| The Great Books Program and the Direction of Humanities & Classics Education in the University |
|
Seung Nam Son |
| ‘위대한 저서(The Great Books)’ 프로그램을 토대로 본 우리나라 대학 인문고전교육의 방향 탐색 |
|
손승남 |
|
|
|
|
| Abstract |
|
This study aims to examine the Great Books Program which was originated from the classics reading program in the Chicago University and a variety of similar programs in American universities. This program was based on the educational perennialism which believed something lasts an indefinitely long time, recurs again and again, or is self-renewing. The former Chicago university president Hutchins and his companion Adler implemented these ideas with great success at the University of Chicago. It is clear that this program still influences the curriculum in the form of the undergraduate Common Core. Stringfellow Barr and Scott Buchanan together initiated the Great Books program at St. John s College in Annapolis, Maryland, where only classical texts have been provided as the curriculum during one’s college days. Perennialists believed that this program enabled the college students to acquire basic skills such as critical reading, close listening, accurate expression and reflexive thinking. The Chicago program has experienced an extent transformation since Postmodernism and an antiwar movement in the 1960th.
This study tries to answer the following questions for the improvement of humanities & classics education in Korean universities and colleges. First, why should we read humanities & classics again? Such reading needs to be positively based on the reader’s intrinsic motivation. The purpose of this reading should involve the pursuit of truth towards our inner self, the rapidly changing world, our ecological system and the universe. Second, what should humanities & classics education contain? The meaning of classics can be rediscovered and therefore we try to find the value of classics through reinterpreting old texts. For example, we can read classics on the base of the concept ‘periodical key problems’ by Klafki. Third, how to read such humanities & classics education? A systematic reading methods including text critics, index pre-reading, grammatical & psychological analysis and understanding with a present aspect, that can lead us to a ‘horizontal confusion’ as Gadamer said. In a fatigue and risk society, the Great Books Program may provide us with consolation and wisdom. |
| Key Words:
The Great Books Program, Educational Perennialism, Classics, Humanities, Hutchins, Adler |
|
PDF Links
Full text via DOI
Download Citation
