Introduction to Great Books
What you'll learn
- By the end of the course, students will be able to explain concepts such as "great books," "great ideas and perennial questions," and "the great conversation."
Requirements
- Ability to read and comprehend first year college materials.
Description
Introduction to Great Books consists of eight video Lessons, lasting around four hours, and numerous reading assignments. This course closely parallels the Introduction to Great Books course required by the MPC Great Books Program, but without writing assignments. As such, the course is for anyone wishing to learn more about great books/core curriculum education, the difference between reading and viewing, what makes a great book great, how to read a great book, and more.
Who this course is for:
- Any adult student can understand the concepts and discussions.
Course content
- Preview28:17
- 31:14The Cognitive Style of Reading
- 35:22Why Read?
- 17:46What Makes a Great Book Great?
- 28:37Great Books and Democracy
- 30:17Answering the Critics
- 28:47How to Read Great Books
- 21:13Billy Budd, Billy Budd
Instructor
![David Clemens](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 64 64"%3E%3C/svg%3E){kind=avatar}
- 4.6 Instructor Rating
- 14 Reviews
- 165 Students
- 1 Course
David Clemens, Emeritus Professor of English, Monterey Peninsula College (MPC); BA and MA in English from Sonoma State University; MPC, 1972; former chair, CTA/NEA/CCA Tenure and Academic Freedom committee; Region 3 Co-Director of the English Council of the California Two Year Colleges (2010-current); Modern Language Association Delegate Assembly, Special-Interest Delegate for Two Year Colleges (2013-2016); Chair of MPC Academic Freedom Committee; published in Academic Questions, Teaching English in the Two Year Colleges, Informal Logic, inside english, Chronicle of Higher Education, San Jose Mercury, San Francisco Chronicle, CCA Advocate, Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Association of Literary Scholars, Critics, and Writers Forum on Reading at Risk; blogger for the National Association of Scholars (NAS) and National Review Online's "Phi Beta Cons;" frequent contributor to the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy’s Clarion Call; founder and former coordinator of the MPC Great Books Certificate Program; Apgar Foundation Grants Director 2009-2012; Colloquium Director, “Imaginative Freedom and Political Freedom” with Mark Edmundson, Clare Cavanagh, Mark Bauerlein, and Zachary Mason (2011); Colloquium Director, “Great Books and Democracy” with Robert Pinsky, Victor Davis Hanson, and Dana Gioia (2010); Allen Griffin Award for Excellence in Teaching (2006); subject of Monterey County Weekly cover story, "Big Ideas" (2005); named Monterey County Weekly’s “Best Reason to Go Back to School” (2004); Faculty and Staff Advancement Grant (2011); George Faul Academic Excellence Grants (2003-2011); Future Teachers "Outstanding and Inspirational Teacher Award" (2004); California Teachers Association WHO (We Honor Ours) Award;appearance in Indoctrinate U (film, 2008); interviewed on The David Gold Show (radio, 2000), Our American Heritage (TV, 2009), College Connection (radio, 2009), Your Town Radio and TV Program ( TV 2009), and by author Bruce Bawer for The Victims’ Revolution on identity politics in higher education (2010); InsideHigherEd (2009); The National Association of Scholars (2009); The Monterey County Weekly (2009); Monterey Herald (2008); California Educator (2008).<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />