Page Turners

In this Page Turner’s episode, we host J. Scott Lee and Randall Fowler to talk about their co-edited volume, Place in the Liberal Arts: An Interdisciplinary Introduction to Text and Topos . J. Scott Lee is co-founder and the retired Executive Director of the Association for Core Texts and Courses. Randall Fowler is Assistant Professor of Political Rhetoric and Director of Undergraduate Research at...

In this episode, our guest Christine Dunn Henderson, Associate Professor of Political Science at Singapore Management University, discusses Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. Christine is interviewed by Charlotte Thomas, the executive director of ACTC and Professor of Philosophy at Mercer University. As long-time colleagues and friends, their conversation makes the discussion of de Tocq...

In this episode, we host three guests: John Coleman (Ave Maria University), Chris Edelman (University of the Incarnate Word), and Neil Robertson (University of King's College). These scholars will talk about religiosity across a number of texts by the sixteenth-century French thinker, Michel de Montaigne. Each of our guests will give an abbreviated version of their talks from the 2025 ACTC annual...

ACTC’s 2026 annual conference theme was We Hold These Truths: Liberty, Equality, and Core Texts . It was held March 19 through 21 and hosted by Arizona State University’s (ASU) School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership. In this episode, we host a number of conference speakers to give an overview of their presentations as a means of showcasing the diverse topics across the conference. Sin...

Episode 2 of the podcast is on the value of teaching the writings of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, with special guests Bretton Rodriguez and Antony Lyon of University of California, San Diego’s Revelle College. Although the conversation is about her work broadly speaking, the episode dives a bit deeper into her response to the letter from Sor Filotea. We also have Franklyn Wu of Dharma Realm Buddhist...

Episode one of the podcast is on James Baldwin's short story, "Sonny's Blues," with special guests Michele Rozga and Page Laws. Michele will give a short talk on the story, followed by a Q&A session with her and Page. Before their talk, you'll also hear more about the podcast and our Substack, along with a special student segment outlining what undergraduate students are reading lately in their co...

Welcome to Page Turners , a podcast from the Association of Core Texts and Courses (ACTC), where we explore the texts that have shaped ideas, cultures, and conversations throughout history.  In each episode, we’ll host scholars from around the globe as we dive into the “what,” “how,” and “why” of reading and teaching Core Texts. Listen to our trailer and stay tuned for new episodes, coming soon! T...