Although historical circumstances change, the dilemmas we face in the human experience do not. Every Viterbo student must take an introductory history class which has a western focus either Western Civilization or U.S. History. No, because we need to understand how our institutions have developed, how our values have evolved, and our own societal foundations, in order to effectively engage our world. We have a collective identity that too often is unknown in our society which tends to over-glorify individual accomplishment, and has only recently confronted our own cultural diversity. It seems to me prudent to have this basis upon which to prepare ourselves for the constantly expanding inter-civilization relationships the 21st century will thrust upon us.
Civilized existence is ambivalent.
Although urban life offers us the opportunity for maximum protection, it is combined with great incentives for aggression. When we aspire to wide vistas of freedom and diverse experiences, we might instead discover the imposition of drastic compulsion and regimentation. Indeed, our human proclivity towards warfare may be seen as an urban institution which has developed as an essential element of having become civilized. However, the maturity available to us from the study of history helps us overcome such predilections as the urban institution of warfare. In our Western Civilization course we investigate the impact of warfare on our cultural development.