Core Course Descriptions
Within our Core is a set of tracks that ensures our students have a curriculum that is integrated across disciplines. These courses are strategically sequenced to maximize learning and build upon previously learned concepts.
Faith and Wisdom (FW)
- First-Year Symposium, FSYM 101(3 cr.) - The First-Year Symposium welcomes students into the Mount’s Catholic liberal arts community by asking them to explore a fundamental question: What does it mean to be human? Students gain insight into the human condition by reading, discussing, and writing about great literature. With small sections, one-on-one writing instruction, and close teacher/student interaction, the First-Year Symposium serves as first-year students’ introduction to college and to college-level writing.
- Foundations of Philosophy (PHIL 103) (3 cr.) - Foundations of Philosophy explores the early history of Western philosophy, from its birth in the Greek city-state to its role in developing medieval Christian thought. Students learn how to pose and evaluate answers to questions concerning the nature of truth, the value of knowledge, the relationship between faith and reason, and the nature of human excellence.
- Philosophy in the Modern Age (PHIL 203) (3 cr.) - In Philosophy in the Modern Age, students read major modern philosophical works and study the enduring questions of modern philosophy. In so doing, they are challenged to think deeply about fundamental questions of human life, such as: What type of knowledge is reliable? Is faith reasonable in an age of science? What rights and responsibilities do people have?
- Foundations of Theology: Faith and Revelation (THEOL 220) (3 cr.) The first theology core course introduces students to the concept of revelation, and the human response to the revelation- faith. This course builds on the epistemological challenges to belief raised in the modern philosophy course, and introduces students to the Old Testament, by responding to questions such as 'how we speak about God', creation and science, faith and reason, the problem of evil and suffering, and the fulfilling of faith in the constitution of a people, the Church.
- Made in God’s Image (THEOL 320) (3 cr.) - Made in God’s Image builds on Foundations of Theology by exploring the personal and social implications of seeing human beings as bearing God’s image. It does so through an investigation of the Church’s expressions of this belief in its practices and in its engagement with (and impact on) the world in diverse arenas such as war and peace, science, technology, racism, healthcare, spirituality, restorative justice, and in the lives of saints new and old.
- Ethics and the Human Good (THEOL 300/PHIL 300) (3 cr.) - Ethics and the Human Good caps the Faith and Wisdom sequence by helping students to see how an understanding of the human good relates to complex, moral decision-making. Students study works of moral philosophy and theology and develop their own well-reasoned judgments on the critical moral questions they will face in their personal and professional lives.
Culture and Civilization (CC)
- World Languages (3 or 6 crs.) - All students begin the Culture and Civilization sequence with the study of a foreign language, helping them to access the richness and complexity of communicating thoughts, emotions, and beliefs in a language that is not their own. Students will either begin a new language or broaden mastery of a language already studied in high school. If continuing a language, students will be placed in the appropriate level based on the results of a language placement exam. All students complete a language course at the 102 level or higher.
- Origins of the West (WCIV 102) (3 cr.) - Through a study of classical literature and history, this course examines how several foundational cultures (Greco-Roman, West African, Judeo-Christian, and Islamic) have envisioned human flourishing, especially by studying their visions of heroism, the proper relationship between the individual and society, and the nature of divinity and humanity. Special attention is given to understanding the emergence of enduring literary, artistic, social, and political forms.
- Atlantic Encounters: 1450-1850 (WCIV 201) (3 cr.) - Atlantic Encounters offers students the opportunity to investigate the emergence of important aspects of our contemporary culture among the peoples of the multicultural, early modern Atlantic world. In this course, students reflect on the cultural encounters of peoples from Africa, Europe, and the Americas, the spread and critique of scientific and Enlightenment rationalism, and the emergence of trans-Atlantic traditions of political liberty.
- America in the World (AMER 202) (3 cr.) - America in the World encourages students to think seriously about the role of America in the world, from the Age of Encounter to today. Students pose questions about how the United States grew to an international power; how Americans have understood themselves over the centuries; how the spread of “American values” has impacted the modern world; and how individuals, events, and processes from around the world have affected American life.
- Modernity in Literature, Art, Music, or Theatre (3 cr.) - Through the study of literature, music, theatre or the visual arts, Modernity courses invite students to explore human creativity and innovation, to deepen their understanding of the relationship between the individual and modern pluralistic society, and to understand the role of the artist in the modern world. Fulfilled by any of the following courses: ARMO 300, ENMO 300, MUMO 300, or THMO 300.
- Global Encounters (3 cr.) - Global Encounters courses introduce students to different ways of understanding the world by guiding them through an in-depth study of a non-Western culture. These courses give students insight into unfamiliar ways of life, thereby strengthening their sense of membership in a global community, leading them to a greater understanding of their own society, and helping to develop the skills necessary for seeing and seeking to resolve the problems facing our global world. Fulfilled by multiple options.
Science and Mathematical Inquiry (SMI)
- Foundations of Social Science (3 cr.) - Foundations of Social Science courses equip students to understand and analyze the human condition and human behavior by using the tools of observation and data analysis. They also introduce students to the ways that observation and data can be used to analyze contemporary events. Students may choose from various courses, including Economics, Education, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. (Choices include ECON 101, ECON 102, EDUC 100, PSCI 100, PSYCH 100, or SOC 100).
- Mathematical Thinking (MATH 211) (3 cr.) - In Mathematical Thinking, students experience and explore the nature of mathematics through a wide variety of hands-on learning techniques. This course improves students’ ability to use a mathematical approach to solve problems, to deploy logical reasoning, to communicate mathematical concepts, and to comprehend and use mathematical notation. Content is selected from classical and modern areas of mathematics, such as geometry, number theory, algebra, graph theory, fractals, and probability.
- Laboratory Science (4 cr.) - In Laboratory Science courses, students develop the scientific literacy necessary to live as informed citizens in today’s technology-based, global society. In these courses, students deepen their understanding of science and scientific inquiry, learn to apply the scientific method in a laboratory setting, and gain insight in how to use observation and experimentation to solve problems. All students take at least one laboratory science course.
