Great Books Programs?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Recently I have become more and more interested in instruction dealing around the Great Books. Had I been thinking along these lines when I applied to all of my schools, I would have probably thrown in an application at a couple of more places, but at this point there's really not a lot I can do.</p>

<p>But I'm down to six schools.</p>

<p>Accepted at:
University of Illinois (UIUC)
Allegheny College
Washington & Jefferson College
Knox College</p>

<p>Waiting on:
Washington & Lee
William and Mary</p>

<p>None of these schools have really highlighted a dedication to the classical/neoclassical books of philosophy, economics, government, what have you in their recruiting material, but does anyone know if any of these schools is especially strong in the Great Books?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

2

<p>Recommendation: Look at Ursinus College. My S is applying there, and I think their deadline isn't until February sometime (2/15?). ALL freshmen participate in the same Great Books discussion courses. And I think they try to house freshmen with the others in their discussion sections, in order to encourage conversation to continue outside the classroom.</p>

<p>Also, check out [url=<a href="http://www.coretexts.org/great_books.htm#mn%5DACTC%5B/url"&gt;http://www.coretexts.org/great_books.htm#mn]ACTC[/url&lt;/a&gt;].
This is the website of a group called the Association for Core Texts and Courses. Not clear to me how significant this organization is, but they do have institutional members and annual meetings, so it is not just a personally-compiled list.</p>

<p>I do not see any information about a "Great Books" program at any of your colleges on this site, but that certainly doesn't mean that they don't have anything. </p>

<p>You can find figure out the lay of the land by looking carefully at the colleges' websites/course catalogs. For example, a quick look at the Allegheny site shows that they, like many LACs, require freshmen to take intensive "seminars" that are meant to examine a particular topic intensively, learning to pull from many disciplines, to apply critical thinking, and to write persuasively. However, these seminars are NOT about the HIstory of Western Thought, and do not purport to be discussions of Great Books.</p>

<p>Allegheny also apparently offers several "interdiscipinary minors." This is where I might expect to see some that offer a Great Books emphasis, if they have one. What I see is a minor in "Classical Studies," (limited to Greek/Roman), something on Medieval/Renaissance, and something on Political Action/Public Service. These look like meaningful collections of courses from several different departments, but not necessarily discussion courses, and not necessarily focused on primary texts.</p>

<p>You can do similar scans for your other schools, and I think get a pretty good feel.</p>

<p>GOOD LUCK. I think you're right that this is important.</p>

3

<p>St. Johns in Annapolis or New Mexico (Santa Fe, IIRC). St. Johns is a "great books" school.</p>

4

<p>
[quote]
does anyone know if any of these schools is especially strong in the Great Books?

[/quote]
[ul][<em>]Allegheny is great for the sciences but slightly weaker in the humanities. The Classics program is decidedly lacking.
[</em>]Knox offers a decent array of courses, both in translation and in the original languages. Good option.
[<em>]UIUC has strong English, Classics, and Medieval Studies departments. Great choice if you don't mind a big school environment.
[</em>]Washington & Jefferson lacks a Classics program altogether, although it has a decent English department.[/ul]</p>

<p>The ISI guide gives a great rundown of the academics at Washington & Lee, William & Mary, and UIUC from a Western Humanities perspective.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.isi.org/college_guide/sample/2008/washlee.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.isi.org/college_guide/sample/2008/washlee.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.isi.org/college_guide/sample/2008/willm.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.isi.org/college_guide/sample/2008/willm.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.isi.org/college_guide/sample/2006/illuuc.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.isi.org/college_guide/sample/2006/illuuc.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

5

<p>blueliner,
As owlice has pointed out, St. John's College in Annapolis, MD and Santa Fe, NM, is the most famous "Great Books" school. Very unique, and their deadline is not until 3/1/09 for fall admission. Check them out at St</a>. John’s College</p>

6

<p>i agree with the thing about St. John's. </p>

<p>Great Books is like all they do over there.</p>

7

<p>I looked into St. John's. I'm seriously considering throwing in a app, I think I should be able to get accepted.</p>

<p>However, Great Books really is all they do it seems... would that reflect badly in the real world? Do people consider this type of education antiquated?</p>

8

<p>I'm a freshman at St. John's, and I can try to help, although if you have any more questions PLEASE feel free to PM me.</p>

<p>The Great Books are the entirety of our academic courses. With the exception of preceptorials, every class here is required, and every class is discussion-based and drives toward a deeper understand of the texts themselves.</p>

<p>We don't use secondary sources.
We don't have large lectures (Friday night, notwithstanding, as the lecture there is optional and given to the entire college community)</p>

<p>But I cannot imagine anything that would be LESS antiquated. </p>

<p>Johnnies go on to rewarding careers in any field you can think of.... Doctors, Teachers, Lawyers, Business, Art..... </p>

<p>We learn how to think here, not what to think.</p>