Early Moderns: Enlightenment Student Workbook (Old Western Culture)

The books and ideas that shaped Western Civilization shape these 4-year humanities-integrated courses. Examine literature in the context of its history, theology, philosophy, poetry, and art. Yearly courses are further divided into 4 self-contained units. Expect 1-3 hours of work daily, with full video instruction, lots of classic reading, studying period artwork, meaningful response assignments, discussion questions and quarterly exams. Works studied will vary from primary historical sources to significant literature, both which will broaden and enrich the student's understanding of that time.

The Greeks presents this culture's contribution to literature, philosophy, and government. In the Epics Reader (available Summer 2021), students read the Iliad and the Odyssey. The course will include Greek poetry and history, works such as Euripides, Sophocles, and the culture-influencing works of Plato and Aristotle.The first quarter of Romans covers the Aeneid. Then, experience Rome's growth from republic empire with works of Livy, Julius Caesar, Cicero, as well as Augustine's Confessions and City of God. This year documents the growth of Christianity, with its rise, doctrinal challenges, and ends with the Nicean Council.

Alongside the most influential writings of early Medieval through the Reformation, Christendom covers Christianity's influence on faith, thought, and culture: from Justinian to Calvin, Luther, and Erasmus. Read such works as Beowulf, Arthurian legends, works of Thomas Aquinas, The Divine Comedy, History of the Kings of Britain, Canterbury Tales, and the Faerie Queene.

Look at the rise of British culture and political influence with Early Moderns. Begin with Shakespeare's King Lear, Richard III, The Merchant of Venice and six sonnets. Other Western influential works include Paradise Lost and a major poetry emphasis (such as Wordsworth, Byron, Keats). The year ends with a move to Englightenment (scientists and philosophers such as Galileo, Descartes, Newton, Kant) and the Novels (of Dickens, Dostoevsky, and Jane Austen) and writings of Chekhov, Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis.

The DVD lectures utilize instruction from a handful of seasoned teachers with expertise in the time period or genre. The number of lectures varies somewhat per level. Each DVD serves as the course hub including lectures, a "Guide to the Art" (a 24-pg booklet), and PDF versions of student workbooks, exams, and reading material (although not identical to the recommended list). For those who prefer, printed Student Workbooks provide questions (with answer key) for every reading assignment and lecture, additional discussion questions and other resources for deeper study. You may already own the recommended classic literature (exact editions not required). However, hefty, printed Readers are also available (several hundred pages per quarter) individually or as a full year set. Ordering options provide flexibility: buy each item individually, as component sets, or as complete printed year packages. Additional resources are available free on https://romanroadsmedia.com/materials/.

Year 4: Early Moderns is primarily British literature and spans the Rise of Poetry, Politics, Enlightenment (philosophy based), and Novels (Austen, Dickens, Dostoevsky, and Lewis).

Wish to streamline this course but still maintain enough rigor for a 1-credit course? If you’re not needing an honors-equivalent rigor, the publisher recommends the following as most crucial for study: Essay on Criticism, by Alexander Pope; De Descriptione Temporum by C. S. Lewis; The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Note: the poetry selections are generally short: The Solitary Reaper, by William Wordsworth; She Walks in Beauty and The Destruction of Sennacherib, by Lord Byron; Ode to the West Wind, by Percy Shelley; Annabel Lee, To Helen, The Raven, and The Bells by Edgar Allen Poe; The Lady of Shalott, by Alred, Lord Tennyson; Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister, by Robert Browning; Dover Beach, by Matthew Arnold; and Song, by Christina Rossetti. Then, What is Enlightenment? by Immanuel Kant; Letter to Benedetto Castelli and Letter to Duchess Christiana of Tuscany, by Galileo Galilei; Part IV, Discourse on Method, by René Descartes; Laws of Gravity, Sir Isaac Newton; An Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense; Chapter 5, Section VII, VIII; and Chapter 6 Section XX, by Thomas Reid. Novels will include The Brothers Karamazov, (Chapter IV: Rebellion and Chapter V: The Grand Inquisitor) by Dostoevsky; Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen; The Bet, by Chekhov and optionally, The Lord of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien.