Lilly Fellows Program in the Humanities and the Arts

Two-Year Lilly Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowships

Teaching in the Christ College First-Year Program

Lilly Postdoctoral Fellows will have the opportunity for at least one fall semester to teach in the Christ College First-Year Program.

Christ College was founded nearly fifty years ago as an interdisciplinary honors college. While Christ College students maintain a major in one of Valparaiso University’s other colleges, they participate in an intense, interdisciplinary curriculum that complements their disciplinary training.

The cornerstone of this interdisciplinary curriculum is the Christ College First-Year Program, which consists of a two-semester, sixteen-credit course (Texts and Contexts I and II), featuring small, discussion-based classes (10-12 students) and writing-intensive explorations of primary texts. Teaching in one semester of the Christ College counts as a two-course load. Faculty lead the discussion sections and offer instruction in writing.

The primary question of the First-Year Program is, “What does it mean to flourish as a human being?” That question guides the approach to the philosophical and religious texts Christ College students consider in the First-Year Program. Students engage texts directly, learning to interpret demanding material and discussing the readings with peers under the guidance of Christ College faculty.

For an overview of a typical Fall Semester in the Christ College First-Year Program, please see a sample syllabus here:  Christ College Freshman Program Fall 2018 Syllabus.