The primary purpose of the Great Books Symposium Journal is to acknowledge and celebrate the exceptional analytical skills and critical research writing of students studying Great Books at Wilbur Wright, one of the City Colleges of Chicago. It is our hope that this journal inspires current and future students to take Great Books classes at Wright College and to submit their essays for future editions.
This journal is also a response to the misguided notion that students from two-year colleges are less capable of understanding and writing proficiently about complex ideas put forth in great works. In reality, as our journal demonstrates, two-year students possess profound insight and are clearly capable of intellectual excitement and originality.
The compilation of research within this journal is not only the result of students’ hard work, but of the support of faculty, as well. Our teachers are the catalysts who have helped create and nurture students’ desires to acquire knowledge and pursue further understanding of what Matthew Arnold called, “the best that has been thought and said” in Western culture. Therefore, this journal has a double purpose: to serve as a starting point for future students interested in honing their critical thinking analytical analysis and examining research topics contained within the great works, and as a way to give back to the dedicated faculty at Wright College for providing students access to the Great Books Curriculum.
This journal is the product of many hours spent reading, writing, editing and collaborating by student contributors, the editorial board, faculty editorial panel and the faculty advisor, Dr. Michael Petersen. I am incredibly proud of being a part of such a team. I thank you all for your hard work, dedication and enthusiasm. I dedicate this journal to you.
This edition is also special because with its release we launched the Great Books Symposium Journal website, where all past and future editions will be stored and highlighted. Thank you to Kevin Rodgers and Dr. Laurie Alfaro for your web development expertise and for helping to make this ambition a reality.
In addition, we are happy to join our sister publications, The Wright Times and The Wright Side Literary Magazine, and we thank you for your support and partnership.
A final note to the Wright College administration: President David Potash, Vice President Nicole Reaves, and Dean of Instruction James Howley. Thank you for encouraging the resurrection of this journal, supporting our endeavors in creating the online and hard-copy versions of the journal, and for giving us the opportunity to carry this accomplishment with us into our futures.
Kind Regards,
Allen Loomis
Spring 2017 Student Editor-in-Chief, Great Books Symposium Journal