Humanities for Everyone

Humanities for Everyone is a set of three, non-credit 8-week forums for Bethel alumni and friends that provides guided, small group discussion of selected “Great Books,” under the direction of Bethel Professor Emeritus Daniel Ritchie. It is informally linked to Bethel’s Humanities Program—a program of history, literature, theology, philosophy, politics, and the arts in the western tradition. Each 8-week forum will consist of four, bi-weekly Zoom meetings, in which we will discuss 50 pages of text. Ample guides will be provided for each reading.

Humanities for Everyone seeks to nurture Bethel community members and friends in their lifelong learning and Christian discipleship. It aspires to cultivate meaningful relationships among Bethel community members and connections to the ongoing life of Bethel University. Participants (Bethel University alumni, parents/family members, friends, and employees) can register for one forum, two forums, or all three forums.

Fall 2022 Forum: “What do you love?” Augustine’s Confessions and Dante’s Purgatory
All Zoom Meetings are from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Central Time.

• Tuesday, September 20 – (No Zoom Meeting) Online lectures available. Online discussion begins.
• Meeting #1: Tuesday, September 27 – First Zoom Meeting on Confessions
• Meeting #2: Tuesday, October 11 – Second Zoom Meeting on Confessions
• Meeting #3: Tuesday, October 25 – First Zoom Meeting on Purgatory
• Meeting #4: Tuesday, November 8 – Second Zoom Meeting on Purgatory
• Tuesday, November 15 – Optional Dinner Event

Winter 2023 Forum: “How are you saved?” Erasmus-Luther, Discourse on Free Will and Voltaire, Candide
All Zoom Meetings are from 7-8:15 p.m. Central Time.

• Tuesday, January 17 – (No Zoom Meeting) Online lectures available. Online discussion begins.
• Meeting #1: Tuesday, January 24 – First Zoom Meeting on Luther & Erasmus, Discourse…
• Meeting #2: Tuesday, February 7 – Second Zoom Meeting on Luther & Erasmus, Discourse…
• Meeting #3: Tuesday, February 21 – First Zoom Meeting on Candide
• Meeting #4: Tuesday, March 7 – Second Zoom Meeting on Candide
• Tuesday, March 14 – Optional Dinner Event

Spring 2023 Forum: “What is America?” Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America and Frederick Douglass, Autobiography
All Zoom Meetings are from 7-8:15 p.m. Central Time.

• Tuesday, March 28 – (No Zoom Meeting) Online lectures available. Online discussion begins.
• Meeting #1: Tuesday, April 4 – First Zoom Meeting on Tocqueville, Democracy in America
• Meeting #2: Tuesday, April 25 – Second Zoom Meeting on Tocqueville, Democracy in America
• Meeting #3: Tuesday May 9 – First Zoom Meeting on Douglass, Autobiography
• Meeting #4: Tuesday, May 23 – Second Zoom Meeting on Douglass, Autobiography
• Tuesday, May 30 – Optional Dinner Event