G. K. Chesterton himself will be on hand to take students through a book written about him. Yes, the class will be conducted by Mr. Chesterton. The author of the book, The Complete Thinker, is Dale Ahlquist, who is the country’s leading authority on Chesterton. The individual behind Mr. Chesterton is John “Chuck” Chalberg, who has performed as Chesterton around the country and abroad for many years.
Total classes: 6
Duration: 55 minutes per class
Prerequisite: A great interest in good ideas, as well as at least some curiosity about G. K. Chesterton.
Suggested grade level: 11th to 12th grade. Advanced, interested 10th grade students.
Suggested credit: ½ semester Modern Literature or Literary Analysis
Instructor: John “Chuck” Chalberg, PhD
Course description: This course will give students an overview of the ideas and life of G. K. Chesterton, who was a convert to Catholicism who then became a great evangelist for the Faith. We will explore many of his ideas on many aspects of life—and all from a Catholic, as well as a Chestertonian, perspective.
We will read roughly three chapters a week. To give you an idea of what’s to come, here are some sample chapter titles: “War and Peace,” “Truth and Its Discontents,” “Life and Death,” “The Universe and Other Little Things.”
Course outline:
- Introduction, plus chapters 1 and 2
- chapters 3 through 5
- chapters 6 thru 8
- chapters 9 thru 11
- chapters 12 thru 14
- chapters 15 thru 17, plus the appendix.
Course materials: The Complete Thinker: The Marvelous Mind of G. K. Chesterton by Dale Ahlquist. 978-1-58617-675-4 (https://www.chesterton.org/store/product/complete-thinker/)
Homework: We will be reading approximately 40-45 pages per week. This should mean roughly 2-3 hours per week. There will be weekly objective quizzes based on the reading and the class presentations.
- Teacher: Chuck Chalberg