talbotlucas.org: a word to the wise is sufficient

At the risk of becoming obituary central, I though it worth noting that Karl Weintraub, one of the professors at the University of Chicago who taught the much-launded History of Western Civilization series of courses, has died. The obit from the University of Chicago is here.

The obit's statement that "The course was so popular when Weintraub was teaching it that students had to sleep out on the University’s quadrangle the night before registration to secure a place" doesn't quite capture the popularity of his course and the respect many students had for it. I didn't sleep out for Weintraub's class (my sleep-out goal was a seat in David Bevington's Shakespeare class), but I knew several students who did, and a few who slept out more than one night in very cold temperatures, putting their L.L. Bean sleeping bags to the test on the lawn in front of Harper Memorial Library. Weintraub's class was no walk in the park, and students at Chicago took it as a challenge, devoting additional hours every week to prepare not only for the daytime classes, but for Wednesday evening sessions as well. He will be missed by many.