The seminars offered in this series have a special focus on moral dimensions of human life and the role of good character in navigating these dimensions well. Participants in these seminars will think through these issues by engaging with philosophical, literary, and religious texts.

These extracurricular, faculty-led seminars meet 2-4 times a quarter for around 1 ½ hours each session. They are open to all University of Chicago students, though space is limited. Advanced reading will be assigned for each seminar, but no written work.

Two seminars will be offered in winter quarter 2018.

Mosaic at entrance gate of Shah mosque in Isfahan – Iran

Virtue and Piety in Early Islam: The Sermons and Sayings of Imam Ali. The sermons of Ali ibn Abi Talib (d. 661), first Shia imam and fourth Sunni caliph, and son in law and cousin of the prophet Muhammad, constitute some of the foundational materials for the study of virtue …. read more