The Humanities Project: The Center for Western Studies.
Introductory remarks:
It has become increasingly clear to cultural critics that we are declining as a civilization in the West. Once, long ago, Western civilization imagined and created universities, hospitals, cathedrals, great art and music, as the result of the unique combination of Greek and Christian thought that formed the basis for the Western mind. Today, while we may sustain the outward appearance of these institutions, our culture has lost the general Christian convictions it once held, and the result is that these institutions are becoming hollowed-out shells that still resemble the original institutions on the outside but inside are increasingly confused within. Universities that once touted mottos like “Veritas” now teach that there is no truth; hospitals that once only employed those who took the Hippocratic Oath now embrace abortion as a matter of course; cathedrals built by the people themselves over the course of generations now stand nearly empty; transcendent art and music that once was a part of daily life has been relegated to museums; and the dynamic and profound relationship between reason and revelation that brought all this culture to fruition has been dismissed as irrelevant. We are living on borrowed capital from that earlier age, and more than one pundit is predicting that we are in the last days of Western Civilization. While none would want to go back to a world of plagues, feudal warfare and no plumbing, we would like to regain any truly timeless thinking that past generations have done, and find ways to apply those ideas to life as we do the human work of writing, composing, painting, designing, discovering, and studying in order to know the truth about ourselves and our human situation.
Walker Percy once wrote that learning has lost its sense of wonder. Learning should be, he said, like the experience of that first explorer who stumbled into the Grand Canyon. What a dangerous and profound experience that must have been – quite different than the experience a tourist might get today: secure fences all around it, buildings with air conditioning built on its rim, park guides who will take you on a well-worn path to see the aspects they think the most impressive. Learning, Percy said, should be like that first discovery – fresh, alive, dangerous, not-for-the-squeamish. It requires hard work, hardship, and a sense of adventure. The Truth is a prize fought for and won, not pre-packaged, delivered as efficiently as possible, and graded on the curve all within an hour’s class time. That’s not the way life is, and we underestimate our students when we suggest that an education should be efficient – we are implying that it is a commodity that is purchased before getting a job (which itself is only a means toward self-definition – “and what do you do?” we ask each other.)
Learning to think well means that you will be able to see today’s problems in the context of history. Who will you vote for in the coming elections? Why? Has there been a time in the past when we have had a similar field of candidates? Have they been asking the same questions? Have you heard these answers before? How did we do in the past? And more than all that, what role should politics play in the "good life"?
Learning to think well means that one should be able to make sense of human artistic activity – that creativity is not just a means of self-expression, or of audience entertainment. How do we see the worldview of a painter? Can instrumental music express content? What does the church architecture of our day say about what we believe? What does it mean when a culture’s literature (in film, novel, television, theater) reduces the timeless themes of love and death to discussions of genitalia and torture?
Learning to think well means not that you learn everything there is to know about one sub-specialty, but rather that you learn how to begin to address any subject. How does this subject fit into the universe that God has created?
What we are proposing here is a year of discovery. A year to get two things firmly in hand: first, the elements of a Christian world-view, and second, a foundational sense for the history of ideas.
The worldview part would begin with theology and establish a vocabulary and roster of questions that can be asked that will serve to unlock the presuppositions of any position. What can orthodox Christianity tell us about questions of God’s person, plan, works of creation and redemption; what is a human being, and why is he here; and how do we know what we claim to know about truth, beauty, goodness, and history? We would read extensively in the bible, and in various writers from the past and present who have addressed such first questions.
The history of ideas is accomplished through extensive reading in the great books, following the conversation through the centuries about God, man, and the world. What does Homer have to say about what a virtuous man is like? What does Augustine have to say about the relationship of soul and music? What do the medieval writers have to say about the nature of beauty? How do Bach and Mozart approach composing music? Why does Beckett despair while waiting for Godot, if he doesn’t believe there is a God(ot)?
We are proposing a year of study of Western civilization from a Christian view as a foundation for any learning any one would want to do in any subject. It would be an on-going, in-depth tutorial with a small group of students who are interested in an outside-the-box education, culminating in a trip to Europe to study various aspects of our subject. (I have taken several groups of students to Paris, and my colleague has taken students to England).
Tuition would be well under the norm for a year at college (around $12,000 including books and the trip’s travel costs) for a September 08 to May 09 program. There would be 3 main faculty, several additional guest faculty, and a lot of interactive discussion around our various readings from great books. We would keep the group small – less than 15 students. Food and housing would be on your own, but we will provide a meeting place with a fireplace, good coffee, and space and time to think.
Due to a good relationship with Belhaven College in Jackson, MS, we also have the opportunity to give college credit for some of the work we would do together, credit that could be transferred to another college if you should like to do so. There would be an additional per-credit fee that Belhaven would charge for that, but it is not high.
Read this talk and make your comments – and let us know if you would be interested in joining us. We already have folks in Atlanta and Santa Cruz, CA who have shown an interest, as well as some in Memphis. If you are interested, please let us know and we’ll let you know more details and answer your questions.
Thanks for your attention, and may our Lord bless your decisions for studies!