G B - Great Books

Great Books: G B

Lower-Division Courses

G B X10H. Honors Lab: Ancient Worlds I.

Discuss readings and material covered in Great Books 313C.

G B X11H. Honors Lab: Ancient Worlds II.

Discuss readings and material covered in Great Books 313D.

G B X13C. Ancient Worlds I: Human and Divine.

Explore religious, literary, philosophic, and civic questions in the great texts, communal practices, and cosmological teachings from the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean. Investigate problems of the sacred and the profane, nobility and shame, holiness and justice. Study sources of wisdom in texts and authors such as Gilgamesh, Bible, Homer, Anaximander, and the tragedians.

G B X13D. Ancient Worlds II: Philosophy and the City.

Explore religious, literary, philosophic, and civic questions in the great dramatic, historical, and philosophic texts of the Ancient Mediterranean world. Investigate issues such as the unity and multiplicity of the virtues, the problem of knowledge, and the character of nature. Study sources of wisdom in such authors as Aristophanes, Thucydides, Plato, and Aristotle.

G B X15. Topics in Great Books.

Study one or more great works in the Great Books tradition.

G B X19S. Topics in Great Books.

This course is used to record credit the student earns while enrolled at another institution in a program administered by the University's Study Abroad Office. Credit is recorded as assigned by the study abroad advisor in the School of Civic Leadership. University credit is awarded for work in an exchange program; it may be counted as coursework taken in residence. Transfer credit is awarded for work in an affiliated studies program.

Upper-Division Courses

G B X25. Topics in Ancient and Medieval Great Books.

Study one or more ancient or medieval great works in the Great Books tradition.

G B X26. Topics in Renaissance and Modern Great Books.

Study one or more Renaissance or modern great works in the Great Books tradition.

G B X27. American Letters: Colonial Times to 1877.

Explore religious, literary, philosophic, scientific, and civic questions as they emerge in the arts and letters of America in the period up to and including Reconstruction. Focus on issues such as the nature of virtue and freedom, the character of the self and its relation to God and nature, and the relation between the individual and authority. Study sources of wisdom in such figures as the Puritans, James Fennimore Cooper, Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, and Frederick Douglass.

G B X28. American Letters: 1877 through the 20th Century.

Explore religious, literary, philosophic, scientific, and civic questions as they emerge in the arts and letters of America in the period from 1872 to 2000. Examine questions such as the nature of reality and our knowledge of it, the relationship between tradition and science, loyalties to place, family, and country, and the possibilities and problems of progress. Study sources of wisdom in such figures as Mark Twain, Henry James, the Gershwins, William Faulkner, and important literary, political, and cultural writings from the period.

G B X29S. Topics in Great Books.

G B X30H. Honors Lab: Classical and Medieval Worlds.

Discuss readings and material in Great Books 334C.

G B X31H. Honors Lab: Renaissance, Reformation, and the Age of Reason.

Discuss readings and material in Great Books 334D.

G B X34. Foundations in Classical Education.

G B X34C. Classical and Medieval Worlds.

Explore religious, literary, philosophic, and civic questions as they emerge in the great texts of the classical and medieval periods. Investigate issues such as the relation between philosophy and the political community, the sources of human excellence and civic consensus, and the relation between the human and the divine. Study sources of wisdom in such authors as Virgil, Augustine, Chaucer, Thomas Aquinas, and Dante.

G B X34D. Renaissance, Reformation, and the Age of Reason.

Explore religious, literary, philosophic, and civic questions in the great texts and art of the early modern period. Investigate issues such as the nature of the political community, the relation between the human and the divine, and the problem of human knowledge. Study sources of wisdom in such authors and texts as Petrarch, Calvin, Galileo, Shakespeare, and Francis Bacon.

G B X35. Great Books in Leadership.

Explore religious, poetic, and philosophic reflections on leadership as they emerge in the great books of the ancient and modern worlds. Focus on such themes as great ambition, servanthood, aspirations and obedience to divinity, grandeur, and the obligations of justice. Study sources of wisdom in such texts and authors as Xenophon, the books of Samuel, Cicero, Washington, and Churchill.

G B X37. Great Books in Law and Justice.

Explore religious, poetic, and philosophic reflections on questions of law and justice. Investigate questions concerning obligations to the community and the divine, the ordinances of the best regime, the status of nature, the character of the lawgiver, the development of common law, and the variation in law. Study such texts and authors as Exodus, Sophocles, Thomas Aquinas, Montesquieu, and Blackstone.

G B X38. Classics of Mathematics and Scientific Thought: Antiquity.

Introduction to history of mathematics and science through study of core texts from Greek and Roman antiquity. Approach science and mathematics as liberal arts; examine fundamental questions raised by scientific inquiry. Consider questions regarding the nature of scientific knowledge, mathematical truth, physical reality, and causality.

G B X39. Classics of Mathematics and Scientific Thought: Modernity.

Examine core philosophical and scientific texts in the history of modern science and mathematics. Consider questions related to natural laws, empirical investigation, mathematical analysis, and technology and the human experience. Study sources of wisdom in such authors as Galileo, Descartes, Newton, Darwin, and Einstein.

G B X40H. Honors Lab: Modern Soul.

Discuss readings and material in Great Books 345C.

G B X41H. Honors Lab: Romanticism, Revolution, and Reaction.

Discuss readings and material in Great Books 345D.

G B X45C. The Modern Soul.

Explore religious, literary, philosophic, and civic questions in the literature, art, and philosophy of the modern period. Focus on issues such as the nature of freedom, the character of the self, the relation between the individual and politico-religious authority, and the ascendency of science. Study sources of wisdom in authors and artists such as Bach, Newton, Hume, Austen, Goethe, and Tolstoy.

G B X45D. Romanticism, Revolution, and Reaction.

Explore religious, literary, philosophic, and civic questions in the great texts of the later modern period. Focus on questions concerning the relationship between freedom and community, history and reason, the self and society, and rational inquiry and revelation. Study sources of wisdom in authors such as Rousseau, Flaubert, Marx, Dostoevsky, Darwin, Nietzsche, and Heisenberg.

G B X46. Advanced Topics in Great Books.

Discuss one or more great works in the great books tradition at an advanced level.

G B X46.1. Advanced Great Books.

Discuss great books at an advanced level.

G B X47. Fertility, Birth, Fragility, Dying.

Explore religious, poetic, scientific, and philosophic reflections on the phenomena of fertility, birth, injury, disability, aging, and dying. Consider authors and texts from the ancient world through modern times.

G B X48. Technology and the Human Experience.

Explore religious, literary, scientific, and philosophic reflections on the phenomena of technology, such as: the conquest of nature, industrial and digital revolutions, Artificial Intelligence, transhumanism, cryotherapy, and others. Consider authors and texts from the ancient world through modern times.

G B X56. Advanced Topics in Ancient and Medieval Great Books.

Discuss one or more ancient or medieval great works in the great books tradition at an advanced level.

G B X56.1. Advanced Ancient and Medieval Great Books.

Discuss ancient and medieval great books at an advanced level.

G B X66. Advanced Topics in Renaissance and Modern Great Books.

Discuss one or more Renaissance or modern great works in the great books tradition at an advanced level.

G B X66.1. Advanced Renaissance and Modern Great Books.

Discuss Renaissance and modern great books at an advanced level.

G B X67. Topics in Advanced Readings in Great Books.

Discuss advanced topics examining a single major topic or theme in great books or works of a significant author.

G B X71. Capstone in Great Books.

Participate in capstone of the great books degree. Develop and defend a persuasive argument on a significant question.

G B X72. Topics in Independent Research in Great Books.

Participate in supervised research.

G B X77I. Internship in Great Books.

Participate in a professional internship. Reflect on internship to improve ability to both articulate preferences and skills, and to match them with appropriate career-related choices.

G B X78H. Great Books Honors Thesis I.

Participate in thesis writing in the great books degree. Develop and defend a persuasive argument on a significant question.

G B X78I. Internship in Great Books.