Offered 2023-2024
- Time & Tuition:
- 9:00 am – 10:30 am, Mondays
- Seminar with writing tutorial: $75 per month (10 months, August through May)
- Seminar only: $60 per month (10 months, August through May)
- Location: Signal Mountain, Tennessee
- Grades: 9th-12th grades and 8th grade strong readers
- Prerequisites: Writing II or equivalent writing skills OR take Writing II in addition to this course
- 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 as well as oral exams.
- Writing tutorial only: Students write 4-6 essays throughout the year covering topics such as geography, journalism, business, the American Founding documents, and current events. At the conclusion of each semester, students participate in Defense Day by giving a brief presentation on one of their essays and responding to questions.
- Books Needed – FINAL LIST OF REQUIRED TEXTS WILL BE POSTED SHORTLY – PLEASE CHECK BACK! Books will be the same as or similar to those below: (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)
- Marx and Engels – Communist Manifesto (Recommended: Barnes and Noble, ISBN: 9781593081003)
- Bastiat – The Law (Recommended: Liberty Fund, ISBN: 9780865978300)
- 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.
- 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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