Course Outline

Art and the Impact of Secularism on Eighteenth-Century Society

  • by Alden R. Gordon, Gwendolyn Miles Smith Professor of Art History and Chair of the Fine Arts Department, Trinity College. This course idea is based upon a desire to create a philosophical and historical framework that permits the understanding of the dramatic changes in the settings of daily living, the fine… keep reading

Worldly Islam: The Sacred, the Secular 

  • by Raymond Baker, Professor of International Politics, Trinity College This course addresses two challenges: the inadequacy of dominant interpretive frameworks for understanding… keep reading

The Dao Secularism: Political Transformation and Secular Values in 20th Century Asia

  • by Michael Lestz, Associate Professor of History, Trinity College I. Course Description: In the 19th century, societies across the Asian map were… keep reading 

The Nature of Nature: Enlightenment Ideas About the Landscape

  • by Bruce Coats, Professor of Art History, Scripps College. Rationale: This course will explore changing attitudes toward nature developed during the 18th… keep reading

The Sacred and The Profane in the Middle Ages

  • by John Eldevik, Ph.D, History Department, Pomona College. Catalogue Description. This course will attempt to understand and unravel the complex relationship between secular… keep reading

The Strange Meaning of Things

  • by Barbara Benedict, Charles A. Dana, Professor of English Literature. Description: This course is designed for first- and second-year students as a close-reading… keep reading

The World Disenchanted: The Origins and Impact of Secularization

  • Jonathan Elukin, Associate Professor Department of History, Trinity College Introduction: For most of human civilization, people thought the world was filled with… keep reading

Anxiety in the Age of Reason

  • by Andre Wakefield, Assistant Professor of History, Pitzer College. Course Description Many Enlightenment authors expressed confidence in the relentless progress of knowledgekeep reading

Modern Secular Nationalism, Ancient Memories: The Case of the Jew

  • by Samuel Kassow, Charles H. Northam Professor of  History, Trinity College. Course Syllabus. The purpose of this course is to use the modern… keep reading

Classical Ethical Theory: Plato

  • by Suzanne Obdrzalek, Philosophy Department, Claremont McKenna College. Required Texts: Cooper, ed.–Plato: Complete Works. Course Description: Plato is considered the first philosopher in the… keep reading

Science and Religion 

  • by Kent Dunlap, Associate Professor of Biology, Trinity College. Course Description. The contemporary arguments on intelligent design and stem cell research demonstrate… keep reading

Skepticism and Toleration in Early Modern Philosophy

  • by Todd Ryan, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Trinity College. Course Description. In the minds of most contemporary proponents of Liberalism, one of… keep reading

Secularism, Skepticism, and Critiques of Religion 

  • by Phil Zuckerman, Professor of Sociology, Pitzer College, Claremont, CA. The rejection of religion…is, in fact, almost as old as human… keep reading

Social Evolution & Classical Liberalism

  • by William N. Butos, Department of Economics. Course Overview: This Seminar will study classical liberalism – a body of ideas emphasizing individual rights… keep reading

Eighteenth-Century European Art and Architecture

  • Alden R. Gordon, Gwendolyn Miles Smith Professor of Art History and Chair of the Fine Arts Department. This course idea… keep reading

Religious and Secular Thought in Iran 

  • by Nastaran Moossavi, McGill Teaching Fellow in International Studies. COURSE JUSTIFICATION: The nature of Middle Eastern politics has increased the demand… keep reading

Science, Religion, and Nature in the Age of Galileo

  • by Sean Cocco, Assistant Professor of History, Trinity College. Brief Course Description After four centuries, the astronomer Galileo Galilei’s trial before… keep reading

Secularism and the Problem of Authority

  • By Professors Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar. The aim of the course is to foster a comprehensive understanding of two of the central… keep reading

From Theocracy to Democracy

  • Instructor: Chris Nadon, Associate Professor of Political Science, Claremont McKenna College. Course Outline and Texts: Part I — The contemporary doctrine of… keep reading

Enlightenment & Romanticism in Italy

  • By John Alcorn, Assistant Professor of Italian Studies & Principal Lecturer in Modern Languages and Literature. Pedagogical Rationale: The course is designed… keep reading