Reading sequences
Collections
Reading sequences organized around shared themes, periods, and traditions.
The Stoic Path
Introductory readings in Stoic ethics, beginning with questions of control, duty, and inner disposition.
5 works
First Steps in Philosophy
Accessible texts for readers new to philosophical argument and dialogue.
6 works
East Meets West
Parallel readings from Asian and European philosophical traditions.
6 works
Foundational Epics
Early epic poetry from Mesopotamia, Greece, Italy, and Mesoamerica.
7 works
Minds That Changed Science
Seminal works from Euclid through Einstein on mathematics and physical theory.
5 works
Voices of Freedom
Texts addressing slavery, liberty, and the rights of women.
6 works
Sacred Texts
Scriptures and devotional works from the world's major religious traditions.
6 works
Christian Thought
From Augustine to Kierkegaard: theology, devotion, and faith seeking understanding.
7 works
The American Canon
Foundational works of United States literature from the nineteenth century to the Jazz Age.
13 works
Feminist Foundations
Early arguments and fiction that shaped modern feminist thought.
8 works
French Masters
Novels, drama, and satire from Hugo, Dumas, Flaubert, and the Enlightenment.
9 works
German Masters
Goethe, Schiller, Hoffmann, and the Brothers Grimm in English translation.
7 works
Spanish Classics
The picaresque tradition and the novel that changed world literature.
2 works
The Russian Soul
Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Turgenev on faith, freedom, and modern life.
6 works
British Classics
Victorian novels, Gothic romance, and the wit of Wilde and Swift.
10 works
The Ancient World
Greek tragedy, Roman epic, and the historians who shaped our picture of antiquity.
8 works
Empiricism & the Enlightenment
Locke, Hume, Voltaire, and the thinkers who grounded knowledge in experience.
7 works