Digital tools let everyday Americans study classics without elite colleges
The column argues that online resources now enable people without privileged university backgrounds to pursue serious study of history, philosophy and literature.
In this opinion piece the writer reflects on his own journey from a blue-collar upbringing in Louisiana to a habit of nightly study of classic texts via the internet. He notes that the monopoly once held by elite universities over serious learning is eroding, as anyone can listen to Aristotle lectures on a commute or join a Zoom discussion of one outlet Papers. Platforms such as the Philosophize This! podcast, run by former warehouse worker Stephen West, and Interintellect’s scholar-led online seminars illustrate this shift.
The author also references Princeton-trained classicist Nadya Williams, who offers free interviews with leading scholars. By recalling self-taught founders like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, he frames the current digital democratization of the liberal arts as a revival of an older American habit of independent learning.
Why it matters
It shows how technology is widening access to high-level education beyond traditional elite institutions.
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