Chaucer & Shakespeare: After the University

This year in recognition of Professor Emeritus Doug Burger’s 50-year association with the university and a much loved teacher, the English Department is hosting a literary salon with Professor Burger on Saturday, March 12, 3-4:30pm in the British Studies Room (Norlin M549). The salon, “Chaucer & Shakespeare: After the University,” explores how the written works of these great literary masters can and do influence people’s lives outside of an academic setting.

Instead of a typical presentation of a paper, the designation of “literary salon” suggests a gathering for conversation. For our literary salon, "Chaucer & Shakespeare: After the University," Professor Burger invites you to ponder the following question: What has been the effect of your university study of literary works in your time after graduation?

For example, have the college courses fostered or reinforced an abiding love of theater and/or well-crafted narratives? Did they sharpen your ability to read insightfully and arrive at sophisticated understandings? Have they fostered a desire to read widely?  To attend plays?

Has being conversant with literary works helped you to understand the people and the lives around you? Have emotions in the theater (catharsis, for example) and in reading narratives (think Mr. Ramsay’s reaction to Scott in “To the Lighthouse”) made your life wider, psychologically richer, and just more interesting?

As you look back on our lives, let’s explore together what literary study has been worth to us.

More details at: http://english.colorado.edu/literary-salon-with-professor-emeritus-doug-burger/