“How should we live?” is a question that lies at the core of human identity. Its ever-elusive answer has been pursued, examined and fought over throughout various traditions for millennia. The Great Conversation explores the most serious answers put forward through a weekly reading group covering a rich variety of foundational Western texts. This semester, we will explore a period of reform and enlightenment, including writers such as Martin Luther, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Shakespeare, and Francis Bacon.
We ask a suggested donation of $95 for non-students. This donation makes it possible for the Great Conversation to remain a diverse community of students and professionals .
Volume III:
Reform & Enlightenment
Meetings will be held online Wednesdays at 8 pm, beginning September 18.
Reading is recommended, but not required.
Schedule:
Introduction
WEek one: Martin Luther
Week Two: Erasmus
Week Three: Francis Bacon
Week Four: William Shakespeare
Week Five: Thomas Hobbes
Week Six: Baruch Spinoza
WEek seven: Blaise Pascal and Voltaire
Week eight: Benjamin Franklin
Week nine: Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Week Ten: Immanuel Kant
Week eleven: Germaine de Staël
Week Twelve: Lord Byron
If you are not a student and able to make the suggested $95 course donation, please visit the link below!
This donation helps to cover the cost of production and printing of this semester’s volume.
Convener of The Great Conversation: Dr. J. David Franks
J. David Franks received his Ph.D. in systematic theology from Boston College, and was professor of sacred theology for almost a decade at St. John’s Seminary, where he co-founded the Theological Institute for the New Evangelization.
He speaks monthly at the Thursday Men’s Breakfast, an ecumenical Union Club event, and teaches at Boston Trinity Academy, where he is the director of the Trinity Institute for Leadership and Social Justice. He has led the Great Conversation for four years.