Great Books and Great Conversations - a summer of reading, reflection, and rapport

Welcome to summer! We have added many events to our online and onsite offerings, and hope to see you this season as we read and discuss the greatest works of the east and the west. Participate in our weekly online intensives: The Novels of Jane Austen, and An Introduction to Buddhism: Theravada and Mahayana Traditions. Click here to view our entire upcoming seminar schedule and become a subscriber to attend as many regular online events as you like for just $25 per month. These offerings encourage thoughtful reflection, camaraderie, and a spirit of adventure. Sample any series as our guest... email us for details.

Weekly Online Great Books Intensives

The Novels of Jane Austen

Thursday Evenings

Now through November 5, 2026

5:30-7:00PM Pacific

Emma begins July 30

Has anyone observed character and manners in language more crisp than Jane Austen has? Has anyone made prose fiction more precise? Part of her great artistry must surely be in making her characters not less, but more, lively and real for their ability to converse in accents as bright as those in which she writes. Somehow her characters can sound like Jane Austen and still be themselves. Can anyone ever have spoken like this? Can anyone reading her care, so long as they get to hear more of it? 

Online seminars in this series will take place on Thursday evenings, 5:30-7:00PM Pacific Time. Sessions will be facilitated by Eric Stull. Groups will be limited to 16 participants and no prior knowledge is required.

Click here for full information

An Introduction to Buddhism: Theravada and Mahayana Traditions

Wednesday Evenings

September 9 - December 16, 2026

5:30-7:00PM Pacific

Buddhism originated in 5th-century BCE in Northeast India, founded by Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) who taught the path to the liberation from suffering and the ultimate goal of reaching Nirvana, a state of freedom, peace, and the extinguishing of greed, hatred, and delusion. The religion evolved into diverse traditions — notably the Theravada and Mahayana practices — while shaping art, philosophy, and society, with roughly 500 million followers today. 

We will explore these two traditions through a selection of readings from two texts: In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon, and The Lotus Sutra. The online series will take place over 14 Wednesday evenings, 5:30-7:00PM Pacific time. Sessions will be facilitated by Roxana Zirakzadeh and Andy Gilman. Groups will be limited to 16 participants and no prior knowledge is required.

Click here for full information

Free Onsite Community Seminars

Free Onsite Community Series

Eastern Classics

Tuesday, June 16, 2026

1:00-2:00PM PDT

Reading: Tao Te Ching - Verse 47

Tutor: Andy Gilman

Location: Ojai Library

111 East Ojai Avenue in Ojai, California

Free Onsite Community Series

The Poetry Mary Oliver

Tuesday, June 23, 2026

1:00-2:00PM PDT

Reading: Don't Hesitate

Tutor: Andy Gilman

Location: Ojai Library

111 East Ojai Avenue in Ojai, California

Free Onsite Community Series

Sufi Poetry

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

1:00-2:00PM PDT

Reading: All the Hemispheres by Hafiz

Tutor: Andy Gilman

Location: Ojai Library

111 East Ojai Avenue in Ojai, California

Upcoming Regular

Online Great Books Events

Come to as many regular online and onsite events as you like and receive discounts on Intensives by joining our group of subscribers - as low as $25 per month. Click here.

Online Seminar Series

Monday Night Poetry Group

Monday, June 15, 2026

5:00-6:00PM PDT

Reading: Stanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Tutor: Carol Seferi

Register to receive the login link.

Online Seminar Series

Male and Female: A Study of the Sexes in a Changing World by Margaret Mead

Saturday, June 20, 2026

12:00-2:00PM PDT

Reading: Part Two - The Ways of the Body - First Learnings, Even-Handed, Money-Handed, and Womb-Envying Patterns (pages 45-96)

Tutor: Andy Gilman

Register to receive the login link.

Online Seminar Series

Finnegans Wake by James Joyce

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

12:30-2:00PM PDT

Reading: Book Three - Chapter Three (page 491, Line 24)

Tutor: Barry Rabe

Register to receive the login link.

Online Seminar Series

The Chemical History of a Candle by Michael Faraday

Saturday, June 27, 2026

12:00-1:30PM PDT

Reading: Lecture Two - A Candle: Brightness of the Flame, Air Necessary for Combustion, Production of Water

Tutor: Andy Gilman

Register to receive the login link.

Online Seminar Series

Mahatma Gandhi - The Essential Writings

Saturday, July 11, 2026

12:00-2:00PM PDT

Reading: I. Gandhi, his mission, and the influences on him - (pages 1-38)

Tutor: Andy Gilman

Register to receive the login link.

Onsite Film Series

Days and Nights in the Forest - film by Satyajit Ray

Saturday, August 1, 2026

12:00-2:00PM PDT

Schedule: 9:30AM-3:00PM

Tutor: Peter Rainer

Location: 417 Bryant Circle in Ojai

Online Seminar Series

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn

Saturday, August 8, 2026

12:00-2:00PM PDT

Reading: Preface, Introduction, The Route to Normal Science - (pages xxxix - 22)

Tutor: Andy Gilman

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Online Seminar Series

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Saturday, August 15, 2026

12:00-2:00PM PDT

Reading: Preface, Skywoman Falling, The Council of Pecans, The Gift of Strawberries - (pages 1 - 32)

Tutor: Andy Gilman

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Online Seminar Series

The Periodic Table by Primo Levi

Saturday, August 22, 2026

12:00-2:00PM PDT

Reading: Gold, Cerium, Chromium (pages 127-159)

Tutor: Andy Gilman

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