• What is the Great Books Foundation?
• What kind of books does the Great Books Foundation publish?
• Does the Great Books Foundation publish Great Books of the Western World?
• Does the Great Books Foundation publish only the classics?
• What advice do you have to help our group stay focused on the book instead of wandering off into other topics?
• What happens in a Shared Inquiry discussion?
• Do I have to attend a Great Books training workshop to start a group?

What is the Great Books Foundation?

The Great Books Foundation is a nonprofit educational organization whose mission is to promote reading and discussion of outstanding literature by people of all ages. Our readings are chosen for their ability to sustain discussion of important ideas. One unique aspect of our program is Shared Inquiry, a method of discussion developed by the Great Books Foundation.

Robert Maynard Hutchins, former president of the University of Chicago, and Mortimer J. Adler, a respected educational philosopher, helped establish the Great Books Foundation in 1947. Hutchins and Adler were champions of the Great Books idea, first in a seminar format for University of Chicago undergraduates, and later as a means of continuing liberal education for all adults.

What kind of books does the Great Books Foundation publish?

The Great Books Foundation publishes anthologies of outstanding literature for K-12 students, book discussion groups, and college and continuing education programs. We publish and recommend literature that is especially suited for discussion.

• The Junior Great Books Program consists of student anthologies for K-12 students for the language arts curriculum. Materials for social studies, science and religious studies are also available for high school students.
• The Great Books Reading and Discussion Program consists of five sets of books with 15 readings per set. Each set includes substantial works of Western literature and philosophy by such authors as Dostoevsky, Freud, Kafka, Plato, and Shakespeare.
• The 50th Anniversary Series consists of nine titles, each with six or seven readings. This series is an international collection of literature, philosophy, and poetry that brings together works by classic and modern authors on universally significant themes.

Our books include questions for interpretive discussion, and groups using our books will like having the same translation and common pagination for their discussions. Our books also have generous margins for taking notes.

See Foundation Publications for a complete list of Foundation titles.

Does the Great Books Foundation publish Great Books of the Western World?

No. Great Books of the Western World is a 60-volume set of hardbound books published by Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., a for-profit corporation. Encyclopaedia Britannica's phone number is +1 312 347 7000.

The Great Books Foundation publishes anthologies that include many of the same authors who appear in Great Books of the Western World, but our books are low-cost paperback editions designed specifically for use with book discussion groups.

Robert Maynard Hutchins, former president of the University of Chicago, and Mortimer J. Adler, a respected educational philosopher, helped launch both the Great Books Foundation and the Encyclopaedia Britannica series. 

Does the Great Books Foundation publish only the classics?

The Great Books Foundation does not prescribe or promote a canon. We select readings of high literary merit that are rich in discussible ideas. These readings raise questions and prompt us to reflect on ourselves and our world.

Our Great Books Reading and Discussion Program focuses mainly on established classics in Western literature and philosophy, while our 50th Anniversary Series includes many new voices of important contemporary authors, such as James Baldwin, Annie Dillard, Jamaica Kincaid, Yukio Mishima, and Adrienne Rich. Works from India, China, Japan, the Middle East, Africa, Mexico, and the Caribbean are included.

What advice do you have to help our group stay focused on the book instead of wandering off into other topics?

First, you must have reading material that warrants discussion. Readings published by the Great Books Foundation are chosen for their ability to sustain discussion. They are rich in complex ideas that invite in-depth exploration of the text.

Next, if you follow the four rules of Shared Inquiry discussion, it is easier to keep discussion focused on the text.

THE FOUR RULES OF SHARED INQUIRY DISCUSSION

1. Only those who have read the selection may take part in discussion.

Participants who have not read the selection cannot support their opinions with evidence from the text or make sound judgments about what others say about the work.

2. Discussion is restricted to the selection that everyone has read.

When the selection is the sole focus of discussion, everyone can determine whether facts are accurately recalled and opinions adequately supported.

3. All opinions should be supported with evidence from the selection.

The point of the discussion is to come to a better understanding of the reading. Shared inquiry discussion prompts participants to look to the text to support possible interpretations.

4. Leaders may only ask questions—they may not answer them.

Your job as leader is to help yourself and your participants understand the selection by asking questions that prompt thoughtful inquiry.

Please read the next question for further explanation of shared inquiry discussion.

What happens in a Shared Inquiry discussion?

In a Shared Inquiry discussion, the leader starts with a basic question that addresses a central problem of meaning in the reading selection. Everyone listens carefully to the responses of the group members to the leader's basic question.

The leader asks follow-up questions to help participants think through and share their ideas about the reading. This in-depth questioning and responding sustains interest in the discussion as participants recognize that interpretations other than their own are also substantiated by the text.

As a leader, you can ask group members questions to:

• Clarify their comments. Ask them to explain what they mean by what they say.
• Elicit evidence for their opinion from the selection. Interpretations need to be tested against the text to see if they are valid.
• Solicit additional opinions that agree or disagree with a participant's idea.
•  Build relationships between the new ideas of a participant and the ideas already offered by other group members.

Stay with a basic question until the group has fully explored it through thoughtful follow-up questions. You are not necessarily trying to reach consensus but to see, as a group, that the leader's question has been thoroughly examined. Only then go on to another question.

The Great Books Foundation offers workshops to help you learn what kind of questions sustain in-depth discussions and to give you practice asking good follow-up questions. See the next question for more information on workshops.

Do I have to attend a Great Books training workshop to start a group?

Anyone can organize a Great Books group. Training is not required, but we strongly recommend it. Good discussions are no accident. Groups that have strong discussions are more likely to succeed. While new Great Books groups form all the time, many have lasted for 30 or 40 years. Four groups have been going for 50 years!

Many book groups falter because they don't know how to generate good discussion. Great Books Foundation workshops will show you how to both prepare for and conduct discussions. You will learn to use the Shared Inquiry method, which involves all your group members in a focused, lively discussion of complex ideas.

When group members take turns leading discussion, the quality of discussion improves and members develop a greater sense of commitment and ownership. Your group has a better chance for a long life if more than one member of your group attends a Shared Inquiry Leader Workshop.

Adult group participants may also attend one of the hundreds of scheduled Basic Leader Training Courses that train leaders for the Junior Great Books program. The course content is similar but reading selections are from the Junior program.

We can provide materials and advice to help you start a new group. Call the Great Books Foundation office at 1-800-222-5870 to register for a workshop or to arrange for a workshop in your area.