Symposium offering class on Franklin's Autobiography

Symposium: Great Books Institute is a San Francisco organization that offers facilitated, small-group discussions of classic books from around the world. In cooperation with Humanities West, Symposium is sponsoring a class based on The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, to be held on Oct. 8 and 15th at their facility at 325 Hayes Street. There is a modest charge for participating, but first-time attendees can go for free, so this is a great opportunity to try out this interesting new twist on the traditional "book club." For more information, visit the Symposium web site.

Franklin's Autobiography was not published until after his death in 1790, but it became one of the most popular books in 19th century America, and was one of the first American books to win widespread popularity and respect in Europe. The book epitomized early America's democratic ideal of "the self-made man" and was used to instill civic virtues and high moral standards in several generations of American youth. The book is available in both hard-copy and audio formats. (If you are going to buy it on Amazon, remember to go through the Humanities West Amazon link when you order. It's a painless way of having Amazon make a small contribution to HW.)

If any of you have had experience with Symposium, or if you attend their upcoming session on The Autobiography, please share you comments on this blog.