91桃色破解版

Senior Seminar

They will also ask questions that help them reflect on their liberal arts education such as: What does it mean to be a lifelong learner? What are my abiding beliefs and convictions and how can I live them out? What is my worldview? How can I make a difference in the world?

As the historic Christian faith is central to the mission of 91桃色破解版, Senior Seminar explores how Christianity engages with the broader world. The examination and discussion of both Christian and diverse viewpoints helps students to refine their own convictions even as they learn to comprehend, consider and evaluate perspectives different from their own. This is accomplished by engaging in activities that allow students to practice Hope鈥檚 Virtues of Public Discourse.

Associated Student Learning Outcomes

The following learning outcomes will be reinforced:

1. Examine fundamental or emerging questions about humanity, the natural world, or God by seeking answers through different modes of inquiry.

3. Practice 91桃色破解版's Virtues of Public Discourse: humility to listen; hospitality to welcome; patience to understand; courage to challenge; honesty to speak the truth in love.

7. Explain their own values, commitments, and convictions.

IDS 452/492 level courses (3 Credits)

The specific purpose of the senior seminar is to ensure that before students graduate from 91桃色破解版, they have explicitly confronted questions of value and belief in a practical and concrete way. These courses will deliberately examine 鈥淏ig Questions鈥� by seeking answers through multiple disciplines, practice 91桃色破解版鈥檚 Virtues of Public Discourse, demonstrate an ability to communicate clearly, explore Christian ways of knowing, and explain what they believe and why.

Students will develop an understanding of the diverse and life-giving purposes and perspectives by which people live. They will also deepen their ability to discuss differences sensitively, reasonably, and honestly.

Because this course serves as the capstone to a student鈥檚 liberal arts education, this course should be taken no earlier than the May Term of a student's junior year.

Course Descriptions

Spring 2027

492.01 The Creative Life
A contemporary Christian creed proclaims: "We believe in God who has created and is creating." This seminar explores the arts as one reflection of a God who is still creating in your life and in this world. How can our lives echo a God who is creative and generative? How can you identify and develop your creative gifts? How can we connect to cultural, spiritual and intellectual resources that explore what is life-giving? This seminar delves into these 鈥渃reative questions鈥� as a pathway to integrate creativity into vocational pursuits, personal practice and engaging with God鈥檚 world.

492.02 Around The Table
Tables are pivotal in our lives. We eat around them, we pursue dreams and make plans around them, foster love around them and even mourn death around them. Good food, drink, games or art at the table allows for people to be together in ways that would otherwise not be possible. In short, we make tables as objects, but around them are we made as persons 鈥� and come to see personhood in those we are with. Community may on some level, then, be the dynamic interaction of these persons through time with one another. The question that we will explore as a class is: How do we foster the possibility of and avoid challenges to community in the modern world? The table, and what happens around it, will be the literal and metaphorical tool we鈥檒l use throughout the semester. Beyond in-class sessions revolving around themes of identity, relationships and community, we will also add in the practice of having a series of monthly dinners together in the professor鈥檚 home (likely on Tuesday evenings) as we include the role of food and eating in our reflections.

492.03 Being Human: Nature and Nurture
What makes us who we are as human beings? Are we shaped primarily by nature (our genes) or by nurture (our environments and experiences)? This course explores the complex relationship between nature and nurture through the lenses of Christianity, biology, psychology and neuroscience. Through the discussion and reflection of books, articles, films and biblical texts, students will examine how genetics, relationships, trauma, environment, culture and personal choices interact to shape human identity, behavior and human flourishing.

492.04 Friendship And Community
Drawing on the humanities, social sciences, arts and even a little bit from the natural sciences, we will explore the importance of friendship and community to flourishing human life, especially in troubled times. We will reflect on our experiences of friendship and community and how to be more intentional about them. Readings will range from classic philosophical essays, such as Cicero鈥檚 鈥淥n Friendship鈥� and C. S. Lewis鈥檚 The Four Loves, to novels such as Wendell Berry鈥檚 Jayber Crow, to work by social scientists such as Robin Dunbar and the interdisciplinary frameworks of Ren茅 Girard鈥檚 mimetic theory.

492.05 Relationship Between Science and Christianity
Many people think that science and Christianity are mutually exclusive. However, there are many different views on their relationship including non-exclusive and harmonious ones. In this course, we will survey different perspectives on creation, evolution and intelligent design. This course will help students think and develop their identity along with both science and Christianity. Students do not need to be a major in the natural sciences. Any student who is curious about the relationship would enjoy this course.

492.07 Unpacking Study Abroad, Repacking for Global Citizenship
Hope鈥檚 mission statement articulates that we will 鈥減repare students for lives of service and leadership in a global society.鈥� What does it mean to be a responsible and engaged member of a global society? How do we make sense of our global experiences and identities in order to have a positive impact on those around us? How does faith influence my actions in my community, both locally and globally? How do we define 鈥渟ervice and leadership鈥� in the context of justice issues and what does our responsibility to engage in these critical issues look like as global citizens? This Senior Seminar course will dig into these questions and more as we prepare to wrap up our time at Hope and step out into all the world. It is designed to help the returned study abroad student or international student tell their global story and make sense of their time abroad. We will explore global citizenship through the colleges鈥� global learning outcomes of curiosity, empathy, knowledge, responsibility and self-awareness.

492.08 God's Story, Your Story
What is your life story? What do you imagine the following seasons to be like?

What about God鈥檚 story? What does the Bible tell us about His story? What if God鈥檚 story
becomes your own story? In this course, we will explore how God鈥檚 story is unfolding in our own lives and in the lives of others. We will read God鈥檚 Story, Your Story: When His becomes Yours by Max Lucado and Pleasure of His Company: A Journey to Intimate Friendship with God by Dutch Sheets.

We will also read an autobiography of a special Japanese artist, Tomihiro Hoshino, and enjoy his beautiful artworks and poems, which he draws with a pen in his mouth. Through these books and other stories, we will examine how God uses both the ordinary and life-changing events to bring out unexpected beauty in life. Wherever you may be in your faith journey, you are welcomed to join in the dialogues as we seek together to find God鈥檚 beauty in our own unique life story.

492.09, 12 Kungfu Masters and Their Spouses
Many of us believe we live in a modern society with unprecedented freedom. This course invites you to think twice about what 鈥渕odern,鈥� 鈥渦nprecedented鈥� or 鈥渇reedom鈥� means and uses marriage as a case study to pin down many misconceptions we often carry, whether we are in a committed relationship or not. We will begin this course with selected chapters from Timothy Keller鈥檚 Making Sense of God (2016) and Timothy Keller and Kathy Keller鈥檚 The Meaning of Marriage (2011). Then, we will watch a few martial arts films to show how the biblical view of marriage aligns with traditional Chinese society. Instead of contradicting each other, this emphasis on marriage in traditional Chinese society complements the Bible鈥檚 stress on marriage for many Christ-followers. In addition to better understanding modern and traditional society, our class discussions will center on responding to questions such as:

1. What does it mean to live out our faith in this age of skepticism?
2. How does our contemporary culture affect our conception of identities and differences?
3. How does our faith engage our past, present and future view of being single, married or divorced?

492.10 El Jes煤s que nunca conoc铆
Note: this class is taught in Spanish and may also be used as a Spanish elective.

An exploration of the basic tenets of Christianity through books, scripture, films, class conversations and presentations. We will be reading Spanish translations of C. S. Lewis鈥� Mere Christianity and Philip Yancey鈥檚 The Jesus I Never Knew. These works complement each other by examining Christianity from the outside and the inside, challenging personal and cultural assumptions we may hold, whether we grew up in the church or outside of it. By the end of the course, students should have a better understanding of the Christian faith, of their own faith formation and upbringing, and be able to articulate how culture 鈥� our own and that of others 鈥� affects how we relate to Christianity. This course is taught in Spanish and students should have completed two 300-level courses in Spanish or have equivalent fluency in the language.

492.11 Science and the Bible: Discovering the Meaning of Discovery
This course explores the surprising connections between science and the biblical description of Christianity, challenging the common perception of conflict. We will investigate the unexpected parallels between scientific methodology and biblical views on knowledge, cause and effect, and even delve into topics like natural selection and experiments as ritual practices. We will discover how the Bible can form our understanding of discovery itself, how it celebrates critical thinking, how it helps us to identify conspiracy theories, resist manipulative marketing, understand religious cults, and cultivate meaningful worship in our churches and daily lives. We will discover the joy of human discovery at the foundations of science and turn those skills on our own lives.

492.13 Film and the Meaning of Life
Film serves as an intellectual platform for art, literature and communication. It is arguably one of the most influential modes of thinking and public dialogue in our time. These qualities make film an ideal gateway for exploring the meaning of life. We often enter the world of a film by identifying with its characters or recognizing familiar life contexts within it. The diversity of themes and narratives also makes film an especially appealing subject of study. The ultimate question of this semester-long journey is: What kind of character is each of you becoming in the film you are just beginning to create? This is the central question of the Senior Seminar, and we will use films to get to it. A curated list of films will guide us through the questions we have about our future. We will discuss their themes, characters, contexts, histories, philosophies, conflicts and more. This course incorporates four distinct intellectual exercises: viewing films as texts, researching backgrounds and contexts, presenting analyses and findings, and discussing each film to share and broaden our perspectives, enriching our experiences and worldviews.

492.14 The Art of Listening
Author Adam McHugh wrote, 鈥渢he sort of people that we become is, in large part, determined by the voices that we choose to listen to.鈥� In this class we will explore listening to the voices of both God and others and learn about the beauty and deep value of silence. We will engage in conversation over cups of tea, and we will listen deeply to the stories of others. Be prepared to check your phone at the door, enter with a curiosity for what you will hear, and leave the class with a newfound attentiveness that allows you to, in the words of poet Mary Oliver, 鈥渆very day see or hear something that more or less kills you with delight.鈥�

492.15 The Art of Listening
Author Adam McHugh wrote, 鈥渢he sort of people that we become is, in large part, determined by the voices that we choose to listen to.鈥� In this class we will explore listening to the voices of both God and others and learn about the beauty and deep value of silence. We will engage in conversation over cups of tea, and we will listen deeply to the stories of others. Be prepared to check your phone at the door, enter with a curiosity for what you will hear, and leave the class with a newfound attentiveness that allows you to, in the words of poet Mary Oliver, 鈥渆very day see or hear something that more or less kills you with delight.鈥�

492.16 You Are What You Love
This course explores the Christian life through the lens of liturgies 鈥� that is, the practices, habits and behaviors that mark us as faithful followers of Christ. But in a society where Christianity is on the wane and with self-made, remixed religions on the rise, alternative 鈥渞ites鈥� and the secular liturgies of the broader culture compete for our love and devotion. Among the questions we will explore in this course are these:

• How might we cultivate habits of worship and discipleship that will rightly order our loves?
• How might we resist the pressures of secular liturgies that distort and even deform our loves?
• How might our answers to the first two questions help us think more clearly about vocation, work and the life that will follow our leaving 91桃色破解版?

492.17 Faith, Wholeness and the Calling
This course explores living a whole and healthy Christian life. It integrates faith, well-being and personal vocation. Students reflect on how wholeness influences their decisions, relationships and sense of purpose. The course focuses on building habits that support mind, body and spirit, aligning with Christian values.

492.19 In Search of the Good Life
As you stand at the trailhead of your life after Hope, with so many different paths before you, it would be beneficial to consider your end goals first. When you look back on your life choices, what will you have hoped to accomplish and how can you get there?  In this course, we will be reading fiction, biographies and autobiographies of some amazing humans. We will also be interviewing family and community members we admire and viewing films representing historical figures who have given of themselves to others. We will be considering what makes these lives worthy of study and emulation. Is happiness a necessary component of a good life, or can we still live a good life, even when it鈥檚 tough to see the sun through the clouds? In our small senior seminar community, we will be discussing, debating and discerning our next steps in the hope that no matter where you land after graduation, you will be living, or headed toward, a good life.

492.20 Memoir-izing Your Walk
Coming to the realization: 鈥淚 am alive!鈥� Being reared in a Nazi-forced Polish ghetto and Auschwitz during one鈥檚 youngest years. Walking out of the Andes Mountains after being left for dead. Escaping neglect and a dysfunctional upbringing. Learning how to assist in the health care of marginalized citizens.

These real-life events found in memoirs (or selected portions of memoirs) 鈥� including Dandelion Wine, The Daughter of Auschwitz, Miracle in the Andes, The Glass Castle, Take Care of Them Like My Own 鈥� will provide this Senior Seminar with talking points. We鈥檒l use those conversations to inspire writing in response to our reading. We鈥檒l do our best to answer our Course Big Question: How do we accept and navigate our walk through life and make that life the very best existence possible? Writing your own 鈥渕emoir鈥� (aka your Lifeview Project) will enhance and clarify that walk as you reflect on Past You, Present You and Future You. Students of every belief and disbelief are welcome to join this literature-inspired and writing-rich conversation.

492.21 Your Digital Life: Flourishing in a Tech-Driven World
The world that we live in is constantly changing with the creation of new technology, the constant updates to old technology and the fast-paced way that technology seeps into our society, culture and all of who we are. In this senior seminar class we will explore what it means to be human, what it means to flourish, and how we create lives in this type of fast-paced digital environment. 

492.23 I'm Done!
More and more Americans are disillusioned with organized religion. This course explores the reasons why people who were once affiliated with a faith tradition choose to disassociate themselves from the faith of their upbringing. Is it possible for people on either side of church walls to engage meaningfully with each other? What does it look like for people of different religious faiths or no religious faith to live flourishing lives and seek the common good in a pluralistic society? Wherever you are on the spectrum of religious belief, this course invites you to participate in the conversation.

Fall 2026

492.01 Psalms for Life
This course takes a look at the biblical book of Psalms and its influence on the life and faith formation of its readers 鈥� including you! We will examine the Psalms in their biblical setting, in Christian theological understanding, in their historical use for Christian worship, and as they appear in art and culture around the world. We will also focus on the Psalms as expressions of human identity developing over time 鈥� identity lived in relationship with God and others.

492.02 Encountering Awe: From Brain to Spirit
Human beings have long sought out experiences that lift them beyond the ordinary, moments of wonder, beauty, smallness and transcendence that we often call awe. This Senior Seminar asks: What role does awe play in a meaningful life, and how might living with awe shape who we are becoming? Drawing on insights from psychology, neuroscience, theology, literature and the natural world, students will examine how encounters with awe, whether in nature, music, moral beauty or the divine, impact our brains, reshape our sense of self, deepen our spiritual lives and expand our capacity for human connection. Together we will consider how awe might guide our future vocations, relationships and commitments, and explore practices that help us cultivate wonder in a distracted and fast-moving world.

492.03 The Art of Listening
Author Adam McHugh wrote, 鈥渢he sort of people that we become is, in large part, determined by the voices that we choose to listen to.鈥� In this class we will explore listening to the voices of both God and others and learn about the beauty and deep value of silence. We will engage in conversation over cups of tea, and we will listen deeply to the stories of others. Be prepared to check your phone at the door, enter with a curiosity for what you will hear, and leave the class with a newfound attentiveness that allows you to, in the words of poet Mary Oliver, 鈥渆very day see or hear something that more or less kills you with delight.鈥�

492.04 Readers for Life
After formal education ends, learning can remain a part of your life if you wish it to. One great way is through reading fiction: a chance to slow down, broaden your understanding and discover the kind of human you want to be. From book clubs to BookTok, many adults also build community through reading. In this class, we鈥檒l read a few great works of classic and modern literature focused on the idea of education and adulthood. Rather than the traditional classroom model of literary study, we鈥檒l practice what reading for life can look like with creative, spiritual and virtue-based reading strategies. We鈥檒l let stories by great writers lead us into conversations about kindness, honesty, sacrifice, grief, courage, commitment and more.

492.05 The Responsible Self: Wellness, Virtue, Meaning
This course explores responsibility through the lens of wellness (physical, emotional, financial, etc.). Students will examine how personal choices affect not only their own lives but also their relationships, families and communities. Through readings, discussions and reflection, they鈥檒l consider what it means to make ethical decisions, care for themselves and contribute to the well-being of others in a complex world.

492.06 Cultivating a Life of Meaning, Work and Attention
What if the life you鈥檙e supposed to build isn't about having it all figured out, but about learning to pay attention? This seminar explores the tension at the heart of launching a life: living meaningfully while doing work that doesn鈥檛 destroy you, holding together purpose and pragmatism, learning when to move fast and when to slow down. We鈥檒l engage one practitioner鈥檚 raw, honest reckoning with building a sustainable livelihood while doing work that matters. We鈥檒l explore questions about the good life 鈥� drawing on Christian and diverse perspectives, social science research on human flourishing, and philosophies of work that push back against our culture鈥檚 addiction to busyness and to 鈥渕ore.鈥� And we鈥檒l practice contemplative disciplines drawn from sacred and secular traditions 鈥� Examen, silence, Lectio Divina, meditation 鈥� to cultivate the inner attention that wise living requires. You鈥檒l wrestle with questions about pace, presence, work and what you actually want your Monday mornings to feel like. No formulas. No five-step plans. Just space to be honest, tools to think clearly, practices to listen deeply and honest attempts to live accordingly.

492.07 A Storm of Luminous Water: Close Reading for Life
What do John Ames (a character in Marilynne Robinson鈥檚 Pulitzer-prize winning novel Gilead), 19th-century Russian story-story writers Chekhov and Gogol, the poet Jane Kenyon, and biblical authors like Paul and the writer of Song of Songs have in common? They all pay attention to the world, something we鈥檒l call 鈥渃lose reading鈥� (especially of texts, but also our lives more broadly). In this seminar, students will facilitate class discussions by responding to course readings (including the authors listed above). The final life-view paper will address the ways our close readings 鈥渃hanged you when you read them, made the world seem to be telling a different, more interesting story, a story in which you might play a meaningful part, and in which you had responsibilities鈥� (George Saunders).

492.08 Living a Good Story
In her bestselling children鈥檚 book Tale of Desperaux, Kate Dicamillo writes, 鈥淪tories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark. Begin at the beginning. Tell Gregory a story. Make some light.鈥� Jonathan Auxier offers a different perspective. In his young adult novel, The Night Gardener, one of his characters reflects 鈥淎 story helps folks face the world, even when it frightens 鈥檈m. And a lie does the opposite. It helps you hide.鈥� Tim O鈥橞rien, author of the Vietnam War memoir The Things They Carried, offers yet another perspective on story. He writes, 鈥溾�� story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth鈥� That鈥檚 what fiction is for. It鈥檚 for getting at the truth when the truth isn鈥檛 sufficient for the truth.鈥� In this senior seminar, we will use 鈥渟tory鈥� as a framing concept for our discussions about what shapes us as individuals and as a society. We鈥檒l encounter and discuss a variety of stories throughout the semester 鈥� children鈥檚 picture books, young adult literature, memoirs, films 鈥� as a way of reflecting on the different purposes of storytelling, different ways of telling stories, criteria for evaluating stories, and how stories can affirm or push against our own worldview beliefs.

492.09 God Story, Your Story
What is your life story? What do you imagine the following seasons to be like?

What about God鈥檚 story? What does the Bible tell us about His story? What if God鈥檚 story
becomes your own story? In this course, we will explore how God鈥檚 story is unfolding in our own lives and in the lives of others. We will read 鈥淕od鈥檚 Story, Your Story: When His Becomes Yours鈥� by Max Lucado and 鈥淧leasure of His Company: A Journey to Intimate Friendship with God鈥� by Dutch Sheets.

We will also read an autobiography of a special Japanese artist, Tomihiro Hoshino, and enjoy his beautiful artworks and poems which he draws with a pen in his mouth. Through these books and other stories, we will examine how God uses both the ordinary and life-changing events to bring out unexpected beauty in life. Wherever you may be in your faith journey, you are welcomed to join in the dialogues as we seek together to find God鈥檚 beauty in our own unique life story.

492.10 Human Flourishing

As you prepare to step beyond 91桃色破解版, this seminar invites you to reflect on what it means to flourish as a human being. Together, we will ask enduring questions:

• How can we cultivate joy in the ordinary tasks of daily life?
• What does it mean to find contentment in the pursuits that give our lives meaning and direction?
• How do our connections with others through friendships, family, community, faith communities, and even the companionship of pets shape our sense of belonging and purpose?
• How do we carry forward the habits of lifelong learning that a liberal arts education has nurtured?
• And how might our understanding of God and the Christian faith inform these questions of human flourishing as we engage them alongside diverse perspectives?

Through readings, conversations and reflective practices, we will explore diverse perspectives on flourishing while also considering how the historic Christian faith engages these questions. In our seminar community, students will be encouraged to articulate their own convictions, listen well to others and imagine how they might live with purpose, connection, faith and hope in the years ahead.

492.11 Core Commitments on Divisive Issues
This course raises fundamental questions about human values and engages students in considering, discussing and writing about their philosophy of life in a compelling, coherent and disciplined manner. Students will also consider how one鈥檚 Christian faith/faith perspectives can inform their philosophy of life. They will approach these issues through the lens of an examination of three divisive issues that are currently dominating much of today鈥檚 discussion of where our priorities should be as individual human beings and as a society. The three core issues examined in this class are centered on:

1. Our ecological environment
2. Our ongoing political discord
3. Our all-too-common lack of respect for religions other than our own (including denominational discord within Christianity)
   

492.12 The Social Dilemma: Finding Community in a Digital Age
This course examines the ways in which we connect with one another and create community, both in face-to-face and digital/online contexts. We will critique our consumer society, examine the decline of community and neighborhoods in modern U.S. culture, consider ways to build community after graduation, and reflect on the possibilities and limitations of virtual community. Sherry Turkle鈥檚 Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age will be used as a foundational text as we examine the ways in which our communication is both impacted by and fundamentally changed by digital technology. The course concludes with examining what is Christian community and the ways in which the historic Christian faith encourages us to be in community with one another. Readings, discussion, journaling and a final paper (world-and-life-view paper) will provide a framework for reflecting on the key questions of your course.

492.13. Love, Justice, and Two Notions of 鈥淣eighbor鈥�
The Bible points to the importance of both our nearby and distant relationships. For example, in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus communicates that every person is our neighbor 鈥� regardless of kinship, ethnicity or religion. At the same time, he does not relieve us of the call to love the actual neighbors in our local communities; after all, the Good Samaritan ministers to the injured man in real, embodied and particular ways. In this seminar, we will draw on a variety of academic disciplines, as well as lessons from our actual neighborhoods and the neighborhood surrounding 91桃色破解版. How can we balance our calling to seek justice globally with a local life in which we are present for our families, friends, faith communities and (literal) neighbors? Students will reflect on their own socialization into both the local and global worlds they inhabit and envision a fruitful future lived out in these two sorts of worlds at once.