The Fine Art of Conversation with DU's Esteemed Faculty
The practice of “Salon-going” dates back to the 17th century when many of the intellectual leaders of the day congregated in private homes to discuss the latest thinking and artistic developments. These early Salons were also said to be breeding grounds for social movements and revolutions because they attracted political activists promoting social agitation and reform.
Today’s Humanities Institute Salons are just as stimulating, albeit less explosive. About 20 people meet in a private home with an esteemed DU faculty member to learn and exchange ideas. Lively discussion fills the air, time flies and you’ll leave feeling energized, enriched and connected in a truly human way. Wine and light appetizers are provided. All Salon events are hosted at private residences. The host’s address is shared upon registration. Persons with disabilities should call 303-871-2425.
Registration is open for the 2011/2012 season. Register online or call 303-871-2425.
The French Paradox – Gounod and Faust
Facilitator: Steve Seifert, executive director of the Newman Center for the Performing
Arts
Host: Hon. Robert Fullerton and Mrs. Beverlee Henry in Cherry Hills
Dates:
October 27, 2011, at 7 p.m. &
November 3, 2011, at 7:30 p.m. (optional attendance at Faust)
Cost:
$35 (Salon only)
$49 (Salon and Faust opera ticket)
An aging philosopher is profoundly depressed at his inability to achieve fulfillment
through knowledge and thinks of committing suicide. He damns faith, science and happiness
and calls on Satan to guide him. Thus it begins. The French composer Gounod was a
pious Catholic and adulterer. His opera, Faust, was drawn from Goethe’s famous German
poem. After an in-depth Salon discussion, attendees have the option to attend the
production of Faust performed by students at DU’s Lamont School of Music. Read more...
(SOLD OUT!) A Very Good Book: The King James Bible at 400
Facilitator: Gregory Allen Robbins, associate professor of Religious Studies
Host: Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Rainer and Mr. and Mrs. Al Cook in Denver
Date: November 16, 2011, at 7 p.m.
Cost: $35
The King James (“Authorized”) version of the Bible turns 400 this year. It is hard
to overestimate the 1611 Good Book’s impact on English literature or, indeed, the
English language itself. A product of Renaissance developments in biblical scholarship
and Reformation Era intrigues, the KJB has a not-uncomplicated creation story that
requires a bit of “de-mythologizing.” Salon attendees will consider how it differed
from versions of the Bible that preceded it, and assess how a vernacular translation
of the Christian scriptures could cast such a long shadow. Read more...
(SOLD OUT!) There’s No Business Like Show Business: The Jewish Influence on American Culture Through the Broadway Musical
Facilitator: Jeanne Abrams, professor in the Center for Judaic Studies
Host: Dr. & Mrs. Lynn & Lisa Taussig in Centennial
Dates:
December 7, 2011, at 7 p.m. &
December 14, 2011, at 8 p.m. (optional attendance at West Side Story)
Cost:
$35 (Salon only)
$80 (Salon and West Side Story musical ticket)
From the 1920s to the 1980s songwriters Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein,
George and Ira Gershwin, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, Jerry Herman, Leonard
Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim were the acknowledged kings of Broadway music and American
song. These Jewish composers were either immigrants themselves or the children of
Jewish immigrants, and many of them used show tunes as a way of integrating into American
society. At this Salon, attendees will explore the factors that influenced the musical
paths of these great composers and assess songs from Bernstein’s West Side Story and other musical productions. Read more...
(SOLD OUT!) Social Media and the Young Middle East
Facilitator: Andrea Stanton, assistant professor of Religious Studies
Host: Mrs. Mary Schaefer and Mrs. Amy Slothower in Denver
Date: January 19, 2012, at 7 p.m.
Cost: $35
What does it mean to be part of the “Facebook generation” in today’s rapidly changing
Middle East, where the vast majority of the population is under 30? What impact are
social media having on culture, gender, religion, economics and politics in the Arab
world? At this Salon, attendees will look at ways in which governments around the
region have attempted to control or shut down internet access. Read more...
Strindberg’s Shocker — Shocking Still!
Facilitator: Victor Castellani, associate professor of Classics/Humanities, Languages
and Literatures
Host: Mr. and Mrs. Bill and Joy Mathews in Denver
Dates:
January 26, 2012, at 7 p.m. &
February 2, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. (optional attendance of Miss Julie)
Cost:
$35 (Salon only)
$49 (Salon and Miss Julie theater ticket)
Called by its author “A Naturalist Tragedy,” August Strindberg’s sensational play,
Miss Julie, dramatizes stark human conflicts with a rawness that caused his Norse contemporary
Henrik Ibsen to call him a madman. The work has been controversial since Strindberg
struggled to get it published (1888) and privately produced (1889) in Denmark. After
an in-depth discussion, Salon attendees have the option to attend the production of
Miss Julie performed by DU theatre students. Read more...
(SOLD OUT!) Transplanting Democracy: Hardy Perennial or Artificial Flower?
Facilitator: Spencer Wellhofer, professor of Political Science
Host: Mr. and Mrs. Brewster and Helen Boyd in Denver
Date: February 8, 2012, at 7 p.m.
Cost: $35
For over ten years the U.S. has pursued dual goals of combating terrorism and fostering
democracy in the Middle East. How exportable is democracy? To answer this question,
Salon attendees need to understand not only what democracy entails, but the economic,
political, cultural and social prerequisites for democracy. If these prerequisites
are not present, can they be transplanted and flower in a different setting? At this
Salon, attendees will discuss past successes and failures of transplanting democracy.
Read more...
Africa: A Nigerian Biography
Facilitator: Maik Nwosu, associate professor of English
Host: Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Warren in Denver
Date: February 28, 2012, at 7 p.m.
Cost: $35
Considering its population and other factors, Nigeria (“the giant of Africa”) is one
of Africa’s most important countries. On a continent of a billion people, about one
out of every seven Africans is a Nigerian. There are more than two hundred ethnic
groups and languages in Nigeria. With two (or three) secession attempts and a three-year
civil war, significant corruption regardless of (or because of) its oil wealth, as
well as some truly fascinating literary voices and the second-largest film industry
in the world, Nigeria exemplifies Africa’s problems, accomplishments and potential.
This Salon will examine the works of Africa's most popular novelist, Chinua Achebe, offering
an insightful way of unraveling the story (and the myth) of Nigeria, as well as the
best introduction to the world of modern African literature. Read more...
(SOLD OUT!) Willa Cather’s My Ántonia and Women in the American West
Facilitator: Geoffrey Bateman, director of the Gender and Women’s Studies Program
Host: Mr. and Mrs. Mark and Francine Mathews in Denver
Date: March 7, 2012, at 7 p.m.
Cost: $35
Attendees at this Salon will explore My Ántonia, Willa Cather’s homage to the immigrant pioneer women who settled and domesticated
the Nebraskan prairie in the late 1800s. Based on Cather’s impressions from childhood,
the novel is an astute study of nostalgia. At the heart of it is Ántonia Shimerda,
a young Czech woman who comes to stand for the region and ultimately the growing U.S.
nation. Salon attendees will explore Cather’s representation of Ántonia, focusing
on how Cather locates the future of our nation in the nostalgic reconstruction of
this pioneer woman. Read more...
Political Apology and Forgiveness
Facilitator: Nancy Wadsworth, associate professor of Political Science
Host: Mr. and Mrs. Paul and Connie Freeman in Denver
Date: April 10, 2012, at 7 p.m.
Cost: $35
Americans love and hate public apologies by political figures. On one hand, we are
suspicious of and often mock press-conference-style apologies by the likes of Bill
Clinton, Mark Sanford and Eliot Spitzer. On the other, Americans’ demand for emotional
confessions from wayward political officials is a centuries-old cultural tradition.
At this Salon attendees will define elements of good and bad political apologies,
and differentiate between “performances” of apology by public figures and more substantive
apologies by states and groups. Read more...
(SOLD OUT!) The Goddess in Art
Facilitator: M.E. Warlick, director of the School of Art and Art History
Host: Ms. Libby Kirkpatrick in Denver
Date: April 26, 2012, at 7 p.m.
Cost: $35
The feminist movement of the 1970s and 1980s rekindled the study of sacred images
of women in art. Discover prehistoric female figurines of Paleolithic and Neolithic
eras and their links to later female goddesses from ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Crete,
Greece and Rome. During the Middle Ages, images of Eve, the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene
continued this metamorphosis of the sacred feminine. In the Renaissance and Baroque
periods, classical goddesses, especially Venus, were adapted to both Christian and
secular contexts. At this Salon, images of the sexualized female body will be explored,
along with its counterpart, the witch, who was persecuted during the 16th and 17th
centuries. Read more...
