Unlike most contemporary approaches to history, which reflect the fashions and biases of the fleeting present, Humanitas offers students something more substantial. Following C.S. Lewis’ stout defense of reading primary sources in “On the Reading of Old Books,” Humanitas will help “persuade the young that firsthand knowledge is not only more worth acquiring than secondhand knowledge, but it is usually much easier and more delightful to acquire.” Geared towards history, humanities, and humane letters courses, the Humanitas series offers a continuous, unfolding narrative of Western Civilization through a collection of carefully curated primary source documents.

Full program includes:

Humanitas: American Origins

Humanitas: American Origins guides students through primary sources that trace the origins of the American experiment. Beginning with the myths and politics of Native Americans, the curriculum moves into a select tour of the peoples, ideas, and events that were most responsible for defining the historical epoch between the Protestant Reformation and the establishment of the American colonies. The narrative continues with the intellectual renaissance known as the Enlightenment and introduces the peoples, ideas, and events that led to the American Revolution.

Humanitas: American Origins Teacher's Guide PDF

The Humanitas: American Origins Teacher's Guide PDF supplies teachers with lesson objectives, contextual information about the source documents, and relevant points of discussion. It includes “Look Ahead” and “Look Back” notes that explain how various source documents relate to each other, as well as the discussion and writing prompts that appear in the student edition.