Ayn Rand’s novels–We the Living, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged–are self-consciously philosophical novels, containing abstract themes, characters driven by opposing moral principles, and conflicts rooted in clashing worldviews. And more than that, Rand’s fictional heroes discover and embody new philosophical ideas, original to Rand. To understand Rand’s distinctive worldview and to learn her new philosophy, Objectivism, there is no better place to start than with careful consideration of the content and meaning of her novels, which contain the richest treatment of a number of central principles of Objectivism available. The course provides a powerful corrective to a tendency among students of Objectivism to neglect Rand’s fiction in their study of Objectivist philosophy.
There are two iterations of this course in the ARU 2025 school year, in Q1-Q2 and Q3-Q4.
Prerequisites or Corequisites: None.
Level: 100 Start Date: April 17, 2025 Live Class: Thursdays, 9-10:30 am PT Quarter: Q3-Q4
Live Classes
You can join the live class on Zoom using this link: Zoom Meeting Link.
(Meeting ID: 867 6055 7568 | Passcode: 318216)
Participants are strongly encouraged to attend classes live for the best experience. However, we are aware this is not always possible and recordings of live classes are posted on the course website and on the ARU App/ARI Campus website, usually within an hour or two after the conclusion of each live class. Contact aru@aynrand.org if you have any issue accessing a recording.
If you attend class live, please turn on your camera unless you are in a setting with a distracting background or your device is not on a stable surface. It makes for a much better experience for all participants when faces are visible.
Office Hours:
Please be advised that 1-on-1 appointments are prioritized for graded students. Graded Students can schedule appointments up to 14 days in advance. In all cases, please email the faculty to request a meeting outside of scheduled office hours. Auditors are encouraged to attend open office hours (and can reach out directly to instructors for 1-on-1 appointments if necessary).
Ben Bayer:
All available slots are 20 minutes. If no one books an adjacent slot we can go longer. These are valid from April 18th until June 13th.
If you want to meet and no time slots will ever work for you, please reach out directly to bbayer@aynrand.org to try to schedule outside the regular hours.
Wednesdays: 10am-12pm PT
Appointment booking page
Fridays: 7-9am PT
Appointment booking page
Nicolas Krusek:
Thursdays: 11 am – 12 pm PT
Appointment Booking Page
Jennifer Minjarez:
Fridays: 9 am – 10 am PT
Appointment Booking Page
Course Announcements:
View all announcements
ARU Discord:
ARU Discord Server
Course Communication Logistics:
- Course announcements are posted in the Announcements tab of the course website and automatically emailed to all participants. Please make sure you are receiving these emails and that they are not going to your spam folder. If you join after the start of class, be sure to check the Announcements tab for anything you may have missed.
- For questions about course content, structure or schedule, please ask during the live class or in the course channel on the ARU Discord server (see the Discord tab of the course website).
- Questions about your assignments and grades should be directed to the teaching assistant.
- For personal administrative issues (e.g., website problems), email aru@aynrand.org.
- If you have a technical issue preventing submission of an assignment, email your assignment to the TA and cc aru@aynrand.org to troubleshoot the matter.
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