REGISTER BELOW
Meets Weekly on Thursdays: April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, May 7, 14, 21
5:00 – 7:30 | Dinner Provided
This event is designated for University of Chicago graduate and undergraduate students. Students will receive a copy of the texts. Please reach out to William Hurley for any questions (whurley@lumenchristi.org).
A city whose citizens refused to believe in the existence of Jesus, God or Satan. A certain Satan who arrived in this city—Moscow—with his retinue, on a hot spring day. A nameless writer pilloried by his novel on Pontius Pilate and his fiery lover who was willing to do anything to save him, including going to literal hell. A mental facility. A talking black cat who cheated in chess and loved kerosene. The cruel fifth procurator of Judea, the knight Pontius Pilate.
A culmination of religious and political satire, warm humor, and surreal imagination, Mikhail Bulgakov’s masterpiece was at the same time ardent and deeply philosophical.
Our weekly dinnertime reading group will freely discuss the text in an enriching and inclusive communal setting. In our final session on Week 9, Professor Caryl Emerson from Princeton University will join us to answer questions and wrap up important themes of the book.
For each week, there will be 30-40 pages of required reading, and 10-20 pages of optional reading. Our conversation will focus on the required readings. At the end of each session, I will briefly go over the plot in the optional chapters so that we are on the same page. With that said, Bulgakov should be a light and delightful read, and I encourage everyone to do the optional chapters too. The questions and fragmented bullet points, as seen below, are guidelines that may prompt conversation but we definitely don’t have to adhere to them. Note that although they are generalized and willfully opaque, they still contain mild spoilers.
Copies of The Master and Margarita will be provided to all participants. Weekly meetings are held over dinner. Weekly reading assignments are kept at or below 30 pages.
Each quarter, the Lumen Christi Institute hosts a number of student-led reading groups at Gavin House (1220 E 58th St.). The reading groups are usually held over a shared meal and all participants are provided a copy of the text. Any undergraduate interested in a shared reading of a great text is welcome to join. No religious affiliation is necessary.
Schedule:
- April 2
- Book One, Ch. 1-3 (p. 3-41)
- Optional: Ch. 4-6 (p. 42-67)
- April 9
- Book One, Ch. 7-9 (p. 68-94)
- Optional: Ch. 10 (p. 95-104)
- April 16
- Book One, Ch. 11-13 (p. 105-139)
- Optional: Ch. 14 (p. 140-147)
- April 23
- Book One, Ch. 15-16 (p. 148-170)
- Book One, Ch. 18 (p. 183-201)
- Optional: Ch. 17 (p. 171-182)
- April 30
- Book Two, Ch. 19-22 (p. 205-246)
- May 7
- Book Two, Ch. 23-24 (p. 247-282)
- Optional: Ch. 25 (p. 283-292)
- May 14
- Book Two, Ch. 26-27 (p. 293-326)
- Optional: Ch. 28 (p. 327-337)
- May 21
- Book Two, Ch. 29-30 (p. 338-353)
- Book Two, Ch. 32-Epilogue (p. 363-373)
- Optional: Ch. 31 (p. 354-356)