In honor of the bicentennial of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s birth, Andrew Zwerneman and Professor Gary Morson of Northwestern University discuss all things concerning the great author of Russian literature. The conversation covers Dostoevsky’s biography, his great literary feats, and how to teach his best works. 

Classics

Episode 24 - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Following the recent publication of her new guide to teaching Fyodor Dostoevsky's masterpiece, The Brothers Karamazov, Jeannette DeCelles-Zwerneman talks to Andrew Zwerneman about her new guide, what issues the novel raises, and how to teach this classic to high-schoolers.

Episode 23 - The Brothers Karamazov

The perfect accompaniment to Jeannette DeCelles-Zwerneman’s latest guide, Leading a Seminar on Plato’s Republic, this episode features an interview with the author herself. She and Cana Academy President, Andrew Zwerneman, cover some of the background to the writing of the Republic and discuss why this is an excellent text to study with high-schoolers.

Episode 22 - Plato's Republic

Cana Academy Director of Writing and Master Teacher, Mary Frances Loughran, has recently written an insightful and useful guide to leading a seminar on Charles Dickens' classic of the French Revolution, A Tale of Two Cities. In this episode, hear who her favorite characters are, including her unique take on the oft-underrated Lucie Manette.

Episode 21 - A Tale of Two Cities

Andrew Zwerneman strongly believes that the seminar method is the best way to conduct an education in the humanities. In this episode, he discusses 11 reasons why this is true.

Episode 20 - 11 Benefits of the Seminar Method

In this episode, Andrew Zwerneman sits down with Cana Academy master teacher Jeannette DeCelles-Zwerneman to discuss the subject of her most recent teaching guide, Leading a Seminar on Locke’s Second Treatise of Government. To purchase the guide, please visit our online shop here.

Episode 19 - Locke's Second Treatise of Government

Andrew Zwerneman talks to Cana Academy master teacher Mary Frances Loughran about Plato's dialogues, with a special focus on Plato's Phaedo, the subject of Mary Frances' most recent teaching guide. To purchase the guide, please visit our online shop here.

Episode 18 - Plato's Phaedo

Cana Academy’s Jeannette DeCelles-Zwerneman has an interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby that is fresh and insightful. Here is Andrew Zwerneman’s conversation with her about this widely loved classic.

Episode 17 - The Great Gatsby

In preparation for the release of Cana Academy's upcoming guide, Leading a Seminar on Dante's Inferno, Andrew Zwerneman sits down with the author of that guide and Cana Academy's Director of Instruction, Jeannette DeCelles-Zwerneman. They discuss what makes the Inferno such a worthwhile classic to study with high-school students and some advice for teachers who might find this an intimidating text.

Episode 16 - Dante's Inferno

Andrew Zwerneman interviews Fr. Alcuin Hurl on the intellectual formation he gives novice Franciscans and on his work with the Pima tribe that he serves on the Gila River Indian Reservation south of Phoenix, Arizona.

Episode 15 - Called to the Desert, Part 2/2

Andrew Zwerneman recently sat down with longtime Cana Academy friend, Fr. Alcuin Hurl, founding member of and Director of Postulants and Novices for the Franciscan Friars of the Holy Spirit. In this first part of their conversation, Fr. Alcuin tells Andrew about the intellectual and spiritual journey that brought him to the desert to serve the Pima Indian community.

Episode 14 - Called to the Desert, Part 1/2

Listen to the conclusion of Andrew Zwerneman’s conversation with Hunter Rawlings as they continue to discuss Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War.

Episode 13 - Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, Part 2/2

Recently, Andrew Zwerneman had the privilege to visit the Washington, DC, home of Hunter Rawlings, President Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Classics at Cornell University, and discuss with him that timeless classic, Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War.

Episode 12 - Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, Part 1

In this second part of his conversation with Professor Gregory Nagy, Director of Harvard's Center for Hellenic Studies, Andrew Zwerneman discusses Homer’s great epic, the Iliad.

Episode 11 - For the Love of Homer

This episode features Professor Gregory Nagy, Francis Jones Professor of Classical Greek Literature and Comparative Literature at Harvard University and Director of Harvard's Center for Hellenic Studies. In this first of two parts, Cana Academy's Andrew Zwerneman talks with Prof. Nagy about how he fell in love with language and found his way into the world of Classics.

Episode 10 - For the Love of Language

Join us for conversations with the experts. Every episode will focus on a classic: an imaginative or expository text that was a standout in its time and one that exhibits enduring worth.

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Classics

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