The goals and content of an interdisciplinary course on the history of ideas, which is required at Baker University as part of its general education program, are described in this position paper. The course aims to help students appreciate the complex character of historical reality and to help them clarify their values and make responsible moral judgments. In order to meet those objectives, alternative ways in which Westerners have understood the ideas of life, peace, and freedom are examined. These ideas concerning values are studied in the context of great cities that have been important centers of Western civilization. The content of the course and procedural matters are discussed. (Author/LBH)