No.862: New Ideas for Mother Academia // Volume 4

*“The Lord is My Shepherd” by Eastman Johnson (1863)*

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Welcome to another segment of New Ideas for Mother Academia! The purpose of this series is to share five ideas for women to dig deeper into their continued education. I especially like to seek out free resources because I want to prove that you can seek out wisdom without having to spend any money. I hope you’ll share what you’ve been reading and learning too!

1 // DRACULA

It’s October and this seems like the perfect time of year to read Bram Stoker’s Dracula! To further engage with the text, check out the commentary from The Literary Life Podcast. They have a five episode series deep diving into the book.

2 // A GREAT BOOKS READING LIST

If you’re interested in working through a guide of classical recommendations, look into St. John’s reading list! “St. John’s College is best known for its reading list and the Great Books curriculum that was adopted in 1937. While the list of books has evolved over the last century, the tradition of all students reading foundational texts of Western civilization remains. The reading list at St. John’s includes classic works in philosophy, literature, political science, psychology, history, religion, economics, math, chemistry, physics, biology, astronomy, music, language, and more.”

3 // AP ART HISTORY

AP classes don’t have to just be for high schoolers! AP®︎/College Art History from Khan Academy is completely free and looks pretty comprehensive.

4 // ANCIENT GREEKS

Examine the history and legacy of the ancient Greeks with the Athens and Sparta course from Hillsdale College. This is a nine-lecture course and attempts to answer these questions: “What is necessary in order for a democracy to flourish and endure? How does a city form free and self-governed citizens? What are the best means of resisting tyranny from without or within?” Interesting.

5 // ROMAN ARCHITECTURE

Keeping with the ancient civilizations theme, let’s end with a course on Roman Architecture with Diana E. E. Kleiner! This is an intensive course with 23 videos and offers “an introduction to the great buildings and engineering marvels of Rome and its empire, with an emphasis on urban planning and individual monuments and their decoration, including mural painting.” Sounds fascinating! The two texts used are Roman Imperial Architecture by John B. Ward-Perkins and Rome: An Oxford Archaeological Guide, second edition by Amanda Claridge, which can be found used for cheap!