Great Texts Honors Courses

In the spring of 2003 the Honors Program incorporated a sequence of two Honors Great Texts (GTX) courses into its core curriculum. With very few exceptions, Honors students take these two courses during their first and second years of study. GTX 2301 and 2302 cover the intellectual traditions of the ancient world and of medieval and Renaissance Europe, respectively.

Like the First-Year Seminars, the Great Texts courses are designed to encourage in-depth personal engagement with the subject matter, namely, with primary texts. The classes are small, and professors encourage student discussion.

Honors GTX 2301: The Intellectual Tradition of the Ancient World

Honors GTX 2301 examines the contributions of the ancient Greek, Roman, and Judeo-Christian traditions. The curriculum includes texts by Homer, Plato, Virgil, and Augustine, as well as selections from the Bible.

Honors GTX 2302: The Medieval Intellectual Tradition

The second class in the two-course sequence, Honors GTX 2302 explores the development of ideas in medieval and Renaissance Europe. Students read theological, philosophical, and literary texts, most often including works by Aquinas, Chaucer, Dante, and Shakespeare.

Great Texts through HON 3200/3201: Colloquium

Supplemental readings and discussion in other great texts are often pursued through the Honors Program's Colloquium course sequence. Students who register for Colloquium (usually in the junior year) may choose to read, discuss, and write about some interesting books or other texts in various fields in or out of their major. As always in Colloquium, different Baylor professors lead each session.

Upper-level Great Texts Classes

Various other Great Texts classes may be offered with an Honors section. An Honors student who enrolls in one of these classes will earn an Honors Unit in the same manner as they would when enrolled in any other Honors class. Completion of one of these Honors Great Texts classes will not substitute for the required GTX 2301 and GTX 2302 classes.

Contact Information

For more information about the Great Texts program or about this particular course sequence, please contact the program's staff.