A Workshop with: Prof. Zena Hitz
Pamplona and Madrid, 15-16 May 2023
“Cultivating the intellectual life for university students” is a series of seminars that aims to discuss Prof. Zena Hitz’ view of intellectual life and the great books curriculum and pedagogy of St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland USA. Her book Lost in Thought. The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life (Princeton, 2020) has become a bestseller and has recently been translated into Spanish: Pensativos. Los placeres ocultos de la vida intelectual (Encuentro, 2022). In the book, Zena explores the meaning and the value of learning for its own sake through images and stories of bookworms, philosophers, scientists, and other learners, both fictional and historical. Zena writes and speaks on the human need to learn for its own sake and what it means for educational institutions to take that need seriously. This workshop allows us to reflect on current educational practices and Prof. Hitz’ views and experiences that can be transferred to other institutional settings or ways to benefit students.
The program offers required and suggested readings that help one prepare for active participation in the seminars. Each seminar topic will be introduced by Prof. Zena Hitz (45 mins.) and followed by discussion.
The first two seminars will be held in-person and online (live streaming). In case of live streaming you will receive the link upon registration.
Program
University of Navarra. Pamplona Campus. Aula ICS
11:30-13:30 h. Seminar 1
"Cultivating the intellectual life for university students".
Moderator: Prof. Álvaro Sánchez-Ostiz, Department of Philology, University of Navarra.
University of Navarra. Madrid Campus. Aula Magna
10:00-13:00 h. Seminar 2
"Designing a humanistic education for today’s students: St. John’s College’s Liberal Arts and Great Books Program".
Moderator: Prof. Emma Cohen de Lara, Civic Humanism Center for Character and Professional Ethics, University of Navarra.
Fundación Tatiana. Pº del Gral. Martínez Campos, 25. 28010 Madrid
18:30-20:00 h.
"Book presentation “Pensativos. Los placeres ocultos de la vida intelectual".
Moderator: Prof. Tania Alonso Sainz, Department of Education, Complutense University of Madrid.
Seminars
Seminar 1
Cultivating the intellectual life for university students. The first seminar will discuss Zena Hitz’ Lost in Thought. The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life, published in 2020. Hitz argues that a richer inner life comes from reading novels and philosophy, and that fewer experiences are so fulfilling as enriching the inner life. She encourages academics to get back in touch with the desire to learn for its own sake, and universities to return to the person-to-person transmission of the habits of mind and heart that bring out the best in us. The seminar will discuss the value of intellectual life for students and staff, and ways to nurture it.
Upon registration you will receive access to the readings.
• Zena Hitz,”Lost in Thought. The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life”. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2020, introduction.
Seminar 2
Designing a humanistic education for today’s students: St. John’s College’s Liberal Arts and Great Books Program. St. John’s College is one of the leading liberal arts and great books colleges. This seminar delves into its distinctive liberal education program, dedicated to fostering in students a lifelong commitment to the pursuit of fundamental knowledge and to the search for unifying ideas. St. John’s College offers students an education that is based on a great books curriculum and seminar-style classes. The seminar will discuss the reasons for a great books curriculum, ways to develop a great books curriculum, classroom pedagogy, and modes of assessment.
Upon registration you will receive access to the readings.
• Brann, Eva T. H. (1992) “St. John’s Educational Policy for a 'Living Community'", Change, 24: 5, pp. 36-43.
• St. John’s College, Statement of the St. John’s College Program.
Seminar 3
Book presentation “Pensativos. Los Placeres Ocultos de la Vida Intelectual”. This seminar involves the book presentation of the Spanish translation of Zena Hitz' Lost in Thought. The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life. In an overloaded, superficial, technological world, in which almost everything and everybody is judged by its usefulness, where can we turn for escape, lasting pleasure, contemplation, or connection to others? While many forms of leisure meet these needs, Zena Hitz writes, few experiences are so fulfilling as the inner life. Drawing on inspiring examples, from Socrates and Augustine to Malcolm X and Elena Ferrante, and from films to Hitz's own personal experiences, Lost in Thought (Pensativos) is a passionate and timely reminder that a rich life is a life rich in thought.
The seminar will be held in English with simultaneous Spanish translation.
Zena Hitz
Zena Hitz
Tutor at St. John’s College
Zena Hitz is a Tutor at St. John’s College where she teachers broadly in the liberal arts, and the author of ‘Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life’ (Princeton University Press, 2020), ‘A Philosopher Looks at the Religious Life’ (Cambridge University Press, 2023) and numerous articles for general and scholarly audiences. She is the founder and president of the Catherine Project, which is a community of learners focused on conversation and great books.
Hitz studied at St. John’s College, Cambridge University, the University of Chicago and Princeton before teaching philosophy at McGill University, Auburn University, and UMBC. She spent three years living and working in the Madonna House Apostolate and has taught in prison programs and to other non-traditional students. When she is not teaching or speaking she spends time thinking about topics like the moral decline and fall of individuals and communities, as depicted in stories from Genesis to The Godfather.
Contact
Emma Cohen de Lara
ecohend@unav.es
José María Torralba
jmtorralba@unav.es
Vianney Domingo
vianneydomingo@unav.es
University of Navarra. Pamplona
Campus Pamplona
Campus Universitario 31009 Pamplona
University of Navarra.
Madrid Campus.
Calle Marquesado de Sta. Marta, 3 28027 Madrid Spain
P.º del Gral. Martínez Campos, 25,
28010 Madrid
Spain