Christopher Dawson argued that education communicates the heart and ideals of a culture. This course is an exploration of the history and philosophy of the western educational tradition and its ideals. Students will examine the tradition as it understood the ends of the human person and society and the purpose of education, beginning with the philosophical and religious traditions of ancient Athens and Jerusalem and the consequent Christian synthesis. They will also explore modern challenges to that tradition from the eighteenth century to the present in order to understand our own educational and cultural moment.