The Great Books Series is a program that was started in 2010 by Dr. Bonnie Roos, Associate Professor of English, and it is sponsored by the Department of English, Philosophy, and Modern Languages.  It takes place the second Tuesday of each month at the Southwest branch of the Amarillo public library at 7 o’clock in the evening.  This program is designed to give back to the community.

“It is a program to help people love books,” said Dr. Roos.

The first book discussed in the New Year was the Divine Comedy and the discussion was led by Dr. David Baum.  February 11 is the date of the next Great Books Series meeting.  This one will be led by Dr. Andy Reynolds, Assistant Professor of Spanish; he will be leading a discussion over And the Earth Did Not Devour Him.

“I think it is fabulous,” said Dr. Bonney MacDonald, Professor of English. “I take seriously the conversation between the academic and the public, where they [the academic] can take the kind of energy from the classroom and spread it to wider audiences.  This program highlights the link that is between our campus and the community.”

“It was interesting, but I had taken the class before, so it was nothing new to me. There were a lot of people, but only two of us from WT. Mostly they were older people from around the community,” Summer Baker, senior English major, said.

Dr. MacDonald does not lead another Great Books Series until November, but at that time she will be speaking about Mark Twain’s text Huckleberry Finn. To enjoy the Great Books Series, you do not have to have read the book beforehand.

“We’ve built a following, and it is really delightful to see the same faces in the audience each time.  Our presentations have become event for them.  That’s very fulfilling,” Dr. Martin Jacobson, Associate Professor of English.

“This is part of what a university should do,” said MacDonald.