Timeless Texts, Lifelong Lessons

What do The Odyssey, Beloved and The Communist Manifesto have in common? At first glance, very little—but when placed together in a Great Books course, they become part of a larger conversation about power, identity and the search for a meaningful life.

Here, I will ask how we can design such courses to maximize their intellectual and personal impact on students.

I still remember my first encounter with The Republic. It wasn’t just Plato’s ideas that stayed with me—it was the experience of wrestling with them, discussing them with classmates and questioning how they applied to my own life. This is the promise of a Great Books course: not only to educate but to transform, challenging students to develop intellectual rigor, cultural literacy and self-awareness. But how can we structure such courses to meet the needs of today’s diverse and dynamic student body?

In an era dominated by digital distractions and fleeting attention spans, the Great Books may seem antiquated. Yet their ability to provoke deep reflection and engage with timeless human questions makes them more relevant than ever.

In today’s multicultural, globalized society, what should a Great Books course look like? How can it honor tradition while embracing the diversity of human experience? And how can it remain relevant to students as they navigate the complexities of contemporary life?

These are the questions that should guide the design of Great Books programs, ensuring they remain vital, inclusive and transformative.

At a time when higher education often prioritizes narrow specialization, Great Books courses offer a transformative antidote. Thoughtfully designed, these courses bridge the gap between intellectual development and the cultivation of a rich inner life, equipping students with essential skills, cultural literacy and opportunities for profound personal reflection.

Far from relics of the past, Great Books courses are uniquely suited to address the complexities of contemporary life. By engaging with foundational texts from across cultures and disciplines, students develop critical thinking and a deeper understanding of the human experience. These texts challenge students to wrestle with enduring ideas about justice, identity, power and love, fostering a sense of purpose and connection that extends beyond the classroom.

Whether analyzing the political insights of The Republic, the existential dilemmas of Crime and Punishment, or the moral complexities of Things Fall Apart, students engage in rigorous intellectual inquiry while reflecting on their own values and beliefs. This dual focus on analysis and self-reflection allows students to grow both intellectually and personally.

Great Books courses also serve as powerful tools for cultural literacy, exposing students to diverse perspectives and the shared narratives that shape our world. By integrating timeless ideas with contemporary concerns, these courses make the past relevant to the present, illustrating how ancient debates inform pressing issues like inequality, globalization and humanity’s relationship with technology. This synthesis of historical and modern insights prepares students to navigate an increasingly interconnected and multicultural world with empathy and awareness.

What distinguishes Great Books courses is their holistic approach to education. Beyond imparting analytical and interpretive skills, they nurture emotional depth and reflective habits essential for meaningful living. Close engagement with texts that grapple with profound existential questions enables students to interpret complex ideas while cultivating the tools to build a rich inner life. This fusion of intellectual rigor and personal growth ensures that graduates leave with not just knowledge but the wisdom and resilience to lead purposeful lives.

In an era when higher education often emphasizes utility over enrichment, Great Books courses reaffirm the enduring value of a broad, humanistic education. They create space for students to ask big questions, engage with diverse perspectives and reflect on what it means to live well. By offering a holistic educational experience, Great Books courses prepare students to contribute meaningfully to society while cultivating thoughtful, reflective lives of their own.

Institutions as diverse as Vanderbilt, Purdue and Austin Community College have embraced the transformative potential of Great Books programs, launching them at scale to serve broad segments of the student body—not just honors students.

These initiatives reflect a growing recognition of the unique ability of foundational texts to shape intellectual development, foster cultural understanding and cultivate critical skills.

The reasons for embracing great books programs are both compelling and revealing. First, these courses offer students the chance to grapple with timeless human concerns—justice, identity, morality and the meaning of life. Faculty believe it is essential for students to engage with these enduring questions, which remain as relevant today as ever.

Second, Great Books programs foster intellectual community. By offering a shared experience, they encourage students to see how different disciplines interconnect and enrich one another. Such courses provide a cohesive framework for intellectual exploration, bridging gaps between fields that can otherwise feel isolated.

Third, these programs sharpen essential academic skills. Through close reading and in-depth analysis, students refine their ability to think critically, identify patterns and evaluate arguments—skills that are valuable in any professional or personal context.

Finally, Great Books courses connect students to their cultural and intellectual heritage. By exploring the roots of contemporary ideas, students gain a deeper appreciation for the historical and philosophical underpinnings of modern society. They learn to participate meaningfully in civic and public discourse, equipped with the knowledge and perspective to engage thoughtfully with the world around them.

Why now?

The resurgence of Great Books programs comes at a critical moment. In an era of increasing specialization and fragmentation in education, these courses offer a counterbalance by addressing big questions that transcend disciplines and historical eras. They challenge students to think deeply, grapple with complexity and explore fundamental aspects of the human condition—ethics, justice, identity and the meaning of life.

Far from being relics of the past, these works are vibrant and relevant. Great texts provoke reflection and debate on issues as urgent today as when they were written. They combine intellectual rigor with a shared cultural framework, equipping students with the tools to navigate both timeless and contemporary challenges. These texts help students confront not only the intellectual demands of their education but also the moral and existential questions that define life.

The success of Great Books programs depends on thoughtful implementation. Faculty must adopt creative and flexible approaches to ensure these texts are accessible, engaging and transformative for today’s diverse student body.

There are many effective strategies for organizing and teaching great books:

• Standalone canonical texts: Courses can focus on individual works, situating each within its historical, philosophical and cultural context while highlighting its enduring influence.
• Dialogue across time and cultures: Pairing classic texts with contemporary or global works creates a dialogue that bridges eras and traditions, demonstrating the universality and diversity of human thought.
• Organizational frameworks: Classes can be structured chronologically, thematically or through interdisciplinary intersections that integrate literature, philosophy, history, science and the arts.
• Comparative analysis: Examining how different texts and traditions address similar questions fosters cross-cultural and interdisciplinary insights, enriching students’ understanding of global perspectives.
• Contemporary relevance: Discussions that connect the ideas in great texts to present-day events and debates make the material resonate deeply with students’ lives and the challenges of today’s world.

Teaching great texts offers a powerful way to deepen intellectual inquiry, cultivate critical thinking and reconnect students with enduring questions of human existence. By thoughtfully organizing and presenting these works, educators can inspire students to engage with ideas that shape both their inner lives and their roles as active, informed members of society. In doing so, Great Books programs fulfill their promise: not only to educate, but to transform.

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Here are 9 strategies to bring a great books class to life.

1. A Big Questions Approach

This approach organizes a course around profound, enduring questions that transcend disciplines and historical contexts. By framing the study of great texts around universal themes like divinity, ethics, evil and justice, students are encouraged to explore fundamental concerns that have captivated thinkers across cultures and centuries. This approach fosters intellectual curiosity and personal growth by connecting these inquiries to students’ own lives and contemporary society.

• Divinity and the transcendent: Explore how religious texts grapple with humanity’s understanding of God or the divine. Questions include: Is God personal or impersonal? Singular or multiple? Actively involved in human affairs or distant? Engage with skepticism by examining whether the divine be empirically proven or rationally inferred, whether belief in divinity is a projection of human needs and fears, whether miracles are credible or result from ignorance or deception, and whether the existence of evil contradicts the notion of a benevolent and omnipotent deity.

The more skeptical texts also ask whether religion is a force for good or an obstacle to progress, whether religious systems and doctrines reinforce or challenge existing power dynamics and social hierarchies, whether religion contributes to moral growth or intolerance, and whether supernatural events (like miracles, prophecies, visions) affirm the divine’s presence and authority or are products of cultural storytelling, psychological phenomena or fraud.

• Ethics: Address timeless questions about morality, virtue and guiding principles for human behavior. Topics include whether morality stems from divine commands, reason or cultural tradition and whether it is universal or context-dependent. Discuss conflicting approaches to moral justification—outcomes (utilitarianism), intentions (deontology) or character (virtue ethics).
• Evil: Analyze the origins, nature and responsibility for evil. Is it inherent in human nature or shaped by social and environmental factors? Debate whether evil can ever be justified for a greater good and how societies should confront it—through forgiveness, punishment or prevention.
• Justice: Examine conceptual foundations and practical applications of justice. Key questions include: Does justice mean fairness, equality or adherence to the law? How does justice interact with other values, such as liberty or happiness? Investigate debates about resource distribution and the purpose of punishment (retribution, deterrence or rehabilitation).

2. A Human Condition Approach

This strategy explores universal emotional and existential experiences that define human life, focusing on themes like love, loss, resilience and mortality.

• Love and friendship: Discuss the nature and forms of love. Is it rooted in neediness, attraction or something higher? How do cultural and historical contexts shape its meaning and what role do love and friendship play in a fulfilled life?
• Loss and mortality: Examine how humans cope with death and the inevitability of loss. Explore how mourning rituals and the acknowledgment of mortality shape personal growth, resilience or despair.
• Resilience and hope: Analyze how individuals and communities find strength in adversity. Are resilience and hope innate or cultivated? How do they intersect with external circumstances?

3. A Self and Identity Approach

This approach investigates questions about what shapes identity and the self, examining the interplay of internal and external influences.

• Identity: Explore whether identity is inherent, constructed or chosen. Discuss how factors like gender, race and culture influence identity and whether it remains static or evolves over time.
• Emotions: Debate whether emotions are universal or culturally constructed. Examine their role in decision-making, relationships and moral understanding.
• Memory: Consider memory’s role in constructing the self. Is memory reliable or is it shaped by external influences? Analyze the tension between personal and collective memories.
• Freedom and constraint: Reflect on what it means to be free. Discuss how external constraints (such as laws and norms) and internal forces shape identity and autonomy.

4. A Historical Approach

Focus on the evolution of pivotal ideas—rights, democracy and secularization—and their impact on societies.

• Rights: Trace the origins of natural, civil and human rights. Discuss their universality, inclusion and exclusion, as well as conflicts over balancing individual rights with collective responsibilities.
• Democracy: Explore democracy’s emergence and its tensions, such as majority rule versus minority rights. Compare ancient models with modern systems and discuss challenges from alternative systems like fascism or communism.
• Secularization: Examine the rise of secular thought and its challenges to religious authority. Discuss how secularization shapes contemporary debates on morality and governance.

5. A Political Approach

This strategy examines foundational political concepts like power, authority and equality, fostering critical engagement with governance and social structures.

• Power and authority: Define power versus authority and explore its acquisition, legitimacy and potential abuses. When is resistance to authority justifiable?
• Law and justice: Debate the relationship between law and morality. Discuss civil disobedience and how movements for justice challenge legal systems.
• Equality and fairness: Examine concepts of equality and resource distribution. What tensions exist between liberty and equality and how do historical systems of inequality inform current debates?

6. A Literary Approach

This approach emphasizes how literature explores universal human experiences, emotions and ethical dilemmas.

• Love and desire: Explore how literature portrays love and desire as forces of creation and destruction. Discuss societal norms and their impact on expressions of love.
• Freedom and confinement: Analyze how characters navigate constraints and autonomy. Does freedom bring fulfillment or alienation?
• Moral dilemmas and redemption: Examine how literature portrays guilt, shame and the search for redemption in different cultural contexts.

7. A Comparative Approach

This strategy juxtaposes texts across cultures and traditions to highlight universal themes and unique perspectives.

• Universal themes and cultural specificity: Explore how societies address shared human experiences like justice and love while reflecting distinct cultural values.
• Heroes and sacred texts: Compare portrayals of heroism and the role of sacred texts in different traditions, examining how they balance universal teachings with cultural particularities.

8. A Theoretical Approach

Apply interpretive lenses—Marxist, feminist, structuralist and others—to uncover alternative meanings and challenge traditional interpretations.

• Marxist: Focus on class and power dynamics.
• Feminist: Explore gender representation and patriarchy.
• Postcolonial: Analyze colonial legacies and cultural dominance.
• Cocritical: Examine the relationship between humanity and nature.

This approach transforms texts into living conversations about societal and cultural structures.

9. A Problem-Solving Approach

Connect classic texts with contemporary challenges like technology, sustainability and social justice.

• Technology and ethics: Explore texts like Frankenstein and Brave New World to discuss the promises and perils of technological progress.
• Environmental sustainability: Analyze portrayals of humanity’s relationship with nature and the ethical responsibilities toward the environment.
• Race and gender: Examine how texts illuminate the construction of identity and power dynamics, providing insights into contemporary struggles for justice.

By using these strategies, educators can design Great Books courses that are intellectually rigorous, personally meaningful and deeply relevant to today’s students. Each approach fosters critical skills, cultural literacy and personal growth, ensuring that the study of key texts remains a cornerstone of transformative education.

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Teaching great texts offers a powerful way to engage students with foundational ideas and timeless questions. Whether through a big questions, human condition, comparative or another approach—or a combination thereof—faculty can adapt these texts to contemporary contexts, making them relevant and inspiring for today’s learners.

By exploring these works creatively, inclusively and dynamically, educators can ensure that great texts remain at the heart of education and cultural understanding.