Adam Smith Reading Group
The reading group meets five Fridays a semester, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM, in Buchanan Hall room D180. The group reads mostly eighteenth-century literature relating to Smith, political economy, natural jurisprudence, and liberalism. The group periodically reads Smith's Essays on Philosophical Subjects, Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, Lectures on Jurisprudence, and correspondence.
Spring 2026: For the 250th, we will read a classic about 1776: Bernard Bailyn, The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution.
Fall 2025: We are reading Cicero On Duties (De Officiis) and another Cicero selection.
The edition has Latin on the verso side and English (trans. W. Miller) on the recto. Buy the version with cover shown below (Amazon link).
Schedule for Fall 2025:
September 19: Cicero, On Duties, Book I, pp. 2–82
October 3: Cicero, On Duties, Book II, pp. 84–132
October 17: Cicero, On Duties, Book III, pp. 134–200.
October 31: Cicero, On Moral Ends, Book III —Cambridge UP edition (Amazon link) (To obtain pdf, write to Michaela at maloughran014@gmail.com.)
November 21: Cicero, On Moral Ends, Book IV —Cambridge UP edition (Amazon link) (To obtain pdf, write to Michaela at maloughran014@gmail.com.)