Valparaiso University’s Christ College — the Honors College Teaches the Art of Discussion in a Polarized World
The Honors College at Valparaiso University is the third-oldest honors college in the United States and has received recent attention in publications such as The New York Times and The Atlantic for its unique teaching style and impact on students. An important part of this education is rooted in a skill that modern America, and the modern world, needs now more than ever: the ability to have a productive conversation across differences, ideologies, and disciplines.
“The very structure of our courses is around a big idea or topic,” said Jennifer Prough, Ph.D., dean of Christ College and professor of humanities and East Asian studies. “Our courses are designed around topics that can’t be addressed by any one discipline, and so requires approaching it from a variety of perspectives.”
Two collaborative experiences ground this approach to education: a fall musical production, and the Christ College Oxford Debates. Each fall, the first-year students write, score, produce, and perform a musical production. Working together for 10 weeks on something unique requires the unique talents of individual students, collaboration in decision-making, and pushing students outside of their comfort zone while supporting each other.
Each spring, first-year students take part in the Christ College Oxford Debates. During the first half of the semester students learn about the topic at hand, approaching it from a variety of perspectives, before dividing into pro and con teams, and capping the semester off with the debate itself.
The diversity of students in Christ College guarantees that those topics will be approached from a wide variety of perspectives and opinions.
“All of our classes are interdisciplinary, both in terms of what texts the students read and what students are in the classroom,” said Zachary King, associate dean of Christ College. “You have business students and nurses, engineers, history majors, and students who don’t know what they want to be yet, all exploring the same big questions together.”
Interdisciplinary cooperation is a core part of the Valparaiso University experience and its dedication to exemplary learning as described in the University’s five-year plan Uplift Valpo: Our Beacon for the Journey Forward. This honors curriculum is a great example of this central value.
With so many different voices coming together on one, complex topic, it would seem that arguments and divisiveness would inevitably present major roadblocks for having a productive discussion. According to Dean Prough, their approach to the topics, and each other, goes a long way in keeping tempers calm.
“When we have these conversations, we tend to think about it as ‘you have your set opinion, and I have mine, and we disagree, and we’re going to fight about it,’” Dean Prough said. “But if you started from the place of ‘we can learn from and with each other,’ those hot-button issues get pitched in a different way. All of our classes do that, which makes the controversies much less volatile.”
These conversations, along with the critical thinking and interpersonal skills gained through having them, can have a profound impact on how Christ College students approach their careers after graduation.
“I had a conversation with a student who said that Christ College trained him to ask better questions,” King said. “He’s probably not going to go out into the world and use Aristotle in a one-to-one kind of way, but the ability to engage with a difficult text, and ask good questions to engage with it better, is a skill he’s going to be using no matter where he goes.”
Psychology major Drew Attinger ’25 described how his experience with Christ College has helped him engage with others on complex topics.
“Sitting at the table in Christ College, I have learned how to build confidence in my own voice without compromising the voice of the person across from me,” Attinger said. “I can effectively provide my unique input into a conversation, while actively quieting myself to hear others’ opinions.”
This approach to learning is not limited to the mission of Christ College, but overlaps with the mission of Valparaiso University as a whole.
“Valpo’s Lutheran foundation is rooted in scholarship, freedom and faith, and that is grounded firmly in all of our classrooms,” Dean Prough said. “We approach big topics through scholarship and discussion, and you have the freedom to disagree, and faith is a component of that process. If you talk about anything that matters in human life, faith is going to be a part of that. Christ College has always carried that mission in everything it does.”
To learn more about how Christ College — The Honors College is creating a unique learning experience at Valparaiso University, visit their website at valpo.edu/Christ-College.
