Purpose
The purpose of the MLA program is to help students:
- Enter into the “Great Conversation” of Western Civilization through the reading and discussing the Great Books,
- Think with the Great Thinkers,
- Know and address the Great Questions of Life, and
- Be intelligent Christians in the world of Great Ideas.
Why the Master of Liberal Arts Program?
The most distinct aspect of the MLA program is its innovative class format. Rather than emphasizing a lecture and retention, MLA students are involved as participants to explore and evaluate the ideas, issues, and values in the Great Books as they connect the best of the past with real-world experiences.
This idea of a conversational approach to learning is simple and actually older than the lecture method. When students read the class material and discuss the works, then a three-way conversation occurs - conversation with great thinkers of the past, the professor, and the other students.
Some of the characteristics of this conversational approach to learning are that it:
- Is a collaborative work moving toward understanding;
- Is grounded in the belief that all informed contributors hold a part of the puzzle;
- Develops skills of listening to assist in acquiring knowledge;
- Respects all those engaged in the learning process;
- Enlarges various perspectives;
- Offers and presents assumptions for examination and reevaluation;
- Sharpens students' capacity to ask critical questions;
- Detects key issues in arguments; and
- Affirms the intellectual virtues.
Consequently, students in the MLA program will find a unique intellectual challenge to prepare them to achieve the goals for which they are striving.