Search for Values in the Light of Western History and Religion

The Search for Values in the Light of Western History and Religion is an interdisciplinary study of the ideas, beliefs, and cultural developments that have formed western culture. Created by the faculty in 1945, it draws faculty from ten departments and over fifty percent of students participate. It is one of two ways to fulfill the basic humanities requirement at Rhodes.

In the first year, students examine original documents in translation from the history and literature of the Israelites, the Greeks, the Romans, and the early Christians. Selected texts from the Hebrew Bible are read and discussed in conjunction with the ideas and themes of Mesopotamian and Greek culture. Students study the gospels and selected letters from the New Testament in conjunction with Hellenistic and Roman history, life, and thought. In the second year, students trace the roles of biblical and classical heritages in the shaping of the values, character, and institutions of western culture and its understanding of self and world. To this end, they read and discuss selections from the works of philosophers, theologians, political writers, scientists, and literary artists from the Middle Ages to the present. Courses in the second year focus attention on the fine arts, history, literature, philosophy, politics, and religious studies. Students choose one of these disciplinary areas as the emphasis.

Faculty

Christopher Baldwin, Ph.D. Department of Political Science
Rachel Bauer, Ph.D. Department of Modern Languages
Tony Becker, Ph.D. Department of Biology
Ryan Byrne, Ph.D. Department of Religious Studies
Daniel E. Cullen, Ph.D. Department of Political Science
Richard Dagger, Ph.D. Department of Political Science, Director
Patrick Gray, Ph.D. Department of Religious Studies
Judith P. Haas, Ph.D. Department of English
Kendra Hotz, Ph.D. Department of Religious Studies
Joseph Jansen, Ph.D. Department of Greek and Roman Studies
Leigh Johnson, Ph.D. Department of Philosophy
John C. Kaltner, Ph.D. Department of Religious Studies
David Mason, Ph.D. Department of Theatre
Karl-Heinz Maurer, Ph.D. Department of Modern Languages
Bernadette McNary-Zak, Ph.D. Department of Religious Studies
Milton C. Moreland, Ph.D. Department of Religious Studies
Kenneth S. Morrell, Ph.D. Department of Greek and Roman Studies
Gail S. Murray, Ph.D. Department of History
Michael Nelson, Ph.D. Department of Political Science
Valerie Z. Nollan, Ph.D. Department of Modern Languages
Alex Novikoff, Ph.D. Department
Brendan M. O′Sullivan, Ph.D. Department of Philosophy
Michelle Voss Roberts, Ph.D. Department of Religious Studies
Susan Satterfield, Ph.D. Department of Greek and Roman Studies
David H. Sick, Ph.D. Department of Greek and Roman Studies
Gail P. C. Streete, Ph.D. Department of Religious Studies
Glenda M. Swan, Ph.D. Department of Art
Andrew Terjesen, Ph.D. Department of Philosophy
James M. Vest, Ph.D. Department of Modern Languages
Timothy D. Watkins, Ph.D. Department of Music
Stephen H. Wirls, Ph.D. Department of Political Science
 

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