The Program is directed by Michael Gillespie, Professor of Political Science and Philosophy. The undergraduate teaching program begins with a freshman Focus Program on Visions of Freedom, currently also supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. This program consists of four demanding courses in Political Science, English, Philosophy, and History. The courses focus on readings from seminal works in the Western philosophical tradition, important texts in economic theory, European and third world literary works, and contemporary critics of modern liberalism. This focus program involves approximately 30 students who live together, and take 3 of their first 4 courses together.
Students also meet once a week for dinner with a guest speaker.
The program also includes upper level undergraduate courses on selected topics taught in various fields. We provide course development grants to stimulate faculty to develop new undergraduate courses in this area. Advanced graduate students in the last year of their dissertation work compete for teaching fellowships in this program. A visiting faculty member or postdoc is also funded under this program and teaches two courses per year in this area. At the advanced undergraduate and graduate level, the program supports one interdisciplinary team taught course per year.