The Society of Jesuit, which first began as a missionary organization, after establishing the first college open to common students at Messina in 1548, spread its own colleges throughout Europe and around the world. The educational method or curriculum of the Jesuit college cannot be said to be original in itself. The Jesuit adopted a Paris-style educational method that began by the Brotherhood of the common life and transformed from the University of Paris. Students were divided into classes, learned systematically defined subjects from independent professors, and were promoted to higher classes through examinations. The curriculum also focused on learning Latin and Greek grammar, according to the knowledge system of the time that embraced humanism, and then leading to humanities and rhetoric, followed by philosophy and theology courses. This educational method and curriculum were also accepted at the same time in colleges run by other congregations, and it was natural that there was no significant difference between the Protestant and Catholic regions. Rather, the originality of the Jesuit college is that they tried to provide an overall system and secure unity as much as possible by completing the Ratio Studiorum through long experience. Unlike the schools of Brotherhood of the common life, which had disappeared, and unlike the colleges run by Protestants and secular professors in individual ways, the stable system in Jesuit colleges spread throughout Europe for over 150 years. Although the philosophy and theology courses were modified, the humanities-centered secondary education system was also accepted by other educational congregations or universityaffiliated colleges, becoming a model for secondary education in modern Europe. The Jesuit was dissolved in the mid-18th century, but classical humanities education remained at the core of the European liberal arts class. The elites owning this high culture distinguished themselves from the lower classes until the end of the 19th century, and the legacy of this tradition continues today as well. (Chonnam National University / kim03ji@hotmail.com)
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