Experience the Conversations Program
Two of St. Olaf's signature academic programs are American Conversations and the Great Conversation — learning communities that span students' first two years on campus. Over the course of this academic year we invite you to view select lectures from these programs.
In viewing these lectures, you will virtually enter a Great Conversation or American Conversations class on a day devoted to a plenary lecture (as opposed to a discussion). You will experience exactly what our students do: not a TED talk, a polished performance, or a massive open online course (or "MOOC"), but a talk pitched to the needs of St. Olaf students on a topic of perennial interest.
These lectures are taken from the first year of American Conversations and the second year of the Great Conversation.
On Demand October 16, 2013 — 8 a.m. (CT)
Great Conversation Plenary Lecture
"The Greek Trireme: The History, Construction, and Operation of an Ancient Warship"
James May, Professor of Classics
Viking Theater
On Demand October 23, 2013 — 8 a.m. (CT)
Great Conversation Follow-Up Discussion
James May, Professor of Classics
Ed Langerak, Moderator
On Demand October 30, 2013 — 8 a.m. (CT)
Great Conversation Plenary Lecture
"An Introduction to Greek Tragedy"
Jeanne Willcoxon, Assistant Professor of Theater
Viking Theater
On Demand November 6, 2013 — 8 a.m. (CT)
Great Conversation Follow-Up Discussion
Jeanne Willcoxon, Assistant Professor of Theater
Ed Langerak, Moderator
On Demand November 13, 2013 — 8 a.m. (CT)
American Conversations Plenary Lecture
"Greenwich Village, The Avant Garde, and Eugene O'Neill"
Jeanne Willcoxon, Assistant Professor of Theater
Viking Theater
On Demand November 20, 2013 — 8 a.m. (CT)
American Conversations Follow-Up Discussion
Jeanne Willcoxon, Assistant Professor of Theater
Colin Wells, Moderator
On Demand November 27, 2013 — 8 a.m. (CT)
Great Conversation Plenary Lecture
"How to Question Pieties and Corrupt the Youth: Myth and Allegory in Plato's Republic"
Douglas Casson, Associate Professor of Political Science
Tomson Hall 280
On Demand December 4, 2013 — 8 a.m. (CT)
Great Conversation Follow-Up Discussion
Douglas Casson, Associate Professor of Political Science
Ed Langerak, Moderator
On Demand December 11, 2013 — 8 a.m. (CT)
American Conversations Plenary Lecture
"Jazz in American Culture"
David Hagedorn, Artist in Residence
Viking Theater
On Demand December 18, 2013 — 8 a.m. (CT)
American Conversations Follow-Up Discussion
David Hagedorn, Artist in Residence
Colin Wells, Moderator