|
August 14, 2008 9:34 PM
By Luke Baker
LONDON - A group of artists, writers and
intellectuals has launched a new "university" in London,
designed to help those too tied up with work to appreciate the
finer things in life, like art, books and travel.
The School of Life, operating out of a small shop in
Bloomsbury, an arty district of central London, describes
itself as a "chemist for the mind" that plans to dispense
"cultural solutions to everyday ailments."
It hopes to inspire those who have got out of the habit of
reading decent books, cannot keep conversation flowing at
dinner parties, or need to expand their holiday horizons.
The philosopher Alain de Botton, author of How Proust Can
Change Your Life, and Sophie Howarth, a former curator at
London's Tate Modern gallery, are among the faculty members.
"The School of Life is open to everyone seeking
intellectual and personal adventure," the school says on its
website.
"Our audiences, like our faculty, are characterized by
curiosity, sociability, open-mindedness and an appetite for
life."
The founders believe that people with too little time to
spare need after-hours instruction in how to use what little
they have to live a more fulfilled existence.
"Perhaps you have a burning question for a paleontologist.
Perhaps you're considering a career change and want to talk
first-hand to a photographer or landscape designer.
"The School of Life has a large freelance faculty who are
willing to meet with you for an hour of chat in exchange for a
small fee," the website explains, listing 50 experts.
HOLIDAY IN YOUR BEDROOM
Among courses being offered later this year are instruction
in life, love, work, family and politics. A typical course, in
love, will explore why relationships are so complicated and why
attraction ebbs and flows.
"We draw on ideas from philosophy, psychoanalysis,
literature and art. We discover what the likes of Plato,
Shakespeare, Tolstoy and Freud had to say about compassion,
empathy and self-love," the instructors promise.
Courses run for six weeks and cost 195 pounds ($390).
There are also lessons in how to make more scintillating
conversation at dinner parties, lectures in the value of
punctuality, and discourses on what books you should read.
On holidays, one suggestion is to head to the Lofoten
Islands, north of the Artic circle in Norway, or to take an
intense, introspective journey around your own bedroom.
Later this year, de Botton, one of Britain's most
high-profile philosophers and thinkers, will teach a course in
travel appreciation at Heathrow airport.
"Alain will introduce you to people whose lives are
intimately linked to the airport, explore the iconography of
airports for artists and writers, and help you think more
deeply about how we might all improve ourselves in the art of
traveling," the course notes explain.
(Reuters Life!)
|
