Welcoming Diverse Voices

This project began with a question: how can a program dedicated  to the study of "Great Books" do a better job welcoming diverse voices?  As a Great Books student and preceptor (embedded writing tutor), I wanted to address the lack of diversity I experienced within both my own classes and the "Great Books" themselves. I believed that Mercer was denying its students of the true experience of studying the "Great Books" by focusing so heavily on texts written by male, European authors. 

 This website is the result of a yearlong research project. It outlines the development of the Great Books Program as a whole as well as its specific implementation at Mercer University. It then describes a study I conducted of student attitudes towards the program and the results of that survey. Finally, I outline proposed solutions for implementing a global Great Books Program at Mercer. This Global Great Books Program would feature texts written from authors around the world instead of focusing so heavily on European male authors. It is my sincere hope that implementing a global Great Books Program would allow Mercer to become a model for other, similar schools that are struggling the the same question: how can we preserve our Great Books Program while also recognizing the complex reality of modern society and the students who study the "Great Books?"