Shimer Great Books School at North Central College

Shimer Great Books School at North Central College The Shimer Great Books School at North Central College provides and preserves education centered on discussion of enduring questions and issues. No tests.

The Shimer Great Books School at North Central College provides and preserves education centered on discussion of enduring questions and issues through the Great Books pedagogy, rooted in the Socratic Method. Here, the pedagogy is anything but conventional. There are no lectures. No textbooks in place of primary texts. Classes follow the Socratic Method – professors ask questions that challenge st

udents to articulate and support their ideas. Shimer students are voracious readers – they view reading not as a passive activity but as a way of actively engaging the world and understanding themselves. At the Shimer Great Books School, you will immerse yourself in reading, discussion and writing. Learning is a constant dialogue where every opinion, every position is questioned and analyzed. You’ll discuss your ideas in a class with people who will push you to think more deeply about fundamental questions than you ever have before. Simply put, the Shimer Great Books School challenges you to delve deeply into the diverse and endlessly fascinating areas of thought and creativity in the company of similarly-inclined students and teachers.

We want to offer a reminder that this Saturday, July 19, Christ Episcopal Church in Waukegan will hold a memorial for Do...
07/17/2025

We want to offer a reminder that this Saturday, July 19, Christ Episcopal Church in Waukegan will hold a memorial for Don Moon, President of the College from 1978-2004. All are welcome. For those unable to attend, the church will host a live-stream of the service on their YouTube channel, here:

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04/22/2025

As published in a recent addendum to the Shimer Alumni Bulletin, we are observing the passing of the Reverend Don Moon, with his family, who have issued this obituary:

https://noctrl.box.com/s/suyu3ofg3qc5h9l8o5q7i8odivf0tnlg

We also invite anyone with remembrances of Don to upload a file of your offering to the subfolder for "Remembrances." Copies of these remembrances will be available at a memorial to be observed on Saturday, July 19th, 2025 at 3 pm in Waukegan, Illinois at Christ Episcopal Church.

There will also be a service this coming Sunday, April 27th, 2025 at Noon in Bremerton, Washington at St Paul's Episcopal Church.

We want to make a special request of anyone planning to drive from or through Everett, WA on their way to and from this service, that they be in touch. An alumna of Shimer has asked for this help, and we are happy to pass along the request.

WELCOME BACK, CARDINALS! We wish you a wonderful  first day of classes! The Shimer House at 5 S. Loomis St. really misse...
08/21/2024

WELCOME BACK, CARDINALS! We wish you a wonderful first day of classes! The Shimer House at 5 S. Loomis St. really missed you (and so did we).

We’re thrilled to announce that we have received a substantial donation from Shimer alum Jayne Baron Sherman to establis...
05/10/2024

We’re thrilled to announce that we have received a substantial donation from Shimer alum Jayne Baron Sherman to establish the Shimer Great Books Emergency Fund. This fund will help current and future students through financial hardships and school expenses. Jayne challenges our network of Shimerians to make a donation to the Emergency Fund in order to double the impact of her gift.

Here is the link to donate: https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/46792/donations/new

From all of us here at the Shimer School, thank you for your generous support!

It’s Finals Week, and that means that this Friday 5/3 is our Orange Horse talent show! We invite anyone on campus and in...
04/29/2024

It’s Finals Week, and that means that this Friday 5/3 is our Orange Horse talent show! We invite anyone on campus and in our larger Shimer community to take the stage and show us what you’ve got. We’ll have music, poetry, comedy, and more! We’ll see you there and we’ll send off this school year with a bang (or maybe a neigh).

It’s not every day that you have class with the president! We loved having  join Dr. Dolinko’s Philosophy of Race and Ge...
02/14/2024

It’s not every day that you have class with the president! We loved having join Dr. Dolinko’s Philosophy of Race and Gender course! The discussion covered Audre Lorde’s “Sister Outsider”, and in true Shimer fashion, it was an impactful conversation! Thanks for joining us, Dr. Thomas!

There’s still time to register for our Montaigne Scholarship discussion!
02/02/2024

There’s still time to register for our Montaigne Scholarship discussion!

Happy last week of classes, students! We wish you focus and peace as you finish your last assignments, and as many momen...
12/05/2023

Happy last week of classes, students! We wish you focus and peace as you finish your last assignments, and as many moments of stress-free fun as you can find during finals week. If you need some extra motivation, stop by Shimer House this Sunday, December 10th from 12-3pm for some cookies, coffee and relaxation!

It may be November, but it’s still porch weather around these parts, and the reading is getting good. Mia is one of a nu...
11/14/2023

It may be November, but it’s still porch weather around these parts, and the reading is getting good. Mia is one of a number of Shimer students diving into Paradise Lost this week, and we’re all starting to feel a little sympathy for the devil.

Someone doesn’t want you to read this, and that’s exactly why we think you should. We’re excited to host our Banned Book...
09/28/2023

Someone doesn’t want you to read this, and that’s exactly why we think you should. We’re excited to host our Banned Books Read-In on Tuesday, October 4th from 5:00-6:30pm with our friends at ! Bring a selection of your favorite banned book to read out loud and hear how we’re keeping banned books in the conversation. Dinner will be served to attendees. Prospective students register with the link in our bio!

Address

5 South Loomis Street
Naperville, IL
60540

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