HUM 201-10, The Search for Values in the Light of Western History and Religion, Fall 2004

Abstract

The second year of the Search course explores how the ideas articulated in the Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman worlds have echoed through the following centuries. Humanities 201 begins in the early Middle Ages and concludes in the seventeenth century. Along the way, we will discuss how various thinkers, writers, philosophers, and artists have responded to the intellectual and religious traditions at the root of Western culture.

Humanities 201 also follows distinct disciplinary tracks, to introduce students to the specific ways that different disciplines approach these intellectual and religious traditions. History is by its very nature interdisciplinary, considering all evidence of the human experience grist for the mill, but is especially interested in the ways that ideas from the past function in and influence people’s lived experiences, and how those experiences change over time. We will work together this semester to develop the skills that historians use to read and interpret documents. At the same time, this is a Humanities course, not a History course, and it will not provide a comprehensive survey of early European history.

To provide a focus for our discussions this semester, I have organized our readings around the general theme of self, identity, and community: what constitutes the “self”? How do people define their place in the world? How do they define community? What do they consider the proper relationships between different members of a community, and how do they balance their own needs with their responsibilities to that community? These and related questions are integral to each individual’s negotiation of the human experience. To consider these issues, we will read a number of autobiographical writings as well as other kinds of texts. Because an important part of identity and position in a community is gender, I have included a number of texts that allow us to examine how men and women grappled with the same questions.

My goals for this semester are that you gain a familiarity with some major texts of western intellectual and religious heritage, that you are able to situate those texts culturally and historically, and that you seriously engage the questions raised by the themes of the course. The processes of the course (reading assignments, class discussion, writing assignments) are also intended for you to develop three skills: the ability to read critically - to extract the most important information from a document with a minimum of effort; to think analytically - to evaluate the information you find and make an informed judgment about how you can use it for your particular purposes; and to communicate clearly - to convey your ideas in clear speech or written English. I encourage you to think about your own goals for the semester and I would be happy to discuss them with you!