Registration deadline: Sep. 30^th 

Two native sons of Chicago, University of Toledo Professors emeriti Andy Jorgensen and Guy Szuberla, offer to serve as guides to their city, its myths, rich history, and its present life and time.  They will explore the city’s past and its people, linking the story of its growth to its civic consciousness, to its fabled politics of clout, and to its reputation as both a “city of neighborhoods” and place of ethnic and racial divisions.  Highlighting the city’s principal sights, they will frame their discussions of the city’s history with attention to its multiple literary traditions, to its landmark architectural buildings, and to its relentless efforts to change its geography and physical environment.

Chicago was a town with a population of fewer than 200 in 1833; it grew to be a city of more than two million in the early twentieth century and today boasts a metropolitan area of over nine million.  Along the way to this growth, Chicago made itself into the hub of the nation’s railways and a meat packing center, created giant factories and dominant industries, pioneered modern architecture and worked miraculous feats of civil engineering.  City boosters once claimed for Chicago the title of the “World’s largest inland seaport” and, in O’Hare, the world’s busiest airport.  As Mayor Daley liked to say this is “the city that works.”  With an eye to Chicago’s cultural resources, entertainment venues, and sports scene, this class is designed to inform both first-time visitors and frequent travelers to America’s “Second City.”

Dr. Andy Jorgensen is a Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at the University of Toledo. Dr. Guy Szuberla is a Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Toledo.