SAMPLE SYLLABUS
THE HUMANITIES IN THE WESTERN TRADITION I
3400:210
Dr. Michael J. Levin
Office: Olin Hall 223A
Office Phone: 330 972-7515
Email: mlevin@uakron.edu
REQUIRED
TEXTS:
At the
University Bookstore:
Wiesner,
Ruff, and Wheeler, Discovering the
Western Past (DWP)
Epic of Gilgamesh
Sophocles,
Antigone
Machiavelli,
The Prince
Graham,
Levin, and Bouchard, The Humanities in the Western Tradition: A
Reader (HWTR)
Packet
of Art Prints
At the
HWT
Lecture Outlines (ask for Dr. Levin's outline)
SCHEDULE
OF LECTURES AND
WEEK 1
Jan. 16 Introduction
Jan. 18 Ancient Near East
and
WEEK 2
Jan. 23 Homer and the Greek Ideal; the Polis
Jan. 25 How Did
WEEK 3
Jan. 30 Greek
Art
Feb. 1 Greek Culture: Drama and Early Philosophy
WEEK 4
Feb. 6 Plato
Feb. 8 Aristotle
WEEK 5
Feb. 13 Alexander and the Hellenistic Age
FIRST
DISCUSSION SECTION EXAM:
Feb. 15
WEEK 6
Feb. 20 Roman Politics and the Shift to Empire
Feb. 22 The Pax Romana and Roman Law
WEEK 7
Feb. 27 Hellenistic and Roman Art
March 1 Judaism to 70 C.E.
WEEK 8
March 6 Roman
March 8 The Evolution of Early Christianity
WEEK 9
March 13
March 15 Islam
WEEK 10
March 20 Early Christian, Byzantine, and Islamic Art
March 22 Transitions: From Antiquity to the Middle
Ages
SECOND
DISCUSSION SECTION EXAM:
March 25-30: SPRING BREAK
WEEK 11
April 3 Medieval Secular Culture
April 5 The Evolution of the Medieval Church
WEEK 12
April 10 Medieval Philosophy and Theology
April 12 NO LECTURE-- discussion sections meet
WEEK 13
April 17 Romanesque and Gothic Art
April 19 Dante, Petrarch and the Early Renaissance
WEEK 14
April 24 Italian Renaissance Thought and Culture
April 26 Italian Renaissance Art
WEEK 15
May 1 Conclusion:
May 3
NO LECTURE; discussion sections meet
FINAL
EXAM: MONDAY MAY 6,
SELECTED
THEMES OF THE HUMANITIES IN THE WESTERN TRADITION:
1) Human Nature. What are human beings
basically like? Are we by nature good or
evil, civilized or savage? Do we have
free will? Can we (and should we) become
something more than what we are? Are our
bodies and souls distinct and separate?
Are we in any way immortal?
2) Human Society. How is society
organized? How should it be
organized? What is the role of Law in
our society? Is there an ideal form of
government, and if so what is it? How
have our current ideas about government and society developed?
3) The Role of Religion. How important
and necessary is religion to culture?
What functions does religion serve in society? How does religious belief
and practice affect the politics, philosophy, literature and art of a
particular civilization? What is the
nature of the divine? What is the
relationship between humanity and the divine?
4) The Role of the Fine Arts: Painting,
Sculpture, Architecture. How do the fine arts reflect the ideas and values of
the culture which produced them? How
can we understand a society by examining the art it produces?
5) The Idea of the City. To what degree is “civilization” dependent on
urban life? What do cities represent in Western Civilization? How have actual cities shaped Western
Civilization?
RESOURCES:
The following
items are available in the library, for anyone who wants additional
information:
Dictionary of the Middle Ages, ed. Joseph
Strayer
Encyclopedia of the Renaissance, ed. Paul
Grendler
The Western Humanities, 3rd ed., Roy
Matthews and F. DeWitt Platt
THE
HUMANITIES IN THE WESTERN TRADITION: GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:
Humanities in
the Western Tradition is exclusively designed for the General Education
Program at the
HWT meets the
goals and objectives of the General Education Program in the following ways:
1) The capacity for critical, independent
thought. In the lectures, HWT promotes the
capacity for critical thought by asking students to analyze and synthesize a
large amount of material about past civilizations and cultures in the western
tradition. In the discussions, students are encouraged to learn to interpret
this material within the context of primary reading and their own experience.
2) A personal sense of values, tempered
by tolerance and a regard for the rights of others. While interpreting this
material from the unique perspective of the western tradition, students are
encouraged to understand and to develop respect and a tolerance for points of
view that conflict with their personal sense of values.
3) The ability to use language
effectively as a medium of both thought and expression. English Composition 111
and 112 are prerequisites for the course. Students entering HWT should have the
ability to write in a clear and logical fashion. The writing of essay
examinations in HWT will further develop these skills.
4) The analytical skills necessary to
make sound qualitative and quantitative judgments. HWT is focused around themes, clearly stated
on the syllabus, that have recurred throughout the western tradition. The
lectures and discussions revolve around these themes. Students are encouraged and expected to be
able to analyze and synthesize a large range of material in light of these
themes.
5) The ability to describe and explain
differences in civilizations and cultures. The first semester of HWT introduces
students to civilizations and cultures which came together to form the Western
tradition: the ancient Near East,
6) An understanding of the conditions
that affect them as individuals and as members of society. HWT teaches cultural
literacy, so that students will recognize the legacies of the western tradition
in everyday life-- in the arts, in religion, in ethics, and in the social and
political heritage of western democratic thought and practice.
7) The capacity to evaluate intellectual
and artistic achievements. The course’s material includes the development of
philosophy and religion, the influence of literature, and the achievements in
the arts from the Ancient Near East to the present. This wide scope promotes
students’ abilities to appreciate intellectual and artistic achievements and
their capacity to evaluate the intellectual and aesthetic life of the present
in light of past achievements.
8) A knowledge of science, technology,
and mathematics and their effects on human activities. HWT imparts an
historical knowledge of the development of science, technology and mathematics.
The Scientific Revolution and the Industrial Revolution receive a particularly
heavy emphasis in light of the moral, social, and political dilemmas of the
modern world.
SPECIAL
NOTES:
Registration. Students whose names do not appear on the
University’s official class list by THE FOURTH WEEK OF CLASS will not be
permitted to participate, i.e., attend class, take exams, or receive credit.
Attendance. Attendance is REQUIRED in both lecture and
discussion classes. Students may by
dropped from the course for flagrant nonattendance. Note that students are responsible for
material covered in all classes, whether or not they attended.
Discussion
Section Exams. There are two
discussion section exams, given in discussion class, each worth 20% of your
final grade. Each discussion exam covers
the specified lecture topics and the readings that accompany each of those
lectures. The discussion exams will consist of at least 75% major essay or essays
that touch upon the major themes of the course (the other 25% may be, but not
necessarily will be, fill in the blank, matching, maps, etc.). The lecture
topics that are not examined in the second discussion essay exam will be
covered in the final exam.
Final
Exam. The final exam will be worth 30% of the final
grade. The Final Exam is COMPREHENSIVE: it covers the entire semester. It will
be an essay exam based on the themes of the course. It will be composed by the
lecturer and the discussion instructors.
Grading. Your final grade will be assigned by your
discussion instructor. The grade will be calculated according to the following
percentages:
Discussion Exam
I: 20%
Discussion Exam
II: 20%
Final Exam: 30%
Attendance, Participation,
Cultural Experience (see below): 30%
(There is no
curve on any exam given in this course.)
Grading Scale. A:
92-100
A-: 90-91
B+: 88-89
B: 82-87
B-: 80-81
C+: 78-79
C: 72-77
C-: 70-71
D+: 68-69
D: 62-67
D-: 60-61
F: 0-59
Make-up
Exams. Make-up exams are given at the discretion of
the discussion instructors. Except in unusual circumstances, make-up exams must
be scheduled ahead of time with the discussion instructor; this is especially
true of the final exam. If a student simply misses the final, NO make-up will
be allowed. All make-up exams must be completed by Finals Week.
Grades
will not be posted. To
receive your grade before grades are mailed, give your discussion instructor a
stamped, self-addressed envelope.
Extra
Credit. No extra credit will be given in any
discussion class for any reason.
Cultural
Experience. Up to one-half of the attendance and
participation grade (i.e. 15% of the final grade) may be based on a cultural
experience at the discretion of the
discussion instructor. This will include such experiences as going to the
Cleveland Art Museum; attending a performance of the Cleveland, Akron, or
Canton Orchestras; or some other experience that you and your discussion
instructor can agree upon. Some sort of a written description of a cultural
experience is required. This is not extra credit and nothing may be substituted
for it (such as an extra reading assignment or research paper).
Academic
Conduct. Dishonest or disruptive conduct will not be
tolerated either in lecture or in discussion class. Any instances of academic
dishonesty or disruption will be vigorously pursued according to The
Withdrawals. The withdrawal policy is the official
University policy:
A student may withdraw without an
adviser’s or course instructor’s signature through the 14th day of the
semester. After the 14th day, and up to the midpoint of the semester, a student
may withdraw with the signature of the student’s adviser. After the midpoint of
the semester, a student must have the signature of both the course instructor
and the adviser. Such authorization must be dated and processed through the
offices of the Registrar and Cashier NO LATER than the last day of the 12th
week of classes.