Stories We Tell

It has been said that the destiny of the world is determined less by the battles that are lost and won than by the stories it loves and believes in. Why do we tell stories? For entertainment, certainly.  To move, to persuade; to shape belief, to inspire action. We use stories to explain ourselves to others, to make sense of our history and our experience. Ultimately, we use them to organize our world. This theme explores the power of the stories we tell.

2025-2026 Stories We Tell Course Pairings
Encountering the Past: A People's History of the Medieval Chruch (HS 100)Course fulfills core requirement. Foundations of Philosophy (PL 201)Course fulfills core requirement. Course fulfills core requirement.
The Art of Reading (EN 101)Course fulfills core requirement. Politics (PS 101)
The Art of Reading (EN 101) Philosophical Perspectives: Gender and Nature (PL 232)
Effective Writing (WR 100) Multimedia Storytelling (CM 308)
Introduction to Psychology (PY 101) Experience of Theatre (DR 251)Course fulfills core requirement.
Encountering the Past: Introduction to U.S. Disability History (HS 100)Course fulfills core requirement. The Art of Reading (EN 101)Course fulfills core requirement.
Multimedia Storytelling (CM 308) The Art of Reading (EN 101)Course fulfills core requirement.
Applied Calculus (MA 151) Encountering the Past (HS 100)
Microeconomic Principles (EC 102)Course fulfills core requirement. Effective Writing (WR 100)Course fulfills core requirement.
Introduction to Communication (CM 203) American Politics (PS 102)Course fulfills core requirement.
Computer Science Through Programming (CS 151) Encountering the Past: A People's History of the Medieval Chruch (HS 100)Course fulfills core requirement.
Calculus I (MA 251) Introduction to Education: School & Society (ED 100)
Stories We See: Intro to Photography (PT 270)Course fulfills core requirement. The Art of Reading: Exploring Literary and Visual Texts (EN 101)Course fulfills core requirement.
Introduction to Christian Theology (TH 201)Course fulfills core requirement. Macroeconomic Principles (EC 103)
The Art of Reading: Success: What Does it Look Like? (EN 101)Course fulfills core requirement. Philosophical Perspectives: Politics and Society (PL 210)

• Core icon - Course fulfills core requirement
• Diversity icon - Course fulfills diversity requirement
• Service icon - Course is Service Learning Optional

About the Core

A liberal arts education at Loyola University Maryland requires that students take courses in the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and mathematics. These core courses, required of all students regardless of major, introduce students to these areas of study. Students in the Honors Program fulfill the University core requirements through an alternative core curriculum.

Academic Worksheets from the Academic Advising and Support Center as well as the Undergraduate Course Catalogue are available if you would like more detailed information about how Messina courses fit into your core requirements.