This post was written by Mark Hansard on March 28, 2008
The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) publishes a series of introductory student guides on areas of interest in the humanities to round out a student’s education in Western civilization with traditional canonical works which may not be required reading in some secular academic settings. From American history to classics studies to philosophy, these little guides are quite useful in aiding students as they navigate their university studies in order to achieve what would today be considered a “classical education.”
For example, Mark C. Henrie, in A Student’s Guide to the Core Curriculum, offers eight areas of study which students can pursue to lay a foundation for Western thought, including classical literature (Homer and Virgil), ancient philosophy, Shakespeare, the Bible, modern political theory, and others. In the chapter on studying Bible, there is a brief discussion of the historical-critical method and how this skews study of Scripture in many religion departments. Henrie helpfully recommends that, for believing students, they become involved in a church or para-church organization that could help them navigate these issues in such a course.
Additionally, the guides often include wonderful asides that are useful for forming a student’s soul. For example, Henrie’s introduction includes a brief description of Aristotle’s view of intellectual friendship, in which friends discuss with each other thoughtful insights that they can “present to others for testing.” This, he says, “is the surest means for connecting pleasure with true education.” Bravo. How wonderful it would be if today’s students occasionally turned off their video games to have a stimulating intellectual discussion that might turn out to be life-altering.
It seems to me these guides might also be useful for the scholar who wishes to read more broadly, perhaps in fields outside his own, and gain some knowledge of the classical view of such fields. These little books are merely 100 pages each and can be read in one sitting. The downside, of course is that they are very broad, very basic, and thus necessarily very general. They proffer a certain view of each field which they do not defend, but merely authoritatively state. Nevertheless, I have found them quite useful in rounding out my own education in areas which I could only take a brief introductory course as an undergraduate.
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