Dr. Stuart Patterson

Honored Guest Speaker

Dr. Patterson, the Chairperson of the Shimer Great School at North Central College has been teaching for fifteen years in the Shimer School's specialized general education focused on classic texts across world traditions through small, student-centered seminars. Lately, he has begun focusing his research and teaching on Chinese literature, specifically the classic novels Journey to the West and Dream of the Red Chamber. In 2019, he and Dr. Sun led a year-long study group with six North Central College students on Dream of the Red Chamber which culminated in a three week trip to China to meet contemporary readers of the novel and research this classic work's reception there today. Dr. Patterson will share his work with the teacher trainees on how he has taught Chinese classic literature and, by extension, central aspects of Chinese culture, through intensive discussion of classic texts supplemented by secondary historical sources.