Course Offerings
VCC Spring 2025 classes
Kevin Corrigan: MESAS 170/PHIL 185: Plato and Aristotle
Celia Campbell: CL 204: Classical Greek Drama
A survey of Greek tragedy and comedy of the fifth century BC, focusing on selected plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes.
Sheila Cavanagh: ENG 150: Great Works of Literature
This course introduces students to some of the monumental works of Western civilization. It does not fulfill a writing requirement, but it does have students study classic texts from the ancient and modern worlds.
VCC Fall 2024 classes
Patrick Allitt: HIST 150: Great Books: History
Certain great books have been influential across the centuries, and continue to influence the way we think, act, and understand ourselves today. Major themes of the course are the history of religion, politics, economics, biology, and psychology.
Sheila Cavanagh: ENG 150: Great Works of Literature
This course introduces students to some of the monumental works of Western civilization. It does not fulfill a writing requirement, but it does have students study classic texts from the ancient and modern worlds.
William Gilders: REL 170: Special Topics in Religion: The Bible
What is the Bible? Answering this deceptively simple question will be the focus of this course, which will provide an introduction to and overview of the Bible in its various forms and versions, Jewish and Christian, and to the diverse ways it has been interpreted and understood, especially in the United States context. While the course will give significant attention to how various communities identify, interpret, and appeal to the Bible as a sacred and authoritative book, no particular position of belief about the Bible will be assumed or required for participation in the course, nor will any prior knowledge of the Bible be expected. The course is for students who have been reading the Bible all their lives as well as those who will be opening its covers for the first time. Emphasis will be placed on the primary reading of biblical texts and class discussion.
Ben Haines: POLS 150: Foundations of American Democracy
Discussion based course on the foundational ideas that underlie American democracy and other major American political debates from the revolutionary era to the present. Readings drawn from classic texts and original documents, speeches and writings of leading American political figures. This course is part of Emory's Voluntary Core Curriculum program.
Jonathan Master: CL 150: Masterworks of Classical Literature
This reading-intensive class introduces students to some of the major authors, works, and genres of the classical canon, stretching from the 8th century BC epics of Homer to the works of Imperial Rome. We will wrestle with the major themes and concerns of a variety of ancient poetic and prose texts.
Spring Semester of 2024
History 150: Great Books of the Western Historical Tradition
Professor Patrick Allitt
Note: Fulfills a History, Society, Cultures General Education Requirement
Certain great books and their authors have been influential across the centuries and continue to affect the way we think, act, and understand ourselves today. This course gives you the opportunity to study some of the most important among them, including sections of the Bible, Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, Thomas Malthus’s Essay on Population, Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto, Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, and Sigmund Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents.
Political Science 150: Foundations of American Democracy
Professor Matthew Wells
Note: Fulfills a History, Society, Cultures General Education Requirement
Discussion based course on the foundational ideas that underlie American democracy and other major American political debates from the revolutionary era to the present. Readings drawn from classic texts and original documents, speeches and writings of leading American political figures.
Religion 170 - The Bible
Professor Bill Gilders
Note: Fulfills a Humanities, Arts, and Performances General Education Requirement
What is the Bible? Answering this deceptively simple question will be the focus of this course, which will provide an introduction to and overview of the Bible in its various forms and versions, Jewish and Christian, with a special focus on the Bible's role in the so-called "Western" tradition. While the course will give significant attention to how various communities identify, interpret, and appeal to the Bible as a sacred and authoritative book, no particular position of belief about the Bible will be assumed or required for participation in the course, nor will any prior knowledge of the Bible be expected. The course is for students who have been reading the Bible all their lives as well as those who will be opening its covers for the first time.
Philosophy 285 - Happiness and Well-Being
Professor Janet Donohoe
Note: Fulfills a Humanities, Arts, and Performances General Education Requirement
An opportunity to explore special topics and thinkers not offered in the standard curriculum, or to explore aspects of the standard curriculum in greater depth and detail than the ordinary curriculum courses allow.
Art History 252- European Painting, 1590-1789
Professor Alexandra Zigomalas
Note: Fulfills a Humanities, Arts, and Performances General Education Requirement
Painting in Italy, Spain, France, Flanders, Holland, and England to the time of the French Revolution. Emphasis on the production of such artists as Caravaggio, Rubens, Poussin, El Greco, Velasquez, Hals, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Vermeer, Watteau, Fragonard, Boucher, and Greuze.
Classics 150 - Masterworks of Classical Literature
Professor Katrina Knight
Note: Fulfills a Humanities, Arts, and Performances General Education Requirement
This reading-intensive class introduces students to some of the major authors, works, and genres of the classical canon, stretching from the 8th century BC epics of Homer to the works of Imperial Rome. We will wrestle with the major themes and concerns of a variety of ancient poetic and prose texts.
Sociology 150: Great Works in Social Thought
Professor Frank Lechner
Note: Fulfills a Humanities, Arts, and Performances General Education Requirement
This course examines a variety of great works in Western social thought from the 1700s to recent decades to reflect on issues such as the rise of the individual, the declining role of religion, and the prospects of liberal society. It will focus on the theme of progress-why has it been so important in Western culture, how have brilliant authors dealt with it, and what does it mean to us now? The course is suitable for students at all levels interested in stimulating conversation about provocative texts.