the great conversation
At the heart of Saint Mary's liberal arts tradition stand the 4 Collegiate Seminars — courses that focus on the great ideas of Western Civilization as expressed in the great texts of this tradition. The Seminars involve students and faculty in the "great conversation" — a discussion of the fundamental questions that have confronted humankind from the beginning of civilization: e.g., What is the nature of humanity? Of love? Of family and kinship? What is our responsibility to our fellow human beings? To our creator? To our country? What is the proper balance between freedom and equality? What is our relationship to nature? The Liberal & Civic Studies Program builds on and extends the seminars by exploring the contemporary and global nature of this conversation, drawing from a variety of Western and non-Western writers.
Other courses at Saint Mary's involve a similar focus on seminal ideas from the "great conversation," including 2 elective courses offered by the Collegiate Seminar Program:
- Multicultural Thought (Collegiate Seminar 124)
- World Traditions (Collegiate Seminar 125).
