Fall Term
- Philosophy The Ancient WorldThis course examines philosophy from the earliest periods of the Western tradition (Jewish and Greek thought) up to the Apostolic era. We will consider the contributions of some of the greatest thinkers to the central questions of our lives: what is truth, justice, love, the soul, politics, the individual, reason? What constitutes a good or meaningful life?
- Science Medicine & Faith The Ancient WorldThis course considers the development of science from Antiquity to the Middle Ages, demonstrating the complex history of thought which gave rise to modern science and medicine. Where did science come from? What misconceptions do we have about its processes and stakes? What attitude ought the Christian to have toward science?
- Literature The Ancient WorldThis course explores the earliest literatures in the Western tradition (Homer’s Odyssey, Virgil’s Aeneid) up through the Renaissance (Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus) in order to develop a Christian understanding of the imagination. What does it mean to read as a Christian?
- History The Ancient WorldWhere do we come from? Where are we going? Is it all insignificant or meaningless? This course offers students a vivid journey through the experience of Ancient man through the Renaissance, demonstrating the profound position of faith as the foundation for the development of culture.
- Reading the Scriptures What is Holy Scripture and how can we learn to read and understand it? How has the Bible shaped the Western tradition? In this course, students engage with the Old Testament scriptures, considering topics such as the nature of providence, the implications of creation and fall, and the experience of exile and return to a land of promise
- Augustine’s Confessions In this course, students read from Augustine’s Confessions, a text and author whose work forms the cornerstone of the College’s mission. What is prayer? What is humility before God? How does one’s relationship with God shape our perspective of the world and our place in it? Augustine’s penetrating questions offer a model for the kind of intellectual and spiritual life that unites faith and reason.
Winter Term
- Philosophy The Modern WorldBuilding on the ideas from Philosophy in the Ancient World, this course examines the modern turn in philosophy, and considers the questions and problems generated by a world that rejects God as a point of departure. What is evil? How does modern philosophical thought attend to moral questions? How does a post-Christian society derive meaning? How can Christians offer a postmodern world rich resources for human flourishing?
- Science Medicine & Faith The Modern WorldThis course addresses two major revolutions in the sciences: Newton’s laws of motion, and Einstein’s theories of relativity and the subsequent study of quantum mechanics. Students will consider these contributions to knowledge and discuss the implications of modernity’s turn toward a purely naturalistic frame of reference. Should Christians pursue a career in molecular biology? What is the place of faith in the world of modern science and medicine?
- Literature The Modern WorldThis course takes up where Literature in the Ancient World left off, considering the Renaissance (Shakespeare, Milton) up through Dostoevsky to 19th and 20th century authors. What are the central historical and intellectual contexts for these enduring works in the Western tradition? How do these texts shed light on the nature of human expression and striving in a modern age?
- History The Modern WorldThe Modern World
- Reading the Scriptures The Modern World