Join Us Virtually for Winter Classics

SEMINAR DATES: JAN‌UARY 6–10 | JAN‌UARY 13–17, 2025

A balm for winter’s chill: enliven your intellect, warm your heart, and connect through online seminar discussions.

Online Registration closed on December 18. Email classics(at)sjc.edu with registration inquiries.

What is Winter Classics?

Entering a new year is the perfect time to embark on a thoughtful adventure, and Winter Classics is here to accompany you. This January, read and discuss great books—online from wherever you may be reading. 

St. John’s College Winter Classics are not a lecture, nor a book club. At St. John’s, seminars are lively, in-depth, and highly participatory conversations on enduring works of art, literature, philosophy, science, and more. Beyond the learning that takes place through the works and with one another in seminar, attendees describe their experience as “stimulating” and “restorative.” 

Discussions begin with an opening question presented by St. John’s College faculty, called Tutors. Our renowned tutors guide the seminar, but the selected text is the root of instruction. Therefore, knowledge of any given topic is not required, but a passion for learning is crucial. For an engaging, in-depth experience, online seminars are limited to 14 participants. Devote a wintry week, Monday through Friday, two hours a day, to delve into the topic of your choice. 

From the ancient to the modern, the theatric to the philosophical—the choices of seminars are as varied as the human intellect.

Interview with Classics participant Tim Whalen (SFGI09, EC16)

Hear why Whalen says that “almost every class in some way expands an understanding of my life and myself.”

Recent attendees describe St. John’s Classics programs as a “mind-expanding, unique experiment in civil discourse, deepening the connections to what is essential and vital in humanity,” and contend that “St. John’s has faith in the life of the mind and will restore your faith as well.”

If you are looking for a community of learners who engage with great minds to better know themselves and our world, you have come to the right place.

See the Winter Classics 2025 Seminar Catalog.

Office of Community & Lifelong Learning

Seminar Catalog
Pricing & Policies
Resources

Quotes From Past Winter Classics Participants

What pertains to both [the in-person and online versions] is that you get the rare opportunity to discuss ideas with a small group of people deeply interested in discussion. The environment is amenable to anyone willing to read carefully, listen, and participate. This is not for the intellectual, it is for everyone.”

You will never have read a book with such concentrated attention (even when you were in college). You will discuss the text with a small group of serious readers in a format that values and builds on everyone's contributions.”

A wonderful winter retreat: conversations with thoughtful people about the human experience.”

One of the most exciting intellectual activities done for my own enjoyment all year.”

The format is very conducive to substantive discussion. There is nothing as wonderful as reading something substantial and the discovery that comes from discussing it with thoughtful people, with the group pushed and challenged by our tutors to go deep.”

Refreshing and intellectually stimulating. A great break from winter routines.”