The Catholic University for Independent Thinkers
Arete is a great opportunity for high school students to experience some of the most important classical texts of Western Civilization, improve their reading and writing skills, and earn college credit.
According to the great texts of the past, the noble life requires removing all scales from one's eyes and seeing clearly. The next step is to "do" the right thing: to be able to choose, in sometimes ambiguous circumstances, the path that leads to freedom rather than enslavement. This twofold process, one which encourages us to live nobly, has formed the basis of Liberal Education and constitutes the foundation on which civilization rests. In introducing you to the essential texts of Western Civilization and allowing you to reflect on works of fine art, film and music, Arete will offer you a taste of how education frees us.
The curriculum is centered around the question of the noble life. Over the course of two weeks students will read and discuss such texts as Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and selections from Plato's Republic. In the past students have also read and discussed Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Shakespeare's Hamlet, Henry V, As You Like It, Cymbeline, and Othello, Selections from Aristotle's Ethics and Herodotus' Histories, Flannery O'Connor's "Revelation", William Faulkner's "Barn Burning", and American Founding documents.
The program features weekend trips into Dallas and Fort Worth. In the past students have visited the Dallas Museum of Art, the Kimball Art Museum, the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth, the Fort Worth Stockyards and have seen a play at Shakespeare Dallas.
The dates for the Arete program are July 14 - 27, 2013. Applications are currently being accepted on a rolling basis. We encourage students to apply as soon as possible to ensure a spot on the program. The total program costs $1500 which covers room and board on the Irving campus and for-credit tuition.
Arete was founded by Dr. Louise Cowan, recipient of the distinguished NEH Humanities Award, architect of the renowned University of Dallas freshman and sophomore core curriculum, and founder of the summer program for teachers at the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture. The lecturing staff is comprised of full-time UD faculty from the Philosophy, Theology, Classics, History, Politics, Art, English, and Comparative Literature departments while the seminar leaders are PhD students in the Institute of Philosophic Studies.
The University of Dallas' main campus in Irving, Texas is located approximately 15 minutes from DFW International Airport and Dallas Love Field. The campus is conveniently situated in the heart of the metroplex with access to public transportation into Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, and other cities.
See how the University of Dallas's Arete program can open your mind. Read an article from 2010 Arete participant Amy Yznaga and watch the Arete video below. For more information submit an online inquiry form or contact udsummer@udallas.edu.
