Study with Us

Spirited Discussion

Education and general intellectual exploration for all.

Lichfield Institute hosts 1) discussion seminars around the most important perennial and contemporary questions and 2) reading seminars exploring the finest wisdom literature ever written. We invite people from all walks of life to join our community of learning. Our offerings are available to all adults 18 years or older from all educational backgrounds and walks of life. In reviewing applications to study with us, we look for enthusiasm and fit for an independent and collaborative style of learning.

Fall 2023 Offerings

Registration for our Fall 2023 session has closed.

Registration for our Spring 2024 term will open in December.

Unless otherwise noted, courses meet weekly and take place online via Zoom.

D1: Which religion is closest to truth?

Guest lecturer from University of Melbourne

D2: How does economics influence culture and morality?

Guest lecturer from University of California, Santa Barbara

D3: Which political-ethical system leads to the most humane society?

Guest lecturer from Johns Hopkins University

D4: Which path to transcendence: religion, secular spirituality, philosophy, naturalism?

Guest lecturer from George Mason University

R1: The four confessions: St. Augustine, Al-Ghazali, Rousseau, Tolstoy

R2: Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility

R3: The Federalist Papers

R4: Carl Jung, The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche

R5: Friedrich Nietzsche, Daybreak and Human, All Too Human

R6: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago

R7: Erich Fromm, The Sane Society

R8: Charles Taylor, A Secular Age

R9: Classics of Korean literature: The Story of Hong Gildong, The Nine Cloud Dream, and The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong

R10: T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets

R11: Henry David Thoreau, Life Without Principle, Walden

If you are interested in studying with us, please email study@lichfieldinst.org the following details:

First and last name
Which course are you interested in (up to three)
Statement of interest (1-2 paragraphs explaining why you'd like to study with us)

*Bear in mind that we have many more readers who are interested in studying with us than we have the capacity to serve. Please consider studying with us only if you are confident that you can commit to the regular readings and meetings.

What's Your Best Email?

(where we can send you course updates and literary giveaways)