An Exceptional Summer Experience for Middle School-Age Readers
Each summer for the past six years, a carefully selected group of outstanding students and enthusiastic readers has come together at Amherst College and Stanford University to take up the Great Conversation of classic literature, with a broad range of texts and an emphasis on the timeless questions: What is the good life? What do I owe my neighbors? What must I do in the face of injustice?This summer, we have added a new campus at The College of William & Mary, and our program is stronger than ever. Sessions are offered for two age groups: the Intermediate Program, for middle school students entering grades 6-8, and; the Senior Program, for high school students entering grades 9-12.
The Intermediate Program
For middle school-aged participants, the Great Books Summer Program is often a time of intellectual awakening and fascination, as their own personal powers of perception and critical thinking blossom. Professors, Discussion Leaders, and skilled Program Assistants focus on each individual's unique participation and contributions to create a dynamic and fun exchange of ideas.Through stimulating questions, discussion and close attention to the text, young minds make connections between the themes and scenes of great literature and their own lives. The Great Books Summer Program helps young minds gain confidence and find their own voice, developing a great capacity for critical thinking and engagement with Big Ideas.
Reading lists are geared toward engaging the student's imagination and introducing them to the wealth that the world's classic literature has to offer. Students receive more than an introduction, though, as they get right into the meat of some of literature's greatest and most perplexing questions and themes, taking active part in lively discussions and thought-provoking seminars.
We’ll read and discuss selections from Shakespeare, Dante, Jefferson, Homer, Hemingway, Sherwood Anderson, Jamaica Kincaid, George Orwell, Virginia Woolf, Tolstoy, Lincoln, and others. For a complete Reading List, click here.
Using an approach that dates back to Socrates, we teach by asking questions and stimulating discussion amongst students. Students come away from the Great Books Summer Program with sharper critical thinking skills and a deep connection to other outstanding young people preparing to lead lives of distinction.
Active Engagement Through Writing, Art, Music and Theater
In addition to our discussions, we offer electives in theater, music, writing and art to allow students to express their interpretations of the ideas we’ve discussed. Working in small groups with highly talented teachers, students collaborate and contribute to a final evening of performances. Inspired by the works they've been reading and by each other, students have respondend by writing stunning works of poetry, staging thrilling dramas, penning heartfelt essays, crafting extraordinary sculptures and sketches, and even composing original music ensembles.
There are also lots of fun activities to choose from each day and evenings are filled with movies, theater games, mixers and outings. To see a schedule of a Typical Day, click here.