Freshman Studies represents in microcosm the fundamental character of liberal learning. The course introduces students to ideas of abiding concern; it probes the nature of knowledge; and it cultivates the skills of analysis and expression essential to educated discourse. Most important, Freshman Studies builds intellectual foundations that serve Lawrence students during their college years and beyond.

Great books, ground-breaking scientific formulations, and enduring works of art---the defining achievements of culture and civilization---stand at the center of Freshman Studies. Course readings and materials emphasize the Western heritage, in particular, the diversity of conception within that heritage; but they also include select classics from non-Western civilizations. Through the careful examination of these works, students and faculty engage such issues as the nature of authority, the meaning and exercise of freedom, the importance of individual responsibility, the attainability of social order, the discernment of good and evil, and the character of scientific inquity---issues at once timeless and immediate.

Faculty members from all departments teach individual sections of the course. Small classes encourage discussion and the development of skills of argumentation. Frequent paper assignments, closely evaluated by instructors, stress clarity of exposition. Lectures to the entire freshman class, delivered by Lawrence professors, place the texts of the course in their historical and cultural contexts.

Freshman Studies I

Required of first-year students and selected transfer students. Through the study of works representing a variety of intellectual and cultural traditions students develop fundamental skills: the ability to define a concept, to summarize an argument, or to analyze a passage. Throughout the term, instructors stress close reading, cogent discussion, and precise writing. Regular class work is supplemented by lectures and performances by Lawrence faculty members or by visiting scholars or artists.

Reading list for Fall, 2001:

• Marx and Engels, Communist Manifesto
• Ellington, Concerto for Cootie
• Plato, The Republic
• Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream (including a performance by a visiting group of actors)
• The Book of Job
• Chuang Tzu, Basic Writings

Freshman Studies II

Required of first-year students and selected transfer students. A continuation of Freshman Studies I, this course is designed to help students refine their abilities as readers, writers, and thinkers. In this term, writing assignments require students to compare and contrast particular works and to reckon with earlier interpretations and assessments of those works. As in Freshman Studies I, instructors stress close reading, cogent discussion, and clear writing. Regular class sessions are again supplemented by lectures and performances by Lawrence faculty members or by visiting scholars or artists.

Reading list for Winter, 2002:

• Shelley, Frankenstein
• Galilei, Siderius Nuncius
• Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
• Dostoevsky, Notes from the Underground
• Achebe, Things Fall Apart
• Wriston Art Gallery, Transforming Gender