s College, Santa Fe, in 2003.

SUMMER LECTURE SERIES 2012

Join us for a series of informal lectures, sponsored by the college’s GraduateInstitute. The series continues in July and August on five consecutive Wednesday afternoons, concluding August 1. Free and open to the public, the seminars are followed by a question-and-answer period.

What is a Question?Richard McCombs, tutor, St. John’s College, Santa FeWednesday, July 4, 3:15 p.m.Junior Common Room, Peterson Student Center

Questions are essential to and ubiquitous within human life. Without them wecould not think and act as we do. And yet almost no great thinkers have madethem a theme in their writings. In his lecture Mr. McCombs investigates thecauses of this perplexing neglect of questions and sketches an account of themso as to suggest their worthiness of serious philosophical study.

Richard A. McCombs II earned bachelor of arts and of science degrees fromFordham University in 1990 and a master’s degree and doctorate from Ford-ham in 1992 and 2000, respectively. Before joining the faculty of St. John’s College, Santa Fe, in 1999, he held academic positions at Fordham University,Marist College, Rose Hill College, and the University of South Carolina.

best provision for the journey to old age. — ARISTOTLE

On the Meno: Why Does Socrates Never Tell Us What We Want to Know?David Starr, tutor, St. John’s College, Santa FeWednesday, July 11, 3:15 p.m.Junior Common Room, Peterson Student CenterMr. Starr will address the aporetic nature of the Socratic dialogue, consider-ing why Plato is so reticent to have his hero and presumed spokesman enunciate definitive accounts of things like virtue, justice, knowledge, andthe soul. Can he really not know? Can such things be known? And why does Socrates insist on questions he cannot (or will not) answer? It seems so ironic! An alternative, though too ambitious, title might be, what does authentic philosophy strive to do, and can it be done?

David Starr received his bachelor of arts degree from Gordon College in 1962and master’s and doctorate degrees from Boston University in 1966 and 1972,respectively. He was a tutor on the Annapolis campus of St. John’s Collegefrom 1972 to 1980. Starr joined the faculty on the Santa Fe campus in 1980 andimmediately served a two-year term as Director of The Graduate Institute inLiberal Education.

God Going Naked: An Exploration of the Female Bhakti Poets of Ancient IndiaPatricia Greer, tutor, St. John’s College, Santa FeWednesday, July 18, 3:15 p.m.Junior Common Room, Peterson Student CenterIn this lecture, Patricia Greer will explore the lives and works of a few of theIndian women whose poems express a passionate and profound love for thelord: Buddha, Krishna, Shiva. These women chose lives that society deemedhighly unorthodox, even transgressive. This rich and much ignored body of work deserves an honored place in the ancient and ongoing cannon of Indian bhakti (devotional) literature.

Patricia Greer has been a tutor at St. John’s College, Santa Fe, since 2001. She received a bachelor of arts degree from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland (1966), master of arts degrees from Johns Hopkins University (Writing Seminars, 1967) and from St. John’s College, Annapolis (1995), and a doctorate in history of religions from the University of Virginia (2002). Before joining the St. John’s faculty, she held a number of academic positions,including adjunct instructor, history of Asian religions, University of Virginia,and visiting lecturer on Sanskrit epics at Sweet Briar College.

Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and som

FIRST ANNUAL LEVAN LECTUREPoetry and Power: A Literary Reflection on the Book of Job Jack Hernandez, Director, Norman Levan Center for the Humanities, Bakersfield CollegeWednesday, July 25, 3:15 p.m.Junior Common Room, Peterson Student CenterThe Book of Job is often discussed as a theodicy. This lecture will focus on itsmarvelous poetry, especially on Job’s despair, anger, and plea for justice andon God’s response to Job, which is one of overwhelming power.

Jack Hernandez is professor emeritus of philosophy and English at Bakers-field College, in California, and currently the director of the Norman LevanCenter for the Humanities at the college. He has published poetry in a varietyof journals.

Francis Bacon and the Problem of AsclepiusNatalie J. Elliot, tutor, St. John’s College, Santa FeWednesday, August 1, 3:15 p.m.Junior Common Room, Peterson Student CenterOf the Wisdom of the Ancients is Francis Bacon’s playful, yet philosophical,retelling of a series of classical fables to develop a moral philosophy that addresses challenges unique to the modern world. One of the themes thatBacon tackles in the book is our changing relationship with death. In theworld that he helps to create, the human lifespan gets longer, and the humanimagination turns increasingly toward everlasting life. The lecture will explore the classical myths that Bacon retells to address our new mortal condition.

Natalie J. Elliot received her bachelor of art and master of art degrees in political science in 2002 and 2004, respectively, from the University of Alberta.Her doctorate in political science was conferred in 2009 by the University of North Texas. Before joining the faculty of St. John’s College in Santa Fe, she was a teaching fellow in the Department of Political Science and Honors College at UNT and visiting professor of political science at SouthernMethodist University.

me few to be chewed and digested. — SIR FRANCIS BACON

COMMUNITY SEMINARS Community Seminars are special opportunities for community members toread 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 participantsthe discussion-based learning model is an entirely new experience.

The seminar series resumes inlate July, with a four-week seminar that meetson consecutive Wednesdays (see below). Five additional seminars are beingoffered in the fall.

Please call 505-984-6117 to register for any of the seminars described below.Teachers with proof of employment can enroll in a Community Seminar at a50 percent discount. Community Seminars are free to 11th and 12th gradehigh school students (limited spaces available).

Marcus Aurelius’ MediationsTutor: Topi HeikkeröDates/Times: Four Wednesdays, July 25 through August 15, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.Cost: $140Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote Meditations as a series of self-correctionsand reminders; hence the Greek name of the book, Ta eis heauton (To him-self). In this philosophical journal, Aurelius addresses most centrally death,one’s role in life, self-improvement, handling desires, and the order of thecosmos. Although his thinking is characterized as Stoicism, Aurelius’ per-sonal quest reaches beyond the typical boundaries of philosophical schools.

Rumi, Masnavi-ye Ma’naviTutor: Michael WolfeDates/Times: Four consecutive Saturdays, September 8 through September 29, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.Cost: $140Seminar participants will read all of Book I of Rumi’s Masnavi-ye Ma’navi, or “spiritual couplets,” which was begun in 1262 AD and is thought to be the longest single-authored “mystical” poem ever written. Jalaluddin Rumiwas a poet and mystic of the highest attainment, but he was first and foremosta spiritual teacher. Rumi draws on a vast range of sources, from fables to stories from daily life and religious tradition, to compose a remarkable text,which is a ladder to the spiritual world.

Fortunate Fall? Exploring John Milton’s Paradise Lost Tutor: Gregory SchneiderDates/Times: Six Wednesdays, October 10 through November 14, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.Cost: $210John Milton’s blank verse masterpiece, Paradise Lost, announces in its opening that it will “justify the ways of God to men.” Springing from just afew lines from the Book of Genesis, the poem puts forth a much expandedversion of the relationship between Adam and Eve and their cursed choice toeat from the forbidden tree of the Garden. As it unfolds, Milton offers a portrayal that attempts to justify the God who put humans in the place tomake that choice. Along the way, we meet a captivating Satan, hear of thestory of the rebellious angels, and see the unique ways that Adam and Eveeach respond to their predicament. Over six sessions, this seminar will explore this complicated story, often considered the greatest epic poem inthe English language.

Rabbinic StoriesTutor: Ken WolfeDates/Times: Five consecutive Tuesdays, October 2 through 30, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.Cost: $175Seminar participants will study a collection of rabbinic stories selected fromthe Talmud. The rabbis told stories about law, piety, sin and suffering, therelation of Jews to Gentiles, and important events in Jewish history, such asthe destruction of the 2nd Temple and the revolt of Bar Kokhba.

Plutarch’s EssaysTutor: Topi HeikkeröDates/Times: Four consecutive Saturdays, October 20 through November 10, 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon.Cost: $140Plutarch, best known for his biographies of important Greek and Romanmen, was a skillful essayist, too. Seminar participants will read a selection ofhis essays, including “On Listening” and “How to Distinguish a Flattererfrom a Friend.”

If Rousseau were a Woman: Women Thinkers’ Points of ViewTutor: Michael BybeeDates/Times: Six consecutive Wednesdays, September 12 & 19 and October 3,10, 17, and 24, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.Cost: $210Arguably, the great minds of Occidental philosophy were predominantly male,almost universally unmarried, and without child-rearing responsibilities.One might wonder whether the major doctrines in Western philosophy, history, and literature seem plausible only to this class of individuals. What ifwe were to look at these themes from the point of view of their female counter-parts? What insights into the human condition would we find? This seminarwill examine society through the thoughts and writings of some of the foremost female minds of past and present, including Mary Wollstonecraft,Jane Austen, and Alice Walker.

Celebrating its seventh year, 2012, Music on theHill™ has rapidly become a signature Santa Fesummer event. From mid June to late July, localand nationally known musicians offer freeweekly Wednesday concerts in a wide range ofmusical styles, including jazz, R&B, and worldmusic.

Concerts take place on the college’s athleticfield. For parking options, visit our website atwww.stjohnscollege.edu. Concert-goers are encouraged to picnic on the field. Food and softdrinks will be available for purchase. Catering by Walter Burke Catering; beverages by Sunflower Markets.

St. John’s College would like to thank the Santa Fe community and lead sponsors Los Alamos National Bank, KSFR, Comcast, Verve Gallery,Albuquerque Journal North, and the Santa Fean for supporting our annualconcert series.

Please note that NO PETS are allowed on campus, and that bicycles must beparked in designated areas.

This year’s Music on the Hill™ series line-up features the following musicians:

July 11Janice and Vinnie ZummoJazz Vocals and Guitar

July 18Bobby ShewJazz Trumpet

July 25Hillary Smith with Soul KitchenR&B

This project is made possible in part by New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

McDowallConstruction

Eye Associatesof America

High Country Macula

BREAD LOAF LECTURE

Heritage as Inspiration

Thursday, July 5, 7 p.m.Great HallPeterson Student CenterAna Castillo, novelist, essayist, poetRenowned poet, novelist, short story writer, and essayist Ana Castillo is oneof the leading voices to emerge from the Chicana experience. Her work isbased on established oral and literary traditions, yet at the same time it ishighly innovative. This “most daring and experimental of Latino novelists”is a prolific writer and teacher whose work has been critically acclaimed andwidely anthologized in the United States and abroad. In her lectures, Castillospeaks about the craft of storytelling as well as Chicana identity and culture.

Raised in a working-class neighborhood in Chicago, Ana Castillo credits thepowerful storytelling tradition of her Mexican heritage as the foundationand inspiration for her writing. By the time she graduated from college,Castillo had already begun to establish herself as a dynamic poetic voice: shepublished poems in anthologies and magazines as a college student, and three volumes of poetry followed shortly thereafter.

In the mid-1980s, Castillo turned to fiction. So Far From God, her first novelto be widely read, was published in 1993. Blending aspects of magical realismwith a powerful family narrative and strong feminist undertones, the bookmarked Castillo as one of the country’s most gifted and engaging Latinawriters. Publications following this include the short story collection Lover-boys and the novel Peel My Love Like an Onion. The Guardians follows thelives of Mexican immigrants who illegally cross the border into the UnitedStates. Currently living in New Mexico, Castillo is working on a screenplay ofSo Far From God.