At Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts, we combine the very best approaches to liberal education within a single institution, integrating a reading of the classic great books both in an interdisciplinary approach—in our Philosophy and Humanities Sequence—but also through the lenses of the classic disciplines, particularly in our major courses. Students will drink directly from the sources, engaging poets, philosophers, theologians, scientists, historians, playwrights, and artists in their own words and works. These transformative encounters expand, elevate, refine, and challenge the intellects and the imaginations of those who give themselves to the books while also receiving them deeply into their own interior lives.
Over the course of four years, students encounter a wide variety authors and texts in the Philosophy and Humanities Sequence, the major courses, and the other courses that constitute the Program of Studies.
One way to think of the Sequence is as a great conversation stretching back through time. Very often authors are in direct dialogue with one another–think of Kant’s being “awakened from his dogmatic slumber” by Hume–while others do not explicitly name their interlocutors. This is a conversation in which our students enter, not as passive onlookers but as active contributors. This dialogue–between authors, students, faculty, and alumni–forms the heart of our college.
The following offers a selection of the texts that all students read in the core courses–including the forty-eight credit Humanities sequence–either in whole or in part:
Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, AntigoneSophocles
PhiloctetesSophocles
The Bacchae, The MedeaEuripides
Alcestis, HippolytusEuripides
Acharnians, Peace, LysistrataAristophanes
Frogs, Clouds, BirdsAristophanes
“The Comic Terrain”Cowan
ElementsEuclid
Theseus and SolonPlutarch
Themistocles and AristidesPlutarch
Cimon and Pericles, Nicias and AlcibiadesPlutarch
AlmagestPtolemy
UpanishadsAnonymous
Rig VedaAnonymous
Bhagavad GitaAnonymous
The DhammapadaAnonymous
AnalectsConfucius
Tao Te ChingLao Tzu
History of RomeLivy
The Rise of the Roman EmpirePolybius
The Conspiracy of CatilineSallust
Somnium Scipionis, LettersCicero
AeneidVirgil
Odes, Epodes, Satires, LettersHorace
MetamorphosesOvid
Moral EpistlesSeneca
AnnalsTacitus
EnneadsPlotinus
Sacred Scripture
Selected WritingsEarly Church Fathers
The Passion of SS. Perpetua and FelicityAnonymous
Lives of the Desert FathersVarious
Life of St. AntonySt. Athanasius
The Gnostic ReligionJonas
Confessions, City of GodSt. Augustine
De Genesi ad litteramSt. Augustine
PsychomachiaPrudentius
Ambrosian Chantattr. St. Ambrose
The Consolation of PhilosophyBoethius
Life of St. BenedictGregory the Great
RuleSt. Benedict
Qur’an
The Story of ArtGombrich
Life of CharlemagneEinhard
Anglo-Saxon PoetryVarious
BeowulfAnonymous
Proslogio, Response to GauniloSt. Anselm
Historia CalamitatumAbelard
LettersAbelard and Heloise
On Loving GodSt. Bernard
Medieval lyricsVarious
ChantSt. Hildegard von Bingen
Song of RolandAnonymous
Rule, TestamentSt. Francis
The Life of St. FrancisCelano
Selected writingsAlfarabi
Selected writingsMaimonides
Selected writingsRumi
Treatise on the VirtuesSt. Thomas Aquinas
Treatise on LawSt. Thomas Aquinas
Guide to Thomas AquinasPieper
Journey of the Mind to GodSt. Bonaventure
Life of St. LouisJoinville
The Divine ComedyDante
Selected ChansonsTroubadours
Sir Gawain and the Green KnightAnonymous
“On Metaphysics”Scotus
Selected writingsGiles of Rome
Selected writingsJohn of Paris
Selected writingsMarsilius of Padua
Selected writingsOckham
Selected writingsFortescue
Messe de Nostre Dame, Rose LizMachaut
Revelations of Divine LoveJulian of Norwich
Second Shepherd’s PlayAnonymous
Canterbury TalesChaucer
Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de BerryLimbourg Brothers
“On the Dignity of Man”Pico della Mirandola
Praise of Folly, “On Free Will”Erasmus
UtopiaSt. Thomas More
A Dialogue of Comfort Against TribulationSt. Thomas More
The Prince, The DiscoursesMachiavelli
Masses and motetsDufay
Masses and motetsJosquin
Masses and motetsPalestrina
Selected writingsLuther
InstitutesCalvin
A Spiritual ConsolationSt. John Fisher
An Epistle of ComfortSouthwell
Spiritual ExercisesIgnatius of Loyola
Documents from the Council of TrentCouncil Fathers
Interior CastleSt. Teresa of Avila
PoemsSt. John of the Cross
Introduction to the Devout LifeFrancis de Sales
EssaysMontaigne
Dr. FaustusMarlowe
Renouncing FaustCowan
Macbeth, Hamlet, OthelloShakespeare
King Lear, Richard IIShakespeare
Henry IV Part 1, Henry V, Twelfth NightShakespeare
Midsummer Night’s DreamShakespeare
Merchant of VeniceShakespeare
The Winter’s Tale, The TempestShakespeare
The Great InstaurationBacon
Novum Organon, The New AtlantisBacon
Discourse of Method, MeditationsDescartes
PenséesPascal
On the Revolutions of the Heavenly SpheresCopernicus
Epitome of Copernican AstronomyKepler
Starry MessengerGalileo
Dialogue Concerning Two New SciencesGalileo
PrincipiaNewton
LeviathanHobbes
Selected poemsMetaphysical Poets
Paradise LostMilton
Essay Concerning Human UnderstandingLocke
Second Treatise on GovernmentLocke
Musical compositionsJ.S. Bach
Enquiry Concerning Human UnderstandingHume
The First and Second DiscoursesRousseau
On the Social ContractRousseau
EncyclopedieD’Alembert
What is Enlightenment?Kant
Prolegomena to Any Further MetaphysicsKant
Foundations of the Metaphysics of MoralsKant
The Wealth of NationsSmith
From Enlightenment to RevolutionVoegelin
L’Ancien Régime et la RévolutionTocqueville
The Dividing of ChristendomDawson
Musical compositionsHaydn
Musical compositionsMozart
Reflections on the Revolution in FranceBurke
Musical compositionsBeethoven
Rime of the Ancient MarinerColeridge
Philosophy of HistoryHegel
Selected writingsMarx
Origin of SpeciesDarwin
Drama of Atheist Humanismde Lubac
Idea of a UniversityNewman
The Uncertainty Principle in EducationCowan
Philosophical FragmentsKierkegaard
Madame BovaryFlaubert
Crime and PunishmentDostoevsky
A Short Account of the Destruction of the IndiesLas Casas
The American Puritans: Their Prose and PoetryPerry Miller
Selected writingsJefferson
Federalist and Anti-Federalist writingsVarious
Democracy in AmericaTocqueville
Selected EssaysRalph Waldo Emerson
Walden, “Civil Disobedience”Henry David Thoreau
The Scarlet LetterNathaniel Hawthorne
Young Goodman Brown, The BirthmarkNathaniel Hawthorne
Selected poemsEmily Dickinson
Billy Budd, Moby DickMelville
Song of MyselfWhitman
Selected speechesCalhoun, Webster, Lincoln
The Lincoln-Douglas debatesLincoln and Douglas
Selected Supreme Court casesVarious
Adventures of Huckleberry FinnMark Twain
American Between Two Myths: Moby-Dick as EpicCowan
Land of the Spotted EagleLuther Standing Bear
Musical compositionsCharles Ives
All the King’s MenPenn Warren
The Great GatsbyFitzgerald
Musical compositionsCopland
What to Listen for in MusicCopland
I’ll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition
Ain’t I a Woman?Sojourner Truth
Up From SlaveryBooker T. Washington
What to the slave is the fourth of July?Frederick Douglass
The Parting of the Ways, The Talented TenthW.E.B. DuBois
Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and OthersW.E.B. DuBois
Selected poemsMarianne Moore
Selected storiesCaroline Gordon
The PossessedDostoevsky
Death of Ivan IlychTolstoy
Birth of Tragedy, Thus Spoke ZarathustraNietzsche
Heart of DarknessConrad
The MetamorphosisKafka
New Science of PoliticsVoegelin
Selected poemsHopkins
Portrait of the Artist as a Young ManJoyce
Interpretation of DreamsFreud
Civilization and its DiscontentsFreud
Selected writingsJung
Tra le SollecitudiniSt. Pius X
“The Wasteland,” Selected poemsEliot
Selected poemsStevens
Paradoxes of Faithde Lubac
Go Down, Moses, Light in AugustFaulkner
Logos, AletheiaHeidegger
RelativityEinstein
“The History of Quantum Theory”Heisenberg
Origins of TotalitarianismArendt
Survivor from WarsawSchoenberg
“Triumph of the Will”Riefenstahl
“Night and Fog”Renais
“The Day After Trinity”Else
The Gulag ArchipelagoSolzhenitsyn
Kafka FragmentsKurtag
“Revelation”O’Connor
“Flowering Judas”Katherine Anne Porter
“Eyes on the Prize”Martin Luther King, Jr.
Letter from a Birmingham JailMartin Luther King, Jr.
Nobel Peace Prize SpeechMartin Luther King, Jr.
The Arts of the BeautifulGilson
Leisure the Basis of CulturePieper
Work, Spare Time, LeisurePieper
“Power of the Powerless”Havel
Lumen Gentium, Gaudium et SpesVatican II
Sacrosanctum ConciliumVatican II
Dei VerbumVatican II
The Feynman Lectures on PhysicsFeynman
Against InterpretationSontag
The Four LovesLewis
‘Till We Have FacesLewis
The New BiologyAugros & Stanciu
The Double HelixWatson
The Foundations of EthologyLorenz
King Solomon’s RingLorenz
The Mystery of the MindPenfield
Lord of the FliesGolding
“The Grand Inquisitor”Dostoevsky
The Future of an IllusionFreud
The StrangerCamus
Wind, Sand and StarsSaint-Exupery
Man’s Search for MeaningFrankl
The Sources of Christian EthicsServais Pinckaers, O.P.,
The Jeweler’s ShopWojtyla
Fides et Ratio, Veritatis SplendorPope St. John Paul II
Centessimus AnnusSt. John Paul II
The Spirit of the LiturgyRatzinger
Introduction to ChristianityRatzinger
In the Beginning, “On Conscience”Ratzinger
Deus caritas estPope Benedict XVI
Learning to See AgainPieper
After VirtueMacIntyre
Session I
June 18 – July 1, 2023
Registration is now open.
Students will have the opportunity to take one of the following courses for college credit. Taught in Socratic-style seminar discussions, each course enables students to explore a particular interest and consider whether they might like to pursue that academic discipline as a potential college major. Students will spend 3.5-4 hours in class each day, have some assigned homework, and spend the remaining time in prayer, liturgy, sacred music, relaxation with new friends, and a wide range of extra-curricular activities.
Courses:
Physics: Understanding Boomerangs, Billiard Balls, and Balance Beam Routines (1 credit) – Mr. John Klucinec
This course explores the laws of motion as described by Galileo and Newton by reading and discussing these authors and through classroom experiments. Students will gain an understanding of physics in concrete phenomena through studying air flight, fluid dynamics, the aerodynamics of the boomerang, the motion of billiard balls, and the physics of gymnastics and diving.
Moral Philosophy: How Do We Make the Right Decisions? (1 credit) – Rev. Fr. Stephen Rocker
Natural law morality and utilitarianism are incompatible frameworks of moral reasoning, yet elements of both are mixed in the public mind. Catholic moral teaching and the Western system of law are grounded in natural law. This course will present these two moral frameworks and apply them to moral issues.
Poetry and Politics in the Western Tradition (1 credit) – Dr. Mary Mumbach
This course will examine poetic form and political form in the tradition of the West. Students will explore, in particular, how the Incarnation shapes the roles of imagination, prudence, and the heroic in literature and political philosophy. Readings in poetry, fiction, and American Founding documents will be considered.
Tuition:
$395.00 USD Tuition includes room and board. The purchase of a book may be required for some classes. Students should bring spending money for off-campus trips.
Session II
July 9 – 22, 2023
Registration is now open.
Students will have the opportunity to take one of the following courses for college credit. Taught in Socratic-style seminar discussions, each course enables students to explore a particular interest and consider whether they might like to pursue that academic discipline as a potential college major. Students will spend 3.5-4 hours in class each day, have some assigned homework, and spend the remaining time in prayer, liturgy, sacred music, relaxation with new friends, and a wide range of extra-curricular activities.
Courses:
Theology of the Body: The Deeper Meaning of Love, Sex, and Marriage (1 credit) – Dr. Ryan Messmore
When it comes to romantic relationships and marriage, today’s culture is awash in confusion. The Church calls people to see a deeper meaning to sexual desire and marriage. But what is that, and how can it be pursued in modern times? Saint Pope John Paul II has provided valuable teaching in this area. Along with his “Theology of the Body,” this course will explore the nature of love, the meaning of betrothal and marriage, and sexual ethics from a Christian perspective. Class discussions will be theological and philosophical as well as practical.
Philosophy & Humanities: Friendship in Western Culture (1 credit) – Dr. Brian FitzGerald and Dr. Erik Van Versendaal One of the most important features of human experience is friendship. Drawing on the great books of Western culture in literature, history, philosophy, and theology, from Aristotle and St. Augustine to Jane Austen and C.S. Lewis, this course will reflect on the nature of friendship across the centuries. Why do we need friends? What makes a good one? What are some obstacles to friendship? What happens as friends grow and mature in different ways?
Christ in Scripture (1 credit) – Deacon Karl Cooper
“Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” In this course we will seek to meet and understand Christ as he presents himself in all the Scriptures. We will read, discuss, enjoy, and pray through the most crucial texts, and focus our work on the living and present Christ.
Tuition:
$395.00 USD Tuition includes room and board. The purchase of a book may be required for some classes. Students should bring spending money for off-campus trips.
Collegiate Summer Programs Registration
Omega Session: College-Level Intensives for Credit
July 10 – 23, 2022
This session is now full.
Students will have the opportunity to earn one college credit by taking one of the following courses offered at Magdalen College. Taught in Socratic-style seminar discussions, each course enables students to explore a particular interest and discover if it could lead to a college major or area of focus. Students will spend 3.5-4 hours in class each day, have some assigned homework, and spend the remaining time in prayer liturgy, and sacred music, relaxation with new friends, and a wide range of extra-curricular activities.
Courses:
Myth in Philosophy: Seeking Wisdom through Poetry and Story (1 credit) – Dr. Erik van Versendaal
What is the relationship between poetry and philosophy? Why does speaking about ultimate things lead philosophers into the realms of poem and story? This course considers philosophical works that are undertaken in a poetic mode alongside poems that express philosophic truth.
Physics: Understanding Boomerangs, Billiard Balls, and Balance Beam Routines (1 credit) – Mr. John Klucinec
This course explores the laws of motion as described by Galileo and Newton, by reading and discussing these authors and through classroom experiments. Students will gain an understanding of physics in concrete phenomena: through the aerodynamics of the boomerang, the motion of billiard balls, fluid dynamics, air flight and the physics of gymnastics and diving.
Theology of the Body: The Deeper Meaning of Love, Sex, and Marriage (1 credit) – Dr. Ryan Messmore
When it comes to romantic relationships and marriage, today’s culture is awash in confusion. The Church calls people to see a deeper meaning to sexual desire and marriage. But what is that, and how can it be pursued in modern times?
Tuition:
$325.00 USD
Alpha Session: Engage a Variety of Liberal Arts Fields
June 19 – July 2, 2022
This session is now full.
Students will experience the joy of learning in a variety of liberal arts fields, including courses in literature, philosophy, theology, and politics. Taught primarily in Socratic-style seminar discussions, these courses allow students to read classic texts and wrestle with big questions across a range of disciplines. Students will spend 3.5-4 hours in class each day, have some assigned homework, and spend the remaining time in prayer, liturgy, and sacred music, relaxation with new friends, and a wide range of extra-curricular activities.
