Newberry Adult Education Seminars will meet both virtually and in the building for the Winter/Spring term. Although we are still primarily virtual, you will find a smaller selection of in-person seminars in the schedule. For more information about the Newberry’s virtual seminars, including a Zoom tutorial, please see our Virtual Seminars FAQ page. If you have questions about online learning, please reach out to adulteducation@newberry.org. Registration opens Wednesday, January 19th at 9am (Central time). Registration will take place through our online platform, Learning Stream.

Register via Learning Stream here

Seminar Description

This course will consider the rise of London during the 16th and 17th centuries and its transformation into the greatest economic and cultural center in Europe. Among the topics to be treated will be the city's roles as royal capital and thriving commercial center; cultural life during the era of Shakespeare; the social conditions of its people; the Great Plague of 1665 and Great Fire of 1666; and the rebuilding of the city's churches by Christopher Wren.

Eight sessions. Registration – $280/$252

Frank Biletz received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago, with a primary specialization in modern British and Irish history. He is currently Adjunct Instructor in History at Loyola University Chicago and has been teaching seminars at the Newberry since 1994.

Materials List

Required:

• Robert O. Bucholz and Joseph P. Ward, London: A Social and Cultural History, 1550-1750 (Cambridge University Press, 2012) ISBN: 978-0-521-89652-8.

First Reading:

• Participants should read the introduction and chapter one of the Bucholz and Ward book before the first class meeting.