Great Books at Pepperdine

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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!

04/24/2025

The faculty teaching Great Books IV handed out the medallions to students taking the course this semester. (Students that couldn't attend would receive theirs a few days later.) Profs. Gose, Hoang, and Koch shared a little something about each student. Prof. Kern wasn't able to be at this event, so his students took turns to share something about one another. Congratulations to all for having completed the sequence!

03/23/2025

Thirteen students recently participated in conferences on great books. Two weeks ago, Max Pohlenz attended the annual undergraduate conference of the Association for Core Texts and Courses (ACTC). Called "Happiness in Connections," this year's conference was hosted by Dharma Realm University, about 100 miles north of San Francisco. Max presented an essay on Buddhism that he'd written for Prof. Contino's section of Asian Great Books. He shared two photos from this conference: a shrine at DRU, and an outing in the redwoods with other participants from all over the country. Then yesterday, the following students participated in the Enduring Ideas conference organized by Concordia University Irvine: Noah Burton, Layla Chehrenegar, Will Chippendale, Dean Chisholm, Nina Gaters, Annika Lee, Soren Miller, Ashley Pierce, Brinly Ram, Yuki Shen, Liza Shevetovska, and Nathan Thomas. The students presented essays on various topics written for Great Books I, II, III, and IV taught by Profs. Hoang, Koch, and Wilson. Although the presentations took place over Zoom, the students gathered in person for the plenary session and lunch.

Address

Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA
90263

Website

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

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