Great Books Chicago
Each spring thoughtful readers from across the United States and Canada arrive in the Windy City to explore and enjoy the vast cultural landscape of Chicago. Launched in 2000, Great Books Chicago is a three-day weekend program that centers on a provocative theme. Themes in recent years have included "Eye of the Beholder," "Got Rhythm?" "Know Thyself," "Deadly Sins," and "City in a Garden." Each year’s theme weaves together books, discussions, cultural outings, and presentations by noted speakers and performers.
Learn about the upcoming Great Books Chicago 2010!
Some of the places we have visited:
- The Art Institute of Chicago
- Chicago Shakespeare, Steppenwolf, and Goodman theaters
- The Field Museum and the Chicago Planetarium
- The Chicago Botanic Garden
- Buddy Guy’s Legends, the House of Blues, and the Jazz Showcase
- Second City
- The Joffrey Ballet
- Millennium Park
Past speakers and performers included:
- Tony Award-winning theater director Mary Zimmerman
- Academy Award nominee and documentary filmmaker Bill Siegel
- University of Chicago astrophysicist Michael Turner
- Second City cofounder and theater director Sheldon Patinkin
- Blues recording artists Eric Noden and Joe Filsiko
- International opera expert Ian Scott
- Canadian Broadcasting Corporation veteran and classical music expert Rick Phillips
Discussions at Great Books Chicago have focused on works by:
- William Faulkner
- William Shakespeare
- Eudora Welty
- Sophocles
- Samuel Beckett
- Henry David Thoreau
- Italo Calvino
- Luigi Pirandello
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Willa Cather
- And more
For details and information about Great Books Chicago, contact us by e-mail or at 800-222-5870, ext. 7136.
Browse our current catalog.
Attend Great Books Chicago 2010
Join!
Join and help support the Great Books Foundation.
Sign up for our newsletter.
Shared Inquiry
Learn about the Socratic, collaborative and question driven discussion method used in Great Books discussions.
Links and Resources
Links and other useful resources.
Press Kit
View our press kit.