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|
54th
Annual Wachs Great Books Summer
Institute
at Colby College,
Waterville, Maine August
1 - 7, 2010 |
Cultural
Collisions
(All are Nobel
Literature Prize recipients.)
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J.M. Coetzee |
|
Life and Times of Michael K |
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Doris Lessing |
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The Golden Notebook |
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Naguib Mahfouz |
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The Thief and the Dogs |
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V.S. Naipaul |
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A Bend in the River |
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Wole Soyinka |
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The Lion and the Jewel |
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Wislawa Szymborska, Seamus Heaney, Derek Walcott, Octavio Paz, Pablo Neruda |
Selected Poems |
Join us in our annual reading, discussion and friendship week at Colby College.
In a Great Books Discussion, a group of readers share their understanding of a
thought-provoking book in a well-conducted forum. We work to find a level of
insight rarely achieved by reading alone. Our week is a time for readers who
love to think and talk about the worlds great works and who enjoy spending
time with others who share that joy.
The Registration Fee of $525 covers your accommodations in a dormitory
room (single or double), meals, discussions and books, as well as swimming, tennis,
a film, group social activities, and a real Maine lobster bake. The cost for
commuters (people who participate in group activities but live off-campus) is
$250, and includes lunches and the lobster bake. Scholarships are available on
a need basis. The registration deadline is July 1st.
Application and Refunds: A deposit of $250 per person is required with
application, $125 of which is refundable for cancellations before July 1. The balance is due at registration on August
1. We do not accept credit cards, so be prepared with a check or cash. We will
send books and additional information upon receipt of your deposit, usually
within 4 weeks. To register, complete the form that follows and send with your
deposit of $250 per person to:
Great Books Summer
Institute at Colby
824 Thomas Road
Lafayette Hill, PA
19444-1107
Visit our website www.greatbooksdiscussionprograms.org for details, or
direct any questions to Tom Beam at 215-836-2380, or FAX 215-836-7158,
or
email agreatbook@aol.com.
There is also an optional bus trip to the Maine shore for a fee
of $25 (see form). Please indicate your
interest on the application form
and include the fee in your check.
What is it like to spend a week at the Wachs Great Books Institute?
Have you ever closed a book after reading the last page and wished you
could discuss it with someone? Every summer, readers gather for one week at
Colby College to discuss a set of great works and to enjoy the company of
others who have at least these readings in common.
Participants live in the Colby dormitories, eat together in a dining
room, and are assigned to discussion groups for the week. Formal discussions
take place in the mornings, and follow the rules of the Great Books shared
inquiry method. No outside sources are
allowed so that all participants are on an equal basis and the emphasis is
truly on the reader and the text. We mail books to participants soon after
registration, and people are expected to have read the texts completely before
they get to Colby. Most discussion
groups have assigned leaders, who move from group to group during the week. A
few very experienced participants opt for a leaderless group.
There are a wide variety of activities during the week, from an opening
night orientation to a talent show (strictly voluntary), a lobster bake, and a
movie. The world famous Art Museum provides docent tours (signup at
registration). The Great Books Institute takes over a social gathering place
each night for the Wachs Works, our version of a friendly pub, named after
our founder, Is Wachs. Here people socialize, play cards and just relax.
Cotter Union, Colby's student center, includes Page Commons (for
lectures, performances, and celebrations), the Pulver Pavilion, the student
post office, conference rooms, lounges, the Office of Student Activities and
the most recent addition, the Colby Seaverns Bookstore. The Joseph Family Spa,
which serves beverages, short-order meals, and snacks, is located in Pulver
Pavilion, and the Marchese Blue Light Pub is in the south wing. The Pugh Center
houses offices for multicultural organizations and meeting space for social and
cultural programs.
The food at Colby is good and plentiful. Living arrangements are plain
but comfortable. Fans, phones, reading
lights and bed boards are available. It is dormitory living, however, with no
frills and no air conditioning. (Our Maine location means this usually is not a
problem.) We have private bedrooms with shared bath facilities. All buildings
are smoke-free. The school provides towels and bed linens. Arrangements can
sometimes be made for people with special needs. Let us know if you need access
to a refrigerator for medical needs. The
college has a great library, a fine art museum, a bookstore, tennis courts and
first-class athletic facilities, as well as waterfront property at a nearby
lake. For those without cars, rides with other participants are generally
available.
Participants make their own travel arrangements. Many arrive by car, but
there is air service to Portland and Bangor or South West Airlines et al to
Manchester, NH, with rental cars, buses and limousine service available from
there. There is also a Greyhound bus terminal in Waterville.
People attending the Institute come from all walks of life. Many of them
have come to Colby for decades, but there are also many newcomers every year.
Everyone is welcome. The goal is shared
inquiry, shared laughter, and shared experience. The results are often
friendship, fun and sometimes even glimpses of the truth.
Want additional flyers or information on some other Great Books
events?
Go to www.greatbooksdiscussionprograms.org.
Optional Bus Trip to Maine Shore Wednesday, August
4th Noon to 8pm
Discover stunning natural beauty at Coastal Maine in Owls Head and
Rockland. Visit these museums:
Owls Head Transportation Museum www.ohtm.org/
Owls Head Light lighthouse.cc/owls/
Maine Lighthouse Museum www.mainelighthousemuseum.com/
Farnsworth Art Museum www.farnsworthmuseum.org/
High on a promontory near Rockland Harbor, this short, brick tower was
one of the picturesque lights mentioned when Maine was dubbed "The
Lighthouse State." The keeper's house now is a residence for a Coast Guard
family, but it sits in a state park open to the public. Owls Head Light Station
was built in 1825. See one of the finest collections of pioneer-era aircraft
and automobiles in the world.
The Farnsworth Museum and its nationally recognized collection of
American art are located in Rockland. New galleries, award-winning restaurants,
and trendy shops are rapidly moving into the downtown area.
The bus trip will include a box lunch, available as you board the bus at
noon. You can visit the museums, the town, and have dinner on your own. The bus
will board promptly at 8pm for the return to campus.
See the reverse side for the Junior Great Books at Colby College
Registration form.
To register Juniors fill out the reverse side.
( Detach Here )
APPLICATION (Make checks payable to Great Books
Summer Institute)
Name
(s)________________________________________________________
Address
________________________________________________________
__________________________________ Zip_________________
Phone ( )____________________ E-mail _________________________
Rooming with
___________________________________________________
Rooming near (if
possible) __________________________________________
Indicate
Initials
[ ] Need
Handicapped Access [
____________ ]
[ ] Need
Bed Board [
____________ ]
[ ] Prefer
Self-Directed Leaderless Group [
____________ ]
[ ] Have
previous Great Books Experience [
____________ ]
[ ] We
have included $25 per person for the Bus Trip [
____________ ]
.
Junior Great
Books at Colby College
Wachs Great Books Summer
Institute at Colby
August 1 - 7, 2010
2010 Books All Newbery Winners or Honor Books
A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
Yolonda's Genius by Carol Fenner
The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg
|
Games |
Outdoor games |
Olympic size pool |
Lobster bake |
|
Art |
Full run of
campus |
Tennis courts |
Talent show |
|
Full gym |
Socialize with
friends |
College meals |
Dorm living |
The Registration Fee covers your accommodations in a dormitory room
(single or double), meals, discussions and books, as well as swimming, tennis, counselor
supervised activities, and a real Maine lobster bake. The cost for commuters (people who
participate in group activities but live off-campus) includes lunches and the
lobster bake. Registration deadline is July 1.
Application and Refunds: A deposit
of $250 per person is required with application, $125 of which is refundable
for cancellations before July 1. The
balance is due at registration on August 2.
We do not accept credit cards, so be
prepared with a check or cash. We
will send books and additional information upon receipt of your deposit.
To register, complete the form below and send with your deposit of $250
per person to the address below.
(
Detach Here )
Wachs
Great Books Summer Institute at Colby
824
Thomas Road
Lafayette
Hill, PA 19444-1107
August
1-7, 2010 Registration Junior Great Books at
Colby College, Waterville, Maine.
Name:
___________________________________ Age: ______ Grade in September:
______
Address:
____________________________________________________________________
Phone:
_____________________________________________________________________
Accompanying
Adult(s) Name(s):
________________________________________________
Address:
____________________________________________________________________
Phone:
_____________________________________________________________________
For counselors information, please let us
know your interests.
Hobbies:
___________________________________________________________________
Favorite Book:
_______________________________________________________________
Talent for Talent Show:
________________________________________________________
(Please make checks payable to Great
Books Summer Institute)
On Campus Junior GB
families will be housed together on one floor of our dorms.
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On
Campus Young
Adult ages 10-16 $340 |
|
Commuters Young
Adult ages 10-16 $160 |
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Children ages 5-9
$300 |
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Children ages 5-9
$140 |
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Adult $525 |
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Adult $250 |