The Books in Part 1 of Ted Gioia's Humanities Course
Or thirteen months' worth of reading in my group
For those of you who are following Ted Gioa’s 12-month immersion course in the humanities with me, here is the reading that Ted has listed to be read over 13 weeks. I’m choosing to change Ted’s weeks into months so that it fits my schedule. I know there are others out there for whom 350 pages a week is too big of an ask. It’s not a race, so I’m happy to slow down with this and enjoy it.
Ted has the full course listed for paid subscribers, so if you want to get a jump on that, go and join Ted’s Substack, The Honest Broker. I’ll be listing the recommended music and visual arts when we’re approaching the new month, both here and in the Discord for subscribers.
Ted’s first post is here:
Reading List
AUGUST 2024
Plato: The Final Days of Socrates (as told in four dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo)
Plato: Republic, Books I, VII
SEPTEMBER 2024
Sappho (and others): Lyrics
Homer: The Odyssey: Books 1-10
OCTOBER 2024
Homer: The Odyssey: Books 11-24
NOVEMBER 2024
Confucius: The Analects
DECEMBER 2024
Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics
Aristotle: Poetics
JANUARY 2025
Plato: Symposium
Herodotus: The Histories: Books 1, 6-8
FEBRUARY 2025
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Dhammapada
MARCH 2025
Ancient Egyptian hymns, prayers and songs (for example, the Susan Tower Hollis collection)
APRIL 2025
The Book of Genesis
Ecclesiastes
The Four Gospels
Epistle to the Romans
MAY 2025
Sophocles: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone
Aeschylus: Agamemnon
Euripides: The Bacchae
Aristophanes: Lysistrata
JUNE 2025
Marcus Aurelius: Meditations
Epictetus: The Enchiridion
JULY 2025
Suetonius: The Twelve Caesars
AUGUST 2025
Koran: Surahs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 12, 17, 18, 32, 36, 55, 67, 103, 112
Rumi: Selected Poems
SEPTEMBER 2025
Virgil: Aeneid, Books 1-2
Ovid: Metamorphoses, Book 1
Selected Roman poems and aphorisms (Horace, Catullus, Sulpicia, Martial)—and let’s throw in some Latin proverbs too!
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Hi Cams
This looks a great project but, like you, I wasn’t sure I’d have the time to do it properly. Now that you’ve extended the reading time though, I might just jump on board.
Thanks for sharing your videos on Book Tube. I’ve really enjoyed listening to you and you’ve inspired me in a couple of fairly profound ways.
As a regular in Glasgow Waterstones, I’m intending on picking up the first Robin Hobb book when I pop in later this week. I think I might just add The Final Days of Socrates to my haul.
Thanks
G.