Texts studied are related to changing social and historical contexts. Primary sources may include Plato, The Republic, Marcus Aurelius, The Meditations, Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Machiavelli, The Prince . . . A study of Western literary, religious, and philosophical traditions, involving the reading and interpretations of significant texts from antiquity to the mid-seventeenth century.
Emphasis is placed on the development of writing skills and interpretative analysis.
Artistic and musical expression is examined through chronological and thematic approaches, with attention paid to the relation between art, music, and society. To the Lighthouse, Levi, Survival in Auschwitz. Primary sources and texts may include Darwin, The Origin of the Species, and Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Students, under the supervision of College faculty, conduct research and write a major essay on a topic related to their previous or concurrent work in the College.