Making a Democratic Culture: The Great Books Idea, Mortimer J. Adler, and Twentieth-Century America

"Making a Democratic Culture" analyzes the relationship between the great books idea and American culture. Its thesis is that the great books supported the notion of a democratic culture in the United States. Early promoters of the idea hoped to improve the quality of society by integrating the great books into America's intellectual life, particularly its educational and cultural institutions. They believed the result would be a highly educated citizenry infused with a greater sense of equality of opportunity. This work is focused on the life of a particular promoter, Mortimer J. Adler. Adler was a tireless advocate of the great books. With Robert Hutchins, he co-edited the best-known manifestation of the great books---Britannica's Great Books of the Western World (1952, 1990). This dissertation contributes to a thorough, contextual understanding of the great books idea and Britannica's set in twentieth-century America. Chapter topics include: the origins of the great books idea; Adler's formation and early years; the construction of Britannica's Great Books set; the integration of the great books into America's post-World War II cultural and intellectual life; the great books' place in formal education settings in the 1980's; and the great books' role in the "Cultural Wars." The project's research rests on the investigation of the archived papers of Adler and other great books supporters, as well as newspapers and other primary resources. Special attention is paid to the Chicago area, but there are no geographical or institutional boundaries to this study.