Great Books Foundation
The Great Books Foundation is an organization rooted in the principles of liberal education, emphasizing the discussion and exploration of foundational works in Western culture. Founded by Robert Maynard Hutchins and Mortimer Adler at the University of Chicago, it seeks to engage learners in deep debates surrounding significant ideas expressed in classical literature. In 1952, the Foundation published the "Great Books of the Western World," a comprehensive fifty-four-volume collection that aimed to curate essential texts and ideas. This initiative led to the formation of numerous Great Books clubs across the United States in the following decades, fostering community engagement in literary discussion. However, the movement faced criticism for its perceived biases, particularly regarding its focus on Western culture and predominance of white, male authors. As interest in the movement waned in the 1970s, the Foundation's commitment to liberal education persisted, continuing to encourage diverse perspectives on classic philosophical and literary works. The Great Books Foundation remains a significant entity in the realm of education, promoting the importance of critical thinking and dialogue about enduring texts.
Great Books Foundation
Identification Nonprofit organization, established by scholars at the University of Chicago and the Encyclopedia Britannica, dedicated to popular intellectual self-improvement through support of reading and discussion of the Great Books of the Western World (1952)
Date Established in 1947
During the early 1940’s, University of Chicago president Robert Hutchins and philosopher Mortimer Adler encouraged a movement among the local public for studying the Great Books. The popularity of the movement prompted establishment of the Great Books Foundation, which aided the organization of reading and discussion clubs and published sets of the Great Books, marketed through the Encyclopedia Britannica.
Among the innovations Robert Maynard Hutchins and Mortimer Adler established at the University of Chicago was an emphasis on general, or liberal, education, especially through debate of the great ideas in Western culture as expressed in classical works of thought. William Benton, a business executive and later a U.S. senator, was enthused by their ideas. In 1941, he bought the Encyclopedia Britannica from the Sears, Roebuck and Company and in 1943 transferred the publishing concern to Chicago. Principally, Hutchins and especially Adler reviewed titles for inclusion in a collection of Great Books and elaborated an index to the essential ideas contained in them.
Impact
Comprising a fifty-four-volume set, the Great Books of the Western World appeared in 1952. Tens of thousands of Great Books clubs appeared over the next two decades. However, criticism of the movement arose over its middlebrow character and the bias of the collection toward Western culture and white, male authors. The movement withered during the 1970’s, but the foundation and respect for liberal education continued.
Bibliography
Adler, Mortimer Jerome. How to Read a Book: The Art of Getting a Liberal Education. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1940.
Beam, Alex. A Great Idea at the Time: The Rise, Fall, and Curious Afterlife of the Great Books. New York: PublicAffairs, 2008.