Spring 2027 Course Descriptions

The Promise of Reason, Prophets of Suspicion, and the Struggle for Grace
18th & 19th Centuries (GTX 3322)
Dr. Kristen Drahos - TR 9:30 – 10:45

The Enlightenment heralded a new day for human beings to live according to the governance of reason and newly emerging liberal traditions, yet it is in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that the full explosion of its potential emerges in philosophy, literature, history, politics, and religion. Traditional ideas about human nature, social organization, reason’s relation to faith, and the very goal of human life underwent dramatic revision. Disenchantment with one tradition or school led to thrilling discoveries, yet it also led the world into the fray of hot debates and clashing opinions. This class will investigate how these debates and the beliefs behind them reformed modernity and paved the way for the benefits and challenges of contemporary life. Read from authors such as Immanuel Kant, G.W.F. Hegel, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Søren Kierkegaard, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Traditions Peripheral and Center
Great Texts by Women (GTX 3330)
Dr. Lynne Hinojosa – TR 12:30 – 1:45<

In this course we will read texts from across the centuries written by women. We will focus on how these women writers interpreted, questioned, and contributed ideas within four overlapping areas: the intellectual tradition and the concept of virtue; the church and the pursuit of holiness; literature and its poetic functions; and politics and the gender norms of society. Texts will likely include: Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own; excerpts from Mary Wollstonecraft and Hannah Arendt; Catherine of Siena’s The Dialogue; Simone Weil’s Gravity and Grace; Jane Austen’s Persuasion; Toni Morrison’s Beloved; and selections from various women poets.

Great Texts in Medicine (GTX 3370)
Dr. Eric Martin – MW 1:00 – 2:15

In this course we will be reading Great Texts which address the nature of medicine and problems which arise amidst the experience of illness and the work toward healing.  Illness and the attempt to overcome it are among the most basic human experiences, and all cultures address the questions surrounding suffering and the healing arts. The course will include history, philosophy, literature, and theology. We will read some of those works which have been most important in the development of medicine; we will focus on important works of philosophy and literature which address the experience of illness and healing; we will situate illness and our attempts to treat it within existential frameworks addressed by theology.

Science Fiction in the Twentieth Century
Twentieth Century (GTX 4321)
Dr. Eric Martin – MWF 10:10 – 11:00

Science fiction invites readers to gaze upon the engulfing possibilities of science and technology with wonder – and with horror. It has engaged the twentieth century’s most impressive accomplishments and its darkest pathologies. Sci-fi has explored the foundational issues of its time including nationalism, capitalism, communism, decolonization, racism, religion, and secularism. This course will introduce students to classic works in science fiction in order to gain a richer sense of the meaning, history, and significance of the twentieth century. Throughout the course we will attend to the relationship between science fiction and other forms of literature, along with the theological and philosophical presuppositions guiding such narratives.

From Rebellion to Obedience: Great Texts in the Protestant Intellectual Tradition
Masterworks in Theology (GTX 4332)
Dr. William Weaver – MWF 11:15 – 12:05

The Protestant Reformation revolutionized theology and created a mass literate public hungry for theological instruction. Ultimate questions were taught and argued at kitchen tables, wrestled with in prison cells, and debated in the public square. This literary democratization was explosive for church and state. Despite division and even fragmentation, Protestants developed an impressive intellectual tradition which is the subject of this seminar.  All are invited to read masterworks of Protestant theology across five centuries by Luther, Calvin, Bunyan, Jonathan Edwards, and Karl Barth. Together, we will trace major themes including the liberty of the conscience, the sovereignty of God, and the responsibility of the Christian. No prior theological background required – only a passion for reading and discussion.

Beauty and the Soul
Masterworks in Music (GTX 4340)
Dr. David Corey – TR 11:00 – 12:15

This course surveys great works of Western classical music with special attention to questions such as how music affects the soul, why music was once studied as a liberal art, and what makes music aesthetically successful. The ability to read notation and play an instrument is helpful but not required for the course.  

Great Texts in Film
Special Topics in Great Texts (GTX 4V99)
Dr. Sarah Jane Murray – MW 4:00 – 5:15

Did you know that cinema's origins are deeply tied to classical literature like Dante’s Inferno and Homer’s Odyssey? Great Texts in Film goes beyond the book to explore how iconic literature continues to shape modern media. We’ll kick off the semester with a round table discussion about what Christopher Nolan got right (and where he departed from Homer) in The Odyssey, and then dive into exploring how great works like Frankenstein, Sense & Sensibility, The Count of Monte Christo, Madame Bovary, Anna Karenina, and The Hobbit became defining masterpieces of film and television, leaving an indelible mark on popular culture.