OFFERED 2025-2026
- Time & Tuition:
- Wednesdays, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm Eastern
- Seminar with writing tutorial: $90 per student per month (10 months, August – May)
- Seminar only: $75 per student per month (10 months, August – May)
- Location: Signal Mountain, Tennessee
- Grades: 9th-12th grades and 8th grade strong readers
- Prerequisite for tutorial portion: Writing III
- Description: The course covers the moral and philosophical principles underlying politics and economics; the history of political philosophy; the types of government; the value of the U.S. Constitution; the structure of American national government as originally established and as currently operating; basic principles of economics; the structures of economic systems; the results of various economic actions; the role of media in shaping politics, culture, philosophy, and morality; how and why free nations accept totalitarian governments; and the relationship between government, economics, morality, and human beings. *Note: This is not a personal finance course, although the information presented will help the student in understanding personal finance.
- Assessment:
- All: Students must complete all readings and daily-work/commonplacing.
- Writing tutorial only: Students write six essays throughout the year covering topics such as journalism, business, current events, international relations, and political philosophy. In December and May, students participate in Defense Day by giving a brief presentation on one of their essays and responding to questions.
- FINAL BOOK LIST for 2025-2026: Hard copies are required; recommended editions/translations are listed below)
- Plato – Republic (Recommended: Bloom translation/Basic, ISBN: 9780465069347)
- Aristotle – Politics (Recommended: Reeve translation/Hackett, ISBN: 9780872203884)
- Cicero – Republic and Laws (Recommended: Oxford World’s Classics, ISBN: 9780199540112)
- Locke – Second Treatise of Civil Government (Recommended: Macpherson editor/Hackett, ISBN: 9780915144860)
- The Federalist Papers (Recommended: Rossiter editor, ISBN: 9780451528810) <= This edition includes the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, and all Amendments *If you plan to use a different edition, the student will also need a copy of the Founding documents included in the Rossiter edition.
- Bastiat – The Law – (Recommended ISBN: 978-1614270577, Martino; for Foundation for Economic Education)
- Marx and Engels – Communist Manifesto (Recommended ISBN: 978-1593081003, Barnes and Noble; on Amazon, this is likely to be the paperback version of the first book that appears when you search for this ISBN, should be available used from about $2.50)
- Hayek – The Road to Serfdom (Recommended: University of Chicago, ISBN: 9780226320557)
- Common Sense Economics: What Everyone Should Know about Wealth and Prosperity (ISBN: 9781250106940)
Image – The U.S. Capitol – (c) Sue Hughbanks, 2012
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