What goes around, comes around, is a truism that applies to Classical Pursuits, the name of a delightfully innovative program operating out of Toronto every summer. This year, the organizers have decided to tell Dante to get lost, in a manner of speaking. One of their trips is a two-week tour of Italy cheekily named "To Hell & Back With Dante," focusing on the author's Divine Comedy, with small group discussions and more.
For the Dante program, which takes place from May 9 through 24, 2003, you'll be based in Siena for 11 days, have two days in Ravenna and finish up in Venice, for a total of 14 nights in Italy. The discussions will be led by Gary Schoepfel, vice president of the Great Books Foundation in Chicago, and will also feature talks by Francesco Guardiani, professor of Italian Studies at the University of Toronto. Price: $2,665 (C$4,100) for the program, with roundtrip air from Toronto costing $710 (C$1,090) or from Chicago $880 (C$1,350). A single supplement costs $435 (C$565).
In November of 2003 (from the 7th to the 15th), "They Came to Paris" is the title of a one-week trip to the City of Light focusing on the literature, art and music of the expatriates who lived there in the 1920s (think Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, etc.). Discussions, led by Gary Schoepfel and Joe Coulson, both of the Great Books Foundation in Chicago, will take place in Left Bank caf?(hold the sugar and cream, please!). Guided walking tours will be led by longtime Canadian resident of Paris Lisa Pasold, who will led you through the boulevards and narrow alleys of "the Lost Generation." Prices: the program costs $1,625 (C$2,500), with single supplement $385 (C$590). They will offer to make your roundtrip air arrangements from Toronto for $565 (C$870) or from Chicago for $700 (C$1,073) on Air France. You can also arrange your own.
For stay-at-homes, there's a weeklong learning vacation on the campus of the University of Toronto from July 20 through 25, 2003. There will be 11 seminar options in the Classical Pursuits Summer Program, ranging from Illusions of Leadership in the Hebrew Bible to the music of Gustav Mahler. Contemporary Issues in Bioethics (a hot topic) and The Great Gatsby are two other possibilities. Small seminar discussions in the mornings are augmented by social and cultural activities. In this, the fifth year, organizers rejoice that half the participants in preceding years have been returnees. The cost for the weeklong program is about $ 903 (C$1,400) with accommodations on campus, about $645 (C$1,000) without.
For more information, contact Classical Pursuits at 877/633-2555 or 416/892-3580, e-mail ann.kirkland@classicalpursuits.com, Web site www.classicalpursuits.com.