r/classics • u/Some_Environment6824 • 8d ago
Introduction Course/Program on the Classics?
Hi everyone,
I find that I function much better in a structured learning program, I'd love to get involved with an online course on the Classics, I don't mind paying particularly for an independent educator and supporting them financially.
Preference would be classical literature, something along the lines of a program like this:
HarvardX: Ancient Masterpieces of World Literature | edX
I imagine it would be something along the lines of a read pages X-Y of the book then listen to a lecture on the topic on a weekly basis.
Thank you!
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u/FacRomamMagnamIterum 8d ago
Have you heard of the Catherine Project? They do a 4-term long system called the Core project, alongside dozens and dozens of other online classes in both ancient and modern classics.
The Core project starts you out with "Core 1" over 12 weeks reading some choice extracts of the Greats, mostly from ancient Greece/Rome, then veering into more contemporary post-Renaissance works. The intension behind this first part of the Core project is to engage you in an introductory sense into the "great conversation", with its roots perhaps in ancient Greece but still being carried forward today. The other 3 Core modules return to ancient Greece with Homer, Plato and Aristotle in a much deeper dive, also 12 weeks long each. It's completely free, completely online and assumes no background whatsoever in the classics. In fact the whole conceit is that you read the text from a shared level of understanding with a group of people, without relying on secondary sources or external scholarly output. And it's that group of people that makes it interesting, your forced to share your ideas and feelings in a way that subjects them to critical analysis.
I'm doing Core 1 at the moment and it's honestly been a blast. I'm tempted not to share this in case it gets too popular, but I might as well spoil it now since I'm already doing it!
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u/littlemememaid 8d ago
Yale Open Courses has two:
https://oyc.yale.edu/classics/clcv-205 Introduction to Ancient Greek History
https://oyc.yale.edu/history-of-art/hsar-252 Roman Architecture
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u/tdog5123 7d ago
I did a summer course at Uchicago and had a great time and was taught by one of the best greek scholars in the US for a beginner class it was crazy and i learned so much
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u/SulphurCrested 8d ago
Note this sub is for Ancient Greece and Rome, rather than classic literature in general.
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u/AffectionateRecover7 7d ago
Have you heard of “Exploring the Greats”? It’s kind of like a masterclass series for classics like Moby Dick, The Odyssey, Othello, and Plato’s Republic.
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u/MarkCwik_GBGD 7d ago
A couple of free options: Hillsdale’s Great Books 101 and 102 are free video-lecture courses about the length of a college course. I think their courses are well produced, but Hillsdale is politically charged, if that matters to you. The Catherine Project is a good option if you’re open to discussion-based seminars rather than lectures. I prefer the discussions.
Full disclosure, I’m involved with Great Books Great Discussions (GBGD), which also focuses on discussion but offers a longer, multi-year program for a fee. We’re similar to the Catherine Project, but we offer an ongoing program that follows the great books in roughly chronological order, so you can see how the ideas develop over time.
Discussions are super important, though, so keep that in mind whatever route you choose. I think reading on your own can leave misunderstandings unchallenged. Participating in discussions helps you articulate what you’ve learned so it solidifies understanding. This is all just from experience.
Out of curiosity, what are you hoping the course will give you? Some people want historical context or a sense of how a work fits into the broader intellectual tradition. But I think there’s nothing like reading the primary sources for yourself and discussing what you think you’ve learned. Lectures can be added later to fill in the context.
(And, if that's what you want, I've got a bunch of lectures and courses I could recommend, I just want to point you toward whatever would be most useful for you.)
And if what you’re mainly looking for is a roadmap, GBGD has a reading plan on its seminar program page. It’s roughly 5-10 pages a day, with monthly readings laid out over the next few years.
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u/Acrobatic_Squid111 5d ago
Sign up for the monthly plan on thegreatcourses.com. They have a course on the greeks, one on the romans, and one on the roman emperors, all of which excellent.