Western Canon

[close] The selections in this group are based on a reading plan traversing the complex landscape of the great books through space and time: Philip Ward's "A Lifetime's Reading: The World's 500 Greatest Books" http://images.mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/lit_body2.jpg and at http://www.vox.com/maps/2015/9/25/9397237/literature-map "Peregrinations": An ambitious attempt to traverse space and time through the literary landscape of the great novels, epics, plays and poetry. Ready to travel? " ... I have at one time or another glanced across a library to see a man or woman of eighteen to twenty daunted - even bewildered - by the sheer richness of the library treasures that are waiting to be enjoyed, the great minds to be understood, the poets' voices to be heard, the characters of fiction to be encountered. My heart has been touched by the magnitude of their choice. I long to offer them the plays of Euripides and the stories of Isaac Babel, the love songs of Dante and the wisdom of Mencius. But I know help must be given only when sought. A maturity that is bullied into life is not worth having." "So I have written this book - fruit of a lifetime's reading happily not quite over - in the hope that it will serve as a literary guide to readers looking forward to many thousands of hours of pleasure." You may also want to check out https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/217505-the-story-of-civilisation

[close] This group began with a book called The Well-Educated Mind (TWEM) by Susan Wise Bauer, which is a wonderful guide to “The Great Books.” TWEM presents 6 genres–each with a respective reading list (fiction, autobiography, history, drama, poetry, and science). Bauer recommends reading chronologically, in order to read through history. “Writers build on the work of those who have gone before them, and chronological reading provides you with a continuous story…You’ll find yourself following a story that has to do with the development of civilization itself…When you read through the poetry list, for example…[t]he structure of the poetry will change as each poet moves beyond what former writers have done. But beyond these technical differences, the concerns of the poets shift and change as the world itself hurtles toward modernity…When you’ve finished this particular list, you’ve done more than read poetry. You have learned something about the spiritual evolution of the West.” ~Susan Wise Bauer If you'd like to develop a deeper understanding of humanity's continuous story, please join us!

[close] This is a group to read and discuss the Great Books of the Western World. Books which are generally referred to as “the classics” or “the Western canon.” Books which have shaped Western thought over the years; books which Robert Hutchins, in his essay for the Great Books of the Western World series, considered important works in “The Great Conversation.” The goal of this group is to support each other as we strive to educate ourselves better and soak up all the knowledge we can from some of the world's greatest writers, thinkers, poets, philosophers, politicians, playwrights, and more.

[close] Most of the world's modern thinkers and leaders started with a classical education. Our own Founding Fathers drew inspiration from the works of Plato, Cicero, Plutarch, Tacitus, Montesquieu, and Machiavelli to only name a few. They focused on big ideas and, on this board, we will too. Each month we will aim to cover a work or partial work included in the Great Books of Western Culture. Through discussion I hope to grow in understanding, conviction, and confidence in our beliefs outside the realm of party politics, religion, or other modern institution. Feel free to invite others, and welcome to the Great Conversation.