Great Books Colloquium

students with professor discussing a book

Foundations for a Lifetime

The Great Books Colloquium is an integrated sequence of four courses, I to IV, in which students read and discuss some of the most influential and thought-provoking books ever written. From the ancient Greeks to the twentieth century, these works stimulate thought and conversation on ideas that require our best critical analysis and insights about big questions and timeless issues. In addition to reading, students engage in class discussion and writing interpretative essays. Over the sequence, they will grow as thinkers, writers, and communicators: a solid educational foundation not simply for college, but also strong skills towards future employment and, indeed, for life.

Assigned texts in this sequence encompass literature, philosophy, theology, politics, history, and psychology. Among the issues addressed are the complexities of justice, the grounds of moral choice, the experiences of human and divine love, and the ideals and challenges of political leadership. Authors range from Homer to Toni Morrison, Plato to Dostoevsky, Dante to Austen to Virginia Woolf, among many others. The courses emphasize an open forum for sharing ideas, intellectual growth, and rigorous academic inquiry. Our goal is not for students to think like the authors we read, but for students to build on the readings to think for themselves.

Enrolling in the Colloquium

There is limited enrollment for the Great Books Colloquium. The only prerequisite for participation is eligibility for English 101. Students interested in enrolling in the colloquium should also be willing to commit to the significant time and effort required to engage in the courses. Specifically, students are asked to complete a substantial amount of both reading and writing. The payoff for doing this work is significant intellectual, spiritual, and personal growth.

Although there is no requirement to remain in the colloquium for all four courses, doing so will give students the opportunity to read the greatest works ever written, spanning nearly three millennia, thus affording the maximum benefit the colloquium is intended to produce. Students usually enter the colloquium in the fall of their first year, when they enroll in the first Great Books course to fulfill the First-Year seminar requirement. Generally, students can finish by the spring semester of their sophomore year but may complete the sequence later, particularly if they participate in an international program.

Students who complete the Great Books Colloquium sequence will fulfill the following GE requirements:

For students who begin their first-year studies in Fall 2024 and thereafter:

Foundations of Reasoning
Two courses/categories from Group A: English Composition, Interpretation, Historical Thinking
Two courses/categories from Group B: REL 300, Speech and Rhetoric, Human Institutions and Behavior

Please Note: Students completing Great Books I receive credit for Foundations of Reasoning, even if they choose not to complete the sequence. Students who do not complete the sequence but complete a course or courses beyond Great Books I will receive unit credit toward graduation, but no Seaver Core credit besides Foundations of Reasoning.

For students who entered Seaver College in Spring 2024 or earlier:

First-Year Seminar
Two courses from Group A: ENG 101, Upper-division literature, one course of the HUM sequence (HUM 111, 212, 313)
Two courses from Group B: COM 180, POSC 104, REL 301, SOC 200

Please Note: Students completing Great Books I receive credit for First-Year Seminar, even if they choose not to complete the sequence. Students who do not complete the sequence but complete a course or courses beyond Great Books I will receive unit credit toward graduation, but no General Education credit besides the First-Year Seminar.

Great Books Minor

The Great Books minor consists of 19–20 credits, and requires the completion of the following courses:

GSHU 123 Great Books III
GSHU 324 Great Books IV
GSHU 333 Asian Great Books
GSHU 450 Special Topics
One three- or four-credit elective (see the list below).

Please Note: GSHU 123 and 324 count for both the minor and your GE requirement. GSHU 333 counts for the minor and the World Civilization GE requirement. Therefore, the minor requires two additional courses (GSHU 450 and the elective) beyond GE courses already covered by the Great Books Colloquium.

Elective Courses:

ASIA 325 Pre-Modern Japanese Literature (4 credits)
ASIA 345 Modern Chinese Literature (4)
ASIA 350 Buddhist Texts, Images, and Practices (4)
ASIA 370 Modern Japanese Literature (4)
ENG 431 Early American Literature (3)
ENG 432 Nineteenth-century American Literature (3)
ENG 437 Modern American Literature (3)
ENG 440 American Multicultural Literature (3)
ENG 451 Medieval British Literature (3)
ENG 455 Renaissance & Seventeenth-century British Literature (3)
ENG 456 Shakespeare (3)
ENG 461 Enlightenment and Romantic British Literature (3)
ENG 465 British Victorian Literature (3)
ENG 468 Modern British Literature (3)
ENG 475 Contemporary Literature of Global Diversity (3)
FRE 356 Major French Authors (4)
FRE 440 Francophone Texts (4)
FRE 450 French Texts (4)
ITAL 450 Masterpieces of Italian Literature (4)
ITAL 451 Contemporary Italian Literature (4)
PHIL 300 Ancient Philosophy (4)
PHIL 310 Modern Philosophy (4)
POSC 311 Foundation of Political Theory (4)
POSC 311 Modern Asian Political Philosophy (4)
SPAN 440 Latin American Texts (4)
SPAN 450 Spanish Texts (4)

Courses in The Great Books Colloquium

GSHU 121 Great Books Colloquium I (4 units)

Using the shared inquiry method, this course considers works of literature, philosophy, and political thought from the ancient world. Readings come from authors such as the Greek tragedians, Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Virgil, and Ovid. The course requires intensive work in writing and participation in discussion. Prerequisite: Eligibility for entry in English Composition 101.

GSHU 122 Great Books Colloquium II (4)

Using the shared inquiry method, this course considers works of literature, theology, philosophy, and political thought of the late antiquities, Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Reformation. Authors include Augustine, Dante, Julian of Norwich, Machiavelli, Luther, Shakespeare, among others. The course requires intensive work in writing and participation in discussion. Prerequisite: Great Books Colloquium I or permission of the Director of Great Books.

GSHU 123 Great Books Colloquium III (4)

Using the shared inquiry method, this course considers works of literature, religion, philosophy, and political thought from the early modern period. Authors include Milton, Descartes, Rousseau, Kant, and Austen, among others. The course requires intensive work in writing and participation in discussion. Prerequisite: Colloquium II or permission of the Director of Great Books.

GSHU 324 Great Books Colloquium IV (4)

Using the shared inquiry method, this course considers works from the modern period by authors such as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, Du Bois, Woolf, and Morrison. This course requires intensive work in writing and participation in discussion. Prerequisite: Great Books Colloquium III or permission of the Director of Great Books.

GSHU 333 Asian Great Books (4)

As an optional fifth class, Asian Great Books employs the method of shared inquiry to explore classic works, ideas, and practices from India, China, Japan, and other parts of Asia. Besides literary works, special attention is given to the religious traditions of Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. This class is open to all students, who can take it to fulfill the World Civilizations GE requirement.

GSHU 450 Great Books Colloquium V: Selected Topics in Global Diversity (4)

Using the shared inquiry method, this course considers groundbreaking and diverse contemporary works of philosophy, literature, religion, and/or political thought, whose attention to ethnicity, gender, or cultural diversity are influenced by classical, medieval and modern texts studied in the Great Books Colloquium or directly challenge their presuppositions in these areas. Students will be invited to reflect on these texts not only intellectually, but in light of the spiritual and moral questions they raise for members of a global community. The course requires intensive work in writing and oral participation and is open to Great Books Colloquium students either as an elective or in partial completion of the minor in Great Books. Prerequisite: GSHU 123 and 324, or permission of the Director of Great Books.