English 287:  Great Books

Going further

What we are up to in this course is part of a larger project of equipping ourselves to take charge of our own education in the history of human imagination beyond our individual career specialties, and beyond our limited stay at the University.  Where might one look for further resources in this project?

Resources at Kansas State University

Students interested in the great books should definitely check out the Primary Texts Certificate at Kansas State University.

There are many courses in literature at K-State, offered both by the English Department and by the Department of Modern Languages.  Here are a few of the more introductory-level offerings by the English Department for non-majors.  (Many upper-division courses are suitable for non-majors as well.)

• Courses in the Western Humanities sequence.  (These are all 200-level courses.)
• English 330:  The Novel
• English 340:  Poetry
• English 345:  Drama
• English 350:  Introduction to Shakespeare

The Modern Language Department occasionally offers courses in masterpieces of national literatures in English translation.  And students who are learning German, Spanish, French [etc.], should seriously consider taking a 500-level course in their language, and not stopping with the four required introductory courses.

The Department of Philosophy offers a number of courses that enable students to study in detail some of the masterpieces in philosophy through the ages.

Courses in Political Thought (taught in the Department of Political Science) can be organized around classics of political thought, but this is not always the case.  Check with the instructor listed as teaching the course in the particular semester you are considering.  A similar possibility holds for courses in Anthropological Theory and Sociological Theory, taught in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work.  Be sure to check with the particular instructor responsible for the course you are interested in.  The key question will be whether the course is orgnized around the reading of classic works in the disciplines, or around textbooks of a secondary nature, which summarize and comment upon various theories.

Finally, many students will want to consider the opportunities for studying great books that turn up in various courses that are given in connection with the Arts & Sciences Honors Program.

Resources on the Web

Much is already available, and is of course expanding rapidly.

There are lots of helpful lists of recommended reading.

And there are suggestions for forming discussion groups.  Here are a couple, with slightly different approaches.

• The Great Books Foundation is dedicated to helping people learn how to think and share ideas by educating them to become participants in, leaders of, and advocates for shared inquiry . Through text-based discussion, shared inquiry strengthens critical thinking and civil discourse, promotes reading and the appreciation of literature, and provides people of all ages with a powerful instrument for social engagement and lifelong learning.
• Book Club How-To's.  Useful ideas for setting up a book discussion group, suggested by the Washington Center for the Book at the Seattle Public Library.

  Suggestions are welcome.  Please send your comments to lyman@ksu.edu .

   Contents copyright © 2002 by Lyman A. Baker. 

Permission is granted for non-commercial educational use; all other rights reserved.

  This page last updated 19 August 2003 .