Western Intellectual Tradition Minor Program

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1. Illustration from L'ingénieux chevalier Don Quichotte de la Manche (1848), Anonymous (trans.), A. Mame et Cie.

Source: Don Quixote Iconography (The Cervantes Project)

2. Illustration of Newton's reflecting telescope from Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, No. 81 (25 March 1672), pp. 4004-4007.

Source: Optical Papers of Sir Isaac Newton at The Newton Project

3. Euler's article from 1750 titled “Reflections on Space and Time” in which he examines the relationship between mechanics and metaphysics.

Source: The Euler Archive, Index No. 149

4. Letter from Thomas Jefferson to John Adams containing the quotation: “bigotry is the disease of ignorance, of morbid minds; enthusiasm of the free and buoyant. education & free discussion are the antidotes of both.”

Source: The Thomas Jefferson Papers Series 1. General Correspondence. 1651-1827 Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, August 1, 1816. Library of Congress, The Thomas Jefferson Papers.

5. Jane Austen's manuscript (c. 1791, c. 1800) of The History of Sir Charles Grandison.

Source: Chawton House Library Collections

Add some WIT to your degree

The Western Intellectual Tradition minor adds important quantitative and qualitative value to any major across the university. Prospective employers will recognize WIT as a sign of intellectual ability and breadth of knowledge. Courses in the minor trace the development of philosophical and scientific thought, of literary expression and historical understanding from the beginnings of Western civilization up to contemporary times. WIT exposes students to the crucial ideas that shaped the Western Tradition, and promotes debate about the value and role of those ideas in relation to an increasingly diverse cultural world.

—Prof. J. C. Hampsey, WIT Program Director