Upcoming Online Events
The Agora Foundation is a nonsectarian 501(c)3 non-profit endeavor, providing great books seminars and other educational opportunities to those who are busy with careers, families, and daily responsibilities yet are seeking to further their education. The goal of these offerings is to provide an understanding of the ideas that shape civilizations and to promote civil discourse on complicated subjects. The Agora Foundation has facilitated over 1,000 great books seminars and teacher trainings, covering a wide variety of topics including literature, philosophy, political science, theology, history, art, psychology, and more, featuring ancient and modern texts from around the world. In addition to seminars, since 2014 Agora has produced 35 panels, gatherings, and video interviews, promoting civil discourse on controversial and complicated subjects. Hundreds of these events can be freely viewed and listened to on this website.
Generously funded by The Ahmanson Foundation, Southern California Edison, The Shanbrom Family Foundation, the Ventura County Community Foundation, the WRG Foundation, the Constance Eaton and William Hart Fund, the Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club of Ojai, CIty of Ojai, and private donations, the Teachers for Lifelong Learning Program provides training to high school teachers in this engaging approach to learning, and The Ojai Chautauqua provides panels promoting civil discourse on controversial and complicated subjects.
Upcoming Regular Events


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Online Seminar Series
Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
Wednesday, April 2
12:30-2:00PM PDT
A story with no real beginning or end, the work has come to assume a preeminent place in English literature. Published in 1939, the book would take Joyce two decades to complete. Join us as we read this text a few pages at a time, every other Wednesday afternoon.
April 2 Reading:
Book Two - Chapter Three of Finnegans Wake by Joyce (page 343, Line 13)
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Schedule:
12:30 - 2:00PM PDT
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Tutor:
Barry Rabe
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Location:
Free Onsite Community Seminar Series
Eastern Classics - Tao Te Ching
Tuesday, April 1
12:00-1:00PM PDT
Online Seminar Series
Shakespeare in Britain and Greece: Comic, Tragic, Both
- King Lear
Saturday, April 5
12:00-2:00PM PDT
Like the west, the east has its own tradition of influential texts that address the perennial questions of human kind. This series will focus on the texts of Taoism, Confucius, Buddhism, and Hinduism. We invite you to join us and attendees can feel free to join intermittently.
April 1 Reading:
Tao Te Ching - Chapter 29
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Schedule:
12:00 - 1:00PM PDT
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Tutor:
Andy Gilman
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Location:
111 East Ojai Avenue
Ojai, California 93023
In the geography of his poetic imagination, Shakespeare seems to find world enough in time -- a stage in every age. In these plays, the poet’s constant themes are love, betrayal, identity, disguise, given in about as many combinations and permutations as one could wish, romantic, comic, tragic, and blends thereof.
April 5 Reading:
King Lear by William Shakespeare
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Schedule:
12:00 - 2:00PM PDT
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Tutors:
Eric Stull and Jordan Hoffman
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Location:
A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold - Onsight Seminar and Panel
February 1, 2024
The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy partnered with the Agora Foundation for a one-day celebration of Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, which took place at Oak Grove School on Saturday, February 1. The afternoon highlight featured Green Fire, the first full-length, high-definition documentary about legendary environmentalist Aldo Leopold, followed by a thought-provoking panel discussion on Leopold’s legacy and its relevance to Ojai’s conservation efforts today. The discussion was moderated by Jon Christensen (UCLA), Richard Knight (CSU), Roger Essick (OVLC), and Tom Maloney (OVLC).
An Introduction to The Agora Foundation. What is liberal education?
An Introduction to The Agora Foundation's Ojai Chautauqua Panels.