Student Programs
Reading Groups
Outside of the classroom, the heart of the intellectual community at SCL are reading groups. Each semester, students get together in groups of 8-12 to read and explore some of the great texts of our tradition. Plato, Augustine, Hume, Jefferson, Arendt—nothing is off limits. The only criterion is that that the text in some way speak to the set of questions which animates the school—What is a human being? What does it mean to live well? What do we owe one another? Reading groups meet, on average, for 6-7 weeks over the course of the semester. No preparation is required. Students and faculty who participate simply show up each week to read together and try to make sense of the text that they have in front of them.
Fall 2025 Reading Groups
Logistikoi
Participating students will examine some of the most important arguments in David Hume’s great work, An Inquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals. What is justice? What is virtue? Does virtue make one better or worse of? Dr. Comstock and students will think through these and other questions together and in the company of David Hume, one of the world’s greatest thinkers.
Finding and Founding
Students will practice the art of close reading and dwell on what it means to be an American. Dr. Spinks and students will read together the Declaration of Independence—clause by clause, word by word. Together, we will discuss the theological and ontological arguments advanced by the text of the Declaration. And we will discuss and debate how, and whether, the Declaration truly expresses “the American mind” for Americans then and now, as Jefferson hoped it would.
Coffee with the Professor
‘Coffee with the Professor’ offers students a chance to connect with faculty members, both from UT and beyond, over coffee and conversation. Each session will bring together a small group of 10–15 students with a professor to explore a theme, question, or short reading connected to the professor’s research or teaching interests. No advance reading or preparation is required. Sessions will last about an hour and take place every few weeks (4–5 per semester).
