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detail from Jean Ingres “Virgil Reciting the Aeneid to Livia, Octavia and Augustus” (1819) |
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Western Cultures and Civilizations: Classical to Renaissance (3 units) Historical development and fundamental concepts of western civilization, from ancient times to the Renaissance. Examines the heritage of ideas, values, and artistic expressions that shaped western tradition during that time. Books in Dialogue: Classical to Medieval This course aims to provide solid grounding in the Western intellectual and cultural tradition through pairing of central literary, philosophical, and theological works. The second work in each pair will be studied as a response to the first: e.g., The Aeneid to The Odyssey and Aristotle’s ethics to Plato’s. Students will be encouraged to deal with each of the paired texts individually and comparatively and to compare members of different pairs, e.g., Augustine with Plato, and non-scriptural works of the Christian era with the selections from the Bible. This course will follow developments in the Judaeo-Christian and Graeco-Roman traditions, especially during the millennium from 800 BCE to 200 CE., with attention to such topics as creation, war, tests of conscience, change, and the end of time. Work will focus on interpretation and comparison of selected passages from works read in translation, but there will be regular background lectures and group discussions. Assignments will include quizzes, short essays, and midterm and final exams.
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