With intellectually curious peers from around the world as fellow adventurers, every summer students examine and engage with Great Books and Big Ideas across all of our campuses.
Each week, Great Books students explore a variety of carefully selected classic and contemporary texts that raise important questions on a universal, timeless theme. With over 20 weeks of sessions this summer, the list is immense!
As we prepare for 2019, we invite you to look at last year's themes for each campus.
@Amherst
Examine "Portrayals of Happiness" in the writings of Aristotle, Grace Paley, George Saunders, and others.
Probe the theme of "Hiding and Seeking" through the works of Anton Chekov, John Keats, Jostein Gaarder, and more.
Explore the idea of "Lost and Found" in literature with writers Percy Bysshe Shelley, Langston Hughes, Guy de Maupassant, and others.
@Stanford
Delve into "Science Fiction and the
Discover the many portrayals of "Freedom and Imprisonment" with authors Paul Laurence Dunbar, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and others.
Investigate the concept of "The Present Moment" with writers Virginia Woolf, Jorge Luis Borges, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and more.
@UChicago
Ponder the idea of "Transformation" with the works of Amy Tan, Frederick Douglass, Marjane Satrapi, and others.
@Dublin
Compare and contrast "Humor and Pathos in Irish Literature" through the work of Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, Anne Enright, and more.
@Oxford
Delve into the works of British authors and more as we dive into the provocative themes of "Are We Cruel? Examining the Ethics of Human Nature" and "Procrastination" within the writing of William Shakespeare, Homer, and others.
@Beijing
Explore what
To learn more about our curriculum for 2019, or to speak with an Admissions Counselor about which week is best for your summer, please email us or call at +1-203-612-9470.