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What convinced a former investment banker for the world's second largest financial services firm and an electrical engineer who worked on Australia's biggest public transport project to pivot towards the Liberal Arts?
David Nathanson and Tafara Jakopo are among the inaugural cohort studying ACU's Master of Liberal Arts (Western Civilisation) on a prestigious Ramsay scholarship valued at up to $48,000.
Since launching the significant Master's level degree in 2023, course coordinator Associate Professor Johanna Harris has welcomed highly educated professionals into the program including lawyers, psychologists, teachers, and even a film maker.
"The Master of Liberal Arts at ACU is a compelling option for graduates and professionals from any academic background keen to read widely and deeply across the canonical works of the Western tradition," Associate Professor Harris said.
"The course develops skills of critical analysis and communication that apply extensively across many professional sectors, and in asking students to consider some of the most significant, beautiful, provocative, even perplexing works of literature, philosophy, history and art, it is also a profoundly enriching personal experience.
"We are deeply grateful to the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation for offering full and part-time scholarships to professionals who wish to undertake this degree alongside work or other commitments. For example, the course is suitable for teachers' professional development."
Following an ambitious career in law and investment banking, including working for Goldman Sachs and Co, and founding a leading Australian funds management business, David stepped away from the corporate world to pursue intellectual interests he had shelved for decades.
"Although I was always quite a big reader, with a range of different interests, my university training was confined to law and economics," David said.
"While this was great from a career perspective, and while there was plenty to interest me in those disciplines, over time I came to feel there was a bit of a gap in my academic education - namely, a structured exposure to the 'great books' of the western tradition.
"I looked into a few different options to try to fill the gaps, but the other university pathways I identified all seemed to fall short. When I came upon ACU's Master of Liberal Arts, it was exactly what I was looking for."
Through a "slow and deliberate" study of enduring Western 'classics' in literature, music, philosophy and art, the Master of Liberal Arts program has provided David with an unmatched opportunity for intellectual depth and breadth.
"It's great to have the opportunity to read and discuss works in a slow and deliberate way," David said.
"For example, we spent ten weeks reading Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, which allows a deep immersion into the work."
Tafara, a Senior Project Engineer studying the Master of Liberal Arts program part-time, began devouring the work of St Thomas Aquinas and St Augustine when he took on the role of youth leader at his local Catholic parish.
"Before long I was immersed in the worlds of the Greeks, then the Romans and the Jews, tracing this rich intellectual tradition all the way to the missionaries who brought the Catholic faith to my country of birth, Zimbabwe, and to my family which has been a devout Catholic family for four generations," Tafara said.
The opportunity to expand on his journey through the Catholic intellectual tradition with postgraduate studies in Liberal Arts was a no-brainer.
"I felt incredibly grateful that such an opportunity had arisen in my own city of Sydney, allowing me the chance to explore more deeply the tradition I had only recently begun to discover," he said.
As well as the personal benefits of a Liberal Arts education, Tafara can also see how his professional career can gain from a deeper knowledge of the Western intellectual tradition.
"As an engineer, I am fascinated by the role we play in shaping civilisation," he said.
"Great civilisations are often defined by their engineering achievements: Rome has the Colosseum as a testament to its grandeur, Greece the Parthenon, Egypt the pyramids. Even here in Sydney, the Harbour Bridge and Opera House have become symbols of the nation.
"Each monument reflects something profound about the civilisation that created it-its values, strengths, and self-perception. The Romans, known for their military dominance, built the Colosseum, a fitting arena for competition, spectacle, and displays of gladiatorial courage and power.
"For these reasons, I believe it is helpful for engineers, as builders of civilisation, to have a deep understanding of the values that underpin it, in order to create structures that truly embody those ideals. That's one of the things, amongst many, that I hope to achieve in my studies."
Ramsay Centre Academic Director Professor Diana Glenn said the Master's level degree made the Centre's immensely popular Western Civilisation courses accessible to highly skilled professionals.
"We wanted to ensure that Australians already in established careers and in the workforce could also access this remarkable education," Professor Glenn said.
"The Great Books have so much to teach us at all life stages and the critical thinking skills acquired through their study, as well as the creativity they inspire will be an asset in the future careers of those who study them at the Master's level."
Discover how a Master of Liberal Arts (Western Civilisation) can open doors for your professional career.
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