Old Western Culture · Year Four

Early Moderns

Shakespeare and Milton, the Enlightenment and the Romantics, then the great novels, all the way to Tolkien.

Old Western Culture: Early Moderns

Old Western Culture: Early Moderns, is a full-year literature and history curriculum for high school students (and above). Learn about the greatest and most influential works from the early modern period. Study the poetry, theology, novels, and political treatises of this period from a Christian perspective.

4 units · 48 lessons (video lectures and curriculum) · Grades 9–12+

The year’s four units

Most families buy the year. Any unit can also be bought on its own.

Unit 2 · Reader Vol. 14

Poetry and Politics

Pope: An Essay on Criticism, An Essay on Man; Burke: Reflections on the Revolution in France; Coleridge: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner; Wordsworth, Byron, Keats, Shelley: poems; Tocqueville: Democracy in America; Poe: poems and stories; Tennyson, Browning, Arnold, Rossetti, Hopkins: poems

This unit alone · $74.75 ›
Unit 3 · Reader Vol. 15

The Enlightenment

Galileo: Letters; Descartes: Discourse on Method; Newton: Principia; Hume: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding; Kant: What Is Enlightenment?; Reid: An Inquiry into the Human Mind

This unit alone · $74.75 ›
Unit 4 · Reader Vol. 16

The Novels

Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice; Dickens: A Christmas Carol; Dostoevsky: The Brothers Karamazov; Chekhov: The Bet; Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings; C. S. Lewis: essays

This unit alone · $74.75 ›
You’re buyingOld Western Culture: Early ModernsThe complete digital year, four units
$299
Included
  • 48 video lectures. Stream or download videos in the Roman Roads app, yours for life
  • The four Readers (Vols. 13–16) as eBooks, in the app
  • Four Workbooks (PDF) with answer keys
  • A and B exams for every unit, with teacher guides
How will you read the books? choose one
The workbooks choose one

Prefer discs? , while supplies last.

Total$299

Readers or workbooks for a second student: Readers · Workbooks
Co-ops and schools: group licensing

The lectures

48 lectures, unit by unit

Each lecture opens with a short review, then summary, commentary and connections across history, art and theology. The first lecture of each unit is free. Taught by Wes Callihan & Peter Leithart, Wesley Callihan, Mitch Stokes, Wes Callihan & Jonathan McIntosh.

Unit 1 · Rise of England · 12 lectures · 6 h 43 min
  1. 1Introduction to Early ModernsFree25 min
  2. 2Introduction to Shakespeare38 min
  3. 3Shakespeare's Sonnets41 min
  4. 4King Lear37 min
  5. 5Richard III35 min
  6. 6Merchant of Venice38 min
  7. 7Metaphysical Poets: John Donne33 min
  8. 8Metaphysical Poets: George Herbert and Marvell33 min
  9. 9Introduction to Milton37 min
  10. 10Lesson 10 Paradise Lost 128 min
  11. 11Paradise Lost 230 min
  12. 12Paradise Lost 328 min
Unit 2 · Poetry and Politics · 12 lectures · 6 h 8 min
  1. 1Introduction to the EnlightenmentFree29 min
  2. 2Alexander Pope 130 min
  3. 3Alexander Pope 229 min
  4. 4Edmund Burke 129 min
  5. 5Edmund Burke 230 min
  6. 6Romantic Poetry 126 min
  7. 7Romantic Poetry 226 min
  8. 8Intro to the Victorian Age & Democracy in America56 min
  9. 9Edgar Allan Poe26 min
  10. 10Lesson 10 Victorian Poetry 132 min
  11. 11Lesson 11 Victorian Poetry 227 min
  12. 12Victorian Poetry 326 min
Unit 3 · The Enlightenment · 13 lectures · 8 h 11 min
  1. 1Early Moderns Curriculum Trailer3 min
  2. 2Lesson I Introduction: What is the Enlightenment?Free36 min
  3. 3The Scientific Revolution: An Overview47 min
  4. 4Galileo Moves the Earth38 min
  5. 5The Galileo Affair43 min
  6. 6Lesson 5 Descartes & Skepticism41 min
  7. 7Descartes' Search for Certainty38 min
  8. 8Did Descartes Succeed?27 min
  9. 9Descartes & the Scientific Revolution38 min
  10. 10Isaac Newton Takes the Throne45 min
  11. 11Lesson 10 Hume: Taking Skepticism Seriously43 min
  12. 12Kant's Answer to Hume49 min
  13. 13Thomas Reid & Genuine Enlightenment43 min
Unit 4 · The Novels · 12 lectures · 6 h 23 min
  1. 1Introduction to The NovelsFree21 min
  2. 2Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice I31 min
  3. 3Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice II28 min
  4. 4Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol30 min
  5. 5Lesson 5 Fyodor Dostoevsky: Brothers Karamazov24 min
  6. 6Anton Checkov: The Bet24 min
  7. 7Lesson 7 Tolkien I: Fairy-Stories and The Lord of the Rings49 min
  8. 8Lesson 8 Tolkien II: Escape, Consolation, and Eucatastrophe41 min
  9. 9Lesson 9 Tolkien III: Themes in The Lord of the Rings45 min
  10. 10The Legacy of C. S. Lewis33 min
  11. 11C. S. Lewis and Old Western Culture29 min
  12. 12Overview of the 20th Century28 min
Play Lecture 1 · Introduction to Early Moderns · 25 min · freeLecture 1 · Introduction to Early Moderns · 25 min · free

Plays here on the page.

Taught byWes Callihan & Peter Leithart
The books

What your student reads this year

Every assigned text is in the four Readers, printed or as the eBooks that come with the course. Students are welcome to use other editions of the great books they already own with this course. The video lectures reference Latin or Greek line numbers, which allows a broader use of editions for those who prefer to bring their own.

Rise of England

Shakespeare: King Lear, Richard III, The Merchant of Venice, Sonnets; Donne, Herbert, Marvell: poems; Milton: Paradise Lost

Poetry and Politics

Pope: An Essay on Criticism, An Essay on Man; Burke: Reflections on the Revolution in France; Coleridge: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner; Wordsworth, Byron, Keats, Shelley: poems; Tocqueville: Democracy in America; Poe: poems and stories; Tennyson, Browning, Arnold, Rossetti, Hopkins: poems

The Enlightenment

Galileo: Letters; Descartes: Discourse on Method; Newton: Principia; Hume: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding; Kant: What Is Enlightenment?; Reid: An Inquiry into the Human Mind

The Novels

Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice; Dickens: A Christmas Carol; Dostoevsky: The Brothers Karamazov; Chekhov: The Bet; Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings; C. S. Lewis: essays

Good to know

Questions

Is Early Moderns right for a younger student?

Old Western Culture is intended for mature and discerning students; we recommend it for ages 14 and up. The course deals with mature themes such as paganism, sexual immorality, battle scenes (mostly in the reading) and classical paintings, and is meant to equip your child with a Biblical lens for them. We assume a working knowledge of the Bible and basic Christian doctrine.

How much credit is it?

Two high-school credits: an integrated humanities credit, or one literature and one history credit. The credit assumes the lectures, the reading, the daily questions and the four unit exams.

How much time does it take?

Four nine-week units; plan on one to three hours a day, with 30–40 pages of reading. The Honors schedule reads everything; the Essentials schedule reads a shorter selection and still watches every lecture.

Do we need the printed Readers?

No. The Reader eBooks are in the app with the course, and the editions already on your shelf work too. We do recommend reading in print; the Readers’ advantage is every assigned text in one volume per unit.

Workbook or Companion?

Both work with the lectures. The Workbook (PDF included with the main curriculum; printed edition available as add-on) holds the questions for every lecture and reading with an answer key. The Companion is the fuller book: schedules, more questions at four levels, and the Digressios. Use it beside the workbook or in its place. The Early Moderns Companions follow from 2027; until then this year uses the Workbook.

Can a co-op or school use it?

Yes. Students watch at home and discuss in class, or a teacher lectures live. Ask us about group licensing.

Is it a subscription?

No. You buy it once and it is yours for life.

Old Western Culture: Early Moderns

The complete digital year, from $299. Add the printed Readers and workbooks above.