Classics for Classics 

A Brief History…  

The idea of Classics for Classics has been to provide a week of serious study of some work of philosophy, theology, or literature - a work that is great and that could be meaningfully discussed in a week of class sessions. We study the classics from Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Boethius, and so on; see the list below. And we intend this for our classics, that is, our alumni and friends of the University who, like the books themselves, only improve with age. The word "serious" in the first sentence needs a comment. CFC is intended for anyone who seriously wants to learn what the great classical authors have to offer and is willing to put some effort (by reading) into this, but "serious" might be misleading for the mood of our annual sessions, which are friendly, humorous, and easy-going. (I do my best each year to repress the humour by providing frequent examples of bad jokes, but the cheerful good nature of the participants always prevails against me.) 

The format each year is the same. In the mornings I lecture for two hours on an assigned reading from the text. The lectures are informal, and questions are always encouraged. I do have a set agenda, and I stick to it. Participants every year are respectful and consulent, and the questions are always excellent and help us all to understand the common text. We allow a civilized two hours for lunch, and participants generally extend the morning's discussion over their meals. In the afternoons, my university colleagues provide lectures on related topics. These lectures might be on philosophical antecedents or developments of our work, on a related theological problem, on the historical context, on contemporaneous literary works, on relevant art history, and so forth. The afternoon lectures are 45-50 minutes, followed by questions. See the links below for details on what we have done each year. 

There are concerts and plays every year that we can attend on some evenings of the week (in order to keep us from preparing too much), and we have a banquet on Thursday evening of the week to celebrate our accomplishments. 

The academic arrangements are made autocratically, even despotically, by me every year, and my colleagues (and even some from other universities) have been extremely generous contributors. The Alumni Office (especially Shanna Hopkins and Lianne Campbell) do everything else, and that is a lot. 

Classics for Classics is an instance each year of the joy of learning. There are no exams, essays, credits, or marking; such academic devices exist in order to force students to learn. That sort of coercion is completely foreign to CFC, where everyone comes out of a desire to learn, a shared desire that becomes obvious within five minutes of any of our sessions. From my point of view, and from that of my colleagues (who ask me every year whether they might give lectures), Classics for Classics is all the pleasure of teaching and none of the pain. 

- Steven Baldner  

What's Happening This Year?

Classics for Classics: 2025

Classics for Classics will take place on campus this summer from July 7-11. Participants will read and discuss Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Social Contract. This will be the third in our series of foundational texts in modern political thought, after Hobbes’ Leviathan and Locke’s Second Treatise of Government. We are trying to get some of the political reasoning that stands behind modern democracies. Please understand, however, that each of the three works stands on its own: if you have not attended the previous two years, you will have no trouble joining us this year.

The following text will be available in the StFX Campus Store and can also be ordered online:

Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Fundamental Political Writings, edited by Matthew W. Maguire and David Lay Williams; translated by Ian Johnston (Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2018). ISBN: 978-1-55481-297-4.

There may be some supplemental, short readings from Rousseau’s “Second Discourse” (On the Origin and Foundations of Inequality among Men), which is also included in this text. If, however, you have a different text of the Social Contract without the Second Discourse, you’ll be sufficiently prepared.

The format of Classics for Classics will be the same civilized pace as in previous years: participants will meet at 9:30 a.m. for a lecture and discussion of the assigned text led by Dr. Steven Baldner; at 1:30 p.m. the group will reconvene for an afternoon lecture on related topics. The schedule of readings will be sent out in the spring, but keeners can start reading the Social Contract now (about 115 pp.).

As in past years, there is no cost for alumni to attend this event and just $100 for non-alumni.  Please send a response to the Alumni Office if you wish to reserve a spot for this summer: Lianne Campbell, lcampbel@stfx.ca. Details for booking on-campus accommodations can be found here.

If you have questions about Classics for Classics, please contact Steven Baldner.