Dear Wright College Community,
The Great Books Program is thrilled to introduce the sixth edition of the Symposium Journal. This journal serves as a platform for community college students to share their analyses of great works of literature. Community colleges offer an educational experience often associated with practicality and affordability. Although many recognize the pragmatism of a community college education, we also recognize its potential as a catalyst for intellectual growth and personal transformation. As Bruce Gans, founder of the Wright College Great Books program, rightly concluded in the GBSJ‘s first edition, “this magazine lays forever to rest all the objections raised by faculty and students themselves that rea enduring works of the mind are… beyond the abilities of community college students.”
Thus, the Symposium Journal is of particular importance to Wright College, as it uncovers the hidden talent within its community. The GBSJ provides a platform for students to showcase their command of literature. Each author demonstrates not only the capacity to analyze complex texts but also a willingness to expand into other intellectual domains. Consequently, each essay reflects the plurality of interests and perspectives at City Colleges. This edition of the Symposium Journal encompasses readings of Medieval, Early Modern, Romantic, Russian, and Modern literature, while offering critical insight into the intrapersonal and interpersonal aspects of human behavior. When you read these manuscripts, consider the immeasurable effort of the diligent students who wrote them and their will to share their talents with the world.
This year, we were very fortunate to have a student editorial board of thirteen brilliant scholars. They worked tirelessly to read essays and provide insightful commentary—bolstering the Symposium Journal’s quality of scholarship. I share a deep admiration for our contributors’ dedication and spirit of intellectualism, which I personally encountered during honors literature courses at Wright College. Each of them contributed significantly to my growth as a learner and as a person, and I dedicate this journal to them.
Furthermore, I would like to extend my appreciation to the faculty members who made this journal possible. First and foremost, I am sincerely grateful for the efforts of Dr. Michael Petersen, who is undoubtedly the glue of this operation. Thank you also to the professors at Wright College, Oakton Community College, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Austin (TX) Community College, and the University of California San Diego: you are all essential to the journal’s success. To the Wright College administration– President David Potash, Vice President Alanka Brown, and Dean of Instruction Pamela Monaco—thank you for your continued support.
I want to conclude with some thoughts on the utility of literature itself. Literature, according to Mario Vargas Llosa, is not merely a “luxury,” but “one of the most primary and necessary undertakings of the mind, an irreplaceable activity for the formation of citizens in a modern and democratic society, a society of free individuals.” To engage with literature is to grapple with the most fundamental questions of being. Literature allows us to confront our existential concerns, explore applications of political thought, and challenge the world around us. For, according to Llosa, “all good literature is radical, and poses radical questions about the world in which we live.” Compelling literature does not simply reaffirm our reality; it distorts, compromises, and challenges what we consider to be fixed or stable. Accordingly, I urge the readers and contributors of the Symposium Journal to be bold. Challenge the norm, and don’t shy away from eccentricity. The world will benefit from your voice.
All the best,
Izaki Metropoulos