Teaching through the Year: Seasonal Readings and Activities
We're making it easy for you to find seasonally relevant ways to bring Adam Smith and his ideas into your classroom.
Spring Semester
February
Black History Month:
- The Great Antidote Podcast: Rachel Ferguson on Black Liberation Through the Marketplace
- Liberty Matters entry: Should We Read Adam Smith During Black History Month? by Jack Russell Winestein (scroll down for the essay)
14th (Valentine’s Day):
- Adam Smith Suggests You Read a Romance Novel (And Have a Laugh At Yourself) by Shannon Chamberlain
- What Would Adam Smith Say About Love on Valentine’s Day? by Janet Bufton
- Adam Smith on Polygamy and Kin Networks by Patrick Fitzsimmons
President’s Day:
- The Great Antidote podcast Christine McDaniel on Trade: A Tale of Two Presidents
- Can Sober Smithians Soften Polarized Partisans? by James E Hartley
March
Women’s History Month: Nothing Useless, Absurd, or Fantastical: Adam Smith on Women’s Education by Sarah Skwire.
Women’s History Month: Nothing Useless, Absurd, or Fantastical: Adam Smith on Women’s Education by Sarah Skwire.
April
American Tax Day:
American Tax Day:
- Adam Smith on Wage Taxes and Labor Force Participation by Maryann Keating
- Reading Guide to Bk 5, Ch. 2 Of the Sources of the General or Public Revenue of the Society
May
Mother's Day:
- A Mother’s Suffering through the Eyes of Adam Smith by Edward Harpham
- Adam Smith Comics: The Butcher, The Baker, and the Brewer
Memorial Day: Do Not Take Peace for Granted by Alice Temnick
June
5th (Adam Smith’s Birthday!): James R. Otteson’s A Brief Biography of Adam Smith
Father's Day: Father's Day Advice from Adam Smith by Shannon Chamberlain
19th (Juneteenth):
- Adam Smith on Slavery by Jack Russell Winestein
- Facing Up to Oppression: Adam Smith and the Question of Reparations by Remy Debes
Fall Semester
September
Labor Day: Matt Bufton's Reading the Wealth of Nations: Book 2 invites reads to think about what make labor productive. Speaking of Smith post.
October
31st (Halloween):
- Ghost stories. The ghosts of Adam Smith and John Maynard Keynes advise President Elizabeth Montgomery the night before her State of the Union address.
- Caroline Breashears' Adam Smith and the Horror of Frankenstein
- Graham McAleer's Adam Smith and Ghosts
- Amy Willis' What's Spooky About Smith?
- Edward J. Harpham's Frankenstein Through the Eyes of Adam Smith
November
Election Day: Men of Public Spirit Activity. Use Adam Smith's discussion of men "whose public spirit is prompted altogether by humanity and benevolence" as a starting point to discuss civil government and how to approach difficult public policy problems.
Thanksgiving: Heather King's Happy Smithsgiving! Speaking of Smith post.
Giving Tuesday: The Virtue of Beneficence Activity. Use this quotation from Adam Smith's The Theory of Moral Sentiments to discuss whether we can be forced to be generous and kind.
December
Bill of Rights Day: 1776 and the American Founding AdamSmithWorks Essay Collection
25th (Christmas):
- James Hartley's Adam Smith Wants you to ENJOY the Holidays
- Richard Gunderman's Sympathy for Affliction: Adam Smith and Charles Dickens. AdamSmithWorks Essay
- Renee Wilmeth's What Adam Smith Ate: A Holiday Feast