Kiama, 03 April 2022: The 2022 UOW Ramsay Scholars have attended a special retreat in Kiama, designed to introduce them to their Western civilisation program, as well as each other, as they begin at least three years of study together.

Thanks to a partnership agreement between the Ramsay Centre and UOW, these thirty high-achieving students are being supported to complete UOW’s Bachelor of Arts in Western Civilisation degree, through scholarships of up to $30,000 p.a. Commencing this year, the scholars are being taught in small class groups and receiving academic mentoring. This is the third cohort of UOW Ramsay Scholars since the establishment of UOW’s School of Liberal Arts in 2020.

The retreat, held early in each cohort’s first year of study, is designed as an icebreaker for the scholars, who will study the same subjects together throughout the course of their degree. UOW’s BA in Western Civilisation is billed as a ‘course for the intellectually fearless’ designed to ‘help students discover the enduring insights of the greatest thinkers, poets, and artists of Western civilisation’ and ‘become part of a conversation about ideas that have changed the world as we know it.’

At the retreat the students participated in several socialising, team-building and academic activities.

Three keynote speeches were given:

*Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation CEO Professor Simon Haines addressed the students on the topic of The Seven Pillars of Wisdom. 

*Dr David Bronstein, from the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Ethics and Society presented on Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle.

*Dr Anne Rogerson from the University of Sydney’s Department of Classics and Ancient History discussed Growing Up and Growing Old(er) with the Aeneid.

Speaking recently at the 2022 Ramsay Scholars Welcome reception, 2021 UOW Ramsay Scholar Miah Nottage said she found the degree’s rigour and the intellectual voices of her peers intimidating at first. She also initially found the level of discussion in seminars and tutorials challenging.

But Miah said the School of Liberal Arts made every effort to create a strong trusting sense of community to help students feel comfortable sharing their ideas in their classes; the retreat being a special example of this.

“The week after the retreat there was a noticeable shift in my class atmosphere as everyone had bonded and gotten closer,” she said. According to friends that study different degrees, “experiences like this are rare and unheard of.”

For more information on UOW’s Bachelor of Western Civilisation degree go to: https://www.uow.edu.au/the-arts-social-sciences-humanities/schools-entities/liberal-arts/courses-study-options/

Media contact: Sarah Switzer 0407 816 098/ sarah.switzer@ramsaycentre.org

For more information on the centre please visit our website: www.ramsaycentre.org