Program: Freedom, Government, & Law

Experience the Bold Tradition of Oratory, Debate, and Civil Discourse

At the Great Books Summer Program, learning isn’t about memorizing answers. It’s about grappling with bold questions that spark discovery. Our methodology of Shared Inquiry, rooted in the tradition of Socrates, has inspired thinkers for over two thousand years and was the very approach used by America’s founders as they debated the ideas that would shape a new nation.

Through spirited conversation and respectful debate, this powerful teaching method equips students with the skills they need most: critical thinking, analytical reading, and the ability to listen and respond with reason, discernment, and empathy.

Our high school program will be led by Professor Noah Rosenblum, JD, PhD, Associate Professor of Law at New York University. Trained as both a lawyer and a historian, Noah brings rare depth to the study of freedom, government, and law—combining historical insight with close attention to legal ideas as they shape real societies.

Our middle school program will bring the spirited debates of history alive as students take the role of the founders to consider the principles fundamental to a successful democratic republic. Led by Michael Harrington, PhD, Assistant Professor/Faculty Fellow at New York University. Michael is a beloved and long-time Academic Director at GBSP.

Explore the Fiery Spirit of Revolutionary Ideas

Get ready to step into the heart of history during this once-in-a-lifetime summer! We’ll spend the week reading and debating the big ideas that launched a nation: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the bold words of thinkers and writers then and later like John Locke, Henry David Thoreau, Langston Hughes, Martin Luther King Jr., and more. These texts aren’t just history—they’re alive with questions that still matter today: What does freedom mean? How should we be governed? What makes a just society?

In every seminar, students sharpen their voices, learn to defend their ideas with evidence and discover how disagreement can become a path to deeper understanding. Each session is an invitation to join the centuries-old traditions of democracy - questioning, debating, and imagining a brighter future together.

Exciting special electives and guest speakers bring the themes of freedom, government, and justice to life in surprising and inspiring ways.

This is more than a class—it’s a celebration. Come join us as we honor 250 years of debate, dissent, and discovery, and be part of carrying that tradition forward into the future.

Grow as a Citizen, Leader, & Thinker

Students will learn the following valuable life skills:

• Critical Thinking
• Effective Communication
• Active Listening
• Reasoning and Logic
• Self-Reflection
• Civic History and Awareness

Most importantly, students learn how to engage thoughtfully in respectful discussion as a path toward the common good.

Join Us on the Amherst Campus.

We’re thrilled to bring students together for this celebratory week and deep dive into the big conversations that have and continue to shape our nation.

The first of four weeks of programs on the Amherst campus, this special session is great on its own or as a companion to additional weeks of Great Books on this campus or our others!