modernity

The Modernity curriculum is a survey of the disciplines of history, literature, philosophy, theology, and civics of modernity - an epoch focusing primarily on the 19th and 20th century, but with roots extending into the early Enlightenment.


modernity lectures

First Semester

Christendom's Ancien Regime
Remaking the World: Three Great Revolutions
Revolution v. Reformation
Paradigms for Colonialism
The Second Hundred Years War
The Napoleonic Age
The Astronomical Discourses: Thomas Chalmers
The Work of Reformation: Wilberforce and Shaftesbury
The Novelty of Nations
The Idea of Progress: Industrial Revolution
The Revolution of 1848
Flash Gordon Worldview: The Rise of Scientism
A Tale of Two Men: Rationalistic Liberalism
The Romantic Poets and Their Principles
Biblical Principles of Politics: The Election of 2008
The Virtues of the Victorians
The Regency Interregnum
The Legacy of the Mighty Scots
The Transformation of Education
The Recovery of Parish Life
To the Uttermost: The Rebirth of Missions

Second Semester

The Presidential Inauguration
TR and the American Century
Modernity's Unending Tumult: The End of Christendom
The Pity of War: The Ongoing Tragedy of the First World War
The New World Order: Wilson's Fourteen Points
A New American Revolution: The Roaring Twenties
Coolidge's Anti-Revolutionary Normalcy
Calamities Multiplied: The Great Depression
A New Despotism: Hitler, Stalin, and Their Heirs
Hostilities Renewed: The Battle of Britain
The Best and the Worst: World War II
Heroes and Villains: The End of the War
Return of the Jews: The Rebirth of Israel
Pop Goes the Culture: The Fifties and the Cold War
Q's Enduring Legacy
Right Things, Wrong Ways: The Sixties and Nietzsche
Amusing Ourselves to Death: A Brave New Media World
444 Days: Islamic Ji'had
Scandal, Malaise, and Polarization: Watergate
A President, a Pope, and a Prime Minister
Essential Habits of Emerging Leaders
In for the Long Haul: The Adullam Strategy

Primary Texts:

Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power, by Niall Ferguson, 2004 Basic Books, ISBN: 0-465-02329-0

Modern Times: The World from the Twenties to the Nineties, by Paul Johnson, paperback 2001 Harper Perennial Modern Classics, ISBN 0-06-093550-4

Alternative Text

Western Civilizations, Brief Edition, Volume 2, by Judith Coffin and Robert Stacey

Ancillary Materials Include:

- Three Student Outline Options
- Teacher Notes
- Literature Planning Guide
- Topic Lists for Each Lesson
- Timeline Items To Each Lesson

Sample Outlines

Lectures will be offered in three unique formats. Below is a sample of each:


 Short Outline

This outline is suited for those that prefer to not take notes on the outline.


 Spaced Outline

This outline is suited for those that prefer to take notes directly on the outline.


 RTF Outline

This outline is suited for those that prefer to take notes on a word processor. This outline is in rich text format that will allow a student to use the word processor/computer of their choice.

Sample Teacher Notes


 Teacher Notes


Sample Literature Planning Guide


 Literature Planning Guide


Sample Lecture


Modernity Lecture #29

Below is the lecture entitled "Coolidge's Anti-Revolutionary Normalcy" featuring the intro and outro that will accompany each lecture.