by Kayla Smith
Truth. Beauty. Justice. Piety. Wisdom.
These are among the ideas explored in Oklahoma Baptist University’s Honors Program.
Through 24 hours of core courses during their freshman and sophomore years, students read some of history’s most significant works, including books by Plato, Homer, Augustine, Shakespeare, Kafka and Dostoyevsky.
They discuss what these works reveal and how faith shapes their understanding of them.
“Any truth that we find in any source, given that we believe that Christ is the Word of God, any truth from any source comes from Christ,” said Keith Hess, associate professor of philosophy and apologetics.
Hess teaches in the Honors Program and leads its House Augustine.
Benjamin Myers, professor of literature and English and director of the program, said the small classes help students strengthen their reasoning and communication skills.
“Honors helps you develop your reasoning ability,” Myers said.
“Students participate in small seminar courses in which they discuss the works directly,” he said.
“In the small seminar classes, they have discussions that will push them to develop their reasoning ability and their ability to express themselves.”
The Honors Program offers an alternative to OBU’s regular core curriculum.
Honors courses incorporate requirements such as Western Civilization I and II and Composition II.
The program’s history stretches back more than 50 years. OBU formed the University Honors Committee in 1970 and established a curriculum-based model in 1990.
A 2020 redesign introduced a four-semester sequence centered on the Great Books.
Each semester includes a lecture and a seminar focused on works from a particular period.
The Great Books will also be the focus of the Lamppost Literary Conference, scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 9 in the Geiger Center.
Hosted by OBU’s Language and Literature department, the free event is intended for anyone who teaches or reads classic works of Western and world literature.
It will include breakout sessions, a keynote address, awards and a scavenger hunt for students.
This year’s theme, “Take Up and Read,” draws from Augustine’s Confessions, in which he describes his conversion to Christianity after reading Scripture in a Milan garden.
Jennifer Frey, a University of Virginia faculty member and advocate for the liberal arts, will give the keynote address.
Student sessions will cover Homer’s Odyssey and Boethius’ The Consolation of Philosophy, along with short-story writing.
Sessions for teachers will address Homer’s Iliad, Dante’s Divine Comedy and Cervantes’ Don Quixote, including ways to teach the works in a homeschool setting.
For students who find the Great Books intimidating, Myers said a willingness to begin matters more than having all the answers.
“The main purpose of Honors is developing wisdom and understanding as Proverbs directs us to,” Myers said.
“And that takes courage. It takes courage to think deeply. It takes courage to ask questions. It takes courage to read great books. But if the student has a little courage, we will help the student develop a lot of courage.”
The Lamppost Literary Conference offers students and educators another opportunity to take up that challenge, open a book and see where the conversation leads.
