Page 25 - ProvidenceChristianCollege_Magazine_Spring2018

stuDent spotLight
From los angElEs To oxForD:
a semester aBroad
by mark Pomerville
Each year, Providence’s top academic performing students are given the rare opportunity to study abroad for 15 weeks through the Scholarship & Christianity in Oxford (SCIO) program, an educational institute that allows Christian colleges from around the nation to study the humanities from Oxford’s leading professors.
For Craig Whitt ’18, the possibility of traveling overseas and attending one of the world’s leading research universities was intriguing. As a business and social sciences concentration, Whitt found an interest in exploring political science in Oxford.
On September 1, 2017, after being admitted by SCIO, Whitt traveled to the streets of London, drove by bus to Oxford, and settled into his new dorm at The Vines on top of Headington Hill, about a 10-minute bike ride from the center of the university.
During his semester abroad, Whitt enrolled in two primary classes or “tutorials.” The first was entitled, “Theories of the State”, in which Whitt and over 200 other Oxford students examined the secular philosophies of Aristotle, Machiavelli, Rousseau, and Marx.
The second course, “Theory of Politics”, offered Whitt a philosophical overview of political structures such as egalitarianism, libertarianism, and perfectionism.
Over the next two months, Whitt studied tirelessly, writing essays, attending lectures, and spending a minimum of five hours a day in the Bodleian Library, at which over 12 million books were at his disposal.
While Whitt learned a great deal during his time abroad, he observed that Oxford, despite its rich theological heritage, lacked the Christ-centered educational worldview upon which it was founded.
“Oxford was clearly a secular institution, not rooted in any biblical framework,” says Whitt. “Even though their school motto is ‘The Lord is my Light,’ you just don’t see any Christian perspectives anymore.”
Despite the abandonment of its theological heritage, Whitt sees the value in having explored all facets of culture at Oxford—both sacred and secular.
“At Providence, I’ve learned that, as Christians, we shouldn’t be afraid of being exposed to thinkers with whom we disagree,” says Whitt. “As followers of Christ, we should study all aspects of our world because, in the end, we are called to be salt and light, even in the secular corners of education.”
Deeper Learning for Greater WisdomTM
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