Christian Thought in the Humanities (BA)
Credential: Bachelor of Arts
Majors: Christian Thought in the Humanities, Biblical Studies
Certification/Licensure: This program is not intended to lead to licensure.
Location: Lancaster
Program Director: Dr. Geoffrey Reiter
Program Mission Statement: The Christian Thought in the Humanities program seeks to cultivate wisdom in students through the study of human thought, culture, and artifacts. Students will learn to see God as the author of human creation and the love of God as the ultimate purpose for studying human creation.
Program Description: The Arts and Sciences Department designed the Christian Thought in the Humanities program to provide LBC students with a degree that deepens their understanding of God and broadens their understanding of humanity. The major takes advantage of the disciplines already part of the Arts and Sciences core curriculum while it offers students the opportunity to dig deeper into courses that help students see the world, its cultures, its societies, and its people according to the light of Scripture. This program will prepare students to move into humanities graduate degree programs after graduation as well as serve as teachers in Christian schools, classical schools, and homeschool environments. The end of all education is to know God through the study of his creation. This program was created to give students that kind of education.
The Christian Thought in the Humanities program provides three specializations of 18 credits while all three specializations share a core of 24 credits. The specializations are in Literature, Writing and Rhetoric, and History. The core credits provide opportunities for all students in the Christian Thought in the Humanities program to interact across disciplines, while the specialization credits allow students to focus in on the discipline that suits them.
Program Learning Outcomes: As a result of this degree, students will do the following:
1. Employ reasonable thought and argumentation in evaluating human culture.
2. Articulate an understanding of how and why God is the final object of human thought, expression, and creativity.
3. Develop a biblical framework for understanding and evaluating the virtues of human culture.
4. Cultivate an appreciation of the diversity and dignity of human beings as well as their weaknesses and flaws.
5. Understand the self and others in light of cultural artifacts and masterpieces.
Experiential Learning: HUM 450 Humanities Practicum I and HUM 451 Humanities Practicum II. A total of 80 hours of practicum work is required. These hours can be arranged in work relevant to students’ area of study and could include writing work, editing work, teaching, librarianship, or curatorship. Practica will be arranged between students and advisors; they should be in-person unless virtual placement is relevant for the context.
Curriculum Structure and Degree Requirements
|
Curriculum Structure
|
Credits
|
|
LBC Foundations Courses
|
4
|
|
Bible & Theology Core Courses
|
30
|
|
Arts & Sciences Core Courses
|
31
|
|
Major Courses
|
47 |
|
Exploration Studies – Elective Courses
|
9 |
|
Program Total
|
121 |
LBC Foundations (4 credits)
Bible & Theology Courses (30 credits)
| BTH 101 | Foundations for Biblical and Theological Studies | 3 |
| BIB 103 | Creation & Covenants: OT I | 3 |
| BIB 104 | Israel's Life & Literature: OT II | 3 |
| THE 223 | Christian Narrative I: Creation & Fall | 3 |
| THE 224 | Christian Narrative II: Redemption & Consummation | 3 |
| BIB 203 | Life of Christ: NT I | 3 |
| BIB 204 | Early Church: NT II | 3 |
| Bible Elective - BOT or BNT | 3 |
THE
| Theology Elective | 3 |
| THE 320 | Christianity and Culture | 3 |
Arts & Sciences Courses (31 credits)
| LAN 101 | Academic Writing, Research, and Rhetoric | 3 |
| LAN 104 | Public Speaking | 3 |
LIT
| Literature Core (100/200 Level) | 3 |
HIS
| History Core (100/200 Level) | 3 |
SCI
| Science Core (100/200 Level) | 3 |
SCI
| SCI Lab (100/200 Level) | 1 |
MAT
| Math Core (100/200 Level) | 3 |
| PHI 201 | Introduction to Philosophy | 3 |
| Arts & Sciences Elective (300 or 400) level | 3 |
| Arts & Sciences Elective (300 or 400) level | 3 |
| Arts & Sciences Elective | 3 |
Christian Thought in the Humanities Courses (47 credits)
| LAN 230 | Survey of Classical Rhetoric to Modern Contexts | 3 |
| EDU 204 | Instructional Design | 3 |
POL
| POL 200/300 Elective | 3 |
HIS
| HIS Elective 300 Level | 3 |
| PHI 301 | Philosophy of Religion | 3 |
| Science Elective 300 or 400 level | |
| HUM 400 | Cross Cultural Experience | 0 |
LIT
| LIT Elective 300 level or above | 3 |
| HUM 430 | Cultivating Christian Thought in the Humanities Capstone | 3 |
| HUM 350 | Humanities Practicum I | 1 |
| HUM 451 | Humanities Practicum II | 1 |
THE
| Major-related Theology Elective | 3 |
| HIS 310 LIT 340 or LAN R_W Elective | 3 |
| Specialization 1 | 3 |
| Specialization 2 | 3 |
| Specialization 3 | 3 |
| Specialization 4 | 3 |
| Specialization 5 | 3 |
Exploration Studies (9 credits)
| Elective | 3 |
| Elective | 3 |
| Elective | 3 |
History Specialization Courses
HIS 310 History and the Christian Imagination is required. Also choose
five electives from the following list.
| HIS 310 | History and the Christian Imagination | 3 |
| HIS 201 | U.S. History I (1600-1877) | 3 |
| HIS 202 | U.S. History II (1877-Present) | 3 |
| HIS 203 | Ancient History | 3 |
| HIS 204 | The Modern World: WWI to the Present | 3 |
| HIS 205 | Greece, Rome, and the Early Church | 3 |
| HIS 210 | Origins & Legacies of 1960s | |
| HIS 208 | World Wars | 3 |
| HIS 301 | Arab-Israeli Conflict | 3 |
| HIS 302 | American & French Revolutions: The Birth of the Modern Era | 3 |
| HIS 303 | The American Civil War | 3 |
| HIS 304 | American Religious History | 3 |
| HIS 305 | Renaissance & Reformation | 3 |
| HIS 480 | Selected Topics in History | 3 |
Rhetoric and Writing Specialization Courses
Choose
six electives from the following list.
Literature Specialization Courses
LIT 340 Literature and the Christian Imagination is required. Also choose
two 100/200-level courses
and three 300-level courses (six LIT courses total for the Literature Specialization).
Political Science Specialization Courses
| POL 305 | Politics and the Christian Imagination | 3 |
POL
| Political Science Elective | 3 |
POL
| Political Science Elective | 3 |
POL
| Political Science Elective | 3 |
POL
| Political Science Elective | 3 |
POL
| Political Science Elective | 3 |
POL
| Political Science Elective | 3 |
Program Director: Geoffrey Reiter, PhD
Dr. Reiter is Associate Professor and Coordinator of Literature at Lancaster. He holds an MA in Church History from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a PhD in English from Baylor University. Prior to his time at LBC, he was Associate Professor and English Program Coordinator at The Baptist College of Florida. Dr. Reiter is also a writer and associate editor at the website Christ and Pop Culture. He is the author of over a dozen academic articles on theology and genre fiction, and he has published several poems and short stories in the horror, fantasy, and science fiction genres. He loves discovering ways in which the Bible helps us “read” culture and the ways in which cultural products like literature, film, or television may help us “defamiliarize” Scripture to see old truths from new and surprising angles.