I'm going through the Great Books program at Monterey Peninsula College. It's a certificate program consisting of 16 semester units. I've taken two online courses so far: Introduction to Great Books and Survey of World Literature I. Plenty of reading was required. There were required discussion board posts, papers, and exams. The final exam for the Introduction to Great Books course consisted of writing an essay on a certain topic. The final exam for my class consisted of several short answer questions and an essay question. I answered the short answer questions in one or two paragraphs. No proctor was required for the exams. The exams were open book and open note. There were no video or audio recorded lectures. There were lengthy discussion posts by the instructors which can be considered lectures. The reading for my Introduction to Great Books class consisted of works about the Great Books movement, and works by authors such as Dante, Virgil, Sophocles, Willa Cather, Dickinson, Aristotle, and many others. The reading for my Survey of World Literature I class consisted of the Western and Eastern classics covering from the ancient world to the Middle Ages. My textbooks were volumes A, B, and C of The Norton Anthology of World Literature. I've been enjoying the program so far. I have learned a lot and I've had interesting discussions with people. I'm doing this because reading the classics is one of my hobbies.
Good to see another Great Books program. I'm a fan and there are fewer than there used to be. Some educational programs (e.g. this one) should never go out of style. Congratulations on a great choice. Sounds like Monterey Peninsula College is doing a bang-up job on this program. Good to hear!
Sounds great, but to what end? I ask because Harrison-Middleton University bases its degree programs on the Great Books concept. You use classics to support your research. (That's over-simplifying it, of course.) Here's an example: Let's say I wanted to develop a new theory on leadership development. Let's say this theory not only had competencies in it--which almost all leadership models have--but other concepts around human development and capacity. I could go about using modern leadership literature--and other contemporary sources of leadership knowledge--to support my developing theory. But I could also ground it (grounded theory....hmmmm....) in the "Great Books" to give it the support of thousands of years of human learning and experience. That might be an interesting project. Very interesting....
Lots of others, as well. Great Books programs have enjoyed a special popularity since about 100 years ago - the 1920s. Here's a recent article listing what are supposed to be the best 25 nowadays. I didn't realize there were this many. I knew about Harrison Middleton, but I believe their enrolment is quite small. https://www.bestcollegereviews.org/features/best-great-book-programs/
