How it works

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Decide to answer the call of the great thinkers of Western civilization

When you sign-up for Online Great Books, you are making a decision to invest in yourself and the world around you.

Upon joining you will receive your welcome kit which include a physical copy of How to Read A Book by Mortimer J. Adler (THE guide to becoming a better reader), our OGB handbook, invitations to our Socratic Crash course, and more!

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Get started

After receiving your welcome kit, you will jump right in to reading the two texts included. When you join, you are also added to a Seminar through the OGB website. Your Seminar is simply a group of your peers who are reading the same materials at the same time and who meet at regular times to discuss the text, challenge each other and learn together in a format much like that of the Socratic seminar. These online meetings will be guided by that text’s interlocutor.

You are also encouraged to join the ongoing discussions around texts you have read through the book discussions forum. This process, participating in the forum and your monthly Seminar gathering, will be your primary source of building friendship and accountability within the OGB community.

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Attend Your First Seminar

Soon after enrolling, you’ll receive the Seminar schedule. Begin your readings in preparation for your first Socratic seminar. In the Seminar you’ll meet the readers in your group, get a brief orientation from your Interlocutor, and dive into the text! Seminar is where the payoff is. This is the time to integrate your thoughts about the text, to shore up our ideas, and ask really tough questions.

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Earn Diplomas

As you work through different works, you will be given opportunities to earn diplomas based on displayed mastery of specific ideas, schools of thought, and authors. Some of them are easier to achieve, and others are genuine commitments to struggle, but you’ll love working for each of them.

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Repeat

While the routine does not vary month-to-month, the knowledge and relational experiences will grow exponentially as you’ve read more and more of the canon and gain greater understanding from some of the world’s greatest authors and connect with your peers on a much deeper level.