Classics

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

In this episode, Andrew Zwerneman shares his conversation with Dr. Matthew Post, director of the graduate program in humanities with a classical education concentration at University of Dallas. They talk about UD’s masters program for humanities teachers; discuss some of their favorite classic works; and cover practical strategies for teaching students as well as best practices for balancing in-person and online teaching.

Andrew Zwerneman continues the conversation with his friend Tom Werge, Professor Emeritus at Notre Dame, as they discuss Charles Dickens’ seasonal classic, A Christmas Carol.

Andrew Zwerneman sits down again with his friend Tom Werge, Professor Emeritus at Notre Dame. They discuss Charles Dickens’ seasonal classic, A Christmas Carol.

In this episode, Andrew Zwerneman and Dr. Christopher Wolfe, Professor of Politics at University of Dallas, discuss the U.S. Constitution, one of the most important legal documents in history and crucial to the founding of the United States.

Andrew Zwerneman sits down with Jonathan Sanford, Provost and Professor of Philosophy at University of Dallas, to discuss one of Plato's most important dialogues, The Apology.

Join us in this episode of Classics as Andrew Zwerneman finishes his conversation with Tom Werge, discussing one of their favorite novels, James Agee's A Death in the Family.

In this third episode of Classics, Andrew Zwerneman and Tom Werge begin their discussion of the great, American classic, A Death in the Family, and its author, James Agee.

In this second episode, Andrew Zwerneman and Tom Werge conclude their conversation about Mark Twain's classic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

In this first episode of our brand new podcast, Classics, Cana Academy President Andrew Zwerneman discusses one of the team's favorite novels, Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, with Notre Dame Professor Emeritus of English, Tom Werge.