Hello all. My name is Michael, and I'm currently an animation student. Because of a very effective professor at my school, I've developed a love Classical ideas and Western Civilization in general. Now, since I go to art school, and art is my main focus, there isn't a great liberal arts department. I'm wondering if anyone here could guide me to any books or guides on an at home Classical Western Education. I've been doing an at-home Great Books program, but I feel I need more than just the great books themselves. I need something to put them in context with one another, and a certainly a good chronology. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

-Michael Huxley

Michael:

You should definitely look at ISI's recent guide to the Great Books, The Great Tradition: Classic Readings on What It Means to Be an Educated Human Being by Richard Gamble. Also, the Student Guides would be helpful to you.

-Editor

Thanks Samantha. I've been wondering about the guides, and I suppose I'll just have to get one to find out how they are. The Great Tradition sounds fascinating, I've lately become very interested in Christian humanism.

Just out of curiousity, what do you think of Susan Wise Bauer's books? One of her books is subtitled "A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had."

Also, do you have any recommendations for translations or translators of Homer and other Greek literature? I've found that I like Fagles's translations best, but I'm not sure how accurate they are.

Thanks for all your help.

Hello Michael, I've joined the forum simply to answer your question.

You must read James V. Schall! See this page of his books:

http://tinyurl.com/6mb2nu

I'd start with his great Another Sort of Learning. After that, I'd go with On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs....

For shorter, but immensely valuable, reading, ISI has published a guide by him called A Student's Guide to Liberal Learning. Great stuff.

And see his pages here:

https://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/schallj/

&

http://www.morec.com/schall/

How I wish that I too could now discover Schall for the first time!

Also see this excellent book:

http://tinyurl.com/56ws9e

Finally, you'll find much more on my lists here:

http://tinyurl.com/46f4zh

Cheers,
J

Thanks, Jackson. I appreciate the help. It's funny you should mention Schall because the professor who introduced me to the Classics studied under Schall. Go figure. I've read periodic articles by him over at Ignatius Insight(where my professor, Jose Yulo also writes for periodically), but never any of his books. I shall certainly add them now.