23 April 2024: The 2024 UOW Ramsay Scholars have attended a special retreat in Stanwell Tops, on the Illawarra escarpment between Wollongong and Sydney. The retreat is designed to introduce first year scholars to some of their later-year fellow students in the Western Civilisation Program, and also to graduate students and academic staff in the School of Liberal Arts (SOLA).

Thanks to a partnership agreement between the Ramsay Centre and the University of Wollongong (UOW), these high-achieving students are supported to complete UOW’s Bachelor of Arts in Western Civilisation degree, through scholarships of up to $32,000 p.a. The scholars are taught in small class groups and receive academic mentoring. This is the fifth cohort of UOW Ramsay Scholars since the establishment of UOW’s SOLA 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.’

This year’s annual Staff and Student Retreat was held on the weekend of April 12-13. The event was hosted by the Head of SOLA, Senior Professor Daniel Hutto, and academic staff, Associate Professor Glenda Satne, Dr. Bernardo Ainbinder, Dr. Tristan Bradshaw, Dr. Julian Lamb and Dr. Elena Walsh, with overall co-ordination provided by Student Success Officer, Kirsten Mawby. All 28 of the 2024 Scholars attended, along with four postgraduate students, Lorena Sganzerla, Danrlei Souza, Lily Grainger, and Leticia Bello.

SOLA lecturer Dr Elena Walsh said UOW was “…very grateful for the attendance of two keynote speakers, Professor Diana Glenn from the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation, and Dr. Emily Hughes from the University of York.”

Dr Walsh reflected: “The first day commenced with a welcome and a formal dinner followed by two presentations. Professor Dan Hutto spoke on new directions for teaching the great books in a liberal arts curriculum, and Professor Diana Glenn delivered a keynote address entitled “Inferno V: Dante’s Francesca,” which led to animated discussion both during the talk and afterwards at supper. 

“The second day began with a keynote speech delivered by Dr. Emily Hughes on “Kierkegaard’s Sickness unto Death and The Concept of Anxiety.” This talk stimulated a great deal of useful discussion, and was followed by a student-led debate that queried whether evil is reducible to ignorance (and under what conditions), followed by lunch and a game of theatre sports. Both these latter activities offered the students an opportunity to work together in groups to problem-solve and develop creative solutions to intellectual and practical challenges. 

“The activities concluded with a Tops Conference Centre Activity, where students either learnt about navigation and orienteering in small groups, or played a competitive game of survivor, followed by closing remarks delivered by Professor Dan Hutto. Students noted that they thoroughly enjoyed the keynote talks and the opportunity to engage together in small groups to problem-solve and engage in philosophical discussion.”  

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