A YEAR OF CLASSICS: a year of learning

Online or In-Person Seminars, September 2026–May 2027

SAVE THE DATE: Registration opens on June 4, 2026 at Noon ET / 10 a.m. MT

St. John’s seminars offer nine profound, rich, and resonant readings taken from the core of the college’s distinctive curriculum. The 2026–27 gathering of readings asks challenging questions. In the community of a discussion-based classroom, we study these texts and confront their questions together. We offer a once-a-month experience in the life of the mind: a true source of reward for the busy executive, stimulation for the artist, engagement for a parent, and all of these for those who are at work building our world on strong foundations.

2026–27 Theme: Sea to Shining Sea: An Exploration of America

As the country winds down celebrations of the 250^th anniversary of its founding, we have planned a trip across this vast and varying land, letting its authors and thinkers show us some of what the country has had to say for itself. We travel from East to West, from cities to the frontiers, to ask what binds us to—and distances us from—this place, this land, these United States. What do we take from it; what do we give? What stories create the myths and the realities of this beautiful, complicated, and persistent country?

Online Seminars

Meet virtually via Zoom.

Online Seminar Schedule Seminar Reading List

In-Person Seminars

Meet in person in Annapolis, Maryland; Washington, DC; or Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In-Person Seminar Schedule Seminar Reading List

New Offering for 2026-27

Registration Add-On: "High time to get to sea" Available as a second add-on class for anyone who is registered for Year of Classics, this online class will meet once a month to read all of Herman Melville's American Classic, Moby-Dick.

Learn more

For registration inquiries, please email classics(at)sjc.edu.

What Participants Are Saying About Year of Classics

A once-a-month dose of intellectual discussion, providing a unique opportunity to learn and study with others.” (Amanda Leath)

A chance to stay sharp…, to think critically about texts that always have something to say, and… to experience discovery and intellectual expansion.” (Sarah Miller, AGI '13)

Great, stimulating, and fulfilling." (Barbara R. Kornblatt)

A terrific experience in every respect.”

A rare opportunity to truly listen to others and engage in a meaningful exploration. I love that there are no right answers.”

You work hard, in the best sense, in these seminars. Even when you are mostly listening, there is nothing quite like being a participant in a St. John's-style seminar."