Self-Paced Courses are accessed through our learning management system. The students are guided by clear weekly schedules, instructional videos, and automated assessments. Courses are written to be completed in one academic year, but students set their own pace. No grading is provided, but answer keys are available for most courses. Access is for one calendar year.

Course Description: Our great books courses are 3-in-1 classes that integrate Literature, Philosophy, and Theology into a single reading sequence. Courses are organized by historical period, with purposeful repetition across the curriculum.

The class format is that of a "great books" seminar--students read primary works from the great authors and authoresses of Western Civilization and then discuss them in a round-table format, thus joining what has been referred to as the "Great Conversation." The students learn to read, listen, speak, relish, and dispute the true, good, and beautiful things that "our tradition" has to offer.

Though primary works are read, care is taken to see that students are not overburdened, through abridgment and editing of the works read and study aids. In addition to the abridged weekly readings, three complete works of literature are read throughout the year. Literary concepts and formal analysis questions form part of the weekly exercises.

History & Composition: This course is part of an integrated course cluster that includes History 3: Modern Times and Composition 3.
Self-paced and Live course options are available.

Reading List: This cycle covers from the beginning of the Enlightenment to the Present, focusing upon European sources.

Great Books Excerpts & Themes (approximate)
Petrarch—What is a Humanist?
Boccaccio—Of Plagues & Pleasures
St. Thomas More—Crime & Punishment
Vasari—Michelangelo & the Popes
Erasmus—Funny about Reform
Ignatius of Loyola—Reform of the Self
Council of Trent—Catechism & Religious Education
Francis Bacon—A New Method
English Poets—Sonnets & Songs
Cervantes, Don Quixote—What is Real?
St. Robert Bellarmine, Doctor—Dying Well
Bossuet—Politics from Holy Scripture
Documents of the "Bloodless"Revolution—Revolution
Jonathon Swift, Gulliver’s Travels—Satire & Modernity
John Locke—On the Nature of Government
Isaac Newton—The Principles of Mathematics
Smith, Wealth of Nations—Mass Production
Newman, Grammar of Assent—Assent to God
Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum
Pope, Essay on Man—Man's Place in the Universe & Deism
Prosper Gueranger—Modern Scholarship & the Prayer of the Church
Francis Thompson—Pursued by God?
Tolkien, Tree & Leaf

Complete Works
Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare
The Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare
Tales of the Longbow, G.K. Chesterton

Recommended Age Range: 10th grade
Prerequisites: None
Required & Recommended Books: See The Self-Paced Course Book List
Required Tech: computer and internet connection capable of video playback

ACCESS? Login credentials are emailed to you after purchase within 1-5 Business Days. Access is not automated nor immediate.