The following is our current list of programming for the Great Read Series. This list will continue to be updated in the coming months.
Featured Great Read Series Events
Off Campus Faculty Talks
This Strange Eventful History: Embodiment in Shakespeare's As You Like It and Chloe Gong's Retelling in Foul Lady Fortune
Tuesday, Feb. 3, 7 p.m., Carol Stream Public Library
Shakespeare’s works are full of passages questioning what it means to be in a physical body. As You Like It is perhaps the most focused exploration of that question. The cross-dressing in the play is much more than physical comedy; it is an opportunity for Shakespeare to explore the philosophical connections between the body and the self. Gong’s retelling of the play extends these questions with the introduction of experimentally altered bodies and immortality. College of DuPage English Professor Tom Tipton will explore the ways in which literature allows us to consider our enduring fascination with embodiment.
Revolution Before the Revolution: China in the 1920s
Thursday, Feb. 26, 7 p.m., Glendale Heights Public Library
Before they fought a 20-year civil war, Chinese Communists and Nationalists were such close allies that it was hard to tell the difference between them. Many people were members of both parties. They even launched joint military expeditions. How did these close friends become enemies, and what did their alliance and its end mean for the future of Communism, China – and the entire world? College of DuPage History Professor Sam Mitrani will consider these questions and more.
Public Library Book Discussion
Carol Stream Public Library, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 6:30 p.m.