CLAFI and Students
CLAFI offers classes, seminars, lectures, and conferences for UCLA students. Most of the classes, both 5-unit upper division and 1-unit Fiat Lux seminars, are for honors credit, though the classes are open to all students. Class sizes usually range between 10 and 20 students, so students absorb much from discussion with their fellow students and from close dialogue with their professor. Past courses include Lincoln in His Own Words, American Political Thought, European Political Thought, Introduction to Samuel Johnson, and Justice and Public Responsibility in Literature. Information on current classes may be found on the CLAFI Classes page (on the lefthand sidebar). A few times per quarter, CLAFI also hosts lectures given by distinguished professors or others with relevant experience, such as performers or officials in the private sector or government. These lectures are open to undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and members of the community. The purpose is to edify and to assist people in their study of the liberal arts and free institutions. The lecturer also leads a seminar on a topic related to the lecture. Students may sign up for this seminar (which includes a free lunch!). CLAFI also occasionally hosts conferences. Past topics include “Mark Twain on the Page and on the Stage”, and “Lincoln Celebration”.
CLAFI Courses
English 19, Seminar 2: Fiat Lux, Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men
This Fiat Lux seminar will study one of America’s greatest novels, All the King’s Men, by Robert Penn Warren. The novel centers on a southern politician, Willie Stark, and on the narrator, Jack Burden, one of Stark’s henchmen. It is a great story, a page-turner filled with colorful characters and surprising twists. Its themes run deep, and include questions of political integrity and effectiveness; individual responsibility; moral questions surrounding the pursuit of truth; friendship, love, and betrayal. We will devote each hour-long weekly class to discussion of one of the ten chapters. Students are encouraged to read the novel in its entirety during the winter break and then reread the individual chapters as the term proceeds.
Student Perspectives
Course: Justice and Public Responsibility in Literature
“I really enjoyed the discussions that we had as a class. The twelve of us had substantive comments, and people responded to each other in true debate form. In other classes I’ve had at UCLA, “discussions” consist of each person giving their own opinion, without referring to what was said immediately before. The conversations were always intellectually stimulating.”
“I LOVED taking this course because it exposed me to so many incredible, but perhaps lesser- known, authors from many different backgrounds. We read works by American playwrights, Russian authors, and 18th century award-winning German authors. Whether the work was set in post-WWII Berlin, 1970s American classrooms, or Venice, this class was a great opportunity to pick apart what it means to administer justice.”
“Justice in Literature was a great class! The books we read were great! Sometimes the three hour discussions did not seem long enough to discuss all there was to talk about. Most of the books I had never read before and most of the books I hope to reread again some day.”
Course: All The King’s Men
“All the King’s Men was a GREAT introduction to the CLAFI series. On the surface, ‘All the King’s Men’ seems like one character’s rise to political power and ultimate demise. But this class really delved into the deeper questions of man’s moral responsibility to others and begs the question whether a history of a man’s actions are a series of independent events.”
“The Professor brought out the best of this book. It was not my favorite book, but I still think of the concepts we discussed in this class. I think All the King’s Men is a book that I will go back to read again.”
Course: Chesteron
“Doing the reading homework for this class was my reward for the week, well, really my guilty pleasure. I was happy to discuss Chesterton’s philosophy with the class, especially with Prof. Lowenstein’s guidance, because it was not always easy to understand.”
“G.K. Chesterton is such a pleasure to read, and this Fiat Lux was so fascinating. G.K. Chesterton is a central author in the canon of English literature, and it was great to have a weekly class devoted to picking apart this “man of paradoxes”. I could not read “The Man Who Was Thursday” fast enough because of the unpredictable plot line and the greater commentary on man’s purpose in life.”
“The Fiat Lux on G.K. Chesterton has been my favorite Fiat Lux I have ever taken. Reading Orthodoxy right before The Man who was Thursday illuminates some of Chesterton’s ideas that I might have otherwise missed. Reading these books with a diverse group of students generates better discussions than a discussion I would have had with like-minded friends. The Man who was Thursday is a particularly exciting book; I always read ahead of the assigned chapters just to find out what happened at the end.”