Gil Roth’s podcast with Christopher Nelson, President of St. John’s College (Annapolis)
I remember running across St. John’s College’s website in the late 1990s and being inspired by the reading list they provided. THIS was the liberal arts education I wished I had gotten. It inspired me to take my reading more seriously. This blog, for better or worse, was one eventual outcome.
Gil Roth at Virtual Memories has a podcast episode with Christopher Nelson, President of the Annapolis campus of St. John’s College. I highly recommend it. The interview ranges far and wide, covering some of the special challenges Nelson faces at an institution like St. John’s, both as its President and when he was a student there, and its goal of cultivating the whole human being.
I could identify a little too well with Roth’s statement that he doesn’t think he would have been ready for such an undergraduate program straight out of high school. Even though I said it was the education I wished I had worked on, I wasn’t ready for such a program at 17, either. I’m impressed by the depth of required reading, and at least it is something I can work on my own toward acheiving. I also liked how Nelson talks about “growing into” certain books and how his view on some have changed over the years.
Anyway, please check out Roth’s page for the episode and give it a listen!
Note: Roth makes it clear in the introduction that the current political issues within St. John’s College are not addressed in the interview, but I wanted to make sure I highlight it here, too.
Virtual Memories
Glad you enjoyed it! That notion of growing into books is one that I touch on with many of my pod-guests, because I'm fascinated by the that process. (And you can always go to the Graduate Institute at St. John's, like I did!)
Dwight
Thanks Gil. I've been meaning to comment at some point on the podcasts, and this one just really connected.
I agree…finding looks that speak to you years later, or maybe even just speaking to you differently…is a topic I find fascinating as well.
I hate to say it, but finding out there was almost a third campus in Monterey, California, made me sad since I live near there. I would have loved to attend. Although the economic reasons for selling it made complete sense. I've probably hiked on the former St. John's College land there many times without even realizing it.