Basic Program of Liberal Education

Past Courses

roman city at sunset
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The Winter Seminar will explore Roman poetry, with themes of love and nature intertwining with ideas of aesthetics, passion, morality, and violence. The Winter Quarter tutorial will focus on the Roman...

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The Romans first year courses will focus on the history and politics of Rome, delving into influences on our own history and institutions. The Autumn Quarter Seminar looks at Roman heroes and anti...

Tolstory and Anna Karenina
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An insightful study of Russian political, economic, social, and cultural history, Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina (1875-1877) can also be seen as a precursor of the twentieth-century exploration of...

Antigone Deep Dive
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This class is meant as a second reading of Sophocles' Antigone (read in the first quarter of the Basic Program), for those already somewhat familiar with the play; it is designed to build on previous...

Aristotle
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During the conquest of the New World, the interpretation of Aristotle played a role in the debate the Spanish held about how to treat the natives. Both sides cited Aristotle's doctrine of "natural...

The painting "St. Augustine Reading the Epistle of St Paul" by Benozzo Gozzoli.
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Written in the style of a Platonic dialogue, Augustine records a conversation between himself and his son Adeodatus. They wrestle with how to synthesize the insights of Plato's Meno and the...

Image of woman student in classroom.
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This course is for students who need to make up the Year 1 Autumn Quarter of the Basic Program of Liberal Education for Adults to complete the certificate.
We recommend that new students to the Basic...

War of Athens
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The Year 4 Seminar texts cover a wide range time periods and genres, including philosophy, biography, satire, and romance, which connect through the themes of love, character, and humor as they...

American artist John Trumbull's oil-on-canvas painting depicting the presentation of the draft of the Declaration of Independence to Congress.
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From Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France and Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address to Toni Morrison's Beloved, this Year 4 Spring Seminar spotlights readings related to the founding...

The Greek philosopher Aristotle depicted on the old Greek five drachma coin.
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In the Year 4 Winter Seminar we will read some of the foundational works of political and economic theory, starting with the ancient view represented by Aristotle, and then looking at the origins of a...