Dear Reader,
I am sincerely honored to present the 10th edition of the Great Books
Symposium Journal (GBSJ), a publication now more than twentyyears strong. Our
journal has served as a longstanding staple of academia across City Colleges for a
simple reason. Bruce Gans, founder of Wright’s Great Books Program, believed that
community college students can engage with the great texts, encouraging them to
write about “the best that has been thought and said.” Such a seemingly audacious
belief is not unwarranted, as the exceptional essays of this year’s edition demonstrate
our students’ nuanced perspectives, contributing to the Great Books discourse and
broadening our perspectives on the classics. The GBSJ, perhaps the only scholarly
journal entirely composed and edited by students and published by a twoyear
institution, annually publishes student inquiry that bleeds passion, ingenuity, and
devotion. I hope that the dedication shown in these student essays serves not only to
inspire other students to submit their essays for future publications, but also for our
readers to find a sense of belonging within the Great Books community.
There is a longheld perception that community colleges often lack
community. Yet, Great Books can create the foundation for a thriving community.
Those who delve into the Great Books may find their yearnings for connection
satisfied. George Whitman, the late owner of the famous Paris bookstore Shakespeare
and Company, embodies such a sentiment: “Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky are more real to
me than my nextdoor neighbors, and even stranger to me is the fact that even before I
was born Dostoyevsky wrote the story of my life in a book called The Idiot.” You,
dear reader, like me, this bookseller, or any other Great Books reader, will find that
literature holds the power to foster a unique community, one formed through a love of
learning. These connections make the Great Books culture valuable.
This year, students engaged with the diverse narratives of Sophocles, Geoffrey
Chaucer, Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Burke, Mary Shelley, and even the
contemporary fictional character Hannibal Lecter, a catalogue that encompasses the
past twentyfive centuries. These essays serve as livingproof that Great Books have
the ability to revitalize communities and to imbue education with passionate
excitement. I encourage you to read through each essay to bear witness to the quality
of both the essays and these great works. This year, in addition to excellent
contributors, we were very fortunate to have an excellent editorial board of fourteen
students, as compared to last year’s board of one student. This substantial involvement
speaks to the vitality of the Great Books. Accordingly, we now have a magnificent
team responsible for the betterment of our publication: Luciano has worked diligently
to port the software for the journal to InDesign, Jessica Gramajo has designed a
creative catalogue of usable covers for next year’s edition, and Sergio Romero guided
compelling discussions that emphasized the importance of interpreting the many
different translations of Great Books written in other languages. I admire these
students’ dedication, intellectualism, and charisma, attributes which I also encountered
in students in Wright College’s honors literature courses and Great Books Student
Society club. I am inspired by and dedicate this journal to the wonderful student
contributors and editorial board—thank you for helping me grow personally and
intellectually.
Furthermore, The Great Books Symposium Journal is only possible because of
our exceptional faculty editorial panel. First and foremost, thank you to the goodly
faculty advisor and editor, Dr. Michael Petersen. His impact on the Great Books
program and journal is undeniable. His guidance, understanding, and wisdom have
made an immense impact on me and this edition of the journal; thank you for
everything. Thank you to the other great professors at Wilbur Wright College, Austin
Community College in Texas, Binghampton University in New York, the University
of Louisiana at Lafayette, Oakton Community College, and the University of
California San Diego—we appreciate all your hard work. Thank you to the Wilbur
Wright College administration; you are essential to each Great Books Symposium
Journal publication. I am excited about the future of the journal and Great Books
Student Society community—there is so much more brilliance to come.
One last comment: I want to encourage each one of you to truly engage with
Great Books. Immerse yourself, wrestle with the ideas at hand, let them make an
impact on you. The renown poet, John Keats, who died at only 25, recognized that the
“excellence of every Art is its intensity.” Readers, please be bold and unapologetic in
who you are, and put every effort into what you do. You, like the Great Books, may
hold the ability to better those around you, so take a chance and share your voice!
With Love and Gratitude,
Gretta Komperda
Spring 2024 Editor-in-Chief, Great Books Symposium Journal