A Void of “Great Books” in College…And Why We Should Care

Recently, there has been debate between New Yorker critic Louis Menand and New York Times columnist John McWhorter about the role of so-called “Great Books” programs and courses, as compared to other disciplines, in bringing about the mission of higher education.

Indeed, this reflects many contentious discussions about higher education—what should be taught and how, the experiences students should be having both on campus and off campus, the very purpose and desired outcomes for students. These debates are fierce, but typically lack in-depth, rigorous data.

Hence the impetus of the investigation of higher education undertaken a decade ago by Howard Gardner and myself: we collected views and perspectives from those who are living it to understand the “real world” of college from the inside.  Over several years, we interviewed 2000 individuals—1000 students, 500 faculty and administrators, and 500 trustees, parents, young alums, and job recruiters—across 10 disparate colleges and universities, and then, for two years, we carefully analyzed these hour-long, semi-structured conversations.

Among the over forty questions that we posed in these interviews was the “book question,” in which we asked every participant to tell us a book they might like to give to a graduating student.  The responses from students astonished us. 

Nearly 20% of students couldn’t think of a book. Approximately one half of these students said they had “no idea,” and nearly a third of these students claimed they “hadn’t read enough to know.” Only 2% of these students asserted that there were too many from which to choose. But many other students looked at us with a blank stare, some admitting they don’t read at all. To avoid discomfort and to ease the tension, we began to ask for movies, television series, and YouTube videos—indeed any media presentation—if participants could not name a book.  

What did we learn from students?  

First, what we did not hear: Few students name one of the “Great Books.” In the rare cases they are mentioned (e.g., Homer’s “Iliad” or Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex”), they have been more often read in high school, not college.  

Next, what we did hear: The largest percentage of students name books which focus on self-help and personal development. Examples include, “How to Become a Straight-A Student,” “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” and “Tuesdays with Morrie.”   

The second largest percentage of students name literary fiction, but again, most of these books are high school classics, including “Catcher in the Rye,” “Lord of the Flies,” “Jane Eyre,” and “The Great Gatsby.”  

Given this context, it is not surprising—albeit sobering—that Dr. Seuss, specifically “Oh the Places You’ll Go,” was in the top five of all student book suggestions. (The other 4 books are traditional high school books.) 

Importantly, we find few, if any, differences in the books recommended by first-year students and those of graduating students. Indeed, another sobering finding: college seems to have little impact on the repertoire of books from which college students draw. The only exception we find is that more graduating students recommend books with philosophy or philosophical themes (e.g., “The Republic” and “The Stranger”), but such recommendations come from less than 10% of all graduating students.  

In addition, as with many other findings in our study, we find little to no difference across students at a range of schools—by selectivity, size, and geographical location. Therefore, it’s not the case that students who attend the most selective schools name very different books than students who attend the least selective schools.

Case in point: the two aforementioned Great Books, “The Iliad,” and “Oedipus Rex,” were mentioned by two first-year students at lower selectivity schools.

Certainly, we can’t put too much weight on hypothetical book recommendations for graduating students, but they do represent what students think others should know before they step into the real world. While McWhorter rightly argues that the purpose of college should be to understand complexities of the world and to become a “better person,” we find that most of today’s college students do not embrace this perspective.

In fact, stepping back and looking at our whole study, today’s college students are not looking to complexify or transform their perspectives and understandings of humanity, but rather to simplify their own lives. They look to college to create a successful path to a job and career. In their view, becoming a “better” person is not about caring for the collective “we,” but how to better themselves in terms of the “I”—to become an attractive job recruit, or sometimes a graduate school candidate.

Our conclusion: The debate between Menand and McWhorter may be of importance, but it is remote from the concerns of today’s college students—whether they are at an elite private college or a large community college.  Only if the colleges of today and tomorrow embrace and embody a mission that is clear to students—the mission of developing and expanding the mind—will the debate resonate across our several thousand campuses.

These findings come from Wendy Fischman’s and Howard Gardner’s forthcoming book The Real World of College, MIT Press, 2022.

© Wendy Fischman 2022