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The entire undergraduate curriculum of St. John's College consists exclusively of reading The Great Books - the list is public and freely available: https://www

The entire undergraduate curriculum of St. John's College consists exclusively of reading The Great Books - the list is public and freely available: https://www.sjc.edu/academic-programs/undergraduate/great-books-reading-list https://www.sjc.edu/academic-programs/undergraduate/great-bo...

perl4ever 5y ago
That...isn't what I thought "Classics" meant. Like, I know someone who got a degree in Classics and the core curriculum seems to be reading and translating Greek + Latin + a modern language, either French, German, Italian, or modern Greek. Example course: "Roman Invective and Verbal Abuse An exploration of the world of Roman verbal assault. Readings in Latin will range from inscriptions on sling bullets and walls, to scurrilous pamphlets, to formal full-blown invective speeches. We will investigate especially how themes within Roman invective reveal broader cultural values." "The Roman Novel Students will read substantial portions of the two surviving Roman novels, Petronius’ Satyricon and Apuleius’s Metamorphoses (or Asinus Aureus). In addition to improving reading speed and ability, the class will introduce the genre of the ancient novel. Students will be assigned secondary readings relating to the novels and will be expected not only to translate, but also to give oral reports on assigned topics and provide commentary on designated sections of the text." You also concentrate in literature, archeology, or history.
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- perl4ever 5y ago
  I'm saying classics != books that conservative culture warriors like. Don't take it personally.
  - number6 5y ago
    Do you mean something like: https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2018/100-must-read-classic-books.html https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2018/100-must-read-classi...
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kragen 5y ago
Yeah, but I think only the first year is Classics? The other three years are more recent Great Books that postdate the Classical Period.
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- groby_b 5y ago
  Sophomore: Hebrew Bible, New Testament, Dante Alighieri, Appolonius, Aristotle, Epitectus, Livy, Plotinus, Plutarch, Ptolemy, Sappho, Tacitus, Virgil. You're right that Junior and Senior classes then learn more and stop worshipping just at the feet of Greek and Roman statues. That's a good thing. Education is more than these two cultures ad nauseam.
  - kragen 5y ago
    Thank you for the correction! Dante's not Classical but Aristotle sure is.
    - groby_b 5y ago
      OK, if you define classical as greco-roman, fine, I'll take Dante off :) Point still stands, it's a decent overview, and I'd really like college students to go for breadth, not depth. You want to deep-dive, go get a PhD. (Or read on your own, it's cheaper that way ;)

perl4ever 5y ago

That...isn't what I thought "Classics" meant. Like, I know someone who got a degree in Classics and the core curriculum seems to be reading and translating Greek + Latin + a modern language, either French, German, Italian, or modern Greek. Example course: "Roman Invective and Verbal Abuse An exploration of the world of Roman verbal assault. Readings in Latin will range from inscriptions on sling bullets and walls, to scurrilous pamphlets, to formal full-blown invective speeches. We will investigate especially how themes within Roman invective reveal broader cultural values." "The Roman Novel Students will read substantial portions of the two surviving Roman novels, Petronius’ Satyricon and Apuleius’s Metamorphoses (or Asinus Aureus). In addition to improving reading speed and ability, the class will introduce the genre of the ancient novel. Students will be assigned secondary readings relating to the novels and will be expected not only to translate, but also to give oral reports on assigned topics and provide commentary on designated sections of the text." You also concentrate in literature, archeology, or history.

deleted 5y ago
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perl4ever 5y ago
I'm saying classics != books that conservative culture warriors like. Don't take it personally.
- number6 5y ago
  Do you mean something like: https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2018/100-must-read-classic-books.html https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2018/100-must-read-classi...
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

kragen 5y ago

Yeah, but I think only the first year is Classics? The other three years are more recent Great Books that postdate the Classical Period.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
groby_b 5y ago
Sophomore: Hebrew Bible, New Testament, Dante Alighieri, Appolonius, Aristotle, Epitectus, Livy, Plotinus, Plutarch, Ptolemy, Sappho, Tacitus, Virgil. You're right that Junior and Senior classes then learn more and stop worshipping just at the feet of Greek and Roman statues. That's a good thing. Education is more than these two cultures ad nauseam.
- kragen 5y ago
  Thank you for the correction! Dante's not Classical but Aristotle sure is.
  - groby_b 5y ago
    OK, if you define classical as greco-roman, fine, I'll take Dante off :) Point still stands, it's a decent overview, and I'd really like college students to go for breadth, not depth. You want to deep-dive, go get a PhD. (Or read on your own, it's cheaper that way ;)