Introduction to the Early Modern Great Books

Introduction to the Early Modern Great Books is a course designed for junior high students who desire to study the Great Books but may be concerned about the pace and level of material normally attempted in a Great Books course. What makes this course distinctive is that focal literature selections are paired with history selections as well as a “living” book and the time spent with individual works is extended over several weeks, so that the student is reading short sections from three works each week. This allows the student to absorb the material at a moderate pace and also allows ample time for connections between the works. Students are provided with a comprehensive reading guide for all primary weekly assignments in both history and literature which includes explanatory notes as well as questions that help the student to identify the major points and themes of each selection as they read. Optional assignments of chronological history “spines” to give more context to the readings as well as movies, videos, music, and art that relate to the focal material will also be provided. Composition instruction will be an introduction to the progymnasmata levels of commonplace, comparison, and thesis. These assignments are integrated into the history and literature being studied, and will consist of two essays in the first semester and a guided research paper in the second semester. Assessments will be based on five narrations per semester of weekly reading. Daily time spent on assignments is expected to be approximately two hours.

Course Objectives

1. To become familiar with the primary points of plot, character, and style of major early modern works and authors, providing a fundamental understanding which will enable students to tackle these or other similar works in their entirety in future studies.
2. To receive an overview of events in early modern history and their place in historical chronology
3. To make connections of selected themes across a broad range of works, both contemporary and historical, that will give them a base from which to approach other Great Books.
4. To learn and execute the forms of three types of progymnasmata essays: the comparison, the commonplace, and the thesis.
5. To receive an appreciation of the works studied at their most engaging level—as Great Stories that are enjoyable for all ages and all times.
6. To approach all works from a Christian worldview and to view each selection through the lens of Scripture.

Texts

-Lamb, Tales from Shakespeare (any edition) -Doyle, The White Company (any edition) -Shakespeare, Henry V (any edition) - Shakespeare, Richard III (any edition) - Twain, The Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (any edition) - Stevenson, The Black Arrow (any edition) - Machiavelli, The Prince (formatted and provided by instructor) - Donne, Herbert, Milton: Selected poems (formatted and provided by instructor) - Everyman (free online) - Bainton, Here I Stand ISBN 9781426754432
- Roper, Life of Thomas More (formatted and provided by instructor) - Bolt, A Man for All Seasons (movie version) - More, Utopia - Spenser, Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves ISBN 1885767390 - Kingsley, Westward Ho (any edition) - Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress (any edition) - Bach's St. Matthew's Passion - Documents from the English Civil War (formatted and provided by instructor) - Marryat, Children of the New Forest (any edition) - Documents of early American colonization (formatted and provided by instructor) - Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (any edition)