course description: An interdisciplinary study of cultural movements in literature, philosophy, art, architecture, and music, from the origins of human cultures through the middle ages. The class will be a mixture of lecture and discussion, though I hope that discussion will predominate. The first class meeting of the week will tend to include more lecturing while the second class meeting should be more focused on discussion of the primary texts. The amount of time we cover is enormous—about 3,000 years: one could easily spend a whole semester on any of several centuries we will pass over all too quickly. The usefulness of the course (aside from the pleasure of the reading, viewing, and listening), will be to give you a broad—not a detailed—background as a basis for further study and enjoyment of the humanities.

course goals (1) Students should complete the course with a much clearer understanding of the artistic and intellectual heritage which informs our own culture. (2) Students should gain experience reading, analyzing, discussing, and writing about complex texts. (3 Students' skills in both oral and written communication should develop substantially through the course—don't take this course if you do not wish to exercise these skills.

prerequisite & workload: While there is no prerequisite for this course, all major requirements of this section require good writing skills, and eligibility for English 1A would be a distinct advantage—having completed English 1A would be better still. As you will see, there is a fair amount of reading for this course. College courses assume that the student will spend two hours outside of class for each hour in class—thus students should expect to spend 7 hours preparing for class each week. I have organized the reading and writing requirements of the course so that you should be able to remain within these boundaries.

what is “different” about this class? I suspect many students are accustomed to courses in which you learn by memorizing definitions, concepts, and ideas from a textbook, and providing the right answer on exams. The most important questions raised within the humanities are questions for which there are no agreed upon answers. Learning in the humanities requires a two-part process: you must learn the names of important artists and their works or ideas, but you must also learn to think critically about their work and ideas. The best way to learn this material is to talk about it, and I will feel free to call on people to discuss their reactions to what we read, see, and hear without waiting for students to volunteer.

course requirements & grading

quizzes: We will begin each week with a quiz whose intent is to “encourage” you to keep up with the reading, so it is important that you arrive on time. The quizzes will ask questions about broad themes from the week's reading; it would be wise to start each week¹s reading late the preceding week and not leave it all until the night before class. Each quiz will have two short answer questions, which will be graded 0, 1, or 2, with the total averaged: you must average one point per quiz to pass the class. There will be no make-ups for quizzes; if you can't help missing a quiz and wish to make it up, I will have you write something in lieu of the quiz (for one point) if you inform me ahead of time (contacting me via voicemail is acceptable). The two students with the highest quiz totals at the end of the semester earn an ³A² in the class without needing to take the final exam provided they have met all other course requirements. I will drop all students who miss the first two quizzes. Leaving before the end of class may result in your not receiving credit for that day's quiz.

Students will write two five-page essays. The first essay, on The Iliad, will be due Sept. 29. The second essay, on Augustine's Confessions, will be due Nov. 17. In the case of each essay, it is not important what position you argue: it does matter how carefully you compose your argument in light of the information you have available to you from our reading.

the first essay: Is the Iliad a pro- or anti-war poem? Does reading the poem glorify warfare in a way that would make its hearers approve of warfare, or does it depict the results of fighting in a way that would make its hearers seek to avoid conflict? You must submit the first essay on time or make arrangements for an extension to remain in the class thereafter.

the second essay: What aspect of Christianity most attracted Augustine to convert? What did Christianity offer that Roman culture did not? Was Augustine most attracted to Christian philosophy? to Christian ethics? to a Christian “lifestyle”? What aspects of Roman culture were the hardest for Augustine to leave behind? How relevant is Augustine's process of conversion to the attractions of religious conversion in our society?

essays should be five (or more) numbered pages, typed (double-space), spell-checked, proofread. If you use quotations you must cite them properly (I am not fussy about which academic convention you use). You must submit the first essay to remain in the class thereafter. Failure to number pages, cite quotes, or spell-check will result in the reduction of your grade by 3 points each.

exams: There will be a midterm and a final, due Oct. 27 and during the final exam time slot. The format for both exams will be a take-home essay. In both cases, I will ask students a single question which will require that they be able to interrelate the art, literature, music, and philosophy we have studied. Students will have one week to complete the exams, which MUST be submitted on time to receive credit. Since the exams are to be completed at home, students will have access to all books and their notes. Both must follow proper writing conventions for the course (specified below). To earn full credit both must range between 5 & 7 pages. Both essays and both exams are worth 100 points each. End of term grades are assigned as follows: ≥ 90%, A; ≥ 870% B; ≥ 70% C; ≥ 60% D; < 60% F. Include a SASE with your final if you wish to have it returned to you if you don't, I will read, grade, and recycle the exam.

midterm exam topics: Your essay should compare and contrast at least three different cultural periods and discuss both a primary literary text and a visual object for each culture. The cultures we have studied include (1) ancient Mesopotamia; (2) Egypt; (3) early Greece (the Cyclades, Minoan & Mycenean Greece, Homeric Greece); (4) classical Greece (including the archaic, classical and Hellenistic periods); (5) Rome (including the Republic and the Empire).

Discuss different visions of the Gods. What do/es god/s expect of human beings? How are they related to human beings? Do they act as positive or negative role models for human behavior? How are they visualized or symbolized by the cultures which have acknowledged them? Does worship of these god/s make people “better”? In what way?

Discuss different versions of human excellence. What attributes should human beings emulate—courage? intelligence? reverence? humility? public service? How do ideas about what is “heroic” shape the ideas and arts of the cultures we've studied? Can an intellectual or a saint be “heroic”? Can an artist be heroic?

final exam topics: Whichever question you select, your essay should compare and contrast at least three different cultures and discuss in detail both a primary literary text and a visual object for each culture. The cultures we have studied include (1) Mesopotamia; (2) Egypt; (3) Greece—all periods; (5) Rome; (6) Islamic culture (7) the middle ages, including both the Romanesque and Gothic periods. The question you must answer is in bold; what follows are examples of ways you might approach the question.

Where/when would you choose to live and why? Where would you not wish to live? Sumer, Egypt, Troy, Athens, Rome, the medieval monastery, the late medieval city? What qualities of life do you value and why do you see those qualities highlighted in the communities you respect? What qualities of life do you particularly not respect, and where do you see those qualities emphasized? How do the arts & ideas of a culture make it more or less attractive to live in?

Describe the life of women. How have the opportunities available to women varied across the cultures we've studied? Are women considered subordinate to men in a consistent way or are there important variations among different cultures? Are the sources that survive reliable in terms of depicting the life of ordinary women's lives?

Students with documented disabilities that might impact on their performance in this course should speak with me or contact Disabled Student Services at 222-8060.

The reading schedule usually asks you to read a narrative chapter from the Benton & DiYanni book, and specific readings from the B&D chapters, and chapters from the other four books on the reading list. You do not need to read the primary texts in the B&D book that aren't listed. This is a fair amount of reading though you should find it manageable if you break it up over a few days.