Western History is replete with great authors. From Homer to Plato to Dante to Tolstoy, men have written books that are both influential and interesting to read; far more influential and interesting than their commentators, at least. This Great Books I course is intended to introduce the student to the earliest of these authors. The readings for this year are all from Greek authors, as the Greeks are the cradle of Western culture, and the cultural context for the beginnings of Christianity. The student will read many of the greatest authors Greece provided, and come to understand these authors both in the context of their own time, and in their relation to the present. The class includes 4 papers per year.

Homer Illiad and Odyssey
Aeschylus Oresteia
Sophocles Three Theban Plays
Herodotus Histories
Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War
Plutarch Selected Lives, specifically Theseus, Solon, Themistocles, Aristides, Alcibiades, Nicias, and Pericles
Plato Euthyphro, Apology and Republic
Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics and Poetics

This is a two-hour class which meets once a week (the tutors are always available throughout the week via email, phone, and online message boards set up to give the students an opportunity to discuss the work together and with the tutors):

Thursdays 8-10 am PST