Fall 2026 Courses

Time to be determined | HUM 101

This course surveys the epic development of Western Civilization from antiquity to around 1500. It begins with the classical Greeks, whose philosophy, art, tragic literature, theoretical mathematics, and civic identity laid foundational pillars. It then examines the Hellenistic Age after Alexander the Great, followed by Rome’s rise from Republic to Empire, and its lasting legacies in law, engineering, and republicanism. The course examines the profound fusion of Greco-Roman and Christian traditions, the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the emergence of Christendom in medieval Europe, encounters with Islam, and the Crusades. It explores high medieval achievements, such as the emergence of modern law, the founding of universities, Gothic architecture, and scholasticism, before concluding with the Renaissance, defined by humanism, perspective painting, and revival of classical learning.

MWF 8:30 AM – 9:20 AM | WASH 293M

This course will investigate the novelty and “stroke of genius” (Nietzsche) of the Christian revolution that occurred at the heart of the Roman Empire in the centuries following the birth of Christ. This revolution was characterized by what historian Larry W. Hurtado calls the “destruction of the gods,” which brought with it the deracination, universalism, and totalizing thinking that would ultimately come to define western culture and modernity in particular. We will begin with a grounding in history via the work of Hurtado and others, before moving on to a philosophical and theological investigation of the meaning of Christianity and its most powerful institution, the Church. Our aim will be an encounter with the most compelling proponents—as much as the most devastating critics—of Christianity’s influence and legacy in the West, so that we may come to our own evaluation. Readings in the second part will range from St. Paul, Celsus, and St. Augustine, to G. K. Chesterton, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI).

MWF 3:30 PM – 4:20 PM | WASH 293E

Quite apart from its religious status, the Bible includes great literature, serious reflections on human life and interesting stories from widely-varying historical contexts.  This course will approach the Bible as a record of political life and explore the political situations confronting various men and women and their roles, actions and decisions.   Students of all faiths or none are welcome.

TR 1:00 PM – 2:15 PM | WASH 293J

This course presents the most ambitious and influential conquerors and explorers from antiquity through the twentieth century—men who pushed the boundaries of the known world through a restless Faustian spirit that extended Western civilization across continents and oceans. Students will examine their driving motivations: the pursuit of heroism and glory, proselytizing and spreading civilization, fame and wealth, scientific inquiry, and the quest for immortality. Emphasis is placed on endurance, bold leadership, strategic genius, and tragic grandeur in the face of extreme hardship, rather than narratives of guilt or indigenous victimhood. Figures studied range from Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Plutarch's heroes of the ancient world, to the great maritime pioneers of the Age of Discovery, the conquerors of the New World, and the heroic explorers who opened Siberia, the American West, and who braved the polar extremes in the modern era.

MWF 12:30 PM – 1:20 PM | WASH 293S

Men of great power and ferocious will acting at the decisive moment built the modern world—both for good and ill. This course will examine these founders, statesmen, and tyrants: Napoleon, Lincoln, Lenin, FDR, Hitler, Kissinger, and Lee Kuan Yew.

MWF 9:30 AM – 10:20 AM | WASH 293F

The art of persuasion was developed to a high level of sophistication in Greco-Roman antiquity and was handed down for centuries, but in recent decades has largely disappeared from education and been nearly forgotten.  You too can learn this ancient art of persuasion, see when and how it has changed the course of history, and apply it in your own life.

MWF 3:30 PM – 4:20 PM | WASH 393D

What if the deepest conflicts of our time are not political or economic, but civilizational? That’s what Samuel P. Huntington argued in his book The Clash of Civilizations—that culture, religion, and identity, not ideas or interests will shape the future of international relations. In this class, we will examine his provocative claim and test it against the reality of modern foreign affairs.

MWF 1:30 PM – 2:20 PM | WASH 293I

The philosopher Oswald Spengler predicted over a century ago that Western civilization, like all great cultures, was destined for inevitable decline. The aim of this course will be to elucidate and debate this powerful idea. Throughout, we will ask questions such as: What does it mean for a civilization to “decline,” and by what standard ought such a thing to be judged? Is it analogous to the decline of a living organism, which is of course a process that ends in death? But what does the death of an entire culture look like, and how can we distinguish death from the often severe transformations that belong to its life? There can be no doubt that the West is today mutating more rapidly than ever. Are these mutations changes that are being brought about by external forces, or do they ultimately have their roots in western culture itself? In all of these questions, Nietzsche’s prophetic remarks more than a century ago concerning the growth of “European nihilism” remain of fundamental importance. In this course, therefore, nihilism will be considered not only as an ailment of the spirit (and the body) but, following Nietzsche, as a unique and perhaps even inevitable condition of western humanity and western values. The ultimate question is then: Is nihilism only an end, or is it the clearing for a new beginning as well? Readings will include Friedrich Nietzsche, Oswald Spengler, Ernst Jünger, Martin Heidegger, Francis Fukuyama, and Edward Dutton.