Residential Seminar: The Pivotal Decade: 1970s Literature & The Rise of Inequality
Complete a foundational course in the liberal arts through an intensive, six-day residency on our storied Hyde Park campus.
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Study in historic campus buildings, attend social events with your peers, explore local landmarks, and engage in rigorous classroom discussion.
UChicago’s upcoming Residential Seminar, The Pivotal Decade, is designed for lifelong learners seeking to rigorously engage big ethical questions during an immersive educational experience.
The Residential Seminar will take place from Sunday, September 10th, through Friday, September 15th, and will feature a course from our Master of Liberal Arts program taught by Kenneth Warren, the Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor of English at the University of Chicago.
Through a discussion-rich classroom experience, learners became familiar with the impact that political & economic trends can have on art & culture.
Historian Judith Stein argues that in the late 1970s (with Jimmy Carter in the White House and the Democratic Party holding majorities in both houses of Congress) “assumptions that capital and labor should prosper together” were replaced by “an ethic claiming that the promotion of capital will eventually benefit labor-trading factories for finance.” It was this turn, Stein argues, that ushered in the “Age of Inequality” that still defines our present moment. This course will explore the relation of postmodernism and works by major American fiction writers, including Toni Morrison, Maxine Hong Kingston, Tom Wolfe, William Gaddis, to the broader political and economic shifts of the 1970s and the rise of economic inequality in the US.
A draft course syllabus will be available soon.
Kenneth Warren has been faculty at UChicago since 1991. His scholarship and teaching has focused on American and African-American literature from the late nineteenth century through the middle of the twentieth century. A particular research interest is the way that debates about literary form and genre articulate with discussions of political and social change.
Students in the Residential Seminar are asked to reserve their own accommodations. Students wishing to stay in Hyde Park are encouraged to consider The Study at the University of Chicago, which is located on campus, or The Sophy Hyde Park, which is adjacent to campus on 53rd street.
We offer the Residential Seminar as a non-credit course for $2,995.
If you are accepted into the program, a deposit of $500 will be requested within one week of acceptance to hold your spot. Balances will be due by August 28th, 2023.
Note: Students in the Master of Liberal Arts may complete this seminar as a for-credit course (with assignments and grades) by reaching out to Tim Murphy (Director of the MLA program) at timmurphy@uchicago.edu.
The Residential Seminar is open to lifelong learners seeking a rigorous learning experience, including Graham School students, UChicago alumni, and friends of the University.
To apply, please click on the ‘Apply’ button at the top of the page, then fill out and submit the Application Form. The application deadline is Tuesday, August 1.
Note: Students in the Master of Liberal Arts may complete this seminar as a for-credit course (with assignments and grades) by reaching out to Tim Murphy (Director of the MLA program) at timmurphy@uchicago.edu.
A $500 per person deposit is required upon acceptance of your application. The balance of the fee is due no later than August 28, 2023. All cancellations and requests for refunds must be submitted in writing and will be subject to a $250 per person cancellation fee. No refunds will be given for cancellations received after September 4, 2023. In the event of the cancellation of the program by the University of Chicago Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies, a full refund of tuition will be given.
The University of Chicago and the University of Chicago Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies have no responsibility in whole or in part for any loss, death, damage, or injury to person or property or accident, mechanical defect, failure or negligence of any nature howsoever caused in connection with any accommodation, transportation, or other services. The right is retained to decline to accept or retain any person as a Seminar member should such person’s health, mental condition, physical infirmity, or attitude jeopardize the operation of the Seminar or the rights, welfare, or enjoyment of other participants.