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Upcoming Online Events

The Agora Foundation is a nonsectarian 501(c)3 non-profit endeavor, providing great books seminars and other educational opportunities to those who are busy with careers, families, and daily responsibilities yet are seeking to further their education. The goal of these offerings is to provide an understanding of the ideas that shape civilizations and to promote civil discourse on complicated subjects. The Agora Foundation has facilitated over 1,000 great books seminars and teacher trainings, covering a wide variety of topics including literature, philosophy, political science, theology, history, art, psychology, and more, featuring ancient and modern texts from around the world. In addition to seminars, since 2014 Agora has produced 35 panels, gatherings, and video interviews, promoting civil discourse on controversial and complicated subjects. Hundreds of these events can be freely viewed and listened to on this website.

 

Generously funded by The Ahmanson Foundation, Southern California Edison, The Shanbrom Family Foundation, the Ventura County Community Foundation, the WRG Foundation, the Constance Eaton and William Hart Fund, the Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club of Ojai, CIty of Ojai, and private donations, the Teachers for Lifelong Learning Program provides training to high school teachers in this engaging approach to learning, and The Ojai Chautauqua provides panels promoting civil discourse on controversial and complicated subjects. 

Upcoming Regular Events

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Online Seminar Series

Finnegans Wake by James Joyce

Wednesday, February 19

12:30-2:00PM PST

A story with no real beginning or end, the work has come to assume a preeminent place in English literature. Published in 1939, the book would take Joyce two decades to complete. Join us as we read this text a few pages at a time, every other Wednesday afternoon.

 

February 19 Reading:

Book Two - Chapter Three of Finnegans Wake by Joyce (page 331, Line 14)

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Schedule:

12:30 - 2:00PM PST

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Tutor:

Barry Rabe

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Location:

Online. Register to receive the link.

Free Onsite  Community Seminar Series

Eastern Classics - Tao Te Ching

Tuesday, February 18

12:00-1:00PM PST

Like the west, the east has its own tradition of influential texts that address the perennial questions of human kind. This series will focus on the texts of Taoism, Confucius, Buddhism, and Hinduism. We invite you to join us and attendees can feel free to join intermittently.

 

February 18 Reading:

Tao Te Ching - Chapter 26

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Schedule:

12:00 - 1:00PM PST

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Tutor:

Andy Gilman

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Location:

Ojai Library

111 East Ojai Avenue

Ojai, California 93023

Online Seminar Series

The Laws by Plato

Saturday, February 22

12:00-2:00PM PST

The Laws is Plato's last and longest dialogue. Its musings on the ethics of government and law have established it as a classic of political philosophy alongside Plato's more widely read Republic. We invite you to join us as we read this often overlooked text, one section at a time, in monthly online events.

 

February 22 Reading:

Book 8 - Sections 13-15: Sports and Military Training, Problems of Sexual Conduct, Agriculture, Economics and Trade (pages 275-309, 828a-850c)

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Schedule:

12:00 - 2:00PM PST

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Tutor:

David Appleby

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Location:

Online. Register to receive the link.

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold - Onsight Seminar and Panel
February 1, 2024

 

The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy partnered with the Agora Foundation for a one-day celebration of Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, which took place at Oak Grove School on Saturday, February 1. The afternoon highlight featured Green Fire, the first full-length, high-definition documentary about legendary environmentalist Aldo Leopold, followed by a thought-provoking panel discussion on Leopold’s legacy and its relevance to Ojai’s conservation efforts today. The discussion was moderated by Jon Christensen (UCLA), Richard Knight (CSU), Roger Essick (OVLC), and Tom Maloney (OVLC).

An Introduction to The Agora Foundation. What is liberal education? 

An Introduction to The Agora Foundation's Ojai Chautauqua Panels.

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