In this Issue:LecturesLibrary Panel DiscussionCommunity SeminarsConcertsSummer Classics

COMMUNITYCALENDAR

ST. JOHN’S COLLEGESANTA FE, NEW MEXICO VOL. 1.15

JAN/FEB 2015

THE CORNERSTONE OF PETERSON STUDENT CENTERIS LAID IN PLACE.

Look online for our new Event Calendar

in March! Go to www.sjc.edu

and click on Programs and Events.

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“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 HartyThe College, Fall 2005

Please visit www.sjc.edu regularly for updated information on

the 50th anniversary.

Celebrate with St. John’s College

Collaborativelearning amongst tutors takes placeregularly througharchon meetingsand study groups.

The Faculty

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DEAN’S LECTURES AND CONCERT SERIESLectures 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 CenterMichael 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 verysmallest or rather simplest thing: a point. One actually goes quite far in understanding the difference between ancient and modern mathematics whenone 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 orbeing the limit of something. By the 19th century, however, a point becomesan element in a “space,” and, more importantly, it can be assigned a number ornumbers. Steiner’s “power of a point” in his “Geometrical Reflections” is anexample of this and serves well to bring out the difference between the modernand 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 undergradu-ate 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 ofmathematics from the Cohn Institute at Tel Aviv University. His books includeApollonius 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 ofBook IV of the Conics (originally published as a separate volume by Green LionPress 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 CivilityFriday, February 6, 7:30 p.m. Great Hall, Peterson Student CenterAlice MacLachlan, York University, Department of Philosophy

What role should practices of civility play in contexts of moral and political re-pair—that is, in the aftermath of serious conflict and disruption? It might seemobvious that civility and courtesy—indeed, plain and simple good manners—arevaluable tools of repair. Rudeness expresses disrespect, and can add insult to in-jury; it shuts down dialogue, alienates participants, and exacerbates feelings ofresentment, contempt, and hatred. Reparative practices of apology and forgive-ness are powerful in part because they are tools of civility. Indeed, democraticpolitics 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 acritical moral-political viewpoint. The very need for repair may give us reasonto be suspicious of any blanket call for civility, especially when such calls aremost 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 tensionbetween these two observations, MacLachlan offers remarks on the boundariesof civility and the politics of incivility, drawing on a wide range of voices frominside 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. Shewrites and teaches in moral, political and feminist philosophy, focusing particu-larly on philosophical issues arising in the aftermath of conflict: the nature andlimits of forgiveness, the value of apologies, and the role of moral emotions likeresentment 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 ofOut.” She completed her PhD in the philosophy department at Boston Universityin 2007, and also holds degrees in philosophy from Cambridge University (UK)and Queen's University (Canada).

Thinkin’ About LincolnFriday, February 20, 7:30 p.m. Great Hall, Peterson Student CenterMichael Zuckert, University of Notre Dame, Department of Political Science

The lecture will pursue the question of what Lincoln understood about theneeds 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 graduateand undergraduate courses in political philosophy and theory, American politicalthought, American constitutional law, American constitutional history, constitu-tional theory, and philosophy of law. Zuckert has published extensively on a variety of topics, including George Orwell, Plato, Shakespeare, and contemporary

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

Dante’s UlyssesFriday, February 27, 3:15 p.m. Great Hall, Peterson Student CenterGabriel Pihas, Saint Mary’s College of California, Integral Program of Liberal Arts

Readers of the Divine Comedy are often puzzled about why a Christian authorpaid so much attention to pagan literature and philosophy. This issue is in theforeground in Canto 26 of the Inferno, where Dante meets the Greek heroUlysses.Ulysses is punished in hell for fraudulent counsel, but it becomes clearearly in the canto that Dante identifies with the sinner, and even has an intensefascination with him. Like Dante, Ulysses is a leader in a community, a masterof 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, distin-guishes Dante from Ulysses?

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

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PANEL DISCUSSION

THE FUTURE OF LIBRARIESSaturday, February 7, 201510 a.m. - noonGreat 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 showhost 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 membersto read and discuss seminal works inthe same unique manner as our stu-dents. Seminars are discussion-basedand small in size in order to ensurespirited dialogue. There are topics topique every interest, and for many participants the discussion-based learn-ing model is an entirely new experience.

SHAKESPEARE: THE HISTORY PLAYSFriday, February 13, 4-6pm: Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part IISaturday, February 14, 10am-Noon: Shakespeare’s King Henry VCost: $125 for Friday and Saturday sessionsTeachers 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 aCommunity 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 CommunitySeminar at a 50-percent discount. Community Seminars are free to 11th and 12th grade high school students (limited spaces available).

St. John’s College President, Mike Peters

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CONCERTSSANTA FE PRO MUSICAFriday, 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 regularconcert 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 performworks by Milan, Scarlatti, Sojo, Sculthorpe, and Albeniz. Mr. Houser studied classical guitar under David Tanenbaum and George Sakellariou atthe San Francisco Conservatory of Music, privately with Margarita Escarpaand 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, 2015Week 2: July 13-July 17, 2015Week 3: July 20-July 24, 2015

For 25 years, Summer Classics at St. John’s College in Santa Fe hashosted participants from around the world for week-long seminars inthe best literature, science, history, philosophy and opera that theEast 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 emailsantafe.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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