09:00 AM to 10:15 AM MW
Innovation Hall 134
Section Information for Spring 2012
This course is an introduction to the events, people and ideas that have shaped “the West” from its origins in Antiquity and ending in our modern age. While that amount of material- examining over 6,000 years of history- is challenging, (if not simply impossible), I have decided to attempt to make our journey through it interesting and engaging. To assist in the goal of making an “impossible” journey both educational AND enjoyable, we will use the tool of a mock trial to examine the social and ideological currents that have shaped Western Civilization from 2,000 BCE to (roughly) 1950 CE.
Part of what I hope we will discover, through this class, is that western civilization is complex, shifting and difficult yet our civilization’s heritage has many beautiful and stunning solutions to the basic questions of life. We shall see that the ancient Greeks, the Christian Church, Western theories of science- each and every “system” throughout our history has provided an answer to those questions. Thus, our trials will examine questions such as: who counts as a person? How is “truth” determined? What is “good” and what is “evil”?
Understanding the roots of those answers allows us to understand our selves and our place in history more clearly and more critically. One interesting dynamic is that each system’s answer is tied directly to the culture(s) that produce it. Thus, our examination of western civilization will necessarily entail the study of the people and events that generate those ideas. The History of Western Civilization will help us examine our lives more fully and see our past and our current society more clearly.
In sum, we will focus on the major questions of western civilization, looking for both common and unique answers across the 4,000 years of that history. Using important figures and events, we will examine both history and the historical method.
View 22 Other Sections of this Course in this Semester »
Tags:
Credits: 3
The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.