2026-2027 Humanities for Everyone

2026-2027 Humanities for Everyone Forum:

Journey and Community

“A person goes on a journey.” “A stranger comes to town.” These two statements are said to comprise our most enduring narratives, and Homer’s Odyssey combines both. Odysseus’s ten-year return to his native Ithaka makes him a wanderer and a stranger at different times. And when he returns, he has much work to do in setting his community to rights. We’ll begin our 2026-27 forums with this foundational poem and consider the implications of journey and community through the year. Our texts explore the self-knowledge that comes from the travails of wandering and the frustrations of community relationships. They describe seasons of passion and fulfillment, hatred and forgiveness, cooperation and opposition, stable leadership and disarray. Join us for one, two, or all three of our forums over the next academic year.

“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 and Professor Emerita Marion Larson. Each forum will consist of four bi-weekly Zoom meetings, in which we will discuss about fifty pages of text, depending on difficulty. [For the Winter 2027 forum, we have added two weeks to accommodate a fifth meeting.] “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. Bethel University alumni, parents, family members, friends, and employees can register for any forum.

Fall 2026: Change and Continuity in Odysseus’s Journey 

Odysseus is described as a “man of many turns” in the opening of Homer’s poem, and that phrase describes his soul as well as his physical journey. He is wily, clever, and skilled. He’s also a teller of tales, true and false; he’s determined to return to his wife, Penelope, but susceptible to the women he encounters along the way. Beyond the strong appeal of The Odyssey’s narrative and characters, we’ll explore the poem’s emphasis on hospitality and family relationships, and the appeal of archetypes from the Sirens to Scylla and Charybdis. We'll use the Robert Fagles translation (Penguin Books).

• September 29: Meeting #1

• October 13: Meeting #2

• October 27: Meeting #3

• November 10: Meeting #4

Winter 2027: Spiritual Journeys in Jayber Crow and The Sacred Journey

In Wendell Berry’s Jayber Crow, an epic flood transports the main character back to his hometown, where he makes his life as a barber, a friend, a listener, and an observer. Set beside the Kentucky River, Berry’s beautiful writing evokes the web of community relationships that has made him one of America’s premier novelists. 

In much of his writing, theologian Frederick Buechner invites us to listen to our lives–to take the time to really listen. The Sacred Journey, a memoir of Buechner’s early life, shows how he came to hear God speaking to him through events both significant and mundane. These glimpses into Buechner’s own life yield many insights for us as we learn to listen for God in our own journeys.

Rather than the usual four sessions, this course will meet FIVE times.

• January 26: Meeting #1

• February 9: Meeting #2

• February 23: Meeting #3

• March 9: Meeting #4

• March 23: Meeting #5

Spring 2027: Christian Community in Benedict and Bonhoeffer

Beginning with Christ’s first followers, Christians have seen the importance of community in our faith journeys. We’ll be spending time with two well-known guides for Christian community: St. Benedict’s Rule and Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together. Both Benedict and Bonhoeffer lived during times of great challenge for believers, so it’s no surprise that they continue to speak to us today. They emphasize themes such as hospitality, a willingness to accept others’ authority, and the importance of regular liturgical worship. 

• April 13: Meeting #1

• April 27: Meeting #2

• May 11: Meeting #3

• May 25: Meeting #4