PRF sponsors three online study groups: Humanities, Poetry, and Science/Science History. Topics, poems, and books studied are selected by heads of the groups based on suggestions of members. Upcoming topics are listed in our monthly calendar.
The HUMANITIES group focuses on readings in literature, philosophy, history, and the arts. Recent topics include:
- Laocoön, an essay by the influential 18th-century German dramatist Gotthold Lessing
- John Ruskin’s 1860 work on political economy, Until This Last
- Zora Neale Hurston and Their Eyes Were Watching God
Contact person for the group is Jeffrey Spear, humanities@princetonresearchforum.org.
The SCIENCE/SCIENCE HISTORY group discusses books that offer contemporary and historical perspectives on science, medicine, and technology. Recent sessions have focused on the following titles:
- What Is Life? Five Great Ideas in Biology by Paul Nurse
- Why Is Sex Fun: The Evolution of Human Sexuality by Jared Diamond
- Breaking Through: My Life in Science by Katalin Karikó
Contact person for the group is Boris Katz, science@princetonresearchforum.org
The POETRY group offers a forum for critical readings and analyses of poets selected by the group. These poems are read aloud and then discussed. Recent sessions have included the poems of Kevin Young, current poetry editor of The New Yorker; the poems of William Butler Yeats and of Carol Ann Duffy; and classical Chinese poetry in translation.
Contact person for the group is Winifred Hughes, poetry@princetonresearchforum.org.
We also sponsor a monthly SHORT STORY group, which is led by PRF member Ellen Gilbert. Meeting at her home in Princeton on Sunday afternoons, members read aloud and discuss works by both well-known and up-and-coming authors. For more information, write info@princetonresearchforum.org.