Courses

This course will provide an intensive study of significant works of ‘science fiction’ written between 1600 and 1900 from a literary historical perspective.

Focuses on one overarching theme: how Christian thought is embedded in some of the greatest literary classics of the Western World, selected from the Patristic period up to the twentieth century. These include such diverse genres as St. Augustine’s autobiographical ruminations in his Confessions; Dante’s Divine Comedy; Shakespeare’s Hamlet; Milton’s Paradise Lost; Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress; Goethe’s Faust; Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles; and T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral. This course deals with questions such as: What are we referring to when we speak of the mind? What is the nature of the human mind? Does it have a nature? Does it exist as something separate from the human brain? Is it a property of the human brain? Is it identical to the human brain? Or is it merely an abbreviated way of talking about bodily behaviours? More particularly, how is our phenomenologically rich and existentially weighted point of view on the world related to the neurophysiological conditions that underwrite it (or as one writer put it, “how is the water of the brain transubstantiated into the wine of consciousness?”)? How does the way we understand the answers to these questions inform the Christian belief that humans bear God’s image? And how does theology bear on our understanding of our bodies’ relationship to our minds?.

The impact of prominent Inklings author C.S. Lewis continues to grow, garnering both applause and, in other quarters, heavy criticism. Lewis is lauded as an intellectual giant, a Christian apologist without equal, and a gifted myth-maker, but also identified as misogynistic, racist, sado-masochistic, and enjoying violence. This course focuses on the literary achievement of C.S. Lewis, analyzing representative texts of his literary criticism, poetry, essays, novels, fictional narratives, and devotional writing, in order to examine his mythopoeic vision and its contribution to Christianity and culture. Through close reading of the texts, and considering these in relation to various forms of theoretical inquiry - historical, sociological, psychological, gender discourse, ecological, ethical and spiritual or theological - students will engage in the critical task of assessing the ongoing impact of the writings of C.S. Lewis.

Students engage in inquiry and discussion of concepts underpinning a Christian liberal arts education; explore TWU's unique core curriculum and Student Learning Outcomes; practice strategies to confidently navigate their university journey; and develop an educational plan to guide their academic decision-making.

This course is organized around the theme of integrated personal wellbeing and human flourishing. Students will explore adaptive social, physical, spiritual and psychological strategies that promote human thriving. A strong emphasis will be placed upon positive and holistic strategies that fully develop and celebrate our being human as an integral part of divine creation. Students will construct a personal architecture of wellbeing that incorporates environmental and cultural factors.

A big question launches students into foundational inquiries from various disciplines and perspectives. The instructor provides an overview and background for each prompt and highlights the method of inquiry. Building on this, students work together with the guidance of the instructor to explore, discuss, and analyze documents, speeches, artifacts, performances, and arts (ancient through contemporary) that create an intersection of voices. Students develop their own conclusions on the answer to the central question.

Courses provide an introduction to the French Language and culture for those with no or very little French (no higher than high school French 10). Through intensive work in grammar, conversation, vocabulary building, and basic reading, as well as through online work and videos that accompany the text, students develop oral and written skills and are introduced to various aspects of French culture.

Courses provide an introduction to the French Language and culture for those with no or very little French (no higher than high school French 10). Through intensive work in grammar, conversation, vocabulary building, and basic reading, as well as through online work and videos that accompany the text, students develop oral and written skills and are introduced to various aspects of French culture.

Courses improve the student's command of oral and written French by reviewing previous knowledge and introducing new grammar structures and readings with a cultural content. Students receive intensive practice in reading, writing, speaking, and aural comprehension, and develop their knowledge of the language largely through a communicative approach.