Subjects
Offered for 2003/2004:
Course Descriptions
Subject Index
C.S.Lewis
Great Books I,2,3
Latin 1,2
Logic
Rhetoric
Shakespeare 1,2,3
Tolkien/Lewis
Latin
(1 and 2)
Latin
1 is a one-year course which emphasizes vocabulary and grammar
with the goal of reaching a
beginner's reading ability in original texts.
Ages 13 and up. There
are usually two identical sessions offered each
year (choose one).
Latin 2 is also a one-year course of study. Advanced
grammar is completed and
students focus primarily upon translation,
completing all of the
translation exercises in the Wheelock's textbook,
and as much of Garton's Latin
Stories as possible. The pre-requisite for
Latin 2 is Latin 1 or the
equivalent. To confirm course offerings please
check the Course Schedule for the current year. For textbook
information
please visit the Oxford Bookstore and scroll down to the Latin course in
which you are
interested.
The first year of the Great Books Tutorial (GBT) begins with
the great epics of
Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey. It then covers the most famous plays of
Aeschylus and Sophocles, the Histories of Herodotus, and an introduction to the
works of Plato and Aristotle. For a complete list of the GBT1 curriculum in a
time-line format please click here: Oxford GBT Summary Chart.
The Great Books course has been designed to develop Christian minds that will
understand and discern the influences that have shaped our culture. Ages 13 and
up. In special cases the tutor is willing to work with individual students in
a correspondence program of Extension Study in Great Books. Please contact Dr. Lund
if interested for more information. To confirm course offerings please check the Course Schedule for the current year. For textbook
information please visit the Oxford Bookstore.
Great Books 2
The second year of GBT begins with Thucydides' account of the Peloponnesian War
between Athens and Sparta. It then moves into a study of some the greatest and most
important works of Plato and Aristotle, including the Republic and the Nicomachean
Ethics. The second semester concludes with a study of Lucretius, Virgil, Tacitus
and Plutarch. For a complete list of the GBT2 curriculum in a
time-line format please click here: Oxford GBT Summary Chart.
To confirm course offerings please check the Course Schedule for the current year. GBT1 is
highly recommended as a prerequisite for GBT2, but not required. For students whose
schedule doe not allow GBT1, the GBT2 curriculum may be pursued on its own with great
benefit. The tutor assists students by setting the historical background and
explaining the literary context of each new work in the light of earlier works. For
textbook information please visit the Oxford Bookstore.
Great Books 3
The third year of GBT begins with Augustine's two greatest works, the City of God
and the Confessions. It then moves into a study of Anselm, Aquinas, Dante,
and Chaucer. For a complete list of the GBT3 curriculum
in a time-line format please click here: Oxford GBT3 Summary Chart.
To confirm course offerings please check the Course Schedule for the current year. Although
GBT1 and GBT2 are highly recommended as prerequisites for GBT3, they are not required.
For students whose schedule doe not allow GBT1 or GBT2, the GBT3 curriculum may be
pursued on its own with great benefit. The tutor assists students by setting the
historical background and explaining the literary context of each new work in the light of
earlier works. To confirm course offerings please check the Course Schedule for the current year. For textbook
information please visit the Oxford Bookstore.
This is an excellent course for high school students in English literature. It covers Shakespeare's life and times, focusing on several of his most well-known plays. Students will critique and analyze these literary works through reading, discussion, and a 'readers' theater' format. The reading for this course covers a total of eight plays, split evenly between comedies and tragedies. Students are also encouraged to attend a live performance of Shakespeare, and to watch at least two video productions of Shakespeare's plays. Students have weekly reading assignments as well as assigned parts to read in class. The tutor sets the scene with historical background and guides discussion of selected themes and topics. Some essays and memorization may be required. Ages 13 and up. To confirm course offerings please check the Course Schedule for the current year. For textbook information please visit the Oxford Bookstore. Two essays per/semester and some memorization may be required. Each class begins with a "Finish This Line" game quiz.
The Shakespeare 2 tutorial covers seven of Shakespeare's most enduring tragedies and comedies which are not covered in Shakespeare I, as well as the Sonnets. For a complete list of the Shakespeare 2 curriculum please click here to visit the Shakespeare Atrium. As with the other Shakespeare classes students will critique and analyze these literary works through reading, discussion, and a 'readers' theater' format. Students are also encouraged to attend a live performance of Shakespeare, and to watch at least two video productions of Shakespeare's plays. There are weekly reading assignments as well as assigned parts to read in class. The tutor sets the scene with historical background and guides discussion of selected themes and topics. Some essays and memorization may be required. Each class begins with a "Finish This Line" game quiz. Ages 13 and up. Shakespeare 1 is not required as a prerequisite for Shakespeare 2. To confirm current course offerings please check the Course Schedule for the current year. For textbook information please visit the Oxford Bookstore.
Logic is one of the three key components of the Trivium. The Trivium (Lat., a place where three roads meet) constituted the first three academic disciplines of university study ("liberal arts") in the Middle Ages. While grammar emphasizes the knowledge of facts, and rhetoric emphasizes the persuasive communication of facts, logic emphasizes the connections between facts, the science of correct reasoning. The significance of logic was illustrated by C. S. Lewis in his book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, in the priceless scene where the Professor exclaims, in his meeting with Peter and Susan: "Logic! Why don't they teach logic at these schools? There are only three possibilities. Either your sister is telling lies, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth. You know she doesn't tell lies and it is obvious that she is not mad. For the moment then and unless any further evidence turns up, we must assume that she is telling the truth" (i.e. about Narnia!). Lewis made a similar use of logic in Mere Christianity, in his famous assertion about Jesus Christ, that he must be regarded as a "Liar, Lunatic, or Lord": "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg--or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse."
The Oxford Logic tutorial is a one-year study of introductory and intermediate logic utilizing the Mars Hill Textbook Series. The first semester will cover Introductory Logic, 3rd ed. (1997) (Textbook and Exercise Key) by Douglas J. Wilson and James B. Nance. The second semester will cover Intermediate Logic (1996) (Textbook and Exercise Key) by James B. Nance. All four of these books are published by Canon Press, Moscow Idaho. These texts must be ordered directly from Canon Press, P.O. Box 8741, Moscow, ID 83843. They have a toll-free number: 1 800 488-2034; and they accept Visa, Discover, and MasterCard. The costs are $15.00 for the Introductory Logic text and $ 4.00 for the companion Exercise Key; and $25.00 for the Intermediate Logic text and $ 6.50 for the companion Logic Exercise Key.
Rhetoric is the third and final course in the classical Trivium (see Intro. to Logic above). While grammar involves the knowledge of facts, logic deals with arguments and the connections between facts, and rhetoric emphasizes the persuasive communication of facts. It is generally accepted that the study of grammar should come first, providing a foundation in the building blocks of language. Logic should come next as the science of thinking and analysis. Rhetoric comes last, as the use of language and logic in persuasive communication. Rhetoric includes both written and oral communication. The study of rhetoric dates back to the Golden Age of Greece in the 5th century, B.C. The democratic government of Athens assumed that all citizens had an equal right and responsibility to participate in their government. Aristotle's treatise On Rhetoric is the seminal work which focuses on the three major components of persuasive communication: (1) logical argument; (2) the speaker's character; (3) the emotions of the audience. The study of rhetoric is vital, not only for increasing the clarity and effectiveness of one's own communication (whether oral or written), but also for evaluating the communication of others.
The Oxford Rhetoric tutorial is a full year course of study (two semesters). It will begin with a study of the principles and methods of rhetoric; then examine many of the greatest speeches in world history; and end with a study of two of the greatest works in Christian apologetics in this century: Orthodoxy, by G.K. Chesterton; and Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis. To confirm course offerings please check the Course Schedule for the current year. For textbook information please visit the Oxford Bookstore.
A one-year study with reading and discussion of key themes and eternal values. Ages 13 and up. Times to be announced, based upon sufficient enrollment. For the first semester we'll be reading: Augustine's City of God, trans. G.G. Walsh (Image Books ed.; ISBN # 0385029101); Thomas a' Kempis,' The Imitation of Christ, trans. Leo Sherley- Price (Viking Press, 1987; ISBN # 0140440275); and Martin Luther, Selections, ed. J. Dillenberger (Anchor Press, 1958; ISBN # 0385098766). For the second semester we'll be reading: John Bunyan's, Pilgrim's Progress, trans. Cheryl Ford (Tyndale, 1991; # 0842347879); John Milton's, Paradise Lost & Regained, ed. C. Ricks (New American Library, 1989; # 0451524748); and C.S. Lewis's, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength (Scribner, 1996; # 0684823829; # 0684823853). A key resource for this class is the new text edited by Louise Cowan and Os Guiness: Invitation to the Classics (Baker, 1998; ISBN 0801011566). These books may be examined and/or purchased now online for a discount of 20-30%. Simply click on the blue title above for a direct link to Amazon.com.