The Great Conversation

Through direct encounter with great works of human achievement, this four-year interdisciplinary program introduces students to conflicts in world views that have occurred over the past 3000 years, thus joining in "the great conversation" of men and women through the ages about the perennial issues of human life. Because ideas have consequences, students will study the philosophy and theology of western culture in order to understand the expression of its world view in literature, art, music, government, economics, and science.

The knowledge and skills acquired through TGC apply to all disciplines and are useful throughout college and into adult life. TGC teaches students to read critically, to explore difficult ideas and themes through class discussions, to focus thoughts into constructive, organized patterns, and to share those ideas orally and in writing.

Students read epic poetry, plays, essays, and philosophical, political, and religious documents. They encounter great works of literature, art and music. TGC asks students to wrestle with the ideas expressed in these works and to evaluate them, in class discussion as well as writing and rhetoric assignments, against the absolute standard of God’s Word using the “Seven Vital Questions:

  1. What is the nature of God?
  2. What is the nature of the universe?
  3. What is the nature of man?
  4. What is the basis of ethics and morality?
  5. What is the cause of evil and suffering?
  6. What happens to a person at death?
  7. What is the meaning of history?

TGC Class Format
TGC students meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a total of 4.5 hours to discuss issues raised in the assigned reading, as well as receive additional instruction in Language, History, and Rhetoric.

TGC Class Descriptions
TGC Primer is a world view primer for building a biblical world view, and an introductory course to The Great Conversation program at Schola. TGC Primer students (grades 8-9) will focus on “Building the Biblical World View" (first quarter), “Examining Literature From a Biblical World View” (second quarter), “Speaking the Biblical World View Into the Culture" (third quarter), and “The Founding of a Nation Based Upon the Biblical World View” (fourth quarter). In addition to the World View studies, students receive writing instruction, master an overview of Western Civilization, read supplementary works of literature, and study informal fallacies, rhetorical devices, and public speaking.



TGC1 covers Ancient Greece and Rome and the Middle Ages (1200 BC to 1200 AD). Students (grades 9-10) will explore the twin pillars of western civilization introduced in TGC Primer: the Hebrews, and the classical world of Greece and Rome. The class will trace the collision course of these world views toward the final showdown over the question, "Who is Lord?" Caesar or Jesus? TGC1 students will examine the biblical world view through extensive readings in Genesis, Job, the Gospels, and Romans, along with supporting books by other authors, while exploring the Greco-Roman world view through detailed studies of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Plato's Republic, and the Aenied of Virgil. During the final quarter, students will turn to the Middle Ages and examine the impact of the Church on the Roman Empire in Augustine's City of God.



TGC2 covers the Renaissance, Reformation, and the Revolutionary Age (1200 - 1800s). Students (grades 10-12) will trace the shift from Medieval Christian philosophy and theology to that of the Renaissance and Reformation by examining the literature, music, and art of the period. Students will explore the works of Dante, Shakespeare, Milton, Bunyan, and Dickens. Students will compare music of the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical periods and explore the art of Giotto, Durer, and Bruegal. TGC students will examine the influence of both Reformation thought and Enlightenment ideas on society through a study of political theory and government. The class will consider the impact of these ideas on the English and American Revolutions, and compare those to the French and Russian Revolutions. They will study documents from the Magna Carta to the U.S. Constitution, from John Locke's Second Treatise on Government to Marx and Engel’s Communist Manifesto.



TGC3 covers the Age of Reason and the Age of Fragmentation through the present (1800s to the present). Students (grades 11-12) will compare and contrast the theistic ideas of the Bible with the naturalistic ideas of the 19th and 20th centuries. Students begin the year by reading three 20th century novels: B.F. Skinner's Walden Two, Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, and The Plague by Camus, and examining the legendary Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas in order to define the cataclysmic shifts in thought which occurred during the 20th century. Next, students will examine the impact of this loss of truth, meaning, and purpose to life on science, philosophy, and theology. Students will study how the thoughts of Darwin and 20th century philosophers were transferred into culture through art, music, government, and economics. Finally, TGC3 students return to apologetics as they learn to take the truth of Christianity into the areas of philosophy, theology, psychology, ecology, and sociology.

TGC Credits
The Great Conversation covers four years of study. Ideally, students will begin with TGC Primer in 8th or 9th grade, completing the program in 11th or 12th grade. Students who complete the TGC program in 11th grade may choose to pursue additional high school courses in specific areas of interest or begin their college work in dual-credit classes at a junior college. TCG is an interdisciplinary class awarding 3 to 5 credits each year. This class will require a large portion of your child’s study time, approximately three to four hours per day, including class time. The addition of math, science, language, and outside activities is a full schedule for most students.
Credits TGC P TGC 1 TGC 2 TGC 3 Total Credits
English 1 1 1 1 4
History 1 1 1 1 4
Bible/Apologetics 1 1 2
Philosophy/Theology 1 1 1 3
American Government .5 .5 1
Political Theory 1 1
Economic Theory 1 1
Art/Music History/Appreciation .5 .5 1
Total Credits 3 4 5 5 17
TGC Enrollment
Prerequisite Students preparing to enter The Great Conversation would benefit from:
  • a thorough study of world and American history.
  • wide and varied reading.
  • basic writing skills.
  • thorough understanding of English grammar.
  • good typing skills.

Although not required, TGC Prep with Composition class at Schola provides excellent preparation for TGC Primer.

Home Studies
  • The average student should plan to spend approximately three to four hours per day (including class time) to complete the reading assignments, answer the discussion questions in the syllabus, and complete the writing and rhetoric assignments.
Schedule
Tuition and Fees
Texts and Materials