GREAT BOOKS GREAT DISCUSSIONS
About GBGD
Your Gateway to the Great Books
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Your Gateway to the Great Books
Great Books Great Discussions is dedicated to your learning. We make your path to the great books clear and accessible. With expert guidance and carefully curated selections, we equip you to engage meaningfully with the most thought-provoking works of all time.
We help you read those books you’ve always wanted to read, providing you thoughtful discussion of life’s most important questions, in a welcoming and supportive community of fellow learners
We Get It.
We get it. We all have jobs, families, hobbies, health, and any number of other responsibilities that keep us from lifelong learning.
Which is why we set out to create a community that helps you read and discuss the big ideas – while fitting into your lifestyle and availability.
We aren’t in a rush. We aren’t expecting you to write a dissertation. We aren’t trying to ______.
We’re a group of people pursuing truth and beauty in an unpretentious way, and becoming more confident readers, thinkers, speakers, and listeners along the way.
If that is what you’ve always been looking for, this is the reading program for you!
Read and Discuss
Inquiry and discussion are at the heart of what we do.
Our small group discussion seminars bring you a shared learning experience where professional, experienced facilitators will challenge you to deepen your understanding, sharpen your thinking, and clarify your judgements about great texts and ideas.
Our programs range from short, one-meeting discussions to year-long deep dive studies to our multi-year Core Conversation Seminar Program. Whether you’d like to meet weekly, monthly, or just occasionally, we have programs to match you’re interest and availability.
What We Read
We like to call ourselves “your gateway to the great books.”
Historically, these books have been read by the “well bred” – in the dusty libraries of old or in ivy league lecture halls filled with legacy students. These are some of the most important books ever written, but that haven’t been accessible to the everyday citizen.
But we believe that becoming a more confident reader, thinker, speaker, and listener should be available to EVERYONE – not just wealthy academics in tweed.
Most of us are first time readers.
Many of us don’t have advanced degrees or any experience with the liberal arts.
Some of us hadn’t cracked a book since high school before we joined.
That is why we created a welcoming place where you can read and discuss the big ideas with other curious people.
Meet Our Team
While our students come from all walks of life, all of our seminars are designed and led by experienced readers and guides.
Mark Cwik
Specialty: Classic Literature and Philosophy
Mark Cwik is education manager and a longtime seminar leader for Classical Pursuits. Mark currently lives in London, England, where he leads seminars with the London Literary Salon.
Malachy Walsh
Specialty: English Lit. and Classical Rhetoric
In a former life, Malachy was an “advertising man” in a large advertising firm, but, upon retirement, returned to his roots in Shakespearian literature and classical rhetoric.
Gary Schoepfel
Specialty: Greek Theatre and Helenic Studies
Lorum Ipsum, Senatus Popolusque Romanus, Aurora Borealis, Veni Vedi Vici.
Lorum Ipsum, Senatus Popolusque Romanus.
Benjamin Hahn
Specialty: Latin History and Stoic Philosophy
Lorum Ipsum, Senatus Popolusque Romanus, Aurora Borealis, Veni Vedi Vici.
Lorum Ipsum, Senatus Popolusque Romanus.
Mark Cwik
Specialty: Classic Literature and Philosophy
Mark Cwik is education manager and a longtime seminar leader for Classical Pursuits. Mark currently lives in London, England, where he leads seminars with the London Literary Salon.
Malachy Walsh
Specialty: English Lit. and Classical Rhetoric
In a former life, Malachy was an “advertising man” in a large advertising firm, but, upon retirement, returned to his roots in Shakespearian literature and classical rhetoric.
Gary Schoepfel
Specialty: Greek Theatre and Helenic Studies
Lorum Ipsum, Senatus Popolusque Romanus, Aurora Borealis, Veni Vedi Vici.
Lorum Ipsum, Senatus Popolusque Romanus.
Benjamin Hahn
Specialty: Latin History and Stoic Philosophy
Lorum Ipsum, Senatus Popolusque Romanus, Aurora Borealis, Veni Vedi Vici.
Lorum Ipsum, Senatus Popolusque Romanus.
Mark Cwik
Specialty: Classic Literature and Philosophy
Mark Cwik is education manager and a longtime seminar leader for Classical Pursuits. Mark currently lives in London, England, where he leads seminars with the London Literary Salon.
Malachy Walsh
Specialty: English Lit. and Classical Rhetoric
In a former life, Malachy was an “advertising man” in a large advertising firm, but, upon retirement, returned to his roots in Shakespearian literature and classical rhetoric.
Gary Schoepfel
Specialty: Greek Theatre and Helenic Studies
Lorum Ipsum, Senatus Popolusque Romanus, Aurora Borealis, Veni Vedi Vici.
Lorum Ipsum, Senatus Popolusque Romanus.
Benjamin Hahn
Specialty: Latin History and Stoic Philosophy
Lorum Ipsum, Senatus Popolusque Romanus, Aurora Borealis, Veni Vedi Vici.
Lorum Ipsum, Senatus Popolusque Romanus.
Different Ways to Start Reading
Core Program
Extra Ways to Engage
Extra Ways to Engage
Start Here If You're New
GBGD SEMINAR PROGRAM
$70 / Month
10-30 Pages Per Day
- Monthly book conversations with experienced guides
- Discounts on specialty seminars and other paid programming
GBGD SLACK MEMBERSHIP
$10 / Month
No Reading Requirement
- Monthly book conversations with experienced guides
- Discounts on specialty seminars and other paid programming
GBGD SPECIALTY SEMINARS
Prices Vary By Seminar
10-30 Pages Per Day
- Monthly book conversations with experienced guides
- Discounts on specialty seminars and other paid programming
COMMUNITY SEMINARS
Free!
30 Pages Max
- Monthly book conversations with experienced guides
- Discounts on specialty seminars and other paid programming
Core Program
Start Here If You're New
GBGD SEMINAR PROGRAM
$70 / Month
10-30 Pages Per Day
- Monthly book conversations with experienced guides
- Discounts on specialty seminars and other paid programming
COMMUNITY SEMINARS
Free!
30 Pages Max
- Monthly book conversations with experienced guides
- Discounts on specialty seminars and other paid programming
GBGD SLACK MEMBERSHIP
$10 / Month
No Reading Requirement
- Monthly book conversations with experienced guides
- Discounts on specialty seminars and other paid programming
GBGD SPECIALTY SEMINARS
Prices Vary By Seminar
10-30 Pages Per Day
- Monthly book conversations with experienced guides
- Discounts on specialty seminars and other paid programming
Core Program
GBGD SEMINAR PROGRAM
$70 / Month
10-30 Pages Per Day
- Monthly book conversations with experienced guides
- Discounts on specialty seminars and other paid programming
Start Here If You're New
COMMUNITY SEMINARS
Free!
30 Pages Max
- Monthly book conversations with experienced guides
- Discounts on specialty seminars and other paid programming
GBGD SLACK MEMBERSHIP
$10 / Month
No Reading Requirement
- Monthly book conversations with experienced guides
- Discounts on specialty seminars and other paid programming
GBGD SPECIALTY SEMINARS
Prices Vary By Seminar
10-30 Pages Per Day
- Monthly book conversations with experienced guides
- Discounts on specialty seminars and other paid programming
Frequently Asked Questions
Reading the great books can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. That’s why we created a community where you can:
Who can read the great books?
Anyone can read these books. Even if you aren’t the strongest reader, even if you haven’t read in years.
These books are for everyone, and we read them in an unpretentious way. Most of our members are not academics, and many of them don’t have college educations.
However, these books will challenge you. They can sound a little different, and have big ideas.
It’s our mission to make these books approachable. Our experienced guides know how to guide you through challenging readings to help anyone get the most out of them.
When and where are we meeting?
We meet online and have members all over the world. This is the best way for us to bring together like minded individuals on a schedule that works for busy people. The online format also enables us to use note taking and small group organization that just aren’t possible in person.
The frequency of meetings depends on how you choose to get involved. Our seminar program is a once monthly meeting, and our special seminars come in weekly and monthly formats. These meetings are all typically in the evenings in the U.S. time zones, but, if you want to get involved, and these times don’t work for you, please contact [email protected]
Will I feel stupid when we read and discuss these books?
Yes, and no.
These books are for everyone, and we read them in an unpretentious way. Most of our members are not academics, and many of them don’t have college educations.
However, these books will challenge you. They can sound a little different, and have big ideas.
It’s our mission to make these books approachable. Our experienced guides know how to guide you through challenging readings to help anyone get the most out of them.
What are the other members like?
Most of our members are not academics, and many of them don’t have college educations. They live all over the world, and have a variety of hobbies, interests, faiths, professions, and backgrounds.
The thing that brings all of us together is our common goal to discuss the big ideas together in an honest and inquisitive way.
Will I do more than just read?
Our members often say that they “came for the books, but stay for the people.”
The thing that they enjoy most about our community is our discussions. They love that we have a cultivated community where people can comfortably discuss the big ideas – even if they are touchy subjects in your everyday life.