imagination as he reads epic, tragic, lyric, and dramatic works of Western man. These literary works assist the student in the right ordering of his passions in the service of reason and truth. In this way, the student’s reflection on the exemplary sufferings and hopes of fictional men and women overcomes the modern disassociation of sensibility and reason. Classical and modern foreign languages not only enhance the above disciplines by allowing the student to enter more fully into the documents and life of past and present cultures, thereby transcending present limitations, but they enable the student better to grasp the nature and structure of language itself. In particular, mastery of Greek and Latin opens the riches of Biblical and ecclesial literature and the sources of Christian culture. History, literature, and languages support Thomistic wisdom by enriching the student’s intellectual experience. Third, the required courses in Political Science and Economics focus the student’s theological and philosophical studies through an examination of political theory and social reality. The student is introduced to classical political philosophy and the rich social teaching of the modern Popes. Such essential elements of Catholic thought as natural law, social justice, subsidiarity, and the common good are examined. The student is shown how these principles differ fundamentally from Marxist collectivism on the one hand and from a materialistic utilitarianism on the other. Fourth and finally, the study of mathematics and natural science introduces the student to the methods of the disciplines that have most profoundly shaped our contemporary world. In a context of the broader Thomistic vision, the student is shown how to place these disciplines in the hierarchy of human knowledge and aims. He sees how modern mathematics is the basis of the rigor and predictive power of the natural sciences and how the natural sciences have enhanced our understanding of the created universe. By making clear their proper place in the hierarchy of human knowledge, the student is enabled to appreciate the sciences without unduly glorifying them. The core curriculum is foundational for advanced study of any academic discipline and, indeed, extends into the junior year. At this time the student selects a major course of study in one of six disciplines offered. That major usually requires an additional twenty-seven hours of course work, beginning in the third year. The student supplements and refines the intellectual skills and knowledge gained from the core with focused study, research, and writing in his chosen discipline. He caps his major with a senior thesis (of at least 40 pages) on some problem or topic in his chosen field of study. This deeper comprehension of one discipline culminates the intellectual progress begun in the core.
Christendom provides its students with a well-rounded education in a personal environment. Students are immersed in a carefully structured curriculum of liberal arts disciplines. Its graduates are able to read critically, to think logically, and to express themselves clearly – skills necessary for any profession.
Christendom College believes the student will carry with him upon graduation the perspectives and consolation of Christian wisdom. Moreover, his developed skills in analysis, synthesis, reasoning, and written discourse will enable him to excel in whatever career choice he makes. By the adoption of its core curriculum, Christendom College has rejected the proliferation of majors and the consequent perceived equality between all disciplines so characteristic of the modern multiversity. The College sees that the speculative credentials of many modern disciplines are problematic, either in their very principles or in their actual practice. Yet the growing numbers and academic demands of these disciplines have been primarily responsible for the destruction of core curricula in American universities of the past century. For Christendom to multiply majors and new academic departments would be to invite a reliving of this often tragic academic history. It is Christendom’s 84-credit-hour core curriculum, ordered by Thomistic wisdom within a historical matrix, that makes it unique in American higher education.*
*With the addition of the Junior Rome Semester Abroad Program, students may participate in a 93-hour core curriculum.
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