When Stringfellow Barr and Scott Buchanan began the “New Program” at St. John’s in 1937, they described the College as “deeply rooted in the American tradition.” So deeply rooted, in fact, that they claimed “the ‘fundamental and inviolable principles’ of the College charter are recognizably principles also of the Declaration of Independence.” It is this striking and surprising claim that inspires this summer’s lecture series, “Thinking about America at St. John’s College.” In what sense is the college not only rooted in the American tradition but something like the embodiment of the American tradition?

As part of the America 250 commemoration, join St. John’s College for a public seminar on the United States Declaration of Independence. Together, participants will engage in a close reading and discussion of one of the central texts of the American tradition, considering its arguments, ideals, and enduring questions about liberty, equality, and self-government. No prior preparation or expertise is required. Please pre-register in advance.

As part of the America 250 commemoration, join St. John’s College for a public seminar on the United States Declaration of Independence. Together, participants will engage in a close reading and discussion of one of the central texts of the American tradition, considering its arguments, ideals, and enduring questions about liberty, equality, and self-government. No prior preparation or expertise is required. Please pre-register in advance.

A panel of tutors and visiting scholars discuss the origins and goals of the Santa Fe Graduate Institute’s newest Masters Degree Program, which focuses on the classic literary and philosophic works of the Jewish and Islamic traditions. Lectures will be livestreamed to the college's YouTube channel.

In a moment when many prominent advocates of liberal education have shown a resurgence of interest in the American tradition, this series will ask whether the study of a single national tradition is in fact compatible with the aims of liberal education. This evening we will discuss the nature and meaning of that most enigmatical character in classic American Literature, the Great White Whale itself. Lectures will be livestreamed to the college's YouTube channel.

In Book V, Chapter 10 of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle offers an account of “equity” (epieikeia). The virtue of equity, according to Aristotle, serves as a necessary “correction of justice according to law.” I want, in this talk, to go some way towards resolving this tension. I’ll do so on the basis of a careful consideration of why justice resists being reduced to a set of rules, and why we nonetheless value the rule of law. Lectures will be livestreamed to the college's YouTube channel.

St. John’s College Year of Classics seminars are intensive, discussion-based classes. Seminars are small, with no more than 18 in-person participants or 14 online participants. In the Year of Classics program format, one St. John’s tutor leads each seminar-section, and all sections study the same annually themed curriculum of readings. Find the right time and location that fits your schedule and geography. Nine meetings in nine months. Apply Here.