DePaul University is offering a quarter-long course, a panel discussion and a dramatic reading focusing on the much-acclaimed book “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, which city officials recently chose as the “One Book, One Chicago” selection for the fall.

A collection of short stories about an infantry platoon in Vietnam, “The Things They Carried” has been hailed as an artistic masterpiece.

“ ‘The Things They Carried’ reflects the array of social and cultural themes that surrounded the United States’ participation in the Vietnam War,” said English Professor David Jolliffe, who will teach the graduate-level course, “Chicago’s One Book: Issues and Perspectives” on Monday evenings, beginning Sept. 15 on the Lincoln Park Campus.

Jolliffe stressed that the course will reach beyond a book discussion group. Students will delve into issues related to resistance to the war, the media’s representation of it, the draft, roles that women played in the war and the lives of veterans after they returned from Vietnam.

The course, which is offered through DePaul’s Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) Program, is open to anyone who has earned a bachelor’s degree. It costs $1,580 for four hours of graduate-level credit. For more information about the course, visit the MALS program Web site at: http://depaul.edu/~mals.

The public also has the chance to experience a panel discussion on Oct. 20 and a dramatic reading from “The Things They Carried” on Oct. 27. Both events will be held at 6 p.m. in Room 120 of the DePaul Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield Ave. and are free and open to the public.

James Fairhall, DePaul associate professor of English, will lead a panel discussion about the importance of literature that has emerged from the Vietnam War. Panelists include Vietnam veterans who have written about the war, along with scholars from area universities who teach Vietnam literature.

For the dramatic reading, Dexter Zollicoffer of DePaul’s Theatre School will direct students in the readings of three stories from the book: “On the Rainy River,” “How to Tell a True War Story” and “Church.” Following the performance, the audience will have the opportunity to engage in a discussion with the cast.

DePaul was more than eager to create a course in conjunction with the Chicago Public Library-sponsored program, according to Mary Miritello, assistant director of the MALS. This marks the third course that DePaul has offered correlating to “One Book, One Chicago.” For more information on DePaul’s “One Book, One Chicago” events or course, call 773/325-7840.