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2009-2010

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Course Outlines
for Freshmen 2010-11

Classical - great books curriculum

How can this be best defined?
The course syllabi in our humanities course -- humane letters, as they can be called -- will consist of books from the western, classical tradition.  For example, in theology, students will read directly from Aristotle and Aquinas; in social studies, from Thucydides and Thomas Paine; in language arts, from Sophocles and Shakespeare.

Though there are times in which use of a textbook will work well for our courses, predominantly our courses will use these first, or primary, sources.  We want to give our students a direct connection with these great works, with the thinkers and their ideas directly.  We want to avoid having them read "thoughts about thoughts" as textbooks and anthologies can be called.  As our students become more versed and accustomed to learning in this manner, the teacher and the students engage with and learn directly from these great minds.  The search for wisdom is much deeper and more fulfilling in this way.

All of this springs from the intellectual tradition of the Catholic Church.  For two centuries, Christian, Catholic intellectuals have been engaged in a dialogue within essays, novels, poems, and plays.  This dialogue is founded on a belief in natural law, that there are certain truths that do not change over time, place, or person.  These works then lead readers into discovering and uncovering truth.  And that truth we know to be Christ.

We are working at this time to develop a clear reading list, finding the right books and translations for our students.  In reality, there will be limits to how many works our students can read; we hope to light a fire and passion for this inquiry that leads to a lifelong pursuit of truth.