There are many ways for you to begin a serious engagement with literature, philosophy, history, art, and critical theory at Washington University. One of the best is to enroll in the Text & Tradition program.

First-year students at WU can enroll in Text & Tradition: each fall we reserve at least fifty places for incoming students. In T&T, students explore the classic texts and intellectual traditions upon which American and European culture has been built -- from Greek thought to the modern novel. In the first semester, those enrolled in the T&T take Classical to Renaissance Literature, as well as Early Political Thought. Each course in T&T meets an Arts & Sciences distribution requirement. The goal of these classes is to provide a serious foundation in the humanities, a foundation in content and in methods of inquiry.

The Text & Tradition Minor

If you continue past the first semester -- the "classical" semester -- you can easily complete a minor in Text & Tradition by choosing three more T&T classes. You can take these at any time during the pursuit of an undergraduate degree from the University. Some of the course options are listed below. For an updated IPH schedule, please see the course book for the appropriate semester.

 We try to offer two or three of these courses every spring:

• The Great Economists
• Scriptures and Cultural Traditions
• Puzzles and Revolutions
• Sex and Gender

Lots of students take these courses in their second year; we offer them every fall:

• Literary Modernities
• Modern Political Thought

With approval by the IPH faculty, a student may substitute an appropriate course.