God and Man in the “Great Conversation”

The course is an examination of some of the “big questions” students explore in a liberal arts program about “life, the universe, and everything.” In particular, we deal with questions of faith and reason, with pain and suffering, and of various ways of expressing deep truths (myth, e.g.). We do this by reading classic passages in religious, philosophical, and literary works. Through the lectures, I bring various perspectives (the social and natural sciences, e.g.) to bear on these questions, and through the discussions and paper assignments, students will attempt to offer their own solutions from their own intellectual positions, drawing on their own disciplines and life experience.