Strange New World

Age: 16+ High School Half Credit

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Go beyond cancel culture and learn the reasons why sexual identity is the battleground of our day.

We regularly encounter terms like transgender, legal innovations like homosexual unions, and social media’s encouragement of pleasure at all costs. What does the plus sign mean in LGBTQ+, after all?

This course uncovers the roots of these changes. Students will understand the philosophies that built up identity when God’s design for mankind is rejected. They will regularly be asked to examine the ways in which these philosophies enter their entertainment, work, and hearts.

Designed as an elective course in the humanities for upperclassmen, the course includes several components to train your student in not just forming but living a biblical worldview to the glory of God:

• Introductory videos by Dr. Carl Trueman, a respected Christian professor of church and intellectual history;
• A complete reading of Trueman’s accessible study of the sexual revolution, Strange New World. This work was itself condensed from his acclaimed The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.
• Selections from contemporary movies, documentaries, and news clips that bring the ideas of the book off the page.
• Primary source readings from the works of philosophers highlighted by Trueman;
• Secondary readings from John Frame’s monumental History of Western Philosophy to provide a Christian analysis of selected philosophers, their ideas, and their legacies;
• A mixture of assignments, articles, quizzes and research projects to reinforce learning.

Credit: 1/2 HS Elective Credit (worldview, philosophy, intellectual history, humanities)

Age recommendation: 16+ [Parental Content Advisory]

Physical Book Required: Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution by Dr. Carl Trueman. See this step in the course for details.

Optional Book: A History of Western Philosophy and Theology by Dr. John Frame. See the link above for details.

Video Study Ⓒ 2021 by Carl Trueman. Book and Study Guide Ⓒ 2022 Carl Trueman. All worldwide rights reserved. Used with permission under license from Crossway.

This course includes free facilitation: a subject group with weekly Zoom meetings where a Compass instructor where you can apply what you are learning in guided discussions. If you are subscribed to the course — or our Premium Membership — simply request access here. Then head over for resources, discussions, project ideas, and more.