Collegiate Seminar News & Events
September / October 2008
The Greek World on Film
Greek Golden Age Comes to Life
- Mon., Sept. 8 & Weds., Sept. 10 5:00 & 7:30 PM * Soda Center
- The Greek world displayed a spectacular flourishing of imagination. Their empire stretched from Asia to Spain, and Greek culture spawned modern science, politics and philosophy, while producing some of the most inspired art and architecture ever created.
In this series, narrated by Liam Neeson, we see the rise, glory and legacy of the empire that began western civilization. The PBS video takes us through the lives of ancient leaders: Pericles, Socrates and Plato. Computer graphics recreate the Battle of Marathon. Join us: Four shows, one hour.
Rome: The Ultimate Empire?
The Roman Arena as Entertainment
- Tues. & Weds., Sept. 16 & 17
7:30 PM * Soda Center - What was the Roman Arena? How did Julius Caesar make the Coliseum into a political weapon? Did Caesar seduce the Romans with gladiatorial combats as entertainment, using “bread and circuses” to win power?
See how the gladiators were trained to fight wild beasts, becoming the heroes and stars of ancient Rome, at the heart of Roman mass culture. The film delves into the secret role of the Coliseum, encouraging the Romans in their thirst for war. Come and see how the Romans took over the world.
Cervantes Chat with Sweeney
How Do We Read Don Quixote?
- Monday, September 22 7:30 PM * Soda Center
- Vice-Provost Frances Sweeney will talk with students about the times, the adventures, and the ways of understanding Cervantes’ novel. She will engage our questions and point us in new directions for reading Cervantes’ Spanish Renaissance comic travelogue.
Bring your questions from Seminar, and she will help us find new meanings in the voyages of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, comic heroes for the ages. What kind of world does Cervantes imagine? Why are they wandering in that painted dream of hopes and desires? Where are they taking us? Come for Spanish dessert and insight.
Antigone Plays in Galileo Hall
Sophocles for the 21st Century
- Tues-Weds-Thurs., October 7-8-9
5:00 and 8:00 PM * Galileo 201
Preview * Mon., Oct. 6 at 8:00 - The Collegiate Players present a new version of Sophocles’ Antigone by Steve Tillis, specially produced for SMC students, directed by Tamiyka White. This one hour, modern Antigone takes place in a war-ravaged city, besieged by fear and distrust. Professional actors bring to life the fierce debates between Antigone and her uncle Creon, between Haemon and his father, and between Tereisias and the king. Don’t miss the fireworks!
How do the ancient Greeks alert us to today’s issues? Can wisdom come from youth, or do ancient traditions mean more? Sophocles raises vital questions and you will have a chance to talk about the play with the actors. Enjoy LIVE theater
as we travel back to the future with the Greeks.
Movie: Shakespeare's King Lear
- Thursday, October 9, 4:00 & 7:00 p.m.
Soda Center - British actors bring feuding families to life.
Movie: Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway (1925)
- Mon. & Tues., October 27 & 28, 5:00 p.m.
Room TBA - The socialite and soldier pass in the night.
Play-Reading: “Aeneas in Carthage (Missouri)”
- Tues. & Weds., Oct. 28 & 29
7:30 PM, Soda Center - Virgil’s pioneer pursues empire to Texas.
