Philosophy professor Jennifer Frey of the University of Tulsa knows the Great Books tradition is under fire—and she doesn’t flinch.
“Yes, it’s under siege,” she says. “It’s been under siege my whole adult life. But that doesn’t mean it’s not good and worth fighting for.”
Frey doesn’t defend the Great Books because they’re old. She defends them because they form people. They challenge us to go beyond the surface and confront what is true, good, and beautiful.
“It’s a line for thinking and reasoning and trying to figure out for yourself what you think is true, good, and beautiful.”
And that journey doesn’t happen in isolation.
“You need to know kind of where you stand… not on your own, but in community with other people—including the great masters from the past.”
In a time when many universities prioritize identity over inquiry, the Great Books still offer something radical: intellectual formation, not ideological affirmation.
At the Alumni Free Speech Alliance, we believe that preserving the pursuit of truth in American higher education starts with remembering why we read in the first place.
