For nearly eight decades, the University of Chicago’s Basic Program has supported lifelong learners in engaging deeply with classic works of philosophy, literature, history, and social thought, which address timeless questions about the most fundamental topics. At the same time, many prospective students are curious about how these works speak to the world we live in today, defined as it is by rapid technological advancement and social change.
To bring these connections into focus, the Basic Program has introduced the Classic Texts, Contemporary World (CTCW) initiative. Through guest lectures and standalone courses that are open to all, students will consider classic and contemporary works side by side, exploring how foundational texts and ideas continue to shape our changing world.
Exploring Timeless Questions in a Contemporary Context
According to Noah Chafets, the Cyril O. Houle Chair of the Basic Program, all the program’s offerings strive to bridge the distance between earlier thinkers and today’s learners.
“In teaching Great Books—books that are almost always at a great remove from the instructors and students in the Basic Program in time, place, and culture—a large part of the work involves bringing the books closer to us and us closer to the books,” Noah said.
The courses created through the CTCW initiative differ from the traditional Basic Program curriculum because they make this exercise of connecting the classic and the contemporary explicit. Each syllabus places contemporary materials alongside the classic texts, encouraging learners to probe historical continuities and identify meaningful points of disruption. This year students in CTCW courses will consider questions such as:
- How have thinkers and authors defined intelligence, and what criteria should we now use to determine whether a machine has become intelligent?
- Why is it often difficult for even well-informed people to confront the reality of existential threats like nuclear war and climate change?
- What are some of the most compelling treatments of the state of nature in social and political philosophy, and how can this work inform our thinking today?
- Does reading a recent text such as Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel Hamnet, which tells a fictionalized story about Shakespeare and his family transform our experience of the original works?
Student and Community Impact
CTCW courses invite participants from all backgrounds to explore the dialogue between classic texts and contemporary thought. All that’s necessary is an eagerness to join a community of inquiry that bridges past and present.
“We hope and expect that these courses will be especially attractive to people who aren’t yet entirely comfortable with discussing just Great Books.” Noah said.
CTCW is generously supported by Sheila Penrose, a Basic Program student and Graham Council member. While Basic Program instructors and administrators define the academic content and pedagogical in all courses, Sheila helped to develop the conception of the initiative and provided critical funding for course development and guest lectures.
“Classic texts are foundational to the Graham School; they are timeless and so have a relevance and resonance to today,” Sheila said. “As a society and as individuals we have wrestled with themes over the centuries that are at the forefront today: justice, leadership, governance and the use of power, international relations and trade, human rights and what it means to be a good human being,”
Instructor Innovation and Support
CTCW provides the funding, resources, and structure for Basic Program instructors to pilot fresh approaches to teaching that incorporate contemporary novels, plays, films, works of history, natural science, journalism, sociology, anthropology and more. Instructors have the support to develop up to four new courses each year. The initiative also funds two guest lectures annually, inviting outside experts to enrich the conversation with perspectives tied to the year’s themes.
Interested in Classic Texts, Contemporary World?
Because CTCW includes dedicated support for course development, instructors are empowered to experiment with innovative approaches to presenting the Great Books. Discussions can span a wide range of issues and historical periods, so long as they draw meaningful connections between classic and contemporary works.
Basic Program instructors collaborate through committees to build these courses and develop pedagogical approaches to them, drawing on one another’s expertise. Together, they consider potential texts, test new strategies for sparking discussion, and integrate insights across disciplines.
“Instructors who work on a committee are liable to be exposed to new subject matter areas, to texts they don’t know, to ways of thinking that they hadn’t encountered, and they will likely become better able to teach similar courses in the future,” Noah said. “All of this work that we do in common contributes to our strength as a faculty.”
The inaugural course in the Classic Texts, Contemporary World series, What Is Intelligence?, begins in January 2026. Register for an upcoming CTCW course to engage timeless questions with fresh perspectives.
