GB Reflection Sharing Presentation

Incheon National University Hasandong Library (Director Young-don Yoon) and the INU GreatBooks Center (Director Seung-hyun Hwang) held the “2025 Great Books Reflection Sharing Presentation” on Friday, November 7, at the Convergence Hall of Irum Hall in Hasandong Library.

The event provided undergraduate students participating in the Great Books–based discussion seminar (INU GB Program) and local high school students with an opportunity to present their reflections and learning insights through oral presentations.

This year’s presentation focused on expanding the significance of reading classics and conducting discussions in the AI era through a special lecture by visiting faculty from St. John’s College, while also exploring the potential of humanities education connecting regional universities and high schools.

The GB Reflection Sharing Presentation was held at the Convergence Hall of Irum Hall at Incheon National University’s Hasandong Library, with more than 100 participants including Library Director Young-don Yoon, Admissions Director Ji-seung Noh, INU GreatBooks Center Director Seung-hyun Hwang, university faculty and staff, St. John’s College Professor (Tutor) Patricia Locke, INU undergraduate students, teachers and students from Gyeolmaru Future School, and the vice principal, teachers, and students of Samsan High School.

Following the opening announcement, undergraduate presentations and high school presentations proceeded sequentially, followed by a mid-session guest speech (English–Korean), judging, and an awards ceremony.

The session was moderated by INU Physics Professor Jung-woo Kim, and the special lecture was delivered by St. John’s College Professor Patricia Locke.

Professor Locke emphasized the essence of discussion-based education with the message: “Think for yourself, but think together.”

Professor Patricia Locke introduced the educational philosophy of discussion-based seminars grounded in the Great Books.

Using Homer’s Odyssey as an example, she emphasized that true inquiry is not about heroic adventures but about discovering the essence of “being human”—welcoming and trusting strangers through hospitality.

She also introduced Ptolemy’s Almagest, a foundational text of ancient astronomy, explaining how it systematized the most sophisticated geocentric model based on centuries of data—what we might today call “big data.” She highlighted how Copernicus’s heliocentric model emerged precisely from this “greatest failure.”

Quoting Kafka—“A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us”—Professor Locke stressed that Great Books–based seminars cultivate personal thinking and foster shared wisdom through dialogue.

Her lecture awakened the audience to the depth of reflection, empathy toward others, and the meaning of sustainable communal learning, confirming that reading classics and engaging in dialogue may indeed be the “ancient future of education” in the AI era.

Judging was conducted by three faculty members participating in the GB program, evaluating students based on understanding and insight into the classics, creative thinking and e-x-p-r-e-s-s-i-o-n, presentation delivery, and empathy and influence, followed by the presentation of the Grand Prize, Excellence Prize, and Merit Prize.

Since 2019, Incheon National University has introduced and adapted the Great Books (GB) discussion seminar model from St. John’s College to suit the Korean educational context.

Currently, the university operates GB curricular and co-curricular programs for INU undergraduates, as well as connected programs for local high schools.

By expanding the Great Books–based discussion seminar model to high school students and community members, the university continues to contribute to regional educational development.