Insteadof:
Should I join a
fraternity or sorority?
Ask:
How can I
contribute to
this learning
community?
With everyone participating in
the same curriculum, St. John’s
students always have something in
common. And every time someone
joins the greater conversation, every-
one benefits. There’s no need for
planned bonding through traditional
Greek life: kinship is in the program,
and in the shared encountering of it.
Insteadof:
How am I different from
people of other times and places?
Ask:
What does
it mean to
be human?
The emphasis here is on what we
share—not what appears to set us
apart. At St. John’s, you’ll approach
the questions that have concerned
humans throughout history, and
answer them as if for the first time.
Insteadof:
What were the social
and historical conditions under
which this book was written?
Ask:
What
questions
does this
book raise?
At St. John’s, students aren’t training
to be specialists on a particular era
or segment of society. They aren’t
seeking to view ideas through the lens
of a school of thought or movement,
or to impose a literary or cultural
theory on a work. They want to think
about the work itself, to discuss it in
class, to let it provoke questions
that spill over into conversations all
around campus. They not only want
to test the ideas in a book; they want
to be tested by them in return. In
short, they challenge every book to
transform their minds.
Q
uestions
you’ll ask
at St. John’s
(
continued)
12