At The Classical Institute, the Short Seminar Series offers focused, academically grounded explorations across theology, religion, philosophy, language, and culture. Each series engages key texts and traditions, inviting critical reflection on enduring questions of meaning, faith, and the intellectual heritage of the East and West.
Exploring Ideas That Shaped Civilisations
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Spiritual Dimensions of Christianity
This six-part seminar series, led by Carol Mayes, Visitor Chaplain at Birmingham Cathedral, offers a focused exploration of the spiritual and theological dimensions of Christianity. Through engagement with scripture, doctrine, and practice, participants will examine themes such as prayer, contemplation, and the work of the Holy Spirit.
The series invites reflection on how these enduring traditions continue to shape identity, community, and the pursuit of holiness in the contemporary world.
Seminar One: Thursday 26 March 2026 8:00pm-9:30pm (UK Time)
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Seminar 4: Plato’s Crito and the Law
This four-part seminar series, led by John Claughton, explores the intellectual flowering of 5th century BCE Athens, when history, drama, and philosophy first emerged as distinct forms of enquiry. Former Chief Master of King Edward’s School and a leading classicist, John Claughton brings decades of experience in teaching Greek literature, thought, and history, with a deep interest in the moral and political ideas that shaped the classical world.
Seminar Four: Next Session TBC
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The Homeric Gods and their First Philosophical Critics
This four-part seminar series, led by Dr Simon Trépanier, Senior Lecturer in Classics at the University of Edinburgh, explores how early Greek thinkers began to question and reinterpret traditional conceptions of the Divine. From Xenophanes’ critique of Homeric anthropomorphism to Heraclitus’ synthesis of divine order and natural law, participants trace the beginnings of philosophical theology in early Greece.
Seminar Two: Next session tbc