THE CORE HUMANITIES (CC101, CC102, CC201 & CC202) focus on a close study of carefully selected classics of literature, philosophy, religion, and the arts. These include not only the great Western classics, but also important Eastern works. The seminars are small, in order to allow for intensive study in a context that promotes a lively interchange of ideas. Each course takes a historical approach, beginning with the origins of civilization in the ancient Near East (the Mesopotamians, the Hebrews) and the heritage of Greece, then focusing on "The Way": choosing the wise and fulfilling path through life. Included here is the study of seminal works of art and literature from the Far and Middle East, the ancient Greek and Hellenistic worlds, the Roman empire, Christianity, and the medieval world. The second year begins with the Renaissance and traces the exhilarating, comic, venturesome, and beautiful ideas that have shaped the modern world. The courses aim at giving you new levels of insight and power through exploring the origins of modern science, the rise of individualism, the incandescent flowering of the great masters of the English language, the rebellion against tradition, and the rediscovery by generation after generation of the timeless power and value of great ideas. Students study not only works of philosophy, literature, and art, but also important pieces of music from the baroque and classical periods.The approach followed by the Humanities Core — relatively few great works presented in historical sequence — allows the classics of each era to be studied in their historical context and depth. We come to understand a text from the perspective of its author and original audience, and to discover the qualities that make it a classic — that is, relevant today, next year, and in all future years of your life.

THE CORE NATURAL SCIENCES (CC105 & CC106) introduce you to the scope of scientific knowledge, acquaints you with the methods and logic of science, and offers an understanding of the importance of science to the development of civilization and to the contemporary world. It is designed to help you evaluate the important scientific and technological issues we face in modern society. The Science Core includes lectures, discussion sections taught by full-time faculty, and laboratory work. The theme of the courses — the evolution of the universe and life — supplies the overreaching point of view for a study of both the physical and life sciences and of questions raised by their methods and discoveries. The approaches of particular disciplines, such as biology, chemistry, astronomy, physics, and geology, are combined with newer scientific fields that cross disciplinary boundaries to explore life in its environments. Topics in the physical sciences include the laws of nature ("the rules of the game"), current theories about the origin of the universe, and the formulation of the universe as we know it. Genetics and evolution, genetic engineering, and the body's information systems culminating in the brain are studied through the life sciences. At various times during the semester, "Integrating Forums" bring together faculty members from the sciences, from humanistic disciplines such as philosophy and literature, and from theology. On these occasions, students have the opportunity to discuss and converse with these distinguished scholar-teachers and to debate key ethical and philosophical issues arising from their studies.

THE CORE SOCIAL SCIENCES (CC203 & CC204) are designed to provide students with insight into the origins of social science and the major events and social processes that have shaped the world of the twenty-first century.The first semester sets the historical framework and emphasizes the distinctive perspectives of the social sciences in building an understanding of our world. We read works of social theory and stress the development of modern political and social understanding from thinkers such as Locke, Rousseau, de Tocqueville, Mill, Darwin, Marx, and Durkheim. The second semester focuses on the modern individual in relation to and as a product of the social environment. What are the forces that shape us? How do contemporary national and global pressures influence this identity? Among the topics considered in the second semester are the nature of human nature, the concept of the self, race in America, just and unjust war, and human rights in the international context.