Why read the “Great Books” and what do they mean?

Throughout the course, you’ve read and we hope digested an introductory selection of ‘’the great books” studied in Liberal

Arts programs. This essay must specifically define and list the characteristics of what “great books” entail. Next,

construct an argument that defends and/or challenges the inclusion of two or more works we’ve read from Chaucer through

Morrison.

List of Books from Chaucer through Morrison:

Toni Morrison, Beloved
Huxley, Brave New World
Marx, Communist Manifesto
Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents
Shakespeare: Macbeth
Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales

List of Books read during the course of Constructing Meaning in Liberal Arts:

1. The Odyssey, Tr. Robert Fitzgerald, ISBN: 0374525749
2. The Book of Job—Hebrew Bible
3. New Testament, Gospel of Mark / 1 Timothy – Bible
4. William Shakespeare Macbeth, Updated Edition, Simon and Schuster ISBN: 0743477103
5. Geoffrey Chaucer – The Canterbury Tales, Penguin Classics Edition ISBN: 0140424385
6. Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness, Dover ISBN: 0486264645
7. Aldous Huxley Brave New World, ISBN: 0-06-092987-1
8. Toni Morrison Beloved ISBN: 0-452-26446-4
9. Sigmund Freud Civilization and its Discontents ISBN: 0393304515
10. Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx
11. O’Connor – Good Man is Hard to Find

Essay Rubric:

– Specific, relevant thesis with supporting evidence
– Defines and provides specific examples of what a “Great Book” entails
– Defends and/or challenges the inclusion of two or more course works (from Chaucer through Morrison) read in Liberal Arts
– Relevant textual support to defend all claims
– Documentation consistent with APA style
– Clear, concise and fluent expression
– Correct spelling and mechanics
– 12 pt. font, Times New Roman, double-spaced