Great Books at Pepperdine

Home
United States
Malibu, CA
Great Books at Pepperdine

The Great Books Colloquium is a sequence of four courses, plus a minor. They move from ancient Greek epics to twentieth-century classics.

The core of the program is a four-course sequence focusing on books from the Western tradition. They include texts in literature, ethics, political theory, theology, and other fields. There is also a fifth course (optional) focusing on Asian classic texts. With the recent introduction of the Great Books minor, there is also a "special topics" course taught each year for students interested to pursue the minor.

04/10/2026

This year's spring celebration featured a talk on ancient Chinese philosophy by Prof. Bryan Van Norden (Vassar College). We also celebrated students who are completing the four-course sequence, with medallions for and remarks on each student from Profs. Gose, Hooten Wilson, and Koch. Congratulations!

03/30/2026

Last Saturday, fifteen students participated in the annual conference Enduring Questions among four faith-based universities in California. Individual presentations and panels were over Zoom, but we were in person for the keynote and lunch.

02/17/2026

A number of admitted and prospective students have visited the Malibu campus these last two weeks, and more are expected to visit in the next few weeks. Just last week, one such student, who hailed from Alabama, attended Prof. Hoang’s section of GB I. Another student, from Colorado, sat in Prof. Kern’s section and also spoke with first-year students Wright Griffin to learn more about Seaver College.

12/17/2025

Congratulations to Prof. Michael Ditmore, who has taught Great Books and American literature to two generations of Pepperdine students. He's recently published a book about the Declaration of Independence: in time for the U.S. Semiquincentennial in 2026!!

12/05/2025

This week, some of Prof. Contino's students in Great Books III met him during office hours before writing their last essay: Austen, Persuasion.

10/29/2025

Here are four sections of Great Books I this semester: two taught by Prof. Kern and one each by Profs. Hoang and Riddle. There are five other sections: one taught by Prof. Ditmore and two each by Profs. Contino and Gose.

10/14/2025

Because of expected heavy rain and possible mudslides, classes at the Malibu campus were moved to remote today. It was no problem for these first-year Theater Arts majors in Great Books I: Kayla Barrios, Gabriella Earnhart, Avaleigh Stalcup, and Cignourney Vielmann. Living in three different dorms, they gathered in the living room of Kayla's dorm for their 8:00 AM class to discuss moral virtues in the Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle.

10/12/2025

Dr. Jason Baehr, a philosophy faculty at Loyola Marymount University, met with several Great Books faculty (plus one of ten faculty fellows affiliated to GB) to discuss his book Deep in Thought.

05/11/2025

A few more photos from commencement: Great Books student Mallori Bland and her friends right after receiving diplomas from President Jim Gash. Kim Olivo Bland and all other parents must have been beaming with pride watching. 🙂

05/08/2025

The Great Books medallion shone on the regalia of many graduates receiving their diplomas on May 3. Congratulations to the Class of 2025!

Address

Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA
90263

Website

http://seaver.pepperdine.edu/humanities/programs/greatbooks.htm

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Great Books at Pepperdine posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Want your university to be the top-listed University in Malibu?