MSU is now an Institutional member of Association for Core Texts and Courses, an international professional association whose goal is to advance liberal arts education through the study of core texts in every discipline. Core texts are classic primary texts that have had a significant historical impact–for instance, works by Homer, Hobbes, Copernicus, Freud, Confucius, and others.
Benefits for undergraduate students include the opportunity to attend the annual student conference, with all expenses paid except for travel and Saturday night dinner. Students must be nominated for their work on a core text in any discipline. Three papers presented at the annual conference are published in ACTC's student journal each year.
Another undergraduate student benefit is the opportunity to apply for the annual Oxford Study Abroad Program Summer Session. Applications are due in April.
Each year, ACTC holds an extraordinary international professional conference for faculty, focused on the teaching and interpretation of core texts. Participants attend meals together, listen to outstanding keynote lectures by acclaimed scholars twice a day, and present short papers in panels that provide ample time for sharing intellectual and pedagogical ideas. These papers are especially interesting because the texts are well known and most ACTC members are not specialists–thus they are truly sharing approaches rather than offering complex new textual interpretations. Graduate students may attend the annual conference at a reduced rate.
Other faculty benefits include special-topic conferences; opportunities to participate in curriculum- and faculty-development projects; and the opportunity to apply for an annual summer Scholar-in-Residence Programme at Oxford University.
Please see ACTC's website at www.coretexts.org
For more information, contact Kirsten Lodge at kirsten.lodge@msutexas.edu