Summer Classes, 2012

This summer we are offering three courses for your learning pleasure.  Each is taught by Dr. James Taylor.  The courses are:

Summer Writer’s Workshop,June 6 – 25

Summer Shakespeare,July 9 – 30

For Adults Only: Classic Children’s Literature, July 13 – August 23
Details below.

Summer Writer’s Workshop , June 4 – 25

The so called “finished product” in the form of a full research paper is not the goal of the Workshop. Rather, here we examine the importance of choosing words, or as a famous man said, “getting the words right”.

We think about the construction of a sentence beyond the grammar rules of being a subject, verb, and predicate – it is first a complete thought that has a beginning, a middle and an end, as Aristotle observed. It is an organic unit that, when connected to other such sentences, composes a paragraph that also has its integrated beginning, middle and end. Of course, attention is paid to punctuation but only to the extent it is in the service of meaning and expression, and not slavishly followed as a set of rules alone.
Exercises in news reporting, description, narrative, expository writing, even in haiku poetry, are all part of the Workshop experience.

If you have any questions regarding the Writing course feel free to write to Dr. Taylor at jamesstaylor22@gmail.com .

Specifics for Summer Writer’s Workshop:
+ There will be seven 90 minute classes.  Tuition is $195.
+ Classes are on Mondays and Wednesdays at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
+ First class is June 4 and the last class is June 25.
+ Tuition is $195.  Family discounts of 20% apply to additional students.
Open to students in grades 9 – 12, with exceptions in particular cases.
Enrolling is Easy
Use the button below to take care of tuition online.

The online payment system does not calculate discounts so to take advantage of the family discounts please write us at info@greatbooksdiscussions.org or phone us [360-496-0007] after enrollment and we will mail you a check for the discount.

You may also call 360-496-0007 to enroll directly by phone or to ask any questions you may have.

If you prefer to mail a check please make it out to Great Books Discussions and mail it to:

Great Books Discussions P.O. Box 756 Morton, WA 98356

If you have any questions regarding the course itself feel free to write to Dr. Taylor at jamesstaylor22@gmail.com.

Summer Shakespeare, July 9 – July 30

How do summer and Shakespeare go together?  Very well.  Especially when you have Dr. James Taylor as your guide and companion.  Join Dr. Taylor for a summer excursion of learning pleasure with Shakespeare, arguably the greatest English literary artist.  

One difference that sets apart this Shakespeare class from other introductory courses to the plays of the Bard is that the whole play is read – not a condensed version nor simply excerpts.  Nor do we read other books about Shakespeare or write a formal paper about the plays.  Instead, the class follows the approach of reading Great Books, that is, to trust the original text to reveal its delight and wisdom to students who carefully read the plays with their teacher.
We will read one comedy, Much do About Nothing, and one tragedy, Hamlet, for this summer’s class with approximately half the time spent on each play. The emphasis is on our own reading and conversation about the plays, regarding memorable lines and speeches, characters, plot, climax, conclusion, and most importantly, themes.
In addition, Dr. Taylor will speak of Shakespeare’s poetics and metrics to help enable students to appreciate his artistry.  However, the emphasis will remain on the experience of enjoyment and delight, along with the growth in knowledge and understanding that naturally follow upon that experience.
Students will need copies of Much Ado About Nothing and Hamlet.  Any unabridged edition should suffice, just so the text follows the regular numbering of lines so we can literally be “on the same page” for lecture and conversation.

Specifics for Summer Shakespeare:
+ There will be seven 90 minute classes.  Tuition is $195.
+ Classes are on Mondays and Wednesdays at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
+ First class is July 9 and the last class is July July 30.
+ Family discounts of 20% apply to additional students.

This class is open to students grade 9 to adult.
Enrolling is Easy
Use the button below to take care of tuition online.

 PAYPAL LINK

The online payment system does not calculate discounts so to take advantage of the family discounts please write us at info@greatbooksdiscussions.org or phone us [360-496-0007] after enrollment and we will mail you a check for the discount.

You may also call 360-496-0007 to enroll directly by phone or to ask any questions you may have.

If you prefer to mail a check please make it out to Great Books Discussions and mail it to:

Great Books Discussions P.O. Box 756 Morton, WA 98356

If you have any questions regarding the course itself feel free to write to Dr. Taylor at jamesstaylor22@gmail.com .

This course is for parents, teachers, and high school age students who would like to become acquainted – or, perhaps, re-acquainted – with the rich tradition of children’s literature that is our inheritance.  There is a distinction between the childish and the childlike, between the superficial and the profound.  Might it be that readers of much modern children’s “literature” are confined to splashing in the shallow end of the pool while those who spend time with the classics begin an immersion into an ocean of wonder?

This summer class will read and promote conversation about the traditional poems, stories, and novels associated with the great English tradition of literature for the Nursery, Childhood, and Young Adult. Many of these titles have been “Disneyfied” nearly out of existence from their original significance. Others have been assigned to the trash heap as being no longer relevant to our times. Worse, too often the gap thus created has been filled with propaganda disguised as children’s literature but rife with inappropriate themes, language, and political/social agendas that at times are of questionable appropriateness and value even for an adult audience. 

From Mother Goose and Aesop Fables to the poems and novels of Robert Louis Stevenson it is estimated there are 1,000 of the “good books” for children. We call these classics. This is the literature of delight and wonder, of adventure and mystery. It has no agenda other than to enrich the imaginations and hearts of those who experience the truth, goodness, and beauty to be discovered in them.  They do not preach.  They are poems and stories of enjoyment that convey their goodness and pleasure in simply being what they are — classics for a life time.
Specifics for For Adults Only: Classic Children’s Literature
+ There will be seven 90 minute classes.  Tuition is $195.
+ Classes are on Fridays at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
+ First class is July 13 and the last class is August 23.
+ Family discounts of 20% apply to additional students.

This class is open to all parents, teachers, and high school age students.

Enrolling is Easy
Use the button below to take care of tuition online.

The online payment system does not calculate discounts so to take advantage of the family discounts please write us at info@greatbooksdiscussions.org or phone us [360-496-0007] after enrollment and we will mail you a check for the discount.

You may also call 360-496-0007 to enroll directly by phone or to ask any questions you may have.

If you prefer to mail a check please make it out to Great Books Discussions and mail it to:

Great Books Discussions P.O. Box 756 Morton, WA 98356

If you have any questions regarding the course itself feel free to write to Dr. Taylor at jamesstaylor22@gmail.com.