Center for the Humanities

Great Texts

About Great Texts in Wisconsin

The mission of the Great World Texts in Wisconsin program is to encourage more high school and university students to read the classic world texts of the humanities and to connect and engage UW faculty and high-school teachers across the state in this project. High school and college classes will participate in these projects throughout the year. Each program culminates in a student conference in the spring.

The Brothers Karamazov
"The Brothers Karamazov in Wisconsin" will build on the success of the "One Hundred Years of Solitude in Wisconsin," "Don Quixote in Wisconsin" and the "Dante's Inferno in Wisconsin" programs. During the 2008-2009 academic year, High school and college classes from across the state will participate in reading The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

100 Years of Solitude in Wisconsin
The Center for the Humanities is pleased to present our 2007-2008 Great Texts program, "100 Years of Solitude in Wisconsin," which features the García Márquez classic, One Hundred Years of Solitude, in celebration of its fortieth publication anniversary. García Márquez is also celebrating his 80th birthday, and the 25th anniversary of his Nobel Prize award, so this anniversary is all the more auspicious. We invite participation in this program from secondary schools across the state for our third Great Texts program, which follows upon the successful years we've had with "Don Quixote in Wisconsin" (2005-07) and "Dante's Inferno in Wisconsin" (2006-07). Mark your calendars for Friday, 18 April 2008, the date of our capstone event, the Student Conference here in Madison.

Inferno in Wisconsin
Dante's Inferno in Wisconsin is the second in a series of year-long collaborations sponsored by the Center for the Humanities, bringing classic world literature into the reach of teachers and students around the state. With its focus on bridging classrooms across the divide between secondary and higher education, the program has succeeded by bringing materials, expertise, curricula, and training to teachers from a wide range of disciplines to encourage the discussion of great books. Continuing programs will continue and expand its scope by offering learning resources and mentorship to a greater selection of high school and college classrooms in Wisconsin.

Don Quixote in Wisconsin
A state-wide project to support and encourage the reading and study of the epic comic novel,Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes. 2005 marks the 400th anniversary of the novel's publication.