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Collaborate | 01:09
St. John’s faculty members learn alongside students, questioning with them rather than lecturing to them.
St. John’s faculty members learn alongside students, questioning with them rather than lecturing to them.
In seminar, the conversation is as much with an author and text as it is among everyone around the table.
In seminar, the conversation is as much with an author and text as it is among everyone around the table.
The works studied at St. John’s are among the greatest of Western civilization.
The works studied at St. John’s are among the greatest of Western civilization.
As they master the art of civil discourse, students in seminar learn to listen to one another with respect.
As they master the art of civil discourse, students in seminar learn to listen to one another with respect.

Collaborate

Learning together is a simple concept, but it has profound implications in a St. John’s seminar. The heart of a St. John’s education, the seminar consists of the following:

Who?

About 20 students and two faculty members, called tutors, in conversation around a table.

When?

Two hours, in the evening, twice each week.

What?

An attempt to critically discuss a timeless work with the aim of coaxing out meaning and increasing understanding.

How?

By approaching texts without preconceptions or external sources, asking questions that promote discussion, and supporting opinions with thoughtful argument.

Why?

To learn what some of the greatest works in the Western tradition might teach us today. To arrive at insights that are greater than what any one individual could discover on her or his own. To explore fundamental questions through analyzing and responding to the work under discussion and the thoughts of other students and tutors.