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Lasallian Honors Program
Lasallian Honors Program
Christian Michener, Ph.D., Director
The Lasallian Honors Program is the general education core program for honors students. It is designed
to provide an intellectually stimulating experience for bright and motivated students who wish to
engage in “shared inquiry” in small, interdisciplinary classes. The hallmarks of the Honors Program are
in-depth discussions of the Great Books and other notable texts of the Western and Eastern cultural
traditions; service learning with organizations in the community; experiential learning in the fine arts;
and participation in a community of learners who desire to grow intellectually, spiritually, and creatively.
The program is grounded in the university mission and the Lasallian dispositions of faith, zeal, service,
and community. The ultimate goal of the Lasallian Honors Program is to awaken and nurture the
intellectual, spiritual, and personal development of learners in preparation for lives of servant leadership
and appreciation of the world’s intellectual and cultural heritages.
Students are invited into the Lasallian Honors Program based on their college-entrance test scores,
their academic record, and their co-curricular activities and achievements. Through a series of eight
seminar courses, students read and engage with the most important ideas in human history. Through
service learning, students explore the practical dimensions of social justice in the local community and
reflect on the Christian concept of servant leadership. And through innovative tutorials in the fine arts,
students learn about and create a variety of works of art. Students in the Lasallian Honors Program
develop advanced skills in analytical reading, writing, critical thinking, and oral communications.
The curriculum promotes active learning, preparation for graduate study and professional work, and
camaraderie in a supportive community of peers and professors. Faculty in the Honors Program assist
students with applications for graduate school, scholarships, and study abroad and long-term volunteer
opportunities, as well as employment resumes.
Students are required to maintain a minimum 3.2 cumulative grade point average in order to remain in
good standing in the Lasallian Honors Program. Students who spend a semester studying abroad can
substitute one course taken abroad for one honors course.
Lasallian Honors first-year students take LH105 and LH155; sophomores take LH205 and LH255; juniors
take LH305 and LH355; and seniors take LH405 and LH455.
Courses
LH105 Origins of Human Thought and Culture 4 credits
This first-year seminar provides an initial university experience that enables students to begin the
process of developing a Lasallian identity: educated, compassionate, and engaged in their local and
global communities. To facilitate a successful transition to Saint Mary’s University, emphasis is placed
on developing critical academic skills and attitudes, learning about our Lasallian mission and Winona’s
natural environment, and forming a community of honors students. Students encounter foundational
heroic myths and sacred narratives from several cultural traditions, including those unique to the Upper
Mississippi River region and to Lasallian education. The life of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, the epic
poems Gilgamesh and Homer's Iliad, selected books from the Hebrew scriptures, and other texts both
ancient and modern, serve as points of departure for understanding our intellectual, environmental, and
spiritual traditions. This course also includes an Artscore component; students’ attendance at several
performances at Page Theater allows the students to reflect on the nature and value of music, theatre,
dance, and visual art in human culture.
LH155 The Classical Tradition 4 credits
This seminar introduces students to great texts from the Western Classical era, beginning with Greek
epic, drama, and philosophy and continuing through representative texts of the Roman Empire
and early Christianity. Selected texts may include Homer's Odyssey, plays by Aeschylus or Euripides,
a dialogue of Plato, Virgil's Aeneid, Ovid's Metamorphoses, one of the four gospels, and Augustine's
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