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The Odyssey Project

"Education through the Humanities has. . .given me the energy to be a more positive force in this world and to encourage my children as well as anyone else that will listen to constantly thirst for knowledge and to never let that thirst be quenched." -- Sheila Fondren, 2006 Odyssey Project graduate

The Odyssey Project provides a college-level introduction to the humanities through text-based seminars led by professors at top-tier colleges and universities to help adults with low incomes more actively shape their own lives and the lives of their families and communities.

Odyssey is founded on the premise that liberal education is education to make people free, and it proceeds on the conviction that engagement with the humanities can offer individuals a way out of poverty by fostering habits of sustained reflection and skills of communication and critical thinking.

The Odyssey Project offers college-level courses in philosophy, literature, art history, and history for men and women living below 150% of the poverty level. Its anchor program is the first-year course, which is offered in partnership with the Bard College Clemente Course in the Humanities and for which students may receive six units of college credit. Faculty members come from top institutions including the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, DePaul University, and Lake Forest College.

The Odyssey Project has a variety of offerings for prospective students.

First-year Course
The first-year course provides a broad introduction to the humanities. Students study philosophy, art history, literature, U.S. history, and critical thinking and writing. Texts include works such as Plato’s Apology, Shakespeare's sonnets or tragedies, Christopher Columbus’ diaries, Sappho’s poetry, the Brown vs. Board of Education decision, or Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Students also have the opportunity to participate in selected adult education activities with the University of Chicago's Graham School of General Studies as well as see plays, visit museums, and attend public lectures. Classes are held in both Chicago and Champaign.

Classes meet twice a week from September to May, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. There is no cost to students, including free on-site baby-sitting, books, and bus fare. Students who successfully complete the course receive six fully transferable credit hours from Bard College, our academic partner.

Courses in Chicago are offered at the Howard Area Community Center in Rogers Park (7648 N Paulina St), Catherine Zurybida, coordinator, 773-995-8411, and at the Donoghue School in the Oakland neighborhood (707 E 37th St), Amy Thomas Elder, coordinator, 312-422-5585 x 223. Courses in Champaign/Urbana are offered at the Douglass Branch of the Champaign Public Library (504 E Grove St), John Marsh, coordinator, 217-244-3981.

Applications for the first-year English courses will be available at this site beginning in June 2008.

Bridge Course
The Bridge Course is open to students who have successfully completed the first-year course and are interested in studying the humanities further and going on to a four-year college. Students take semester-long classes in philosophy and literature. Classes are held at the Illinois Humanities Council in the Loop and at the East Springfield Learning Center of Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield.

There are two discrete semesters: September to January and/or January to May. Classes meet once a week. Tuition, books and bus cards are provided at no cost to students. Those who complete the course successfully receive four fully transferable units of credit per semester from Bard College, our academic partner.

Students may apply for admission to the Bridge Course through the academic coordinator from their first-year course or contact Amy Thomas Elder at the Illinois Humanities Council. Only students who have successfully completed the first-year course qualify.

Spanish Language Course (El Proyecto Odisea , Fundamentos de Educación en Humanidades)
Taught in partnership with the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), this course serves native Spanish speakers and is offered at Gads Hill Center in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood (1919 W. Cullerton). Students take classes in literature, philosophy, Latin American history, and other humanities subjects. All reading assignments are in Spanish, as is class discussion. Classes meet twice a week from January to June. Tuition is free and all books are provided free of charge. Students who successfully complete the course receive four fully transferable credit hours from Bard College.

Download the application for the next Spanish course. The deadline for submission is October 10, 2008. For more information, contact academic coordinator Irena Cajkova at (312) 375-2541.

The Odyssey Project is funded in part by the Polk Bros. Foundation and The Field Foundation of Illinois. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities (IPRH), The University of Chicago Civic Knowledge Project, Powell's Books and Northwestern University are contributing partners.

For more information about The Odyssey Project, please call Amy Thomas Elder at (312) 422-5585 x223.